Adeyinka Olaiya, Editor at Large, Sao Paulo/
Latest moves by some royal fathers to discard parts of Yoruba culture and tradition have been rebuffed by a leader of the Ogboni Court in Brazil.
Following the denunciation of some traditional practices by the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona and the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi Telu 1, the Aare Oba of Yoruba secret society in Brazil, Oba Arifanlajogun of the Ogboni Igba Iwase has urged kingmakers to reject the overtures and maintain traditional rites.
Condemning the practise of hijacking a king’s burial by members of the Osugbo Secret Society, as the Ogboni Court is called in Ijebuland, the Awujale recently declared the age-long secret and occult burial of traditional rulers as abominable.
He likened the Osugbo to bailiffs and called on his subjects to resist and even stone the members if they are seen at a king’s burial henceforth.
He reportedly made the declaration while addressing Christian and Muslim faithful who converged on his palace to kick-start the annual weeklong prayer for him and Ijebuland.
Awujale, who is the Paramount Ruler in Ijebuland further described the Osugbo as a mere association and not a chieftaincy title or any cult to fear.
The Oluwo, who once described himself as an unusual king is also known to have kicked against what he called fetish practices and idolatry.
Speaking with NewsmakersNG in Brazil, Oba Arifanlajogun said, “If a king is crowned without the necessary ritual rites properly observed before the coronation, I can assure you that such king cannot rule successfully and if he should eventually meet with the Ogboni king in his palace, anything can happen. Such a king can even lose his life if care is not taken. These are the reasons why Ogboni kings are not advised to visit the kings in their palaces wearing their crowns. We must not play with the laws of the land.”
Ijebuland, a Yoruba kingdom in pre-colonial Nigeria, was formed around the 15th century.
It has the Osugbo, a council of all free-born, titled men acting as the kingdom’s courts and counterbalancing the Awujale.
They are divided into six groups based on rank, the highest being the Iwarefa, whose head the Oliwa was the second most powerful figure. Also powerful was the Olisa, who could be described as the mayor of Ijebu Ode.
Arifanlajogun, the supreme leader of the Ogboni Igba Iwase from Ile-Ife said that all the traditional kings in Yoruba land are worthy to be given their due respect, irrespective of their localities. He, however, implored that all the ritual rites necessary for a king to be crowned in Yoruba land are to be observed and totally realized before the coronation. He insisted that they should for no reason be ignored because of the growth of the western religions in Nigeria.
Reacting to emerging Yoruba kings giving the credit for the ascensions to their forefathers’ throne to the state and the federal government authorities, the Ogboni priest said that only Ifa (Oracle) had the sole responsibility to choose the right and adequate person to the throne. He decried any other assumption as irrelevant and against the determinations of our ancestors.
He stressed that if any king is crowned contrary to the laws of the land, the gods of the land would rebuke such king.
“The Ogboni society is active and ready to continue doing the necessary attributes towards the betterment of Yoruba land,” he said.
Oba Arifanlajogun prayed for and commended the kings he saw as upright in Yoruba land. He sent tributes to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; the Iku Baba Yeye, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi and several other leaders in Yoruba land.
He said that the Ogboni would conduct religious kingship activities and coordinate the spiritual rites of the society even before a king is chosen. He asked the society never to underestimate the capabilities of the Ogboni sects.
Towards a more detailed explanation, the second in command to the supreme leader of the society, Olu-awo of Igba Iwase, Priest KB Lawal, said that the royal kings of Yoruba land are offered due respect by the Ogboni society and it is reciprocal. The ritual rites in Yoruba land are incomplete without the participation of the Ogboni sect.
“Ogboni king, Ogboni crown is real and it is spiritual. Our Obas are no joke, no Yoruba king will refuse to acknowledge the spiritual capacity of Ogboni. We are never competing. We are for peace and tranquillity. We think and do the best for a better Yoruba land,” he said.
When asked of his opinion about several of the controversial utterances of the Oluwo of Iwo land, the Ogboni king, Oba Arifanlajogun declined any comment.
“I respect our Kings as they respect us. I don’t have any public comment about how any Oba comports himself out of the palace,” he said while thanking the Africano Centro cultural, Egbe Omo Oodua group in Brazil, NewsmakersNG in Brazil, World Wide Celebrities in Brazil, Oodua Progressives Union in Brazil and several other Yoruba groups in Brazil for their efforts in promoting oneness in Yoruba land.
The Yoruba high priest, however, congratulated the recent incentives from the part of the present Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gani Adams, over the creation of the Amotekun squad along with the Yoruba state governors and Obas.
“It is a good step further,” he said.
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