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Why we are working tirelessly to connect with other Yorubas outside Nigeria— Oba Ajayi

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Elerinmo of Erinmo, Oba Michael Odunayo AjayiThe Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, led 14 traditional rulers from Yoruba land to Brazil on a tour. The Elerinmo of Erinmo, Oba Michael Odunayo Ajayi was one of the monarchs having made similar trip with the Ooni to the United States of America in the past. In an interview by TUNDE BUSARI, the Elerinmo speaks on the relevance of such outing to the Yoruba nation.

 

You just returned from Brazil alongside other traditional rulers. What is the importance of that trip?

The trip that we embarked on was spiritually and culturally fulfilling. Why do I say that? If you talk of the United Kingdom, you talk about relationship with our colonial masters. There is no slave in the United States of America. There are many Nigerians who have relocated to the UK. When you talk of the US, you talk of few people who were enslaved and gone into the culture of the new world. That’s what America used to be called. But when you talk of Brazil, apart from Nigeria which has the largest concentration of blacks, Brazil comes next. These are the people who were moved away during the trans-Atlantic slave trade several years ago. In Brazil with a population of over 200 million, we can say there would be at least 100 million black people living there. Most of these people have close affinity with the Yorubas. They bear Yoruba names; they employ Yoruba words while greeting, among other aspects of Yoruba cultural heritage. Some people bear Bamgbose. They call Baba. They call Ase.

There is a particular state in Brazil, Bahia State where we discovered that everybody there originated from Yoruba land. Brazil is one of the places where we see ourselves being replicated. For instance, there was a story they told us that while the slaves were being punished that a certain spirit appeared to them and assisted them to fight the slave masters who were maltreating them. When they wanted to honour the spirit, which they never saw or recognized, the image they put up was called zombie. Zombie means somebody you don’t know. When we visited the statue in Rio de Jenario, we discovered it was exactly Ori Olokun, and Nigerians put it there. You can see the similarity.

One thing which the Oonirisa did was to declare Bahia Yoruba capital of the Americans being the place where there is the largest concentration of blacks. We met with different black communities which had lost hope in any probability of reconnecting with their original place. When they saw Oonirisa, they recognised him as their spiritual father.

 

What was the mood of your hosts?

The Afro-Brazilians were extremely excited seeing us among them. They had seen themselves as a people who were nobody; who were mere slaves used from the lower class. But seeing those of us they had left behind, they were free, happy and it brought back a better memory to them. The visits were a reminder that they were actually not slaves but were only enslaved. It is high time they got out of the slave mentality. I believe that was a major thing that was obvious. Of course, the kings and the Oonirisa went there with several African herbs given to them to cure ailments they may have. There is an institute interested in researching into traditional healing; we held several meetings with them. Of course we had several meetings with them. We met cultural and religious places in virtually all the three states visited. Essentially the tour renewed their confidence that they have some hope for the future. We prayed for them, we spoke with them and spoke with government officials on how to improve the lives and condition of living of these people. They won’t be the same again after the visit. That reconnection was good. Here are the people who preserve our culture; they still practise everything.  It was like fathers visiting their children. If you look at the map of the world, you see that between Nigeria and Brazil, it is just a short stretch of ocean that separates us.  We told them that the strength of water that divides us is not as strong as the blood we share because we are all the same.

The synergy between you and the Oonirisa is amazing. What is the common ground?

The Onirisa and I are two young traditional rulers who believe in changing the face of our traditional institution and improving youth development and women empowerment in rural areas so as to eradicate poverty. We share that in common. So it is natural that we must be close.

I have no doubt that my origin is Ile-Ife. It is only natural that I will be close with any Ooni on the throne. I am fortunate that in the Ooni is a listening ear, a compassionate Oba, supportive. The least I can do is to also support him in any advisory capacity and also make myself available whenever the need arises. We are on a mission to move Yoruba race to another level. We all know that everything started in Ile-Ife.  And you know Yoruba people spread across the world; about 600 million people scattered all over the world. It is an opportunity for us to rediscover those people in the diaspora. I can see that his ideas are well articulated. They agree with mine. He is a peacemaker. He has been going round working for peace in Yorubaland. Because of that particular attribute, he is going to achieve it. He is ready to sacrifice to achieve unity of the Yoruba race. Some people think that Yoruba people cannot be united but I am saying it that with the Ooni’s agenda, we are going to achieve it. Here is somebody who does not mind the cost to achieve it in terms of moving around palaces.

So, it is natural we have this kind of relationship because he is accessible. This era is an opportunity for us to build a stronger Yoruba race. And with the Ooni’s efforts so far, there is no doubting the fact that we are going to achieve it, so that the next generation will be proud of their forefathers.

 

How many foreign trips have you made with the Ooni?

I can say very few because this is just a tip of the iceberg. It is just the beginning. We are still going around the world. But it is really not about how many times. It is about the need to rediscover and reclaim our people in the diaspora who seem to have lost their identity. We have to reach out to our people and identify with them and impress it upon them that they have root and Ile-Ife is the cradle of Yoruba race.

 

How do you balance your observance of traditional religion with your faith?

My traditional responsibility as an oba does not affect my faith at all in the sense that traditional religion has no negative impact on my Christian background. I was born a Christian but I am a traditional ruler now. I am the head of all religions: Islam, Christianity and traditional religion. The most important thing is that we all worship the same God. There are no two Gods. He is only one, and that one is whom we all direct our prayers to.

 

What are the changes your town has witnessed since you ascended the throne?

A lot of changes have taken place. Obviously, the town now is under a well-educated, well exposed king. Things are not being done the old ways again. You can see some significant physical changes in the town. A lot of public buildings are being renovated to become more modern. We are working towards a larger infrastructural development that would turn Erinmo to a mega city. It is an all-inclusive rulership. Everybody is involved. There is an open administration. It is not a situation where I will sit here and issue instructions. We set up what we call the elders’ council.

 

 

The post Why we are working tirelessly to connect with other Yorubas outside Nigeria— Oba Ajayi appeared first on Tribune.

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