Traditional rulers in Yoruba land have been warned against ridiculing traditional religion in order for them to guide against being stripped of their honours.
In the same vein, theatre practitioners were cautioned to refrain from presenting traditional worship in a way that could make the public have negative impression about traditional religion or look down on Ifa and its adherents.
The Chief Priest of Ifa Worldwide, Awodotun Aworeni, gave the caution on Thursday in Ibadan at a press conference on the essence of the annual World Ifa Festival organised by the International Council for Ifa Religion in conjunction with the Araba and Oluawo Forum.
He urged governors in the South-West to emulate former Governor Rauf Aregbesola by declaring a day to celebrate Isese Day.
Aworeni, who noted that the effect of COVID-19 would have been worse in the land if Ifa adherents had not performed the cleansing rituals prescribed by the Ifa Oracle, said, “Ifa will be cast on the early hour of Sunday, June 6 for the Yoruba New Year 2021/2022 at Òkè-itase, lle-Ife, State of Osun. The messages of Ifa will then be relayed to everybody.
“Every conscious person can bear witness to the efficacy of the messages in the past. Fresh in the memory is the message of Ifa in 2019/2020 which stated categorically that there would be pandemic.
“Had we not made rituals, the situation would have been really terrible.
“Another instance was from the messages of Ifa last year which warned us about imminent wars. Had we not made the ‘ebo’ (rituals), the series of crisis that engulfed the society would have been more brutal.”
He also said that if worshippers would continue to make appeasements, peace would again once again return to the country.
