. My Christian faith no longer permits me to mingle with them- Lawyer
Lade Adewoyin
For failing to lead the annual Ogun cult festival that took place in August, traditional religion adherents in Ile-Oluji have renewed their call on traditionalists all over Nigeria to hunt down a Christian lawyer, Mr. Akintunde Omobobami.
The adherents of the native cult group reportedly threatened not only to kill him, but also exterminate his family lineage.
Ogun is the god of iron in Yoruba race and Ile-Oluji, a town seen as highly rooted in traditions, observes her festival annually with cult followership, oblations, riotous displays and the beheading of dogs and this festival has been a major source of tourism to this ancient town as people from all walks of life converge on Ile-Oluji every August to celebrate it.
Tunde Omobobami’s late father, High Chief Ogundayo Omobobami, was a respected figure in the traditional religion, and a member of the Nigerian Traditionalists and Herbalists Association. He served as the Chief Priest of Ogun diety in lle-Oluji until his death in 2013.The traditional position has continued to be vacant since the recent death of the eldest son of the family, Olugbenga Omobobami, as none of the sons of the late traditional figure is interested in stepping into the ancestral position. The lawyer was selected recently to pick up the mantle of his late father but has rejected the offer on the grounds that he is a born-again Christian and particularly, that he is a Deacon in one of the Christian denominations in the country.
But our correspondent, who witnessed the last Ogun festival in the community two weeks ago, recalled that adherents of the cult group were distraught, complaining that the festival lost its potency and allure because Omobobami, who was supposed to lead the festival as chief priest, went into hiding, refusing to perform his traditionally required role and people are even more afraid to be part of the festival ,our correspondent also noticed heavy presence of security operatives and tried to speak with few of them but they refused to comment for security reasons.
Speaking on the fallout of the low-key festival, one of the adherents, who identified himself as Mr. Adewale Ogunyemi, said, “What this young man who calls himself Ebenezer Omobobami has done is a sacrilege and we will not forgive him. We had given him a long rope to pull but he ended up abusing the privilege.
“Look at what should have been a splendid festival; see what it had turned out to be simply because one single family held the community to ransom in the name of one foreign religion.
“Now, we will go all out looking for him and whatever he believes in will disappoint him.”
Complementing him, another adherent, Mrs. Aina Ogunniran, threatened that anybody linked with the Omobobamis would be made to face the wrath of the god, and she begged herbalists across the traditional circle to help appease the god to forestall further calamities on the town.
During last year’s Ogun festival in the community, however, some restive members of the cult group had put the family home of the Omobobamis to the torch and injured a lot of family members.
Omobobami had, a few months ago, written to the Nigeria Police Authorities complaining of serious threat to his life by the traditional cult group, but till date, the death threat, it was gathered, had persisted.
He has reportedly decamped from his Lagos home and is currently in hiding, to safeguard his life and those of his family members.
