Nigerian filmmakers and traditionalists have come to an agreement to collaborate in order to stop the degradation of the Ìṣẹ̀ṣe traditional belief system.

At a one-day interactive session on Friday with important players in the film business, hosted by the Isese Welfare Association and held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, this was one of their recommendations.

In a statement released in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, National Publicity Secretary of IWA, Ifatayo Awolade, emphasised the need for truthful cultural and religious portrayal in the media and asked filmmakers to preserve the integrity of indigenous heritage in their works.

Ifayemi Elebuibon, the Araba Awo of Osogbo in Osun State, spoke at the occasion and stated that the partnership was intended to combat misconceptions.

The founder and national coordinator of IWA, Aderemi Ifaolepin, said in his opening remarks that the interactive session’s objective was to create a long-lasting platform for cultural tradition preservation and promotion between filmmakers and the Assembly, as well as the indigenous region.

“IWA is especially concerned about how religion and cultural traditions are portrayed in films and other media, as false information might alter religious and cultural customs.

Isese is a Yoruba religion that is currently followed all over the world, but people do not view it as religion; rather, they regard it as culture, he said.

In order to address all of the concerns brought up during the interactive session, practitioners would need to get together again to devise strategies for keeping an eye on compliance with the preservation of Yoruba religion, according to Rasaq Oyadira, National President of the Association of Theatre Arts Practitioners.

He insisted that his group would provide education for its members and conduct sufficient research, particularly with screenwriters.

“Those who can really delve into the integrity of whatever they are writing about to get the facts out before they put their presentation on it are script writers,” he stated.

India and Nigeria were both colonised in the same way, but they kept their languages and religions. They are making more progress than many of us who have given up on a lot of our possessions.

Paul Ailewon, National Liaison Officer, National Films and Sensors Boards, South-West Zone, stated that practitioners still needed to get together, exercise self-regulation, and take accountability for the content they released.