‘There shall be no war’ – Ooni declares

NEWS

‘There shall be no war’ – Ooni declares

 

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has expressed optimism that peace will reign in the country.

The monarch spoke at the grand-finale of the World Ifa Festival held in his palace on Sunday, in Ile-Ife.

According to him, the Ifa Festival signalled the beginning of a new calendar year.

“I’m happy that our culture is still thriving despite stiff opposition, the thought of many is that, we do not believe in God.

“Ifa corpus is the bedrock of life because no mortal can survive on this planet earth without leaves and herbs.

“We are not in contention with anybody simply because we know that God is Supreme and He will not share His glory with anybody,” he said.

He said the message of this year’s festival revolved around peace.

“The message is simply that: In this year; we would witness peace all round. There shall be no war,” the monarch said.

The other message, he said, was that Nigeria should care for its women.

“I was highly elated because God has visited our land to heal all the wounds and straighten the rough edges.

“You can see adherents from Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina and USA who are here to celebrate the festival.

“With the Ifa festival that ushers us into another year, it’s a new dawn. By August /September, there will be new yam to be followed by Olojo Festival which is a world festival.

“This is to tell us that before the advent of the whites, we had our ways of doing things meticulously,” he said.

Also speaking, Chief Awodotun Aworeni, the Araba Awo Agbaye, expressed gratitude for the success of the very first World festival he participated in since assuming this position last year.

Aworeni specifically thanked the Ooni for making the occasion colourful.

He implored government to do the needful by providing necessary support.

Chief Sola Atanda, President, Ancient Religion Society of African Descendants of International Council (ASARDIC), applauded the Ooni for promoting traditional festivals.

Atanda, however, lamented that government was paying lip service to Ifa religion, saying “worshippers are not duly recognised as Christians and Muslims are recognised.”

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Gov. Wike dethrones top monarch in Rivers

NEWS

Gov. Wike dethrones top monarch in Rivers

 

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has approved the immediate withdrawal of Certificate of Recognition and staff of office from His Royal Majesty, Chief Frank Noryaa, Gbenemene Baabe.

This was made known yesterday in a statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media.

According to the statement, the withdrawal of government’s recognition from HRM Noryaa followed his alleged indictment on cult-related activities within his kingdom.

“The traditional ruler was also indicted for harbouring cultists, leading to insecurity in the area,” he said.

The statement quoted Governor Wike as saying his “administration remained committed to the promotion of peace and security across the state.”

Also the governor warned other traditional rulers and government functionaries against being indicted for promoting insecurity, saying they will face the full weight of the law.

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Gov. Lalong to split Jos Traditional Council

POLITICS

Gov. Lalong to split Jos Traditional Council

 

The Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong has moved to reduce the influence of the paramount ruler of Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, known as the Gbong Gwom Jos.

The state government ordered the carving out of two Traditional Councils from Jos Traditional Council. The two new councils are to be known as Jos North and Riyom Traditional Councils.

This was revealed in a memo written by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dayyabu Garga, to the chairmen of Jos North and Riyom Local Government Areas.

In the memo, copies of which were made available to journalists yesterday in Jos, the government stated that all the graded chiefs, district heads, village heads and their staff, who are from both local government areas, should henceforth constitute members and staff of the newly created traditional councils.

The memo explained that Governor Lalong’s decision was in compliance with Section 91(1) of the 2016 Local Government Law, adding that Section 91(3) of the law also states that the most senior traditional rulers in each local government shall be presidents of Jos North and Riyom Traditional Councils, respectively.

Earlier, Governor Lalong had created new chiefdoms and upgraded some, including the Anaguta Chiefdom in Jos North and that of the Aten of Ganawuri in Riyom.

Reacting yesterday, Da Gyang Buba said he remained the paramount ruler of Gbong Gwom Jos.

Speaking to Daily Trust through his media aide, Alex Rwang Pam, Gyang said: “The position of Gbong Gwom Jos was the one gazetted and nothing has altered the provisions of that document.”

Pam went down the memory lane to explain that the position currently being occupied by Da Jacob Buba was first institutionalised as Sarkin Jos on August 28, 1947, explaining that it was much later that the Berom people re-coined the name to their own language “since ‘Gwom’ means ‘Sarki’ in that language.”

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