Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has reaffirmed his position on the family ties between Yoruba and Igbo nations, saying the two major ethnic groups in Nigeria are inseparable members of the same family
Ooni Ogunwusi stated this at the weekend at his Ile-Oodua palace in Ile-Ife, while receiving the Lagos state president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Solomon Ogbonna who accompanied the delegation of African Farmers and Cultural Organisation on a courtesy visit to the palace. According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary, (CPS), to Ooni, Moses Olafare, Oba Ogunwusi said: “I am so happy to have the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State President here as part of this empowerment initiative.
“Lagos is part of Yoruba land; we are all one; we are all the same; the history is there; the facts are there, and we should actually put these facts out. Why are we fighting?” “This is your root. I said it recently; some of our Yoruba kinsmen with ignorance of our history came out with nugatory bereavement of my position on the family ties between Yoruba and Igbo people. We have to say the truth and the truth must set us all free; we are blood brothers. We should be inseparable. Please, feel at home in Yoruba land and respect your Yoruba brothers and sisters too”
“We still have House of Igbo right in this palace till date. We call it Ile Igbo up till now. Our ancestors are buried and transfigured there. That is where kolanut was first discovered and nurtured. The Igbos are still the biggest consumers and users of Kolanut, which is only planted in Yorubaland till date. Can the Igbos do without kolanut?
“The ancient Igbo House is one of the most sacred places in this palace till date. One of my brother kings – Aka Arogundabi, from Iremo quarters saw the mysteries of House of Igbo(Aka-ri-Igbo). Till date, Akarigbo of Remoland still sees House of Igbo as a common heritage of his forebears,” Ooni explained.
The African foremost monarch maintained that he is a reincarnated spirit of his ancestors, and urged the Olugbo of Ugbo in Ondo State, Oba Fredrick Akinrutan Obateru to visit the Ile Oodua in Ile-Ife for proofs and evidences on the Igbo/Yoruba ties and also various tribes of Igbo ancestory in Ife.
“We have a lot of discoveries that the Igbo and Yoruba people once lived together as one family and this will be revealed to the public. We should look at things that connect us together not those that separate us”
“I am a reincarnated spirit of our ancestors; my name is Enitan, which means a child of stories and mysteries. I had come to this world before. That’s why I am Babatunde also and I am back again to establish the truth and nothing but the truth and the truth will set us all free.” “We are all the same. We have about four sets of sub ethnic Igbos in Yoruba land when we were all together like we have sub ethnic clan in Yoruba race. We have the Egbas, Ijebus, Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, Itsekiris; they are all Yorubas but at the end of the day they belong to the Aku Aaro Oojiire(Omoluwabi ethnic clan).
“The Ifa corpus that brought our ancestors from Heaven were and still are Ogbe Meji, Ogbe Ofun and Ofun Meji. While Oduduwa clan had Ogbe meji, the Oranfe (Sango) and Obatala clans had Ogbe Ofun and Ofun Meji; respectively. Our generations thereafter became intertwined with different roles and responsibilities directly from the Almighty God who sent all of the brothers to the world. The facts are there; so, it will take the deep efforts to fact find all these facts and connect all the dots together”.
“So, people that don’t know the story, I’m not trying to cast blame on anybody but if they don’t know they should ask. They say one Igbo is different from the other, it is true we have about four categories of Igbos; we have Igbo Ile, Igbo Oko the Iwinrin sub ethnic clan and Ado na Udu. All make up to the unified Igbo clan”.
“There were different clans of Igbos that left from Ife to establish their kingdoms. One of them rebelled back and started coming to cause mayhem in Ife (where they originally came from) and that is the Olugbo kingdom. We should all come together and forget what happened in the past”.
“I mentioned that the Igbos started the spirit of profitability, “Aje” in Ife at Igbomekun market (known as Oja Ife too). I implore you to tell the entire Ndigbo that you did not come from Jew; the Jews came from you and that is the truth.
“Let us all reconcile differences and look at things that connect us rather than things that divide us”, Ooni added.
On his part, the President of Ohaeneze in Lagos State assured Ooni Ogunwusi that the Igbo people hold him in high esteem and will always appreciate his efforts in unifying all the races in Nigeria to peacefully co-exist as one inseparable family, calling him an uncommon bridge builder who is well loved and respected across Africa. Chairman of Ogun Osun River Basin Authority and a member of the African Farmers And Cultural Organization(AFCO), Hon. Sola Lawal had earlier introduced the delegation which included its president, Prince Chukwunwike Esiole and Mrs.Yetunde Babajide as its South-West Officiating Ambassador .
Lawal said they were visiting the Ooni in appreciating his agricultural empowerment for the youths and his efforts promoting made-in- Nigeria products which is in tandem with what AFCO stands for with its theme “Nigeria eat what we produce! Produce what we eat”.
