Ogun: Steer clear of obas’ rites, traditionalists warn Muslims, Christians

Traditional worshippers in Ogun State Wednesday warned Muslim and Christian clerics as well as those they termed “recalcitrant obas” to steer clear of the burial and installation rites of monarchs in the state.

Daily Trust reports that the traditionalists were unhappy over the new law regulating monarchs’ burial and installation rites in the state.

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The law titled, “Obas, Chiefs, Council of Obas and Traditional Council Law of Ogun State, Bill 2021,” was signed by Governor Dapo Abiodun in January.

It aims at “respecting human dignity and promotion of modernity” in the installation and burial of traditional rulers by granting family members the right to determine the mode of burial of any deceased Oba.

Addressing newsmen in Sagamu, the traditionalists under the aegis of Traditional Worshippers Association of Nigeria (Egbe Onisese Parapo), argued that the new law allowed a deceased monarch to be buried in accordance with the customs and traditions of the land, citing Section 55 (i-v) of the law.

Their spokesman, High Chief Ifasola Opeodu, stated that the law did not state that a traditional ruler “shall be installed or buried by either Muslim or Christian clerics or in accordance with their religion and beliefs.”

Opeodu said Section 55 (i-v) of the new law which states that the body of the deceased monarch shall not be subjected to any mutilation or cannibalization was not necessary.

“We are not practicing cannibalism and up till this moment, we have not seen any testimony or reliable evidence from obas or individuals to the effect that the Osugbo and the traditional worshippers in Ogun State are eating human flesh,” he said.

He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, governors and all security operatives to refrain from being used as “agents of destruction” in the course of implementing the new law as it affects the installation and burial rites of the deceased monarchs.