Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has been under criticism for travelling round countries since coming to the thrown but he has put up deaf ear on the negative things being said to him.
The Oba cautioned people to stop misrepresenting the importance of festivals and deities celebrated in the ancient city of Ile-Ife and all parts of Africa.
He was speaking at the 2016 celebration of Oranfe the god of fire in Ile Ife, Osun state on October 26th, where he noted that some of the deities being worshiped in Africa have their roots in holy books like the Bible and Quran.
“Our people really need to be enlightened. A lot of these festivals have been misconstrued, misrepresented and demonized as if we are idol worshippers. We are not idol worshippers. We are rather believers in nature. I am not saying the commandments of God should not be adhered to, but we must know that all these dieties are messengers of God.
“They represent nature. Nothing can be done without nature regardless of our religion be it Islam or Christianity or even traditional. We only honour nature because we are all integra part of it, and not worship idols. Some of the dieties we worship have roots in the holy books. We are also following the instructions of God needed for the sustenance of mankind as everybody, including powerful leaders rely on nature to survive.”
