It has been my desire to call the attention of the general public to the happenings during the celebration of Oro Festival in Idi Iroko, lpokia Local Government, Ogun State. I have to witness a day from the seven days of the festival in August, 2007 This was on the invitation of a concerned citizens of the town.
Though the devotees, mostly the indigenes, claim ed that the festival is a way of appeasing their gods, it is often practiced in an unfriendly manner to the entire community
This is because, during this period, women are locked up for days while some men, adult dance naked in broad daylight. One cannot but wonder the relevance of a religion that encourages barbaric act against God and humanity in general.
From the reports over the years, it has always resulted into raping, looting and other acts of hooliganism;. even though it is claimed that only men are allowed to come out, certain situations arise when male folks equally get attacked. There have been instances of some transporters and okada riders used as agents in transporting females down to Idi Iroko so as to make them fall victim.
Additionally, it is generally believed that for one to be successful in the town, he or she must to belong to a cult. I pray that the occurrences in Okija shrine in Anambra do not repeat itself at Idiroko. I want to say that Oro festival at Idi Iroko is totally against both Christianity and Islam. For example, Friday that they usually start off the celebration is the day Muslims go to mosque and many Christians gather for prayers – night crusades. Worse still, the festival disrupts worship services till Sunday.
Noteworthy is the skyrocketing price of food items and other various goods especially one or two days to the festival when people rush to market to purchase food items because they will be indoors for days. As expected, market women would seize the opportunity to inflate prices. Also all shops are locked up to avoid looting. Therefore all business activities are paralyzed.
It should be noted that all these do not only affect the innocent indigenes and other citizens from other parts of Nigeria, but foreigners from Benin Republic, Togo and other countries. The authorities, especially Ogun State government, should do something to this situation. Even the staff, especially women, in government sectors like the Customs, Immigration, National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have always made the government to lose a huge amount of money.
Many religious bodies, especially the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have appealed on many occasions to the concerned authority. They have sued for peace through the police, which in turn had intervened, but the situation has remained unchecked. Now should we all fold our hands and allow such festivals such as this to continue? I don’t believe so.
Though the devotees, mostly the indigenes, claim ed that the festival is a way of appeasing their gods, it is often practiced in an unfriendly manner to the entire community
This is because, during this period, women are locked up for days while some men, adult dance naked in broad daylight. One cannot but wonder the relevance of a religion that encourages barbaric act against God and humanity in general.
From the reports over the years, it has always resulted into raping, looting and other acts of hooliganism;. even though it is claimed that only men are allowed to come out, certain situations arise when male folks equally get attacked. There have been instances of some transporters and okada riders used as agents in transporting females down to Idi Iroko so as to make them fall victim.
Additionally, it is generally believed that for one to be successful in the town, he or she must to belong to a cult. I pray that the occurrences in Okija shrine in Anambra do not repeat itself at Idiroko. I want to say that Oro festival at Idi Iroko is totally against both Christianity and Islam. For example, Friday that they usually start off the celebration is the day Muslims go to mosque and many Christians gather for prayers – night crusades. Worse still, the festival disrupts worship services till Sunday.
Noteworthy is the skyrocketing price of food items and other various goods especially one or two days to the festival when people rush to market to purchase food items because they will be indoors for days. As expected, market women would seize the opportunity to inflate prices. Also all shops are locked up to avoid looting. Therefore all business activities are paralyzed.
It should be noted that all these do not only affect the innocent indigenes and other citizens from other parts of Nigeria, but foreigners from Benin Republic, Togo and other countries. The authorities, especially Ogun State government, should do something to this situation. Even the staff, especially women, in government sectors like the Customs, Immigration, National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have always made the government to lose a huge amount of money.
Many religious bodies, especially the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have appealed on many occasions to the concerned authority. They have sued for peace through the police, which in turn had intervened, but the situation has remained unchecked. Now should we all fold our hands and allow such festivals such as this to continue? I don’t believe so.
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