By Jide Oguntoye
The plane of the Obaaro of Ilaro, Ilaro Compound, Irona Quarters, Oye-Ekiti, touched down on 26th January, 2025 at exactly 6:00 am; not from Rome, not necessarily. It was either from Jerusalem or Bethlehem! Yes, don’t doubt it!
There, certainly clearly, were no cola nuts, no bitter colas but pure prayers in the very original name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
It was not pronounced, not explained, very, very deliberate; we seemed to have all silently known and agreed, that we believed only in the tradition but not in the fearful rituals of the past; yes, yes, yes!!!
The elders of Irona had not been allowed to do it all alone as the Irona youths had protested vociferously that they wanted to watch the arrival, the landing of Obaaro, even if it were going to be dead in the night, let alone 6:00am!
They bombarded the venue, their ears at alert, to hear the sound of the landing of the flight; and, truly, Obaaro’s plane did touch down to time; at exactly 6:00 am, with the sound of igumo gong ordering the convergence of the qualified (not the initiated) to prayers in Jesus’ name!
Yes, the tradition of the early morning occasion (that of bringing into power a leader to truly be in control, establish justice and stability, was explicitly explained.
The akoko leaf was used, not as a ritual but as a relic of history while the process was brought to a conclusion with the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the beginning and the finisher of our faith; our faith in the superiority of light over darkness; our faith in Jesus Christ the endurer of vicious preliminary humiliation of torture and ridicule before freely submitting Himself to be nailed to the Cross!
Tradition had to be allowed to take over as from that point; the new chief being allowed to go to town with the eager youths and enthusiastic elders, singing the landing, loud and clear:
Oloye mo j’oye o!
Pau Oloye i se o!!!
Oloye mo j’oye o!
Pau Oloye ise o!!!
The gongs finally took over while heavily raining, noisy foot-stamping beat the ground as if slight, steady movement would do harm!
Thus was the news of the landing being spread from house to house; in the jurisdiction of the new chief, to pay due homage, to hint all that a new sheriff was in town!
From house to house water was poured down for him to step on; to proverbially make him coolly step on a soft land! A round of this was made to time, for him to retire in time to ipebi where he practically would incubate for a mandatory seven days period before another Iwuye dancing time round the town, to bring the installation to a close.
More than swearing-in, you know! It is tradition; not the paganism that had scared away some holier than thou lads in the Ilaro Compound and Irona Quarters.
One now recall; it was a long time ago, long before we finally lost Peter Ogunlayi Oguntoye to the cold hands of death, that the Oguntoyes and some others in Irona Quarters had frustrated paganism in their whole area!
Peter Ogunlayi Oguntoye did not just back out of ebora (heavenly guests) cult but loudly resisted their noisy, guttural pressures and threats!
I recall my bold father of blessed memory; he would call the eboras by their known names; “you, so, so and so; if you don’t quit my vicinity now, I will come and drive you off with powerful touchlight!”
He was a church chieftain, Baba Isale of St. Michael’s Anglican Church, Oye-Ekiti, and was strictly faithful, but for his own Archelis heel!
He was a traditional birth attendant which I wished he stuck to being, but he deviated into listening to vicious complaints which he did not require to attend to to build a fame as traditional midwife which he popularly was.
Because he was a church chieftain, he refused to be Obaaro, wrongly seen as paganism. Family leadership is not paganism but an administrative function. He who knew not should know and maintain his peace.
No one administers a town without this very traditional qualification to do so; from traditional rulers down to family heads. A court would only readily accept your evidence as witness if you are an authentic chief.
All the members of a traditional council running the affairs of communities must have gone through the installation rights to qualify.
So, shall we eradicate all that to yield leadership to our pastor-children because they wrongly mistake everything outside the church for paganism?
I wish they are asked to answer in published responses.
