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| Ooni of Ife; source: informationng.com |
(Pendulum by Dele Momodu)--Fellow Nigerians, the controversy surrounding the health
status of The Ooni of Ife would have been unnecessary if many of us had
understood or respected the Ife tradition. Ile-Ife being the cradle of
civilisation is steeped in endless myths and the ancient town parades countless
pantheons for about 401 deities who are worshipped all year round.
Ile-Ife and
Benin City cherish their culture and never joke with tradition. They revere
their kings and hold on fastidiously to the belief that these kings can never
die, they can only retire to the ceiling, a concept that is probably alien to
members of the modern generation. This is why it is possible for a powerful
king to depart this terrestrial space unannounced for months by the traditional
institutions. The people have accepted a system that may seem abnormal to
foreigners but not to us.
What has made The Ooni’s case so contentious is because
the news of his departure escaped and exploded from abroad and our Ife Chiefs
are righteously miffed about the antics of some busy-bodies who seem hell-bent
on rendering them irrelevant. This is unacceptable no matter how modern the
world as become. Traditions the world over are either kept or wholly
jettisoned. There are sacred rites or protocols that are observed and performed
by the Catholics at The Vatican. For example, there cannot be an emergence of a
new Pope without the appearance of the famous white smoke. It is the same for
the Muslims who must search, find and sight the moon before proceeding on
starting or ending the Ramadan. Modernity has not been able to obliterate those
age-old traditions.
