CNN’s African Voices Changemakers meets Nigeria’s Cultural Guardians

CNN’s African Voices Changemakers meets Nigeria’s Cultural Guardians

African Voices Changemakers airs on CNN International Tuesday 21st October 2025 at 17:45 WAT

In the latest episode of African Voices Changemakers, CNN’s Larry Madowo meets, Iheanyi Igboko and Oludàmọ́lá Adebowale, two cultural guardians who are redefining how Nigerians connect to their roots.

Madowo meets Igboko in the southeastern city of Enugu, where he is safeguarding the stories of the Igbo people to make sure they're never out of memory. He explains to Madowo the significance of the Earth as a symbol in Igbo culture, “The culture that we practice is rooted deeply in Odinani. The significance is that the earth goddess is central to Odinani. Odinani simply means, what is on the ground. You know how you say culture is a people's way of life. For us, the Odinani is what determines who and what everybody around here does.”

For the Igbo storyteller it’s important to not forget the civil war. Igboko joined the Centre for Memories in 2021 and explains how this centre helps treat the scars of the Biafra War, “We tell the story, especially from an unbiased perspective. We want everybody who is Nigerian, who is interested in the Nigerian story, to walk in to see themselves in this story. We want people to look through the past and ask themselves what are the ways we should try not to ever have this war happen again?

The annual festival celebrating Chinua Achebe and his book ‘Things Fall Apart’, which is considered one of the Igbos’ most prolific literary works, is helping Igboko bridge the gap between the young and old in Igboland. Igboko speaks about how they’re marking the 67th anniversary of the book, “This year we got talking, and we felt a need to expand the conversation, especially around gender issues. We bought over a thousand copies of the ‘Things Fall Apart’ book to give out to a lot of young people, to encourage them, to inspire them to read the work and see the relevance. It was for them as individuals and then too, as a people.”

Igboko ends his conversation with Madowo by noting what more there is to be done, “We haven't done a lot around the language. And this is one area we have great interest in. There are a lot of partnerships that will need to happen because there are other organisations that are bigger than ourselves, that have found relevance in the work we do. We need to grow because it's easier to achieve more when you are working with some people than when you're doing it all alone. And this is the wisdom they want to apply.”

Next, Madowo meets historian and researcher Oludàmọ́lá Adebowale, who is making sure that Nigeria's rich culture, heritage, and arts are not forgotten by consulting on movies and publishing Asiri Magazine. He says he uses, “Digital media, social media, and different technologies in promoting, preserving, and telling Nigerian history.”

Adebowale tells Madowo that when he started Asiri Magazine, 12 years ago, he knew it was going to be a success, “But I knew it was going to take me quite a while. I knew it's probably going to be a very lonely dark journey, but I was ready for it. I was determined to make something out of it. And I think one of my superpowers, if I may say, is the fact that I can be very stubborn. If I want it, it'll take me 10 years, I will keep working. And it's me working with Asiri every day that has brought me to do the things I'm doing now.”

Adebowale’s efforts have earned global recognition, a Royal Historical Society Fellowship in 2022, and an honorary doctorate in 2024. But he says his biggest reward came when he almost gave it all up, “Eight years ago I was about to sell Asiri. Because I was tired, nobody's supporting. Let me just sell off the brand, the entire brand. […] But that week a family reached out to me and they said, oh my grandmom saw, we saw a picture of our grandfather on your page. […] She said in Yoruba ‘thank Asiri for me that I was able to see my father again.’ She said it in Yoruba and she started crying. And two hours later the people that wanted to buy the brand called me, like are you ready? Let's sign let's transfer the money. I'm like, no, I'm not selling. I'm not.”

For Adebowale, documenting and educating are at the heart of his work. To understand why his mission runs so deep, Madowo joined him at an exhibition he curated honouring the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade, one of Nigeria’s most revered kings. He explains, “The important thing is that we need to use this medium to keep informing, educating people. Our history is rich. We need to preserve it, we need to document it, we need to show it for the younger generation. A lot of people don't know much about Kabiyesi. But when you look at these photos and these physical items, you have a little sense of idea of how great the man was and what he was all about.”

African Voices Changemakers airs on CNN International at the following times:

Tuesday 21st October 2025 at 17:45 WAT

Saturday 25th October 2025 at 07:30 WAT and 11:00 WAT

Sunday 26th October 2025 T 03:30 WAT and 18:00 WAT

Monday 27th October 2025 at 03:00 WAT

Saturday 1st November 2025 at 07:30 WAT

https://edition.cnn.com/specials/africa/african-voices-changemakers

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