By RhemDy News
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, has stated that the Oyo Yoruba traditional religion is vital and indigenous mechanism for checkmating insecurity in the country.
Oba Owoade maintained that utilising spiritual intelligence, communal oath-taking, and localised intelligence networks will work alongside conventional authorities to deter kidnappings and restore regional stability.
Alaafin, in a statement on Sunday by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, stated this on Saturday at the grand finale of this year's Egungun festival held at the ancient Palace of Oyo City.
He noted that the imperative for utilising the Oyo Yoruba traditional framework in tackling the country's security challenges was multifaceted.
"Traditionalists and sacred practitioners employ spiritual vigilance and ancestral invocations to protect territories, particularly securing forests and rural flashpoints against bandits and kidnappers. While indigenous groups integrate deeply with local hunters and farmers' societies.
"Their intimate knowledge of local terrain allows them to track criminal elements effectively, serving as vital community-based vigilance structures," he noted.
The foremost monarch stressed that just as traditional altars and deities (Òrìṣà) are often used to administer binding oaths, breaking these oaths in Yoruba tradition
attracts severe spiritual consequences against betrayal, banditry, and corruption.
He added that the Oyo Yoruba religion anchors societal ethics in Ìwà (good character), respect for elders, and communal harmony.
"Promoting these values addresses the moral laxity often seen as a root cause of civil unrest and political corruption. Hence, the formal integration of these indigenous security and intelligence frameworks into the country's broader state and federal security architecture," the monarch noted.
Speaking on the theme of this year's Egungun festival: "Call Of The Ancestors For The Protection Of Yorubaland", the paramount ruler advocated urgent integration of traditional institutions and native intelligence into the country's National Counter-Terrorism Strategy as a necessary component of a holistic approach to addressing country's complex security challenges.
He submitted that traditional rulers are well positioned at the grassroots to gather intelligence on unknown persons, suspicious activities, and potential threats.
"Native intelligence complements formal intelligence mechanisms by providing crucial local context, knowledge of the terrain, and insight into local customs and nuances, which is vital for effective counter-terrorism operations," he said.
Oba Owoade also charged citizens to be creative towards repositioning the Yoruba values and using the cultural heritage to the people's best advantage.
"A properly packaged Yoruba cultural celebration will no doubt call the attention of the world to the Pacesetter State as the home of culture, and in no time, we will be a Mecca of Yoruba religion which is being widely accepted and practiced in the African Diaspora’’.
The traditional ruler stressed that Yoruba civilisation is one of the enduring legacies today and most suited African culture to attract the attention of the world.
He added that unlike others, Yoruba civilisation has Ifa as its system of knowledge and religion which is widely accepted and practiced in other parts of the world, especially among the Africans in the Diaspora.
Other speakers at the event include the representative of the Minister of Culture and National Orientation, Mr. Adeniyi Odekanyin; representative of Oyo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun, and Professor Akinkunmi from the Faculty of Arts and Culture, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo.
No comments:
Post a Comment