The crowd was ecstatic as they pushed forward to have a glimpse of the Ooni of Ife’s emergence from seclusion after seven days with the crown, Ade Aare .
Ooni emerged with the crown, which some say is about 100kg, while others maintain it is about the weight of a bag of rice . He walked unsteadily perhaps due to the weight of the crown or maybe he was in spiritual trance, but he was supported by the Emese . Ooni with the Aare crown while walking to perform the annual rituals are the major points of the Olojo festival .
“With our rich natural, human resource and culture, if we are united, we can conquer the world and the continent would reclaim its rightful place globally”, he said. He said, “most importantly, aside the fact that preservation of our culture is germane, the joy of those that attend this event is that they prayed and their supplication is granted by Olodumare. Olojo Festival is not just about showcasing our culture and tradition, it is deep. It is our life and the oldest festival in the world. It is also a festival we use to perform rites to Olodumare for the peace and growth of our lands.
“It is better if there is a barricade from the king’s palace to Okemogun and Orisa Aje. There should be an iron barricade to forestall the ugly incident where the crowds are pushing to get closer to the King while the Lokoloko used their canes on them indiscriminately. In the process of creating fears on the crowd, they do not only injured people, for instance a photographer was descended upon by 5 to 6 of the lokoloko, just because he was trying to get good shots.
The Federal Government has temporarily suspended the N-Power Programme of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to give way for proper audit of the programme. The Federal Government kick-started the N-Power scheme on June 8, 2016 to address issues of youth unemployment and help to increase social development. The scheme was created…