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| late Ooni of Ife |
The next Ooni of Ife will,
no doubt, emerge according to the dictates of the Ifa oracle. In Yorubaland,
divination gives priests unreserved access to the teachings of
Orunmila. Though, the respective ruling houses have indicated interest in
occupying the throne as prospective candidates are not resting on their oars to
emerge the next Ooni
he kingmakers, have over time, been guided in the process of
selecting the Ooni of Ife in the past. Guided by Ifa, the king-makers in
Ile-Ife are expected not to go against the dictates of the divinity. The
Ifá divination rites provide an avenue of communication to the spiritual realm
and often times, the king-makers consult Ifa before it makes any pronouncement
on who occupies the Ooni throne.
Failure by the king-makers to consult with Ifa often results in
the untimely death of the occupant of the throne. Remarkably, Ifá is practised
throughout the Americas, West Africa, and the Canary Islands, Azores, and
Madeira, in the form of a complex religious system, and plays a critical role
in the traditions of Santería, Candomblé, Palo, Umbanda, Vodoo, and other
Afro-American faiths, as well as in some traditional African religions.
THE exit of Oba Okunade Sijuwade as Ooni of Ife has created a
vacuum which would be filled by a worthy successor. The late Sijuwade emerged
the 50th Ooni of Ife in December, 1980 and ruled the ancient city of Ile-Ife
for 35 years.
Ruling houses:
He died at the St. Mary’s Royal Hospital in Paddington, London,
after a brief illness in July, 2015. There are four ruling houses where
the Ooni of Ife could emerge. They are: Osinkola, Ogboru, Giesi and Lafogido
but the odds seem to be in favour of the Giesi house. Already, the Giesi
Ruling House, in line with standing rotational arrangement of the 1957
Chieftaincy Declaration after the demise of Oba Sijuwade, has set in motion
plans to present qualified persons to the king-makers.
Members of the ruling house have met at the family
compound at Agbedegbede Lane in Ile-Ife to receive the report of its selection
screening committee. The committee, it was gathered, submitted its report
to the head of the family, Prince Modupe Fadehan. But interestingly, the
likely successor will emerge after the king-makers must have sought the divine
guidance of Ifa oracle.
In addition, the Ifa oracle would be consulted on the choice
before the final ratification by the chief priest. Before now, the
king-makers were advised to guard against manipulating the emergence of the
next Ooni of Ife. A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief
Bode George, who is the Atona Oodua of the Source, recently, appealed to
them not to allow politicians use their influence to choose the next Ooni.
Similarly, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo threw his
weight behind George.
Selection process:
Obasanjo said it was imperative for the king-makers to
choose the rightful, God-fearing person to occupy the throne even as he
called for a hitch-free selection process that would produce the next
Ooni. Some unnamed politicians are said to be scheming to manipulate the
process for their preferred candidate to emerge as the next traditional ruler
in Ile-Ife.
Ifa worshippers
call on govts for recognition.
Meanwhile, Ifa worshippers have called on government at all
levels to set aside a day for celebration of the traditional festival, as it
obtains in the Islamic and Christian religions.
This was the crux of the matter at the 2015 Isese Day
Celebration of Isese Parapo and International Council for Ifa Religion in Egba
district, held in Abeokuta, recently with the theme” The importance of
government in Ifa religion.” The Ifa traditionalists who converged on
their praying ground at Oke-Aregba area of the state capital,stressed the
important roles traditional religion plays in the socio-economic and
political development of any nation.
They appealed to government at all levels to give the
much-needed support and legal recognition to traditional religion, with a view
to enhancing harmony, peace and stability in the country. The Guest
Preacher at the occasion and the Erinmi Ijo Orunmila Adulawo of Egbaland,Chief
Ifasola Akanbi, in his sermon said that traditional religion had been in existence
for long.
Traditional religion:
He lamented that government had left out traditional worshippers
in its scheme of things, especially in any of its organised religious
activities. Akanbi also appealed to the current administration in the
state to consider the declaration of a public holiday, preferably on August 20,
for the annual commemoration of the traditional day, as it is in Osun State.
He equally appealed to media practitioners, as well as security
agencies in the country, to always do a thorough investigation whenever they
apprehend ritualists who are tarnishing the good image of the genuine
traditionalists for their selfish ends.
