By Chris Onuoha

The ASHE Foundation has said February 20, 2026 will mark the start of a new global civilisational phase, rooted in what it describes as a shift in Yoruba and Indigenous African consciousness.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the sociocultural think tank said the date represents a symbolic transition “when Obaluaye (structure) and Olokun (consciousness) meet in Ogun’s house of war,” signalling new beginnings for humanity.

ASHE president, Prince Justice Faloye, said the development should prompt Yoruba people and other Indigenous African groups to reassess their historical and cultural foundations in a changing global order.

According to Faloye, civilisation is built on shared genetic, philosophical and cultural values, and the world currently reflects four major civilisational spheres: Western Christian, Afro-Asiatic Islamic, Asian Buddhist, and Indigenous African Ifa-Afa-Iha-Fa.

He argued that Western civilisation has dominated global affairs but is now being challenged demographically, economically and militarily.

“This will force a reorganisation of global power, including the end of NATO’s conflict posture with Russia, in order to confront the rising Asiatic influence of China and India,” Faloye said.

He added that Indigenous African civilisation, which he said originated from Ile-Ife and spread across parts of East and Southern Africa, has suffered what he described as “civilisational erasure” and requires collective reawakening to remain relevant in the emerging multipolar order.

Faloye linked the coming transition to historical cycles within the old Oyo Empire, referencing what he called 165-year Olokun phases that shaped political and spiritual developments in Yorubaland.

He cited the death of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, in April 2022 as marking the end of a dynasty influenced by colonial and external religious forces, and said the subsequent selection of a new Alaafin through Ifa consultation represented a deeper, though controversial, cultural shift.

Faloye also criticised historical colonial policies that standardised the Oyo dialect as “Yoruba,” which he said weakened broader Ifa-Afa-Iha-Fa civilisational identity across southern Nigeria and beyond.

He further pointed to the enthronement of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, in 2015 as a turning point in efforts to restore Indigenous African cultural coherence.

According to him, initiatives such as the African Sociocultural Harmony and Enlightenment Foundation were created to bridge historical divisions between Yoruba, Igbo and other ethnic groups with shared knowledge systems and heritage.

Faloye maintained that the February 2026 milestone represents a symbolic reset rather than a political event, stressing that the coming years would test whether Indigenous African societies can redefine their place within the global system.

“The choice is renaissance or disappearance in the new world order,” he said.