World Twin Festival lights up Igbo-Ora community

The historical town of Igbo-Ora was alive recently, as people from all walks of life converged in the ancient community to celebrate this year’s Igbo-Ora World Twins Festival.

Reputed to be the most prominent among of places with multiple births, with record of twins or triplets in virtually every household in the community, the festival, which was put together by Twins World Creations in conjunction with Igbo-Ora community foundation, was organised to showcase the tourism and cultural potentials of the community, as well as attracts investors into the state and help get the town into Guinness Book of Record.

The highpoint of the yearly event was the presence of grand patron of the festival, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Dr. Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, the entire Oyo Mesi and some traditional chiefs from Oyo, Eleruwa of Eruwa and other prominent personalities.

The Alaafin of Oyo, while speaking at the event, said that Yoruba twins are special gift from God because they are harbinger of good things and they possessed what other child don’t have.

“Twins are unique creation that are very important, and we Yoruba’s also count them worthy. God created them in a unique ways because women have only one womb to carry a baby; it now marvels for a womb that supposed to carry one child to now carry two.

“Yoruba believes that giving birth to twins brings joy and happiness to the family that is why everybody wants to associate with them; either having them as children or as an associate. This makes them to have an adoring names that is different from all other children.”

The Royal father added, “Some of our forefathers have done some things that someone has never done before, there was a particular Alaafin of Oyo, Alaafin Oluaso, whose seven wives gave birth to male set of twins. The seven twins all together in turn gave birth to 54 children and that Alaafin built a palace for all of them.”

He urged traditional rulers to teach their people history about their fatherland and community, adding, “if you become king, and I teach and showed you the mystery in history of Yoruba land, the more you get it, the more you will have promotion and peace of mind. The ‘Isokun’ that was eulogised in the glorification of twins is in Oyo town.”

The Olu of Igbo-Ora, Oba Jimoh Titiloye, while speaking with journalists, said that many research are still going on to unravel the mystery about twins in Igbo-Ora, adding that it might be either the environment or the food people of Igbo-Ora used to eat that makes it to be the World Twins capital.

Oba Titiloye noted that a study conducted by a British gynecologist, Patrick Nylander, between 2972 – 1982 recorded an average of 45 to 50 sets of twins per 1,000 live births in the Southwest of Nigeria, and there are about 30 times more in Igbo-Ora than there are in the whole of Europe.

“In Igbo-ora, nearly every household has a history of giving birth to twins or other multiples, people attributed the predominance of twins in Igbo-ora to a meal, Amala and Ilasa, morsel meals that combine yam powder (agida) and okra leave soup, yams contain gonadotrophins, a chemical that helps women produce multiple eggs” he said.

The chairman of the event, Dr. Olusola Ayandele, said the Twin Festival was just the beginning of renaissance, adding that twins has been celebrated all over the world, and it has now become a tourism event in the whole of Ibarapa land.

Meanwhile, the Ibadan, Oyo State born twin ambassadors and initiators of the festival, Taiwo and Kehinde Oguntoye, confirmed that being a twin has brought a lot of good things for them, adding that the festival aims at adding to the economic benefit of Oyo state, and Nigeria at large.

“We are of the opinion that this twins festival can be used to boost the economy of Nigeria through twins tourism. This festival, which started 10years ago as Naija Twns Festival, was repackaged last year for global participation hence World Twins Festival is designed to position Oyo State as the foremost twins tourism destination in the world.”

Highlight of the festival was the Twins Parade, circus performances, twins talent show, while there was an energetic performance by the Dou of Taiwo and Kehinde Alese. Meanwhile, the University College Hospital UCH Ibadan and Igboora Community Foundation presented gift to some 25 sets of twins that were given birth to the week of the festival, while the event was supported by MTN and Indomie.