This is a complete mockery of the Bible. I have no problem with anyone opting for a cultural value as We all have the right to create different values for ourselves at the same time, it is a total insult on the Bible for the Ooni to claim to be a Christian at the same time, believing and proclaiming that the God of the Bible who is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the same God who created the 201Ile- Ife Deities. It is totally absurd to think that the tower of Babel was in Ife and that the ark of Noah which rested on Mount Ararat at the end of the flood is actually located in Ife. Correct me if this is not the impression created in the above article. Ife-Ife could not have been the Garden of Eden where God created Adam and Eve. Educated men should not in 21st century tell the same moonlight tales of past generations. As a little boy, I was told that what seems to be a man in the moon, is a hunter who went hunting until it was too late to return home. According to the tales, he walked until he got into the moon. Iremo for instance is said to be ” Ibi ti o re awon omo re de” It was said that the great man died but before his death, he told his children to pull the chain that was hooked to his grave anytime there was war and his help was needed. His curious children were said to have decided at one point to test their father’s instruction. They pretended there was war and pulled the chain. The great man was said to have risen from the grave, holding his war sword and slaughtered any human in sight thinking they were invaders not realizing these were his children. He was said to have killed up to the place called Iremo until he realized that he was killing his children. There and then, he stopped killing and went back to the grave. This is said to be the story behind the naming of the major Road (from Enuowa to Lagere) called Iremo. As a young man, I partook in the Oro festival using Bamboo sticks and sometimes improvising using a wooden ruler, tied to a twine or strong thread to make whirling sound which intimated the ignorant folks called Ogberi. As a teenager in Ile-Ife, I frequented the Enuowa Palace where I was shown the well that was said to be connected to the Lagoon (Osa) in Lagos. I was told that one could hear the voices of people praying in Meca while standing beside the monument called Opa Oranmiya. This couldn’t be true. I am beginning to realize that most ofthe Bizarre storied in D O Fagunwa’s books were simple a fickle of his imagination or mare fiction. Does Igbo Irunmole or Igbo Elegbeje exist in reality? No! However, freedom of worship enshrined in our constitution is entitles every individual to his form of worship or belief system but when it ridicules my faith and my God, I have the right as well to stand up and express opposing view. It is sad that our new King (who claims to belong to Christianity that is opposed to Idol worshiping) is now justifying occult deities, therefore speaking from the two sides of the mouth. You cannot truly serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the same time believe in Ile-Ife deities. The Yoruba Bible translators sought for a common name to describe God and the word: Olodumare was chosen. In true Yoruba culture, the Olodumare which the Yourba Christians refer to is not the same Olodumare of the Ile- Ife culture. The Urhobo Bible translators also adopted the word: Oghene short form of Oghene Osonobruwhe. In the real Urhobo traditional setting, the native and non-Christian person has a different deity in mind when he mentions Oghene. I
have been a student of Ile-Ife history since the days of Late Sir Adesoji, Aderemi. The story has been the same. What about the stories behind the Taiye and Kehinde Palava, the Alaba and Idogbe controversies as well as the Ige phenomenon. Is it true that Taiye means to aye wo. Or Is it true that Kehinde is the elder of the twins who sent Taiye on errand to taste to see if the world is good to go. These funny myths are just endless and we were forced to believe these things. Now if I am sneezing too often, I will check to see if flu is the issue or my body is carving for vitamin C rather than believing that someone is mentioning my name for evil purposes. For cultural identity, I believe that the younger generation is simply playing along with these stories to please the older generation. Now that these cultural identities are now becoming tourism products of the country, someone somewhere may simply pretend to listen, smiling or laughing in agreement with us only to mock us in their minds when they leave. There are great tourism products available in Ile-Ife. Let’s focus on Bead making, the clay- pottery, local mats, calabash carvings, wood carvings, gold smiting, embroidery, Music, traditional dances, local percussions. Those ancient houses still standing strong are good tourism products. The N7.6 Billion resort should have house made of mud and thatched roofs made of treated palm oil leaves and palm date leaves. Dishes should be clay pots or plates. Cooking should be done with fire woods. All furniture should be made from bamboo and woods.

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