Cultural Comparison of Leisure Concept and Behaviour among Residents of Ibadan and Benin: The Role of Culture and Leisure in Improving and Sustaining Community Cohesion, Happiness and Wellbeing

The immense cultural diversity and natural beauties embedded in the communities of Oyo and Benin explains the wide array of leisure opportunities available in these regions. Culture and leisure are binomial, removing ethnic and political obstacles and facilitates dialogue among the people. Promotion of culture and leisure can serve as a tool to address and tackle unhealthy lifestyles and empowering communities, families and individuals for social development in the communities within the metropolises and across other African regions, providing the youth with better opportunities for a happier life and wellbeing. Benin City, in Edo State, South-South Nigeria and Ibadan in Oyo State, South-West Nigeria respectively, is some of the areas with diverse cultural practices. Some of these cultural practices which endured centuries of practice work for the people of these areas, as it concerns health and wellbeing through leisure activities, and affect the behaviour of the people who are the culture bearers. There is a growing recognition that there is the freedom as a people to express our cultural identity which we are and celebrate our cultural differences which further strengthens the interactions within us and with other cultures, creating opportunities for togetherness and communal living for happiness. The development of inter-cultural strategy to leisure in the above settlements and the participation in creative activities with the interpretations and expression of their arts, history, heritage and traditions can promote access to leisure, raise awareness that can bring about social change and promote leadership. Therefore, participating in cultural leisure activities can enhance community cohesion, peace and strength. The purpose of this document is to identify the existence and practice of cultural leisure activities among residents of Oyo and Benin kingdoms and create the understanding to engage more effectively and collaboratively with each other and bring creative solutions by communities, families and individual engagement in cultural leisure activities. This study therefore investigated the activities that people in these communities do for fun during their free time, their favorite ways of spending free time and factors that shape the experience of leisure. Semi-structured interview was used as the method for data collection with fourteen respondents. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyze data comparing different categories and observing any uniformities or differences. The population consists of adults' residents in Ibadan and Benin. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents for the study; a self-designed, validated and structured questionnaire for the study was used. It is recommended that: quality social interaction that encompasses the need to engage in some forms of activities for ourselves and people, the existence of supportive relationships and social cohesion should be encouraged to further create an atmosphere that is calm and void of quagmire.