UNESCO, Japan to preserve Ifa divination system

[Ade Oyegbola]

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article24

Thursday 21 December 2006

UNESCO, Japan to preserve Ifa divination system
From Stella Agbala, Abuja

AS part of efforts to support the preservation and promotion of the
cultural heritage of Nigeria, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Japanese Government yesterday
signed Trust-in-Fund for the safeguarding of Ifa Divination System.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Prof. Babalola Borishade, stated that
it was under the
programme of UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of
humanity in November 2005 that the Ifa Divination system was proclaimed.

The minister said: "According to UNESCO, the Ifa Divination System which
makes use of an extensive corpus of text and mathematical formula, is
practised among Yoruba communities and by the African Diaspora in the
Americas and the Caribbean.

"The word Ifa or Orumila, the mystical figure is regarded by the Yoruba
as the deity of wisdom and intellectual development. Indeed, the Ifa
Divination System rightly belongs to the universal heritage of mankind."

Borishade praised UNESCO and the Japanese Government for the project,
promising that they would find the Trust-in-Fund a worthwhile venture.

The Japanese ambassador said his home government would make effort to
keep and transfer the culture treasure of Nigeria to the next generation.

Speaking earlier, the UNESCO Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Abhimanju
Singh, said: "I'm extremely grateful for the support of the Japanese
government so that UNESCO's expatriates could support the proposal and
initiative of Nigerian government.

"We would try and implement it to the best of our abilities under the
leadership of the minister and in partnership with the Japanese
government and we hope that we will be able to get more support as we
demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in this particular project."

[Adeniran Adeboye]

I hope that we are on guard. Our experts should look out for maximum
benefit for our own people. I hope we do not end up selling the house
of Orunmila to the highest bidder.
UNESCO and Japan already know what they want from this deal. Do we?

Adeniran Adeboye

[Dr. Valentine Ojo]

This is what the Japanese are doing for us - helping us preserve our own
culture, while we are busy emulating, embracing and copy-catting the
cultures of other peoples - the Islamic culture of the Arabs, and the
Christian culture of the Europeans.

Some 50 - 100 years down the road, the Japanese will someday return to
"teach" us about Ifa divination.

Are we noit really ashamed of ourselves? Or do we maybe really have any
sense of shame at all?

Did they not come to us some years back, to "invent" pand-o-yam for us to
help make the pounding of yams into "iyan" easier, though the Japanese do
not eat iyan?

When shall we wake up to our own god-assigned resposnisbility - as
guardians and custodians of the Yoruba Language and Culture?

When shall will stop being copy-cats of others?

Ire o! Odun a ya abo fun gbogbo wa!

Dr. Valentine Ojo
Tall Timbers, Maryland
***********************

[Ojo-Ade, Femi]

Eyin enia mi gbogbo,
Mo sese ka irohin yi nipa Ifa Divination System. O ye ki a so oro shiun ni pa e.
Now, it is interesting, indeed, that Nigeria seems to be blowing its horns while throwing out its bloated chest over the preservation of the System, and also intriguing that Japan is involved. UNESCO, yes, since the organization brings together all countries and attempts to valuate various cultures.
Our representative in Paris, Professor Omolewa, in conjunction with my brother in struggle, Professor Olabiyi Yai (Benin's UNESCO ambassador), have been at the forefront of efforts to emphasize and promote Yoruba and other African cultures. Before Ifa, Gelede has enjoyed a place of honor at UNESCO. One must also note the work of Wande Abimbola, ex-Ife VC.
The fact is that Nigeria really does not give a hoot about Ifa. The incessant grandstanding of the fundamentalist rulers bearing either the burden of the cross or the crescent and doing everything to nullify/stultify the existence/growth of national religions and cultures, should make those interested in the preservation of our culture take a deep breath and open their eyes. Wande Abimbola was once the Nigerian President's special adviser on culture, but I remain bewildered about his appointrment and summary disengagement.
So the story goes on and on about the imperialistic tendencies of an alienated rulership towards our culture and heritage. I hope that the Yoruba group is giving serious thoughts to how to truly keep our culture alive, and well. Our disaporic families are doing their bit, proudly living the culture and using it is a means of existence and survival, not squirming with shame at the very notion that they might be deemed to be "barbaric worshippers of stone and wood and animals"...
The honorable minister that represented Nigeria at the UNESCO-Japan event probably knows next to nothing about Yoruba culture. He spoke "according to UNESCO"!
Ire o.
Femi Ojo-Ade
________________________________

[JFAKI...@aol.com]

I do believe that in order not to suffer this kind of ignominy 50 years
from now, we have come up with a group where we can all begin to
address these issues NOW. That association is AYOG. We all have to
start to ACT and WORK to preserve our heritage ourselves.

What I think the Japanese want to do is to get a few Yoruba people
(EXPERTS) together and award GRANTS to them to COMPILE for them the
literature and poetry of IFA. Once this is done, they can then teach
this to US in our colleges and universities. At that juncture, we will
accept it without feeling that we are being corrupted or that we will
not be good Christians or Muslims. After all the literature comes from
Japan. After all, we all read about Socrates, Aristotle, and all the
Greek heroes while we are still good Christians and Muslims.

I believe, that in AYOG, we have the talent and more resources than the
Japanese can put together. Most of the members definitely do not need
the 'grants' to be productive. It is my hope that we will solve minor
problems that we face so that we can start ACTING to promote our own
heritage OURSELVES.

Fakinlede

[Oyewale Tomori]

It is only right that a Borishade should praise UNESCO for the support  of the JAPANESE government FOR UNESCO expatriates AND FOR THE  Japanese Government MAKING effort to KEEP AND TRANSFER the culture treasure of Nigeria to the next generation.

 
THIS IS SO ABSURD. BORISHADE...THAT MAN HAS TALENTs..FROM EDUCATION TO AVIATION AND NOW CULTURE. and he will work with Japan to keep Ifa in Tokyo, next to the Shinto shrine, and after BORISHADE has BORISHALO,  the ifa will be returned to the next generation 
 
WHAT EXACTLY IS WRONG WITH US/
 
COULD UNESCO NOT WORK WITH NIGERIAN EXPERTS TO WORK IN SITU, WITH OR WITHOUT JAPANESE SUPPORT????????????????
THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA UNLEASHED 19 BILLION NAIRA FOR AVIATION MINISTRY UNDER BORISHADE, HOW MUCH DO WE NEED TO GET THE IFA BUSINESS DONE
 
 
OYEWALE


 

 

Oyewale TOMORI

Redeemer's University
Km 46 Lagos-Ibadan Express Road
P. O Box  7914, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria
tel: 234 1 7931780, cell: 234 (0) 8034996524
website: www.run.edu.ng
 

---

> From: oyeg...@konyin.com
> To: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Yoruba Affairs - UNESCO, Japan to preserve Ifa divination system
> Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 06:55:42 -0500

[Dr. Valentine Ojo]

Professor Tomori:

 

This entire concept is indeed rather shocking! The thought of it alone is nauseating and disgusting enough!

 

The Yoruba say:

 

lé rù ni ó kó ké f - It is the owner of the load who should first say “okay, guys, let’s get moving!” And not those who have come to help him carry his baggage.

 

This statement, in its entirety, is indeed a true reflection of the pathetic state in which we find ourselves as a people:

 

“It is only right that a Borishade should praise UNESCO for the support  of the JAPANESE government FOR UNESCO expatriates AND FOR THE  Japanese Government MAKING effort to KEEP AND TRANSFER the culture treasure of Nigeria…”

 

It is indeed the Japanese and UNESCO expatriates that should help us keep and guard our culture for the next generation? And we shall soon be sending our students to Tokyo to learn about Ifá, and be taught the Ifá Corpus by Japanese and UNESCO (white) expatriates of course!

 

And what are we the owner of the culture doing in the meantime? Adopting Judeo-Christian and Arab-Islamic cultures, kicking our own into the Japanese and UNESCO, to be archived!

 

Yes indeed, “THIS IS SO ABSURD. BORISHADE...THAT MAN HAS TALENTs…FROM EDUCATION TO AVIATION AND NOW CULTURE. And he will work with Japan to keep Ifa in Tokyo, next to the Shinto shrine, and after BORISHADE has BORISHALO, the ifa will be returned to the next generation… ”

 

“WHAT EXACTLY IS WRONG WITH US/”

 

Everything imaginable!

 

Did one Nigerian Christian Vice-Chancellor not get rid of all the wonderful Yoruba artifacts that Prof. Wande Abimbola and others before him once had collected at the Vice-Chancellor’s Lodge at the OAU, Ile-Ife? Because they were “fetishes”, he claimed, and he was a “born-again” Christian?

 

“THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA UNLEASHED 19 BILLION NAIRA FOR AVIATION MINISTRY UNDER BORISHADE…”, and yet, we were having incessant major air calamities!

 

Kí ló run gba ènìà dúdú l’ó wó ara rè !

 

Ire o!

 

Dr. Valentine Òjó

Tall Timbers, Maryland

 

---

> </html

[Oyewale Tomori]

Dear Val.,
Only a few days ago I saw Prof. Omolewa, but was not aware that we had sold our birthright to Japan. I will find time to learn more from him about this sale. Seeking information from Borishade is likely to be like he is..Whatever he touches turns to dust
 
Regards
 
Oyewale

 

Oyewale TOMORI

Redeemer's University
Km 46 Lagos-Ibadan Express Road
P. O Box  7914, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria
tel: 234 1 7931780, cell: 234 (0) 8034996524
website: www.run.edu.ng
 

---

From: val...@md.metrocast.net

To: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Yoruba Affairs - Re: UNESCO, Japan to preserve Ifa divination system

Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 13:15:50 -0500

Professor Tomori:

 

This entire concept is indeed rather shocking! The thought of it alone is nauseating and disgusting enough!

 

The Yoruba say:

 

l r ni k k f - It is the owner of the load who should first say okay, guys, let s get moving! And not those who have come to help him carry his baggage.

 

This statement, in its entirety, is indeed a true reflection of the pathetic state in which we find ourselves as a people:

 

It is only right that a Borishade should praise UNESCO for the support  of the JAPANESE government FOR UNESCO expatriates AND FOR THE  Japanese Government MAKING effort to KEEP AND TRANSFER the culture treasure of Nigeria

 

It is indeed the Japanese and UNESCO expatriates that should help us keep and guard our culture for the next generation? And we shall soon be sending our students to Tokyo to learn about If , and be taught the If Corpus by Japanese and UNESCO (white) expatriates of course!

 

And what are we the owner of the culture doing in the meantime? Adopting Judeo-Christian and Arab-Islamic cultures, kicking our own into the Japanese and UNESCO, to be archived!

 

Yes indeed, THIS IS SO ABSURD. BORISHADE...THAT MAN HAS TALENTs FROM EDUCATION TO AVIATION AND NOW CULTURE. And he will work with Japan to keep Ifa in Tokyo, next to the Shinto shrine, and after BORISHADE has BORISHALO, the ifa will be returned to the next generation  

 

WHAT EXACTLY IS WRONG WITH US/

 

Everything imaginable!

 

Did one Nigerian Christian Vice-Chancellor not get rid of all the wonderful Yoruba artifacts that Prof. Wande Abimbola and others before him once had collected at the Vice-Chancellor s Lodge at the OAU, Ile-Ife? Because they were fetishes , he claimed, and he was a born-again Christian?

 

THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA UNLEASHED 19 BILLION NAIRA FOR AVIATION MINISTRY UNDER BORISHADE , and yet, we were having incessant major air calamities!

 

K l run gba n d d l w ara r !

 

Ire o!

 

Dr. Valentine j

[ogun...@fiu.edu]

Maybe the interest of UNESCO, the Japanese government, and two or three Nigerian technocrats in Ifa corpus will wake up those intellectuals who currently control pedagogical infrastructures in Nigeria. Do we have a single course in any Nigerian university devoted to Ifa? Do we offer any degree in Ifa? Don't we have Religious Departments all over the land devoted to Quranic and Biblical Studies? What research agenda has been inaugurated and successfully executed to document and preserve all facets of Ifa literature? Do we teach Ifa or any aspect of Yoruba religion in elementary and high schools? Have we incorporated bembe, igbin, and even gangan drums into our music curriculum at all levels? What use has been made of Ifa in theorizing in the humanities and social sciences? What Ifa temple has been constructed lately? How many churches and mosques are mushrooming on several acres all over the land? Which university in Nigeria is recently established on the premise of Ifa philoso!
!
phy? How many Islamic and Christian sects are are jockeying to have their own universities? named Ifa College? Who is that child who uses left finger to point at his father's house?

What a people, What a tragedy!

Thanks to the Japanese government, thanks to UNESCO, thanks to the Aborishades...

> ----------------------------------------------------

> ----------------------------------------------------

> Akin Ogundiran
Associate Professor of History
Director, African-New World Studies
Florida International University
Biscayne Bay Campus, AC1-163B
3000 N.E. 151st Street
North Miami, FL 33181
Tel. 305-919-5521
Fax. 305-919-5267
www.fiu.edu/~africana

[Dr. Valentine Ojo]

Prof. Tomori:

 

Please keep the forum posted on developments. We should endeavor to do everything humanly possible about this on-going TRAVESTY – ki Borishade to o lo di Borishalo, Curator of Ifa and Yoruba Culture. Shinto Central Shrine, Tokyo, Japan!

 

Like Ogundiran rightly asks:

 

“Do we have a single course in any Nigerian university devoted to Ifa? Do we offer any degree in Ifa? Don't we have Religious Departments all over the land devoted to Quranic and Biblical Studies? What research agenda has been inaugurated and successfully executed to document and preserve all facets of Ifa literature? Do we teach Ifa or any aspect of Yoruba religion in elementary and high schools? Have we incorporated bembe, igbin, and even gangan* drums into our music curriculum at all levels? What use has been made of Ifa in theorizing in the humanities and social sciences? What Ifa temple has been constructed lately? How many churches and mosques are mushrooming on several acres all over the land? Which university in Nigeria is recently established on the premise of Ifa philosophy? How many Islamic and Christian sects are jockeying to have their own universities? named Ifa College? Who is that child who uses left finger to point at his father's house?

 

What a people, what a tragedy!”

 

Indeed, what a tragedy! What a people!

 

*I am reliably informed of an American college/university that teaches gangan drumming by the way (I can’t recall the name right away.)

 

About half a dozen universities – possibly more - in Japan offer Yoruba courses, and I have met a couple of their alumni who spoke very acceptable Yoruba – without having ever set foot on Yoruba soil!

 

We have every reason to be ashamed of ourselves, hell-bent on copy-catting and blindly emulating others, while these same others shake their heads in pity at what invaluable cultural, human and material resources we are continually losing and wasting away!

 

Ire o!

 

Val

</html

[Adeniran Adeboye]

 Mo júbà o,

This is an opportunity to remind us all about AYOG PROJECT #1, as proposed by Dr. Kayode Fakinlede on November 17.

PROJECT # 1

 

SUBMITTED BY:  KAYODE FAKINLEDE

 

ISSUE:  We are aware that the Ifa Corpus bears the true reflection of the Yoruba nation’s religious experience. It is within this medium, and probably in no other one, that most Yoruba cities and historical events are mentioned. Moreover, all the characters are probably Yoruba.

 

QUESTION: How do we expose our youth to this literary genre without negating their religious belief systems? In other words, how do we teach Ifa theology in our primary and secondary schools without making the students and their parents think that we are trying to proselytize?

 

p/s:

1. Ladies and gentlemen, Please, I am interested mainly in practical ways of doing this and not in any form of analysis or lecture about Ifa.
2. If there is a need for further clarification of this issue, please let me know.

 

The current discussion points to how prescient his proposition had been.  So let us discuss what we must do to achieve the desired goals. One such may be to ask for some "progress report" from Dr. Fakinlede. We had some debate about how to begin but we have not had from him about which of the suggestions we made he has identified with.

Once more, eyin ojogbon, we should spend very little time bemoaning the past or getting irritated with the actions of the DEALERSHIPS. We need all the time we can get to cultivate true LEADERSHIPS for our projects.

Alájobí á fún wa se o, Àse.

Adeniran Adeboye

On Dec 26, 2006, at 5:32 PM, Dr. Valentine Ojo wrote:

Prof. Tomori:

 

Please keep the forum posted on developments. We should endeavor to do everything humanly possible about this on-going TRAVESTY – ki Borishade to o lo di Borishalo, Curator of Ifa and Yoruba Culture. Shinto Central Shrine, Tokyo, Japan!

 

Like Ogundiran rightly asks:

 

“Do we have a single course in any Nigerian university devoted to Ifa? Do we offer any degree in Ifa? Don't we have Religious Departments all over the land devoted to Quranic and Biblical Studies? What research agenda has been inaugurated and successfully executed to document and preserve all facets of Ifa literature? Do we teach Ifa or any aspect of Yoruba religion in elementary and high schools? Have we incorporated bembe, igbin, and evengangan* drums into our music curriculum at all levels? What use has been made of Ifa in theorizing in the humanities and social sciences? What Ifatemple has been constructed lately? How many churches and mosques are mushrooming on several acres all over the land? Which university in Nigeriais recently established on the premise of Ifa philosophy? How many Islamic and Christian sects are jockeying to have their own universities? named IfaCollege? Who is that child who uses left finger to point at his father's house?

Yes indeed, THIS IS SO ABSURD. BORISHADE...THAT MAN HAS TALENTs FROM EDUCATION TO AVIATION AND NOW CULTURE. And he will work with Japan to keepIfa in Tokyo, next to the Shinto shrine, and after BORISHADE has BORISHALO, the ifa will be returned to the next generation  

</html

[Adeola James]

Dear All,
Can anyone please enlighten me, what is the motivation
and special interest of Japan in Yoruba language and
Ifa? Is there any sign of African diaspora there as
has been found in China and some South East Asian
countries?
Thank you,
Adeola James.

> > From: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
> > [mailto:yoruba...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
> Of Oyewale Tomori
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2006 1:57 PM
> > To: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
> > Subject: Yoruba Affairs - Re: UNESCO, Japan to
> preserve Ifa
> > divination system
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear Val.,
> > Only a few days ago I saw Prof. Omolewa, but was
> not aware that we
> > had sold our birthright to Japan. I will find time
> to learn more
> > from him about this sale. Seeking information from
> Borishade is
> > likely to be like he is..Whatever he touches turns
> to dust
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Oyewale
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

=== message truncated ===

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[Dr. Valentine Ojo]

Dear Adeola James:

This is merely an educated conjecture, and please do not nail me on it, since I have not had the opportunity to do any formal research on this. Call these a result of my own personal, informal observations.

The Japanese language has many structural peculiarities with Yoruba - open syllables, some use of tone (more so in Chinese), syntactic constructions and phrasings, etc. - than to say any known European language.

Some words even look and sound strikingly Yoruba - edo, ondo, etc. - are Japanese words (with different meanings of course to their Yoruba counterparts!)

The Japanese also have some cultural practices that are rather similar or reminiscent of Yoruba cultural practices. Shintoism - so-called "ancestor worship", which is really "referring one's ancestors" - - is for example very similar to what operates with the Yoruba, in the manner in which we traditionally regard our ancestors…among other similar practices.

I spent some time in Japan, so I was able to observe all this first hand.

And of course, there is sure to be a strong mercantile base to all this interest - the Japanese produce a lot of stuff, and the Yoruba area and the Yoruba people, by inclination and by size, would provide good market for Japanese goods.

It does not hurt to "know more" about whom you are dealing with.

And most races - unlike Africans - love KNOWLEDGE. Not all people can afford to act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS.

Sometime back, when I was still at the OAU, Ile-Ife, a group of Japanese came to visit the dental department of the university. They came to the Sijuwade Estate where I was then residing, at the invitation a colleague in dentistry, living across from me.

The first thing they did on getting out of the mini-van that brought them to the estate - about 6 of them I believe - was to stroll around the estate, looking at, and touching and feeling the plants - hibiscus, paw paw (papaya) plants, mango, orange trees, etc. They also stopped to observe the kind of games the children were engaged in. They also asked a lot of questions…

They were CURIOUS.

Africans on the contrary, the moment we arrive in Europe, America or Asia, what is our favorite pastime and first "order of the day"? We are more interested in "going shopping".

What does that say about us?

Dr. Valentine Òjó

Tall Timbers, Maryland

[Adeniran Adeboye]

Òjògbòn Òjó,

Your parallelism between aspects of Yoruba and Japanese cultures is very useful, so is your suggestion about a possible mercantile motive. If we keep vigilant, we would not have much to lose. However, please let us not be so unkind to ourselves. We have gone through a lot in the past 500 years and the surprise may well be that we are still here. The aboriginals of Australia, New Zealand and the Americas would envy our survival. Of all land masses, Africa has the largest tropical zone, bounded in the north by a near formidable desert. It needs to be appreciated that geography (physical) makes people first before people begin to re-make geography (human/regional). The tropical zone did not force as much necessity on the African as the temperate zone forced on the Eurasians. Whereas that would explain how much invention did not take place in Africa, it is definitely a stretch to conclude that

And most races - unlike Africans - love KNOWLEDGE. Not all people can afford to act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS.

Let us NEVER forget that the development of modern technology in the West coincided with the massive European enslavement of the African, followed by the imperial overlordship and/or colonization of the African continent. The depopulation and anarchy that Arab and European incursions entailed are the fundamental basis of our current instability. Even then, our intellectual heritage has not been totally wiped out. Indeed that is why we are on this issue.  You cannot really mean that a people who preserved all the aesthetics, ethics, etiquette and spirituality embedded in the ODU IFA, and did so primarily without writing, do not love KNOWLEDGE or act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS.

We should most definitely be uncomfortable with the lingering negative effects of our being enslaved and/or colonized. That would include a feeling of inadequacy that has now been foisted on many of us. We are struggling with it and AYOG is a recent manifestation of that struggle. Our elders began to show appreciation of themselves and their culture by shedding names like Jeremiah Awolowo and Adegoke Sanusi for Obafemi Awolowo and Adegoke Adelabu. Today more people answer Yoruba first names than European(Christian) or Arabic(Islamic) first names, they wear their native costumes (and their customs) with pride and yet accept the viability of other cultures.

Our ancestors' knowledge of the chemistry of the herbs is yet to be fully integrated into modern practice of science. Their name for the moon, OSUPA, shows that they knew that the heavenly bodies are round like a sphere (3-dimensional) not like a disk (2-dimensional). Their name for the earth, AYE, suggests that they know about its rotation, AYI comes into their admonition when they ask us to "ba ayé yí" or "ba ìgbà yí". They even dared to tell us the relative ages of the heavenly bodies: OLORUN L'O F'OSUPA J"OBA, IRAWO L'AGBA.

Modern science and technology is very young and we can catch up in very short time if we get our "house" in order. Our people love knowledge and prize wisdom. We have been knocked off balance in recent centuries. We are committed to helping ourselves find our feet. I am concerned about how thin the line is between expressions of disappointment about what we have not done and expressions about what we cannot do. I know that you are, also. Since very very young people may have access to what we write here, I urge that we be careful to not project inferiority complex, no matter how inadvertently.

Iba o,

Adeniran Adeboye

[Dr. Valentine Ojo]

Òjògbọ́n Adéníran:

 

My bad! Maybe I was a bit harsh on us, but you will admit that there is some core element of truth in my presentation.

 

Of course, I am fully aware that the fact that “the tropical zone did not force as much necessity on the African as the temperate zone forced on the Eurasians. Whereas that would explain how much invention did not take place in Africa…”

 

Although one may not readily conclude that “a people who preserved all the aesthetics, ethics, etiquette and spirituality embedded in the ODU IFA, and did so primarily without writing, do not love KNOWLEDGE or act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS,” is it not thinkable that these same people may have lost the  willingness or ability to acquire “KNOWLEDGE or act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS” as a result of recent massive brain-washing through our contact with Arabs, and especially Europeans?

 

I do admit that there have been some recent reversals of this trend, demonstrated mostly by our people now giving their children Yoruba names (or changing already acquired English names to Yoruba), wearing “native dresses” (usually to make political statements), and occasionally wearing dansikis.

 

These actions – which look more like paying lip-service - do not however amount to “love of knowledge”, or “knowledge about self and others” – in my thinking.

 

We all too readily accept what our Western education and Christianity has bestowed on us unquestioningly. We all only too readily look down on our traditions and way of life. Try to hold a serious discussion with any of our recent graduates about religion and African spirituality, about what they know about Africa or any of its traditional cultures…you may be in for a not so pleasant surprise

 

But mention the Bible, and they will quote for you every obscure passage in that Jewish storybook.

 

Truth is, we really still need must do more – a whole lot more! Aso Rock has a Mosque and Christian chapel. Where are the facilities to accommodate traditional beliefs here?

 

At any of the receptions I attended when I visited Japan, ALL ceremonies were opened with Shinto rites, and some form of traditional Japanese drumming similar to the gbedu.

 

Even hosting a carnival of Nigerian cultures in Abuja is considered by many of our educated and enlightened elite as “practicing pagan rites”!

 

Fani-Kayode, an educated Yoruba and our current minister of aviation claimed he was spiritual (in the Christian sense of course), and therefore dedicated Nigeria’s air space to “God”, and declared a day of fasting for his ministry.

 

These are not exactly the indices of a people who “love knowledge”, and who act on the basis of “knowledge about self and others.”

 

Aborishade, another Yoruba, is asking Japan and UNESCO to take the lead in securing Yoruba cultural heritage…

 

These are not exactly reassuring signs of a people who “love KNOWLEDGE” but rather of a people who “act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS”.

 

And is it not true that “the moment we arrive in Europe, America or Asia, what is our favorite pastime and first "order of the day"? We are more interested in "going shopping"?

 

I stand corrected. Or how else do you explain our governors and even president/vice-president owning expensive homes, vacationing, and going for cure for even headaches in Europe or in America?

 

Egúngún Ìbàdàn ló ní: Tí wọ́n bá ńtọ̀n ọ́, kí o má tọ́n ara rẹ.

 

Ire o!

 

Dr. Valentine Òjó

Tall Timbers, Maryland                                                                                                      

 

=========================Message Truncated============================

[jfaki...@aol.com]

 

There can be no gainsaying the fact that many of us have been at least a bit ‘concerned’ about the Japanese people’s intention to dabble into Ifa divination. This concern has ranged from outright indignation for those willing to ‘collaborate’ with these 'intruders' to self pity or even self flagellation. I was a little taken aback by Dr. Ojo’s suggestion about African peoples in general that “most races – unlike Africans – love knowledge. Not all people can afford to act on the basis of ignorance of self and others.”

 

I had always thought that we Africans were suffering from exactly the opposite problem – a willingness or even eagerness to learn about other peoples at the peril of knowing anything about our own selves. I had thought that this was the reason why we are struggling to put AYOG together – to learn about ourselves and to BEGIN TO ACT.  

 

Personally, I was taught European history and geography before I learnt anything about ours. While I was first introduced to Christian religion at an early age, it was out of share curiosity that I learnt about African religions, particularly Ifa. And that was many, many years after.

 

I dare say that it is not what the Japanese do or any other person does that is the issue here. It is WHAT WE DO OURSELVES that matters. As a matter of fact, the Japanese are telling us that there is so much about our culture that they are willing to invest their time and effort.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to urge ALL OF US to begin to ACT in whatever capacity we can to bring our tradition to our children. The way we are going, we are already doing too much analysis for our own good. This invariably is leading to PARALYSIS OF ANALYSIS. We need action.

 

In AYOG, we need more people to get involved. Let us have more projects from members to stimulate debate. The debate must be on HOW TO and not on WHY.  

 

I’d like to thank Mr. Adeniran Adeboye for urging me to give a preliminary report on Project 1. As he has pointed out, this project directly addresses some part of the issue at hand.

 

Again, self pity, anger, self analysis, etc. will not help. It is our own action that will make the difference.

 

Ire o

Fakinlede

 

 

 
-----Original Message-----
From: val...@md.metrocast.net
To: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 6:30 PM
Subject: Yoruba Affairs - Re: Traditional African Cultures...

bn Adan:

 

My bad! Maybe I was a bit harsh on us, but you will admit that there is some core element of truth in my presentation.

 

Of course, I am fully aware that the fact that the tropical zone did not force as much necessity on the African as the temperate zone forced on the Eurasians. Whereas that would explain how much invention did not take place in Africa

 

Although one may not readily conclude that a people who preserved all the aesthetics, ethics, etiquette and spirituality embedded in the ODU IFA, and did so primarily without writing, do not love KNOWLEDGE or act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS, is it not thinkable that these same people may have lost the willingness or ability to acquire KNOWLEDGE or act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS as a result of recent massive brain-washing through our contact with Arabs, and especially Europeans?

 

I do admit that there have been some recent reversals of this trend, demonstrated mostly by our people now giving their children Yoruba names (or changing already acquired English names to Yoruba), wearing native dresses (usually to make political statements), and occasionally wearing dansikis.

 

These actions which look more like paying lip-service - do not however amount to love of knowledge, or knowledge about self and others in my thinking.

 

We all too readily accept what our Western education and Christianity has bestowed on us unquestioningly. We all only too readily look down on our traditions and way of life. Try to hold a serious discussion with any of our recent graduates about religion and African spirituality, about what they know about Africa or any of its traditional culturesyou may be in for a not so pleasant surprise

 

But mention the Bible, and they will quote for you every obscure passage in that Jewish storybook.

 

Truth is, we really still need must do more a whole lot more! Aso Rock has a Mosque and Christian chapel. Where are the facilities to accommodate traditional beliefs here?

 

At any of the receptions I attended when I visited Japan, ALL ceremonies were opened with Shinto rites, and some form of traditional Japanese drumming similar to the gbedu.

 

Even hosting a carnival of Nigerian cultures in Abuja is considered by many of our educated and enlightened elite as practicing pagan rites!

 

Fani-Kayode, an educated Yoruba and our current minister of aviation claimed he was spiritual (in the Christian sense of course), and therefore dedicated Nigerias air space to God, and declared a day of fasting for his ministry.

 

These are not exactly the indices of a people who love knowledge, and who act on the basis of knowledge about self and others.

 

Aborishade, another Yoruba, is asking Japan and UNESCO to take the lead in securing Yoruba cultural heritage

 

These are not exactly reassuring signs of a people who love KNOWLEDGE but rather of a people who act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS.

 

And is it not true that the moment we arrive in Europe, America or Asia, what is our favorite pastime and first "order of the day"? We are more interested in "going shopping"?

 

I stand corrected. Or how else do you explain our governors and even president/vice-president owning expensive homes, vacationing, and going for cure for even headaches in Europe or in America?

 

Egg ln Twn b tn , ko mtn ara r .

 

Ire o!

 

Dr. Valentine o:p>

Tall Timbers, Maryland

---

From: yoruba...@googlegroups.com [mailto:yoruba...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Adeniran Adeboye
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:22 PM
To: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Yoruba Affairs - Re: Yoruba Affairs -

b

Your parallelism between aspects of Yoruba and Japanese cultures is very useful, so is your suggestion about a possible mercantile motive. If we keep vigilant, we would not have much to lose. However, please let us not be so unkind to ourselves. We have gone through a lot in the past 500 years and the surprise may well be that we are still here. The aboriginals of Australia, New Zealand and the Americas would envy our survival. Of all land masses, Africa has the largest tropical zone, bounded in the north by a near formidable desert. It needs to be appreciated that geography (physical) makes people first before people begin to re-make geography (human/regional). The tropical zone did not force as much necessity on the African as the temperate zone forced on the Eurasians. Whereas that would explain how much invention did not take place in Africa, it is definitely a stretch to conclude that

And most races - unlike Africans - love KNOWLEDGE. Not all people can afford to act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS.

Let us NEVER forget that the development of modern technology in the West coincided with the massive European enslavement of the African, followed by the imperial overlordship and/or colonization of the African continent. The depopulation and anarchy that Arab and European incursions entailed are the fundamental basis of our current instability. Even then, our intellectual heritage has not been totally wiped out. Indeed that is why we are on this issue.  You cannot really mean that a people who preserved all the aesthetics, ethics, etiquette and spirituality embedded in the ODU IFA, and did so primarily without writing, do not love KNOWLEDGE or act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS.

We should most definitely be uncomfortable with the lingering negative effects of our being enslaved and/or colonized. That would include a feeling of inadequacy that has now been foisted on many of us. We are struggling with it and AYOG is a recent manifestation of that struggle. Our elders began to show appreciation of themselves and their culture by shedding names like Jeremiah Awolowo and Adegoke Sanusi for Obafemi Awolowo and Adegoke Adelabu. Today more people answer Yoruba first names than European(Christian) or Arabic(Islamic) first names, they wear their native costumes (and their customs) with pride and yet accept the viability of other cultures.

Our ancestors' knowledge of the chemistry of the herbs is yet to be fully integrated into modern practice of science. Their name for the moon, OSUPA, shows that they knew that the heavenly bodies are round like a sphere (3-dimensional) not like a disk (2-dimensional). Their name for the earth, AYE, suggests that they know about its rotation, AYI comes into their admonition when they ask us to "ba ayyquot; or "ba byquot;. They even dared to tell us the relative ages of the heavenly bodies: OLORUN L'O F'OSUPA J"OBA, IRAWO L'AGBA.

Modern science and technology is very young and we can catch up in very short time if we get our "house" in order. Our people love knowledge and prize wisdom. We have been knocked off balance in recent centuries. We are committed to helping ourselves find our feet. I am concerned about how thin the line is between expressions of disappointment about what we have not done and expressions about what we cannot do. I know that you are, also. Since very very young people may have access to what we write here, I urge that we be careful to not project inferiority complex, no matter how inadvertently.

Iba o,

Adeniran Adeboye

On Dec 27, 2006, at 11:00 AM, Dr. Valentine Ojo wrote:

Dear Adeola James:

This is merely an educated conjecture, and please do not nail me on it, since I have not had the opportunity to do any formal research on this. Call these a result of my own personal, informal observations.

The Japanese language has many structural peculiarities with Yoruba - open syllables, some use of tone (more so in Chinese), syntactic constructions and phrasings, etc. - than to say any known European language.

Some words even look and sound strikingly Yoruba - edo, ondo, etc. - are Japanese words (with different meanings of course to their Yoruba counterparts!)

The Japanese also have some cultural practices that are rather similar or reminiscent of Yoruba cultural practices. Shintoism - so-called "ancestor worship", which is really "referring one's ancestors" - - is for example very similar to what operates with the Yoruba, in the manner in which we traditionally regard our ancestorsamong other similar practices.

I spent some time in Japan, so I was able to observe all this first hand.

And of course, there is sure to be a strong mercantile base to all this interest - the Japanese produce a lot of stuff, and the Yoruba area and the Yoruba people, by inclination and by size, would provide good market for Japanese goods.

It does not hurt to "know more" about whom you are dealing with.

And most races - unlike Africans - love KNOWLEDGE. Not all people can afford to act on the basis of IGNORANCE of SELF and of OTHERS.

Sometime back, when I was still at the OAU, Ile-Ife, a group of Japanese came to visit the dental department of the university. They came to the Sijuwade Estate where I was then residing, at the invitation a colleague in dentistry, living across from me.

The first thing they did on getting out of the mini-van that brought them to the estate - about 6 of them I believe - was to stroll around the estate, looking at, and touching and feeling the plants - hibiscus, paw paw (papaya) plants, mango, orange trees, etc. They also stopped to observe the kind of games the children were engaged in. They also asked a lot of questions

They were CURIOUS.

Africans on the contrary, the moment we arrive in Europe, America or Asia, what is our favorite pastime and first "order of the day"? We are more interested in "going shopping".

What does that say about us?

Dr. Valentine /span>

Tall Timbers, Maryland

-----Original Message-----
From: yoruba...@googlegroups.com [mailto:yoruba...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Adeola James
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 9:51 AM
To: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Yoruba Affairs - Re: Yoruba Affairs -

 

Dear All,

Can anyone please enlighten me, what is the motivation

and special interest of Japan in Yoruba language and

Ifa? Is there any sign of African diaspora there as

has been found in China and some South East Asian

countries?

Thank you,

Adeola James.

--- Adeniran Adeboye <aade...@mac.com> wrote:

>

>   Mo jo,

>

> This is an opportunity to remind us all about AYOG

> PROJECT #1, as 

> proposed by Dr. Kayode Fakinlede on November 17.

>

>

> PROJECT # 1

>

> SUBMITTED BY:  KAYODE FAKINLEDE

>

> ISSUE:  We are aware that the Ifa Corpus bears the

> true reflection of 

> the Yoruba nations religious experience. It is

> Alobf wa se o, e.

>

> Adeniran Adeboye

=========================Message Truncated============================

---

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[aina olomo]

 

I have been very excited by the conversation regarding the Japanese interest in Ifa.  Such conversations help us to clarify our commitment to our traditions and to one another.  It is in the spirit of clarifying Ifa as a practice and Ifa as a theology that I offer the following observations about Ifa in the Yoruba diaspora.

 

It is a shame to think there is hositily, indigination, and a self pity that is too-little-too-late surrounding the the practice and proliferation of Ifa. Ifa, as a theology is as complex and provides as much spiritual sustenance as any other world tradition. Somewhere in this discussion it was asked that we not give an Ifa analysis. I will try not to do that but it is very difficult to observe or comment about any cultural-spiritual tradition without some discussion on the spritual intent contained in the sacred scriptures. Ifa intends to mend the world. Ifa is rapidly becoming a world tradition; I think that is its own destiny, its priciples are universal.

 

How can we teach our children about Ifa without proselytizing? One way to do this is to embrace the opportunities to teach the ethics contained in the corpus. There are many ways to teach our children the values of Ifa. We can start with compassion, integrity, and let them know it is their obligation to make a difference in the world, as an indigenous Yoruba. Ifa like other spiritual traditions want to make the world a better place. Yoruba people can apply many aspects of the original spiritual tradition to address disease, broken homes, violence, war, contamination and bio-engineering of the food chain;care of the elderly; ecology,or what Ifa calls caring for the ground. Stewardship of the earth is an Ifa concept, a natural extension of feeling a connection with the natural world as well as anticipating the environmental consequences of our actions.  

 

Preserving Yoruba language and culture is important especially for the diaspora. In order for those who chose it as a way of life to have a context. Complusory education has controled or at minimum directed the minds of people and the judgements they have made. There is so much to be done and the territory of Yoruba is expanding everyday.

 

Aina Olomo

Coming together is a begining;keeping together is a process; working together is success.

[Molara Ogundipe]

Yoruba and African Studies are actively taught in Japan. When I was there, I met a Nigerian woman phd. and I think, Ife graduate, teaching Yoruba in Tokyo at a university.

M. Ogundipe

----- Original Message ----
From: Adeola James <adeol...@yahoo.com>
To: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:50:51 PM
Subject: Yoruba Affairs - Re: Yoruba Affairs -

Dear All,
Can anyone please enlighten me, what is the motivation
and special interest of Japan in Yoruba language and
Ifa? Is there any sign of African diaspora there as
has been found in China and some South East Asian
countries?
Thank you,
Adeola James.
--- Adeniran Adeboye <aade...@mac.com> wrote:

>
> Mo júbà o,

>
> This is an opportunity to remind us all about AYOG
> PROJECT #1, as
> proposed by Dr. Kayode Fakinlede on November 17.
>
>
> PROJECT # 1
>
> SUBMITTED BY: KAYODE FAKINLEDE
>
> ISSUE: We are aware that the Ifa Corpus bears the
> true reflection of

> the Yoruba nation’s religious experience. It is

> Alájobí á fún wa se o, Àse.
>
> Adeniran Adeboye
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

> > From: yoruba...@googlegroups.com
> > [mailto:yoruba...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf

> Of Oyewale Tomori
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2006 1:57 PM
> > To: yoruba...@googlegroups.com

> > Subject: Yoruba Affairs - Re: UNESCO, Japan to
> preserve Ifa
> > divination system
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear Val.,
> > Only a few days ago I saw Prof. Omolewa, but was
> not aware that we
> > had sold our birthright to Japan. I will find time
> to learn more
> > from him about this sale. Seeking information from
> Borishade is
> > likely to be like he is..Whatever he touches turns
> to dust
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Oyewale
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
=== message truncated ===

[ronke.a...@mail.ui.edu.ng]

It would be nice to know if the female Ife graduate who is teaching Yoruba
in a Tokyo University in Japan actually got a PhD in Yoruba or if she ever
studied Yoruba at all! Many times we hear about scholars actively teaching
Yoruba abroad who really do not have the requisite credentials and it is a
development which, indeed, gives one cause for concern about the content
and quality of what is taught. How can we guarantee the quality of the
Yoruba Language taught abroad? Let us reflect on this issue very well.
Proficiency in speaking the language is not the same thing as proficiency
in teaching it.

[Michael O. Afolayan]

The Sheer Sentiment of Ifa Preservation in Japan (Michael O. Afoláyan)
----

Homage to the elders of this forum! I share the chorus of giving the
well-deserved kudos to Professor Falola and his ingenuity of pulling this
forum together.

I think Dr. Ronke Adesanya's concern is quite valid here. Sometimes colleges
where African languages are taught overseas make do with whoever is a
"native speaker" of a language regardless of the background of the
individual. This may be due to a lack of adequate supply of such experts, or
in some cases, an uninformed perception that anyone who speaks a language
can teach it. Even in Africa, sometimes this anomalous assumption does exist
- look at the teachers of Yoruba language at many of our high school). I
think this is what makes an association like ALTA (African Language Teachers
Association) quite relevant in America.

However, I should add that Japan has a fairly good record of engaging in
aspects of African Studies in the last three or so decades. For example, in
the 1980s, a series of monographs on African Studies came from Japan. Also,
Center for African Area Studies (CAAS) at Kyoto University currently does
quality research in African Studies. A few years back retired Professor
Afolabi Olabode, a serious Yoruba scholar, who studied under, and also
worked with, Professors Ayo Bamgbose, Olatunde Olatunji, O. B. Yai, etc.,
taught Yoruba somewhere in Japan (Tokyo, may be), and did so for many years.

Now, at the risk of being the lone ranger on the side of dissent, I do not
share the sentiment inherent in the Japan-Ifa custody battle. Here are my
reasons: As a young person, I used to visit with eager anticipation the
palace arena of the late Adesoji Aderemi, the Ooni of Ife, which housed the
largest museum of Yoruba antiquities. By the late 1970s, those museum pieces
were almost all gone! What about the serious artifacts that were proudly
displayed at the then University of Ife African Studies building in the
1970s? Today they have all disappeared into the blue field of nothing! Shall
we call this a classical case of iconoclasm, the modern day Nigeria style?

In my years of American sojourn, I have visited homes of some American
friends and colleagues in Connecticut, New York, California, Wisconsin,
Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, etc., etc, where I almost cried after seeing
where those serious African (especially Yoruba) antiques and museum pieces
had disappeared to! Isn't this another classical case of selling one's
birthright, the modern day Nigeria style?

I wish some nation, be it Japan, Peru, or what have you, had volunteered to
take custody of those antiques for us and they were preserved for posterity!
May be there would come a generation when a visionary leadership would
emerge in our nation which would build a social environment conducive to the
preservation of life and cultural artifacts, and which would be thoughtful
enough and willing to pay the custodian fee so that such cultural heritage
may return to our mother land where they rightfully belong. If I have a
choice to make between Japanese care of any iconic symbols of Yoruba culture
and seeing them paraded with disdains in private homes in the Americas, I
would go for the former. This is the price of leadership, and until we are
fortunate to have one, the Japanese alternative is better than none. It
would not matter to me the gender of who kills the snake, as long as the
nuisance is taken care of!
Happy New Year to everybody!
----

[Ayo Salami]

I have immensely enjoyed the contributions of everyone on the issue of Japan, Ifa, UNESCO and the ignorance of we, the Yoruba people whom God crowned as kings but rather are behaving like slaves. The contribution of Professor Afolayan, Dr Olamijulo, not leaving out our amiable moderator, Professor Falola are all food for thought. But I would like to make some issues known (which I may like to call matters arising)

In a string of events, I had a meeting with Professor Aborisade Babalola in his country home in Ekiti on 2^nd January 2007. It was going to be a political mind rubbing but ultimately I have to digress to ask about the above debate. While we may all have thought Professor Aborisade is meddling issues that he may not have known anything about, or because his misdemeanor at the ministries of Education and Aviation may have followed him to the culture Ministry obviously because of the shenanigan of conspiracies and ill luck obfuscated by the unfortunate air crashes and lopsided protocols for which Nigerian civil service is known. The truth of the matter is that he signed a piece of paper to signify an understanding with the Japanese Government. The latter needed a document before the release of funds for the project; the most appropriate person to sign this document is Professor Abimbola who happens to be my Godfather. In essence, Professor Aborisade deputized for Abimbola who was in the US about the time so that the fund may not be withdrawn. I also met with Prof Abimbola in Oyo on 4^th and 5^th of January, 2007.

As spelt out, the fund is to be disbursed to teachers of Ifa to teach Ifa in designated classrooms for a period of 30 months. It is also to digitalise Ifa in CDs and cassettes for everyone who cares to listen, part of which the Japanese Government is interested. This interest would not be far to understand; the present head of UNESCO, the mediating agency who is spearheading the execution of the project is a Japanese in the person of Kochiro Matsuura. He was on seat when the draft proposal prepared by Professors Wande Abimbola, Akiwnwumi Isola, and Bade Ajuwon scaled through. The adoption would now not come as a surprise based on the submission of eminent personalities like Professor Yai who have taught Yoruba in Japanese Universities at one time or the other and even buttressed the submission of other on the proximity of Yoruba to that of the Japanese language.

This brings me back to the beginning on our discussion the interest of the Japanese Government in Ifa. First, let me lambaste everyone who has handled this God-given culture with dereliction. It is what I call post colonial trauma which some people have refused to shake off. Although I feel ashamed on one consideration, but on another thought, I realized that some political jobbers may be involved in the negligence. Professor Aborisade even tried; at least he signed the document for us to have voice on CD. I reliably gathered that his predecessor loathed the ideology of Ifa. A minister in the culture Ministry asking that everything about ifa should be put inside th dust bin! Meanwhile, he is from Ile Ife. A question thrown at him by Professor Abimbola threw him off balance and confusion; ‘What is the meaning of your surname’? Fani-Kayode is a stupid modernization of ‘Ifa nii kayoo de’ (it is Ifa that always bring forth joy). Where are all our ere Ibeji? All the icons in the palace of the Ooni? They have all been sold or stolen

With such people at the helms of the affair, it would be very difficult for Ifa to come to come aloft. Although he later attended the Osun Festivals, I reliably gather it was on the insistence of baba Iyabo and UNESCO who also is spearheading the funding and adoption of the same Osun Festivals.

However, be as it may, it may be true we have handled ifa with negligence, I think it may have been a blessing. Let it be ‘Ita ni woon tii komo ti o gbon wale’ Afterall, the Brazilians, Cubans and the Carribeans claimed that the entire troupe of the Orisa have departed the shores of Yoruba land to their lands. The claim to have Osun river, a temple of Sango and that Olokun is now living in around Argentina. If the claim of Ifa under Iwori meji is to be taken seriously, Ifa is not a religion of a region but rather of the world. FA, an indigenous Chinese practice (which is a derivative of Ifa), MBTI is a type of Index, I-Ching etc are some of the points here. I think the concluding part of another Ifa under Iwori meji which says: Kere kere la o moo gbalu lowo won is only beginning to manifest.

If Japan is interested in Ifa, my advice to them is to study the submission of Ifa on the figure 256; the series expansion of which has generated some astounding results in the field of Astronomy. In Ifa is hidden some esoteric values which to my belief, may be harnessed for the betterment of man; so if they discover this as against the originally crowned kings, the shame is on us. They may even come back to sell the products to us as does the Poundo Yam by Professor Makanjuola which Babangida refused to sponsor.

If Christianity, Islam, is not accepted worldwide, it will not have control. Take it or leave it, religion is fast becoming a avenue for political power as demonstrated by CNN recently. If the world accepts ifa, let them all come on pilgrimage for the yearly celebration of Oke Itase. It is then, only then can we begin to count our losses.

Truth, as written in the words of Ifa would always bounce back. Let me conclude this with a verse of ifa taken from Oturupon Ika:

 

Aja gbo gboo gbo

Aja deran asinwin

Ofafa gbo gboo gbo

Ofafa deran ijiwere

Agbonrin igboro yi gbo gboo gbo

O wogbo irahun lo

A dia fun Ope segisegi

Ope segisegi ti o je baale asooto

O sooto

O bi ikin fun Alara

Ile Alara kun

O sooto

O bi Oduso fun Ajero

O ro Ajero lorun

Ope segisegi lo bi Eriwolosin fun Ajala

Gbogbo araye ba deru Ikin

E je a moo sooto

E je a moo sododo

Eniyan ti n sotitio o

Oun sa lOlorun o gbe

 

Ayo Salami