ART The Odu’a Museum sits atop the Cocoa House and despite being one of the newer museums in the city, its exhibition includes a number of Noachian relics and prehistoric antiques.
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All photos from Odu’a Museum and Hall of Fame
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t has been said that one of the cons of the modern digital world is that culture gets ignored; history gets forgotten and art becomes abandoned. The Yoruba people are considered one of the most enterprising in terms of artwork but now have their legacy tethering on the edge of oblivion due to a certain decadence as regards the preservation of history works. There is the growing fear that our heritage as black people is being replaced by mobile phones. A closer look, however, shows there are causes for optimism. Part of such causes is perched on the highest point of the tallest building in Ibadan the O’dua Heritage Museum, a condominium of Yoruba heritage, history and culture growing out of a building that itself is a landmark of historic proportions. Not many
realize that such a place exists on the 24th floor of Cocoa House. Right from the 23rd floor, the modern walls are adorned with paintings, carvings and various antiquities that effuse the ideas centered on Yoruba traditions and history creating an oxymoronic link between the past and the present. Further on, the centre itself is divided into two areas; the actual museum and the Hall of Fame, giving visitors the