The Vice Chancellor, Federal University Lokoja (FUL), Professor Olayemi Akinwumi has called on scholars in the field of African studies to re-engage in ancestral wisdom traditions, not as relics of the past, but as living, dynamic sources of healing, creativity, and spiritual renewal.
Professor Akinwumi made the call while declaring open the 3rd International Conference of the Academy of Africana Indigenous Religions, Theology, and Arts held at the Felele campus of the institution in Lokoja.
He said that the theme of 2025 conference “Codex, Liturgy, Ritual, Health, Herbs, Medicine and Wellness, Spirituality, Holy Sites, Saints, and Ancestors, Theology, Arts and Symbols in Indigenous Africana Religions, Theology and Arts” is a call to bridge the gap between spirituality and science, faith and medicine, ritual and reason.
Speaking as the chief host of the conference, the Vice Chancellor stated that the all important event was jointly organised by the university’s International Centre of Excellence in Environmental Humanities and Academy of Africana Indigenous Religions, Theology and Arts in collaboration with Pan-African Strategic Policy Research Group, Lagos, Nigeria, Akodi, Orisa, Ile-Ife, Nigeria to showcase the rich culture of the African Nations.
Professor Akinwumi described the gathering as an intellectual and cultural pilgrimage that seeks to discover, documents, and elevate the wisdom, spirituality, and creativity embedded in Africana Indigenous Religions, Theology and Arts.
While commending the organisers of the conference for their commitment to advancing interdisciplinary and intercultural research, the Vice Chancellor, admonished participants to see the event as not only paper presentations but as a gathering that would strengthen academic networks, spark innovative collaborations, and inspire new ways of thinking about theology, medicine, environment, and the arts through African lens.
Professor Emeritus John Ayotunde Bewaji, in his remark, lamented that African traditions, religions and beliefs for decades have been neglected due to adoption of western cultures, beliefs and ways of life.
He described the conference as crucial and a welcome development to black Africans.
