‘There shall be no war’ – Ooni declares

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‘There shall be no war’ – Ooni declares

 

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has expressed optimism that peace will reign in the country.

The monarch spoke at the grand-finale of the World Ifa Festival held in his palace on Sunday, in Ile-Ife.

According to him, the Ifa Festival signalled the beginning of a new calendar year.

“I’m happy that our culture is still thriving despite stiff opposition, the thought of many is that, we do not believe in God.

“Ifa corpus is the bedrock of life because no mortal can survive on this planet earth without leaves and herbs.

“We are not in contention with anybody simply because we know that God is Supreme and He will not share His glory with anybody,” he said.

He said the message of this year’s festival revolved around peace.

“The message is simply that: In this year; we would witness peace all round. There shall be no war,” the monarch said.

The other message, he said, was that Nigeria should care for its women.

“I was highly elated because God has visited our land to heal all the wounds and straighten the rough edges.

“You can see adherents from Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina and USA who are here to celebrate the festival.

“With the Ifa festival that ushers us into another year, it’s a new dawn. By August /September, there will be new yam to be followed by Olojo Festival which is a world festival.

“This is to tell us that before the advent of the whites, we had our ways of doing things meticulously,” he said.

Also speaking, Chief Awodotun Aworeni, the Araba Awo Agbaye, expressed gratitude for the success of the very first World festival he participated in since assuming this position last year.

Aworeni specifically thanked the Ooni for making the occasion colourful.

He implored government to do the needful by providing necessary support.

Chief Sola Atanda, President, Ancient Religion Society of African Descendants of International Council (ASARDIC), applauded the Ooni for promoting traditional festivals.

Atanda, however, lamented that government was paying lip service to Ifa religion, saying “worshippers are not duly recognised as Christians and Muslims are recognised.”

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Monarchs slam Gani Adams for opposing coronation of Yoruba traditional rulers in Diaspora

NEWS

Monarchs slam Gani Adams for opposing coronation of Yoruba traditional rulers in Diaspora

 

The Council of Yoruba Obas in Diaspora has queried the basis for opposition to the endorsement of some kings in Diaspora by the Olugbo of Ugbo kingdom, Oba Obateru Akinruntan.

Akinruntan had recently in his palace in Ugbo community, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, crowned three Diaspora-based Nigerians as Yoruba Obas.

The three crowned traditional rulers are the Oriade of Georgia, United States, Oba Bernard Shola Akinrimisi; the traditional ruler of Yoruba in the Republic of Ireland, Oba Saheed Ibrahim Adufe, and the traditional ruler of Yoruba in Liberia, Oba Omobolaji Ogunkoya.

However, Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Adams and his supporters had criticised the action of the monarch.

But the Secretary, Council of Yoruba Obas in Diaspora, Mr. Olukunle Akanbi, in a statement yesterday, said a campaign of calumny against the royal father would not stand.

Rather, he hailed the action of the Olugbo of Ugbo kingdom as a proactive sign of his commitment to the preservation of the Yoruba culture, both at home and in the Diaspora.

In its statement, the council said, “We, Oba Yoruba in Diaspora, appreciate Olugbo and Paramount Ruler of Ugbo Kingdom. The proscribed authority for the affirmation honour and formal recognition bestowed on us on April 22 in his palace, we are so grateful to Olodumare for His mercy on us.

“It is apposite to say that it is sacrilegious in Yorubaland for a chief like Adams to start querying or denigrating the office of any Yoruba king, talk more of a highly revered monarch like Olugbo.

“How can a subject be attacking a king over a legitimate installation that will protect our culture in a vast changing society. The question we want to ask Adams, who is only a traditional chief in Oyo kingdom, is, What right or authority does he has to denigrate the yearnings of Yoruba sons and daughters in the Diaspora who demanded for the endorsement of these authentic royal emissaries as kings over Yoruba communities in the Diaspora?

“Is he more Yoruba than those of us in the Diaspora or is it a crime to be in the Diaspora as a Yoruba son? Did he contribute anything to our relocation to the Diaspora for him to be acting like our caregiver?

“While it is not difficult to fetch Adams critical motives against the installation of the worthy ambassadors in the Diaspora, it will suffice to refresh his memories that Olugbo, who has a deep record of Yoruba history, has never and would never do anything undermine or compromise the Yoruba culture.

“Going forward, the council cease to be distracted by the needless antics of Adams and his ilk, but to continue to see how to preserve and protect our highly revered culture and our people in the Diaspora.

“We urge Adams to look for means of settling his differences with legions of notable Yoruba sons and daughters including members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC).”

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Yoruba Elders Urge Buhari To Sack Buratai, Other Service Chiefs

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Yoruba Elders Urge Buhari To Sack Buratai, Other Service Chiefs

 

The Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack all the service chiefs.

The council hinged their reason on the service chiefs’ alleged inability to effectively curtail killings in different parts of the country.

According to them, the recurrent massacre in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states have lent credence to the accusation by a former Minister of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma, that the military was colluding with killer herdsmen to embark on ethnic cleansing.

The YCE stated this in a communique issued after their Expanded National Executive meeting held in Ado Ekiti on Thursday in honour of its late President, Chief Idowu Sofola (SAN), who died last Friday.

The communique was signed by the YCE Secretary-General, Dr. Kunle Olajide and the chairman of the Ekiti Council of Elders, Prof. J. O. Oluwasanmi.

It partly read, “The Yoruba Council of Elders calls on Mr. President to relieve the present security chiefs, some of whom are already overdue for retirement of their position and immediately reconfigure the security architecture of the country to reflect the federal character clause in our constitution.

“Most Nigerians have lost confidence in the security chiefs especially the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, whom the President has publicly acknowledged as disobeying his instructions.

“The President must shed and toga of Baba go-slow and act promptly on this matter to once again inspire the confidence of Nigerians in his administration.

“A military which publicly claimed to be neutral where the law of the land is being violated and innocent citizens are mindlessly murdered by armed herdsmen is definitely partisan and can no longer be trusted to protect all Nigerians.”

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