19/10/2025
*ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE ALUMNI SAPELE BRANCH CHAIRMAN, ALUMNUS AMB. (DR) EMMANUEL OBIUWEVBI AT THE DELSU ALUMNI SAPELE BRANCH CULTURE MEET 2025*
*Distinguished Alumni, Respected Elders, Esteemed Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,*
It is both an honour and a privilege to address you today at this auspicious occasion — the *DELSU Alumni Sapele Branch Culture Meet 2025*. I commend the present administration for massively supporting this pet project of mine (as part of my election manifesto) which goes beyond celebration and fellowship, and calls our attention to a matter of urgent importance — the preservation and transmission of our cultural values and heritage.
Culture is the soul of any people. It encompasses not only our language, dress, and customs, but more importantly, our moral foundations, communal principles, and spiritual identities. It is what binds generations together in meaning and purpose.
Regrettably, we are witnessing a steady erosion of these values among the younger generation. Globalization, rapid technological advancement, and misplaced societal priorities have left many of our children untethered — fluent in foreign ideals, yet alien to their roots. We must ask ourselves: *What becomes of a generation that forgets where it comes from?*
The consequences of cultural disconnection are dire — loss of identity, moral confusion, weakened family structures, and a fading sense of communal responsibility. These are not abstract risks; they are realities already manifesting in our homes, our schools, and in the broader society.
As alumni of Delta State University, we are not only products of academic excellence but custodians of societal leadership. We must therefore rise to the responsibility of *guiding, enlightening, and grooming our children and the youth among us* in the values that shaped us — values of respect, integrity, discipline, communal living, and pride in our heritage.
This cannot be left to chance. We must be intentional — by integrating cultural education into our homes, supporting cultural programmes in schools and communities, mentoring the younger ones, and above all, living out the values we preach.
The time to act is now. The preservation of our culture cannot wait. We must pass on the torch of identity before it is extinguished by neglect.
Let us commit ourselves today, as DELSU Alumni and as proud sons and daughters of our various communities, to this noble cause. We should set our agenda to include instilling our culture and language into our children. In doing so, we not only honour our heritage, but we secure the future.
*Thank you, and may our cultural legacy endure for generations to come.*
**Long live DELSU Alumni.
Long live the Sapele Branch.
Long live our culture.**
