BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The Principal Priest of OsunOsogbo, a sacred sanctuary of the traditional religion along the banks of Osun River, Chief Olayiwola Adigun, has declared that Nigerian traditional rulers who project Christian and Islamic religions to the detriment of the African traditional religion will experience grave punishments by the deities.
Adigun, popularly known as Baba Olosun of Osogboland, in an exclusive interview with The Point at his gallery and cultural centre in Okinni town, Osun State, stressed that monarchs would pay the price for sidelining the traditional religion they are expected to promote and practise for Christianity and Islam, which he termed “foreign religions.”
The priest attributed the challenges being faced by Nigeria to the abandonment of traditional religion by traditional rulers and Nigerians at large, saying that the nation’s problems would subsist “until our traditional rulers and other citizens return and embrace our traditional religion.”
Adigun, who has been the Chief Priest of Osun-Osogbo in the last 40 years, accused monarchs of being hypocritical as they parade themselves as “Born Again Christians” and “Alfas” in the public, but dine and wine with oracles and deities in private.
According to the traditionalist, most traditional rulers pretend to be Pastors and Imams in order to get financial rewards from countries and individuals, maintaining that such acts portend great danger for the thrones they occupy and their domains. While accusing some monarchs of being double-faced, in terms of religion, Adigun said the reason the traditional religion had not gained the attention of governments like Christianity and Islam was because the traditional institution and others who were supposed to promote it had been debasing it by their actions and words.
He said, “I believe that kings who proclaim themselves in public as pastors or Imams or Christians and Muslims are core traditionalists because they can’t separate themselves from the deities. It will boomerang if they try to disconnect themselves with the oracles. It will bounce back on their children because they didn’t follow the tradition.
“Culture can change but tradition can never change. Because of these two foreign religions (Christianity and Islam), people are projecting one image and following another inside of themselves. They are doing this because of what they stand to benefit. For instance, Oluwo (Oluwo of Iwoland) has been castigating Orisa (deities) because he is earning a lot from it. But inside him, he is a traditionalist.”
Asked whether the oracles are not angry with traditional rulers who attend Churches and Mosques, the Osun-Osogbo priest said, “When the sacrilege is being committed, no one will know but when the consequences of the taboo will come, everyone will know. It’s a taboo for traditional rulers to debase their religion and project foreign religions. Not only a taboo for the traditional rulers, it is also a taboo for all Yorubas and Nigerians who are projecting foreign religions. They will pay for it.
“All Africans who are projecting Christianity and Muslim religions will pay for it. Many of these kings are already paying for it. Check their lives, nothing is working for them. Even as a country, we are paying for it. Since we got independence, we have been struggling to make Nigeria work but it is not working. It means something is wrong somewhere. When you are not doing things correctly, you will pay for it.
“The Japanese are embracing their religion, see the way they are today. The Indians are also doing theirs, check their growth. They didn’t jettison their tradition. They only embraced foreign things, not foreign culture, not foreign religions. But, we Africans, we embraced foreign culture, we embraced foreign religion, and this is where we are. Which country in Africa is good today? Sudan is currently at war, Ethiopia is at war. That means no peace and it means we are paying the price which shouldn’t be so.
“When a Hindu was appointed Prime Minister in Britain, he did ritual publicly before moving into his office. But, if Governor Adeleke should call Ogun or Ifa before entering office, people will castigate him that he has become a cultist. We don’t know what we are doing. We don’t have education, we only have certificates; that is the problem we have in this country.”
“When former Governor Aregbesola gave us Isese Day public holiday then, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Osun State, Ogundiya, said Aregbesola was supporting “devilish people.” Senator Iyiola Omisore also said the same thing. That was why I asked the people not to vote for Omisore when he was contesting governorship position because he said we were devilish people.
“Omisore quickly sent somebody to me to beg me, but I said he should talk to me himself. He called me two hours after and denied saying such. He begged me then and promised to prioritise the welfare of traditional worshippers if he won the election then. These our people are hypocrites. The point is that tradition can’t be killed. It’s better we embrace it for our growth,” he noted.
