It was a nostalgic experience for stakeholders as Oke- Ila Orangun Parapo in Ifedayo Local Government area of Osun State inaugurated its National Conference on the History and Culture of the community to chronicle and trace the origin of the town’s lineages, culture, norms, traditional institutions and other factors associated with the existence of the domain amidst happiness and joy.
The programme which was held last Thursday at the community ultra-modern multi-purpose hall attracted the presence of important dignitaries from all walks of life like traditional rulers, technocrats, academics, historians, intelligentsia, scholars and other individuals with impeccable pedigrees.
In his speech, the community monarch and the chief host, Oba (Dr) Adedokun Abolarin said, “We are here because we want to know how important and significant the history of our community is”.
The traditional ruler who stated that there should be ways of preserving every community traditions and norms, said they organised the programme to remind, expose, enlighten and educate Indigenes of the town and all igbominas in Diaspora about their lineage, history of their existence, their ways of living and so on and promised to do all he could to preserve the heritage.
Oba Abolarin further argued that he believed at the end of the programme, sons and daughters of the community would be able to know their ancestral deities, culture, values and origin of the progenitor.
He, however, appreciated all and sundry that stormed the town to grace the occasion he described as pacesetting and assured that, by the grace of God, the projects would be fruitful at the end of the day.
According to him, different committees had been put in place to ensure the success of the conference and that, in no distance time, its productivity would come to the open.
Speaking on the topic entitled: “Oke-ila Orangun: the past in the living present”, at the event, Professor Siyan Oyeweso of the Department of History and International Studies, Osun state university, advised the monarch of the community, Oba (Dr.), Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin and Oke -Ila people to sit down and write an authorized version of their history and document all he has said about the history of Oke-Ila Orangun, coronation pamphlets, King lists and other things that people know about Oke-Ila’s history and turn it to digital copies for many people to access it and also have oral recording of it.
“History is wide, it is beyond boundaries, it helps us to know our linage, how interrelated we are and through history we are able to mingle and live together for peaceful coexistence among us.”
According to him, “History of a king is different from the history of a town. The religious belief of any king should not supersede that of the traditional one because the throne which he is occupying is a traditional institution and it has been in existence before the advent of Christianity or Islam.”
“Kingmakers should ensure that any king that will be enthroned enters what is known as “Ipebi” and first spend 30 days there before being enthroned as a king. Nowadays, some kings do not spend a day there and later they start misbehaving. Let us not forget our history, customs and traditions”.
He, however, queried: “Do you have any place reserved purposely for burying dead kings called “Baara” in Oke-Ila? I know you don’t have. All kings that have passed away in Oyo empire are buried at “Baara”.
“Also, let us learn from Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi who within his palace, created what is called royal museum in which you will see the pictorial images of the all past Ooni of Ife Museum, royal mausoleum, ancestors worship, ancient festivals because they all made up what we call history of the town.”
He, however, commended the giant step taken by the community’s traditional ruler in making the inauguration a successful one saying,”this is the first time I am seeing a King in Yoruba land organizing a program like this to let people know about how history is being made and also tell others about their history. When Kabiyesi wanted to start, he went to one of my boss Prof Isaac Adeagbo who is the first to thought me about history and knowledge.
“If any king is to be crowned, it is a way through which he will be chosen for peace to reign. Nowadays, it is the king that is servicing the people of his town because the people have many challenges.
In his own contributions at the event, Professor Olutayo Adesina of the Department of History, University of Ibadan in his paper titled: “Romancing the past and Creating the future: Oke- Ila-Orangun manifest design, exceptionalism, and contemporary public memory, pointed out that, “Oke-Ila is one of the important towns in Yoruba land because historically they had direct migration from Ile-Ife which is the source of all Yoruba race.”
‘History is in two parts because it can be used positively or negatively. Let us all unite because united we stand, divided we fall. Let’s start telling our children about our history, customs and traditions now. For instance, history made it known that, if a house got burnt in a town or village, a sacrifice must be made to avert evil occurrence but nowadays, we just burnt down houses anyhow without minding what might happen after.”
“It is significant for us to look at what constituted Oke-Ila’s identity, and history, what gave people courage in the land, and why did the rulers of Oke-Ila become hardworking?
“Why do we have to know our town history? The importance of knowing our history is to have deep knowledge of the past occurrences, either good or bad”.
“Today, we complain about the present bad situation of Nigeria. It will be so because we lack the deep knowledge and understanding of our history. Let us all unite because united we stand, divided we fall. Let’s start telling our children about our history, customs and traditions”, he submitted.
Also, the state commissioner for Culture And Tourism, Adebisi Obawale, remarked that, “We all know how important what we are doing here today is to the government of Osun State and the town. In 2019, UNESCO gathered people in Africa together to train them on how to present and make our tourist sites worth being recognized by UNESCO. Ilayiara here in Oke-Ila was one of the three places they visited then. This signifies that the Osun government believe that the history of Ilayiara must not be forgotten.”
“In 2020, we launched the master plan of culture and tourism in Osun and we proposed that Karele Odua village will be located in Ilayiara. We are also proposing Ilayiara as one of the heritage sites for the national or further enlistment of UNESCO.
He, however, described the programme as very useful and in accordance with the plan of the government assuring that the government is ready to support the community at any time on it.
Credit: tribuneonlineng.com
