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Tag: Ooni of Ife

  • I’ve always loved C$S churches- Ooni’s wife

    Ooni of Ife’s wife, Olori Naomi Ogunwusi, said she has always loved the white garment church, Cherubim & Seraphim.

    Speaking on Saturday at the Seraphim Media Summit, held at Seraph Land, Maba, Ogun State, the Olori said she was born and raised up in a Bible-believing church but whenever she preached as a young girl, they said she sounded like a member of C&S.

    She stated, “When I began preaching at a tender age, it was strange to the church I worshipped. They said I preached like the people from C&S. I thank you for bringing me here today because I have always wanted to be identified with the people they say I preach like. I love the church so much and I will always speak for you anywhere.”

    She advised members to shun negative criticisms, saying that it was a deliberate act by certain people to ridicule all the church stood for.

    She explained, “I rejoice with the church today because of the foundation. When I wanted to learn about indigenous men of God, the first person that came to my mind was the late founder of the church, Moses Orimolade. I want you to know that you are a beautiful brand regardless of what people say about you. You have a beautiful mark of identification; with your white garment, you don’t need any further introduction to anyone.

    Read Also: Ooni’s love for culture and tradition is what attracts me to him

    We all know that in every original product, there are fake ones. People will always try to bring you down. When people said I was preaching like a C&S member, they were trying to bring me down.”

    Delivering her keynote address, the Founder of Love of Christ Generation in London, Rev Mother Esther Ajayi, stated that the mission of C&S was to renew the image of the church.

    He said, “This summit is important because we live in a world that is changing. We are called all sorts of names by people. Even people who come to us for help tarnish us in the daylight. But like other denominations, we all have our shortcomings and humans will always be humans.”

    She also said the founder of the church was never a cultist. She explained, “C&S is the only indigenous church that doesn’t have any western influence. Our late founder was not a cultist but he was feared by cultists. When I met with Pastor Enoch Adeboye recently, he said his late mother was always saying that fetish people feared C&S because they knew they were powerful.

    “I urge the media to be free and fair when reporting C&S like they are with others. Nollywood practitioners should stop using white garment to portray bad characters. Members must also avoid dragging the name of the church through the mud,” Ajayi added.

    Meanwhile, the Supreme Head, Cherubim & Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria, Dr. Prophet Solomon Alao, appreciated the organizers of the summit. He said, “With all the church has done to provide spiritual and physical supports for humanity, it is unbelievable that many take joy in tagging the church in ungodly names, which negate the essence of the church. We are pleading with them to fear God. I admit that we have a few bad eggs among us but this is not peculiar to our church alone.”

  • Ooni after visit to Buhari: Southwest wants no war

    WAR mongers were told yesterday to stop their message.

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, reflected on the security situation in the land and urged political leaders against blowing issues out of proportion.

    He said the Southwest would not want to experience any war, warning that the drumbeats of war “is sounding loud across the country”.

    The monarch spoke at the State House, Abuja, after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He told reporters that he was at the State House for talks with the President on behalf of traditional rulers on how to improve the security situation.

    The Ooni said: “How to improve security. I came to speak on behalf of other traditional rulers. Before I came here, I discussed with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who has been there for close to 50 years and we cannot take away such a very massive experience in terms of knowing the structure of Nigeria.

    “And also by virtue of that, Alaafin is in constant touch with Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona and very much; we are all on the same page.

    “So, I’m here and I had a discussion that is very fruitful with Mr President about what we all know – the security situation in the country.

    “We made him to know that the issue at hand in the Southwest is real – the issue of insecurity.

    “We live in the remote and rural areas of the southwestern part of the country, most of those bushes and those forests are being occupied by strange people and we have decided to take it upon ourselves to try as much as possible to work with the government to fish them out.

    Read also: Enough is enough of herdsmen killings in Southwest- Ooni

    “Why I’m here again is, everybody is beating the war drum; we don’t want war; who can stand war? We want something better for our youths.

    “Everybody is beating the drum of war; we don’t want war; Who can stand war? We want something better for our youths.

    “We should better use them for something good other than shouting war and anarchy. We don’t want that.

    “We told the President that and he is on the same page with us. Politicians should be careful not to throw things out of proportion.

    “We should make sure things are right. Mr. President has actually given good directives to security chiefs, especially the IG (Inspector-General); they will visit each and every traditional ruler’s palaces that are very sensitive in Southwest with immediate effect, he is going to give that directive.

    “He said that everything must be done to put all security agencies to good use and work with the locals to separate the bad eggs.

    “We need to work very closely with them and every other security agencies in the country, we will put them to use now; it is very important to us to put them to use and work with the locals; it is very important so that we can separate the corn from the chaff.

    He went on: “We shouldn’t keep over hyping it and say what is next is war; no. We know what Mr. President has been saying about southwestern part of the country for a long time, the peace and peaceful co-existence in the Southwest. We still want to keep that; we don’t want any war to happen; we don’t want any attrition; we don’t want any anarchy. So that is the reason why I came to discuss with him.”

    According to Ooni, the President assured him that he will speak on Ruga because it is being taken out of context.

    “Another thing that he assured me, which I will go and give back to much more experienced traditional rulers in the Southwest and our leaders across board, is that he has assured that he will say his own side of the story about Ruga because he wants to let the world and Nigerians, in particular, know the true side of the story because it’s being read out of context.

    “So, we should give him that opportunity to speak as the number one citizen of the country. What is important for me is the youthful exuberance nature of our youths in Nigeria, for them not to take laws into their hands, go into all those places and start to kill and maim. We don’t want that. The drums of war are resonating too much and we are very worried.”

    Reminded that his statement that southwesterners should defend themselves could be misconstrued as beating the drum of war, he said: “I mentioned to you it is real that we have wrong people in our midst. So, when we have wrong people in our midst, how are we not going to defend ourselves? That is why I came here, that in terms of defending ourselves, we need more Federal Government apparatus to defend us because we don’t want to be defenceless; it is very important.

    “It is about the mission of defending ourselves that I am here; we need reinforcement from the Federal Government and I just mentioned to you that the President has said he will give directives to the IG to go and see every nook and cranny of our traditional institutions in the Southwest and that would probably extend across the entire country because he mentioned to me that he worked in Northeast and Northcentral, discussing and working with the traditional institutions.

    “So, for us to defend ourselves is for me to come here to meet Mr. President for us to have reinforcement. We understand our territory more than anybody. We understand our territory very well.  What is important is that everybody in the Southwest right now, we are all on the same page. We don’t want war and we want to work with the government to defend our land.”

    On the stigmatisation of the Fulani across the country, Oba Ogunwusi said: “Well, it is not about stigmatisation, it is about separating the corn from the chaff. A lot of them (bad eggs) are mixed up with the good ones.

    “We are not saying all Fulani are bad; it’s not only about the Fulani;; it’s about the bad miscreants that are even hiding under the name of Fulani.

    “We want to try as much as possible to work with the government right now. They have all the security apparatus. They are meant to defend us. That is what we are looking up to now. We have to stand up and meet with Mr. President and he has given us a listening ear and you’ll see a lot of result, going forward.”

     

  • Ooni’s love for culture and tradition is what attracts me to him

    Solomon Ogbonna is a man of many parts. He is an art collector, mentor to young entrepreneurs and artists, and President, Ohaneze ndi Igbo. Ogheneyoma Omaredjde had an encounter with him when the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi visited his gallery in Lagos.

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi was at your gallery today what does that mean to you?

    I knew him as a young man. He was someone who was dedicated to hardwork and his exploits precede his tenure as Oba. As a king in this time and age, and someone who attaches great value to culture and tradition of his people, especially in the area of artwork, you can’t but admire the Ooni. He is also a well-honoured man within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

    What are some of the principles that guide and inspire you?

    I am very flexible person, and to further break it down, I do go for what I do not need. In addition, I aspire for only things that I know that I have the capacity for. I appreciate people who are making a mark in their chosen fields and do not join the league of people who envy others in things that they know they cannot do. Besides, I know all things in this life come from God.

    Who or what inspired you to go into your line of business?

    I have a passion for arts, our culture and tradition. I want to set up a museum and that has been the motivation for the things that I do.  I have had great interest in African artworks right from a very tender age. At the moment, I have collected a lot of materials and they actually spurred me into doing more for the sector.

    What was it like at the beginning?

    People initially saw it as stress and they kept wondering what I was up to. Some people actually came to me on a number of occasions asking   what I was going to do with these ‘deities’. The interest I have for African art is something no one can explain because it is from my nature.

    What were you doing before you came into the sector and what was the experience like?

    I was a businessman and I have had different experiences. At a point, I travelled to Europe to resume my business, and then I bought properties, built them and sold them. That is a very interesting part of my life and I learnt a number of lessons in the property business that has helped me tremendously in the other things that I do.

    What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered?

    The challenges concerning African art is that they are only few people who know the value and worth of the collection, unlike other parts of the world. We need to enlighten our people about the opportunities and potentials in the sector. This way, people would be ready to invest in the sector and promote the arts.

    How do you relax?

    I relax when I close for the day. You have to work hard, achieve your dreams before thinking about relaxation. Sometimes, I give myself a break and take time off to go on holidays either here in Nigeria or abroad. If I decide to spend my vacation here In Lagos, I would look out for a good place or I could be in places like Imo or Enugu State.

    If you are to advice the young people about the sector in Nigeria, what will you tell them?

    I will tell them to choose what they are passionate about and explore the potentials there. If it is creating artworks that God has given you as a talent, then you must keep developing till you make an impact in the field. When you keep at something, it is a matter of time, before someone discovered you. The most important thing is hardwork, dedication and perseverance.

    If one is not knowledgeable about art, but is interested, what can such person do?

    There is one thing we have to know about Africa arts:  African art is like an identity to the African people. It is not just about making something and it’s only the artist that will know the meaning. Most of our artworks in the olden days are still very great and exciting to behold. Look at this piece of art (he hold up an artwork), it has a story and a message. Most time in those ancient days, there were so many unpardonable failures that we don’t have these days. A lot has changed and it is reflected in the art pieces that you see today.

  • Ooni of Ife to lead delegation to brother’s wedding soon

    WEDDING bells are surely set to chime in Ile-Ife as the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja 11, gets set to lead a delegation to the wedding of his elder brother, Prince Abimbola Adegboyega Ogunwusi and his hearthrob, Funmi Onabamiro, a socialite.

    Expectedly, the bride to be, Onabamiro, is excited and ready for the big day, following a five-year courtship with her beau. Onabamiro is not new to the Ogunwusi family; she was there at the Ooni’s wedding and her intending groom, Prince Ogunwusi, exerted an imposing presence at her birthday party, recently.

    The forthcoming wedding of the duo is billed to manifest as one of Ife kingdom’s grandest social engagements in a long while.

    En route the event, Onabamiro, a graduate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), and Prince Ogunwusi, a magnate, are pulling all the stops to make their union an epochal celebration of love and friendship.

  • Ooni of Ife, Segun Adefila, others for ‘The Dance Workshop’

    OONI of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Co-founder and artistic director of the Crown Troupe of Africa, Segun Adefila, are set to attend ‘The Dance Workshop. Other guests expected at the event include,  Mr Valentine Ozigbo, CEO Transcorp Nigeria Plc, Dancer/Choreographer, Sayquon Keys and award winning veteran dancer, Victor Erebifa Phullu popularly called ‘Sir Vic’.’

    Tagged ‘Dance is serious business 2.0’, the event holds on June 3, 2019 at Landmark Convention Center, Lagos.

    Speaking in a video posted by Kaffy, Oba Ogunwusi said: “Without our culture, we don’t have any identity. That is who we are, our heritage is key to our day to day activities. And that is reason why we must look for means to preserve our heritage and culture. And that is the reason I am supporting the international dance workshop.

    “It is a very beautiful initiative being powered by Kaffy and her entire team. I am very proud to be part of the initiative that will propel our youth in terms of how we can uphold our heritage, culture and tradition in our day to day activities. It is going to turn around the economy of Nigeria.”

    ‘The Dance Workshop’ is an annual dance conference designed to inspire, train and mentor dancers in the art of dance, business of dance and how to establish a profitable career.

    This year’s edition will stimulate dialogue between stakeholders, dance professionals within and outside the country, and other factions of the entertainment industry and its  corporate employers.

  • Ooni’s cultural ambassador advocates unity among women

    The Ooni of Ife’s  cultural ambassador to Queen Moremi Ajasoro (QMA), Princess Ronke Ademiluyi, has advised women to build love among one another to further  boost gender protection.

    Ademiluyi disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the ongoing Queen Moremi Ajasoro musical dramatisation holding at the Terra Kulture in Lagos.

    According to her, women yearn for support from men, they want men to praise them but women themselves are not ready to assist one another to progress.

    She said that it was important for women to understand the need to express love and unity among one another.

    “To earn societal respect, be it in equality or in any other conversation, there is the need for them to show more love and togetherness.

    “This will help them to lift one another up and thus reduce their struggles.

    “Women have to understand that you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar,” she said.

    Ademiluyi noted that it was only where unity exists that one could achieve more and learn how to stop the generational cycle of pull her down syndrome.

    “Action speaks louder than words, it is not just enough to say or use hash tags on social media that preach support among women, it takes real action to achieve this.

    “Some women try to pull others down. If this is happening among women, how do we expect men to support us?

    “ Women need to change that mindset in the first place.

    “And until that narrative changes, we will still be where we are,” she said.

    She said that the gender challenge manifested in the story of the legendary Queen Moremi Ajasoro, where her fellow women frustrated her life until she ended up committing suicide.

    “The story of Queen Moremi Ajasoro, after her victorious return from the land of the attackers of Ife, her later being crowned as the queen consort of Ooni Oranmiyan, ended on a tragic note.

    “Some of the women of Ife ganged up against Moremi, taunted her as being childless and all these frustrations forced her to commit suicide.

    “This was despite the fact that she had given her only son, Oluorogbo, as a sacrifice to Esiminrin River to save the people of Ife.’’

    The princess said that she was also using the story of Moremi to encourage women to support their fellow women instead of pulling them down.

    She said that she was always sad anytime she heard of the extent of disconnect among women, most especially, the rate at which women were attempting to outwit one another.

    Ademiluyi urged women not to involve in any activity that would frustrate their fellow women but should always encourage them.

  • Ooni to grace 1st Africa Tourism Diaspora Conference

    THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (Ojaja 11), will be the special guest of honour at this year’s inaugural edition of the African Tourism Diaspora Conference. The conference will be part of the 15th Akwaaba African Travel Market taking place from September 22  nd to 24th, this year, in Lagos.

    The Oba will be addressing not just the Yoruba nation at the event which takes place September 23rd, but the global African diaspora on bringing African cultures together to grow its people.

    The Ooni in his remark while receiving the Akwaaba team who came to invite him on the side lines of a NATOP visit said:  “There are over 500 million Yoruba’s across the world and the ancestral home of Ile-Ife is ready to welcome them when they visit Nigeria”. He said the African Tourism Diaspora conference is a great platform and timely for this important conversation to be held

    Meanwhile, the organisers of Akwaaba travel fair have announced the partnership deal with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation UK chapter for this year’s event. The partnership was signed last year at the World Travel Market held in London. The Caribbean Tourism Organisation represents the tourism board of the Caribbean Islands.

    At the Caribbean Tourism Organizations (CTO) Annual General Meeting (AGM), in Carlton House Terrace, London, Dein Gbabo, Business Development Manager, Akwaaba Travel Market made a presentation about the upcoming event in September to participants.

    The CTO members were very excited to explore the African market for the very first time this year, and will be using Akwaaba Travel market as a platform to shore up tourists from the continent and also showcase beautiful tourist’s’ site of the Caribbean Islands. The CTO’s participation at the Exhibitions was announced to partners as part of the Caribbean month’s events of 2019.

    The AGM had a good turnout of partners from British Airways, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Antiga and Berbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Dominica, St Vincent’s and the grenadines, Tour operators, Influencers and DMC’s and also featured a panel discussion moderated by Jamie-Lee Abtar BDM CTO UK Chapter on the Topic: Under the Influence; Paving the way for Diversity in Travel. Great panel discussion on the use of influencers for destination marketing, diversity in marketing products to meet product specification and audience and creating experiences and cultural inclusion to travel.

  • Ooni narrates histories behind 401 tourist sites in Ile-Ife

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, late on Wednesday said that there were 401 historical and religious sites in Ile Ife that could be likened to those found in other parts of the world.

    The oba also narrated the mysteries and the histories behind most of the sites that served as the living places for those deities while alive in Ile-Ife.

    He said that was why Ile Ife was and, is still, regarded as the cradle of civilisation.

    Ogunwusi said that these sites in Ile Ife had become tourists’ sites that are now visited by both local and international tourists, visitors and researchers alike.

    Ogunwusi gave the various historical accounts during a press tour of the ancient city ahead of the Tourism Innovation and Development Conference (TIDA) slated for April 24.

    The theme of the conference is: “Impact of Sustainable Tourism Development and Marketing of Tourism Destinations on Host Communities’’.

    The Ooni said that the 401 mystical and mysterious deities, who existed and had their living places in Ile Ife had also defied human science.

    He added that the living places of the deities had all become national monuments and tourists’ sites.

    He listed some of the deities’ living places as those of : ‘Olokun’ , ‘Osun’ and ‘Osara’ .

    Others include those of: ‘Oke Agbanmere’ , ‘Oke Ileri’ , Oduduwa, Moremi, ‘Aje’ , ‘Agidi’ , ‘Orun Oba Ado’ , ‘Orisa Oke’ , ‘Oranmiyan’ groves, and ‘Ile Igbo’.

    According to him, the ‘Olokun’ Grove is the head of the oceans, connecting all the oceans in the world. It used to roar like oceans and changes its colour from blue to green and vice versa.

    “The Oke Ileri Grove symbolises the biblical tower of Babel where the Almighty God scattered everybody’s language, till date people come from across the globe to see it.

    “’Orun Oba Ado’ Grove is where the remains of our past ancestors are buried and we also have the first place in the world where iron, brass and bronze were discovered.

    “’Agidi’ Grove is where a group of Ife people angrily marched to and turned into stones.

    “Also ‘Aje’ Grove is where we have the first market in the world, when people started gathering in the world for business purpose, now known as ‘Igbomekun’ market.

    “Anthropologists have come to test if actually, all these are true and their findings have been positive.

    “’Oke Agbanmere’ Grove is where the first palm tree in the world is situated, Orunmila lives there,’’ the Ooni said.

    He added that each of these sites was being properly preserved to ensure they did not lose their value and continued to attract both local and international tourists.

    Oba Ogunwusi urged Nigerians to visit each of the sites to familiarise themselves with the nation’s rich culture, history and tradition.

    “One needs at least a month to tour all the tourist sites in Ile-Ife because they are many,’’ the monarch said.

  • Without Ifa’s existence, there wouldn’t have been Google, says Ooni of Ife

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, on Wednesday said that the Google originated from the  ‘Ifa’ also known as the oracle.

    The traditional leader said that without ‘Ifa’, Google would not have been created.

    Ogunwusi said this during the press tour of the tourists sites within the ancient city ahead of the Tourism Innovation and Development Innovation Conference (TIDA) slated for April 24.

    The theme of the forthcoming conference is:” Impact of Sustainable Tourism Development and Marketing of Tourism Destinations on Host Communities”.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ‘ Odu Ifa’ refers to the verses of the literary corpus  that are usually consulted by people who believe in its efficacy before embarking on any project or activity.

    It is also a West African religion and system of divination

    Ogunwusi said that ‘Ifa’ as a form divination was all about sourcing for information and knowledge through traditional consultation.

    The traditional ruler said that Google could be regarded as the modern way of sourcing for past information and what was likely to happen in the future too.

    He said that ‘Ifa’ originated several thousands of years ago and is seen as the voice of the almighty God referred to as ” Orisa Oke” which is supreme to other lesser gods.

    ” Without ‘Ifa’, there could never have been the google, so the google is the modern-day version of ‘Ifa’ .

    ” ‘Ifa’ is all about information, getting knowledge from the Almighty God.

    Read also: No Moremi, no Yoruba race, says Ooni

    “Whenever you  search the google for information or knowledge, you are consulting ‘Ifa’;  and without ‘Ifa’, there would not have been the google.”

    He said that ‘Ifa’ was still relevant in contemporary time t saying that was why people were still consulting the oracle for information and solutions to their problems.

    Ogunwusi explained that if the modern day youths and the educated wanted to know the date of any important event, they would search for it from Google.

    ‘That is part of the functions that Ifa’ does for its believers and followers; that is the truth but it may sound strange, ” he said.

    The Ooni who is the custodian of the Yoruba culture and tradition called on Nigerians to embrace traditional worships peculiar to their communities.

    He said that would not stop them from practising other modern religions. (NAN)

  • Ooni, Dangote to grace Olu of Itori 15th anniversary

    A week-long activity to celebrate the 15th coronation anniversary of flamboyant traditional king of Itori, Oba Adul-Fatai Akorede Alamo, has kicked off.

    Starting last Sunday with an evening of praise, Oba Akamo, speaking in his palace, said the event will be rounded off this Saturday with a grand party that will be graced by elite’s obas and businessmen in the country.

    Among expected dignitaries are Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, Alake of Egbaland and businessman Aliko Dangote among others.

    The Olu of Itori Land in Ewekoro local government of Ogun State said, during the said anniversary, the ‘Kings Hall’ built for the people of Itori and a book about his life titled “Journey through time” will be launched.

    “All I want to do is to use the opportunity of this celebration to thank the almighty God for what started 15 years ago and how far he has led me”

    Read also: Southwest won’t play second fiddle again, say Ooni, Fayemi’s aide

    As part of the events, the Oba will also be visiting an orphanage in Ogun with monetary and materials gifts.

    “We have identified people and friends of Itori land and we shall celebrate them with chieftaincy titles too.’ Among them is Mr Tunde Busari, an editor with Tribune Newspapers, Ibadan

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi has recently commended the Olu of Itori, for his total devotion to Yoruba race, especially his efforts at uniting Yoruba traditional leaders.

    Oba Akamo added that Itori Land has witnessed tremendous development since his coronation. “Today, we can boast of a tertiary institution; ICT Polytechnic, many primary and secondary schools. It is unlike my days when many youngsters of Itori had to go to Abeokuta, Ibadan or Lagos for secondary education. When I came to Itori as the new Oba, there were only a few people living in the town. There were about 20 to 30 major families who were living in Itori, but today the town could boast of thousands of people. We thank God. We have a Civic Centre in Itori now that has about 100 ensuite rooms and a sitting capacity of about 1,500 guests. It has a swimming pool and all the facilities that are required for a modern city. God has been so kind to us generally. In a couple of weeks, railway terminals will be coming back to Itori.