I learnt how to speak, write in English at home – Elebuibon

Popular Ifa priest and Nollywood veteran, High Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, has revealed his father did not allow him to go to school because he didn’t want him to deviate from his cultural background.

Speaking during the Toyin Falola Interview series tagged, “A conversation with Baba Elebuibon,” the popular priest stated that since he was denied western education by his father, he had to study at home to be able to read and write in English.

Elebuibon has written several books on Yoruba cosmology which have contributed to the body of knowledge in the study of African culture, traditions and aesthetics.

Elebuibon had pointed out that modernity was a curse that has eroded the much revered Yoruba cultural values and traditions.

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He said his father was against his enrolment in the western education so he didn’t forget his cultural orientation especially his knowledge of Ifa divination and cosmology.

He stated that his father impressed it upon him that those who were enrolled in the western education got entrenched in the western type and they started to abandon the Yoruba cultural values.

However, when asked during the interview how he was able to speak and write in English, he retorted that he had to study at home and did corresponding courses.

He said, “I got my knowledge at home, I learnt at home, I studied at home, I did corresponding courses because when I was not allowed to go to school. My father said he didn’t want to lose me because those who went to school didn’t come back to be cultured.

“So I had opportunity to learn at home. I had a lot of mates who went to school, I used to make “isoye” (knowledge medicine) for them, all the small medicines for children, when they came back, they told me what their teachers taught them.

“So one of my friends by the name of Sule Raji, his father was in Ghana, his father sent money to him to go to school but he has low memory and he always came to me for assistance. So I always helped him.

“He also helped me too, he would tell me, ‘this is what our teachers taught us today.’ He was the one that recommended corresponding courses for me and I learnt from there. That was why I was able to communicate the little way I can today.”