Kayode Olawuni, Ife
Ifa Festival is one of the most pominent traditional festivals celebrated annually in the ancient City of Ife(Ile-Ife), the cradle and spiritual headquarters of the entire Yoruba race, one of the largest ethnic groups in the African Continent, with dominance in South-West Nigeria.
The festival is of a particular relevance to the ancient City as it signifies a home coming for all Ifa adherents globally in form of religious tourism and annual holly pilgrimage. This year's edition of the Festival is not in anyway an exception as the City once again welcomed thousands of Ifa worshippers from around the world to Oke Itase, the seat of the World Ifa Temple.
The Arole Oduduwa and Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi, Ojaja II has at this year's celebration reiterated the sacredness of the Ifa voice to mankind on challenging matters facing them in their daily living.
According to the foremost traditional ruler and Co-Chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers Nigeria(NCTRN), Ifa has always and will continue to serve a vibrant medium of communication between man and the supreme being Olodumare.
"In line with my mission of guarding the tremendous efficacy of our culture as passed down to us by our forefathers through ages, over the last 7 days, I led descendants of Oduduwa globally to celebrate a week long Ifa Festival. Ifa remains the sacred voice of Eledumare which lightens our ways, offers us the pathways to all righteousness and guides us into all truths.
"In recollection, two years ago Ifa clearly warned us of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, Ifa warned us about unrest in the nation which we all turned deafening ears. This year, Ifa is warning us again about the truth of our national challenges, unchecked great injustice, tremendous hardship etc. Since time immemorial, Ifa has been with 100% predictions accuracy", Ooni said.
Drawing from the great lessons and teachings of Ifa as a compendium of knowledge and wisdom, Ooni Ogunwusi called on all citizens to put on the garment of motivation and determination in a quest to building a strong verile nation and commit themselves to living exemplary lives worthy of emulation.
"I challenge us all to find common motivation and determination for Nigeria as a nation, tackling the root causes of poverty and insecurity, human right abuses and addressing the socio-economic instability by building good governance that we all can cherish. We must choose between courage and timidity, strengths over fear, and amplifying our voices and resilience ambitions for good leadership that our young people seek.
"History beckons on us today to build a prosperous nation by honouring the humbled sacrifices of our founding fathers and leave enduring legacies for the generations to come", Ooni concluded.
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