The National President of the Birifor Youth Association, Madam Vivien Nyoni Ne-ormah, says the Association is committed to supporting the efforts of sub-branches to maintain and promote the Birifor cultural values.
She said culture plays a crucial role in the development and sustenance of communities across the world, therefore any community that shun its history and cultural heritage would undermine its social progress.
The President made these remarks at Techiman during the installation of the Birifor chief of Techiman on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
She commended the chief and people of the area for maintaining and safeguarding their cultural heritage.
“Culture is identity. Our common values, attitudes, preferences, and knowledge come together to define our identity as a social group, and the way we move forward on social development in every society. Culture, therefore, is a powerful driver for development, she stated.
Madam Vivien, admitted Birifors were ‘losing it’ and that should be a grave worry to the tribe. She indicated the Birifor culture is being shredded into pieces and the crave for everything foreign has become the order of the day.
“There’s this crave to dump whatever we have and adopt what is elsewhere; that’s sickening, to say the least. We should cherish what we have. We have rich values and culture and I wonder why we think everything of ours is bad and everything in the West is good,” she stated.
She criticized the practice where children were given Akan names are being taught foreign language at the expense of the local language.
“It’s a shame that today, there are people walking around and they can’t speak their own language. All they can do is to speak English to their children. It’s sickening,” she stressed.
Madam Vivien therefore called for some introspection to be done so Birifors realize that the values that they are throwing away and embracing what’s outside would hurt them in the near future.
Source: yagbonradioonline
