The Ooni of Ife and Co-chair man, National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria(NCTRN), Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, Ojaja II, has expressed delight over the growing interest of Ghanaian traditional rulers in tracing their ancestral roots to Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba civilization and ancestral home of all members of the Oduduwa race worldwide.
The Ooni’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Otunba Moses Olafare, who represented the Ooni made this known during a courtesy visit to paramount ruler of the Ga people worldwide, His Majesty, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse of the Gã State, at his residence in Accra, Ghana, yesterday evening.
During the visit, Otunba Olafare, who conveyed the goodwill and royal blessings of the Ooni, acknowledging the spirituality of Ogun and Gua who are both deities of iron and blacksmith as a deep cultural and historical connection between the Olojo Festival of Ile-Ife and the Gua traditions of the Gã people.
“Your Majesty, I actually came to your territory to represent brother king; the Ooni of Ife at the just concluded ‘Annual Isokan Yoruba Festival’ but I couldn’t leave Ghana without checking on you on behalf of the Arole Oduduwa. Earlier, I had visited the Gua Stool House where we discussed the spiritual and historical connectivity between the Olojo Festival and the Gua tradition. Your people told me at the Ga Mantse Stool House that your ancestors took the traditional practice of Ogun; the Yoruba god of iron and first blacksmith on earth with them from Ile-Ife. This is a great similarity between Yoruba and GA African tribes we must always celebrate to bind us as the Arole Oduduwa has always admonished Africans to always tell stories capable of strengthening our oneness as a people against stories capable of dividing us”
-Olafare said.
Otunba Olafare further expressed vow discuss Gua Festival with the Chief Priest of Ogun deity in Ile-Ife particularly as it shares similarity with the Olojo festival held annually in Ile-Ife and inform him to be ready to participate in the forthcoming Gua festival of the Gã people, as part of an ongoing cultural exchange initiative between the two African Spiritual institutions.
“The collaboration that began between the Arole Oduduwa, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, the Ooni of Ife, and Your Majesty is truly yielding results. Since the Ooni’s last visit to Ghana, several kings across this country have reached out to us expressing their desire to trace their origin to Ile-Ife,” Olafare added.
In his response, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse, expressed his appreciation for the visit and reaffirmed his friendship with the Ooni, saying the GA people migrated to settle at Accra several centuries ago from Ile-Ife, assuring that the Ga people will continue to see and treat Yoruba as their family being members of the same dynasty of Odiduwa House globally.
“Please send my heartfelt greetings to His Majesty, the Ooni of Ife. May our collective ancestors continue to be with him, Ile-Ife , bless the Yoruba people and bless the entire Oduduwa race worldwide. Please tell the Ooni that we in Ghana do appreciate his mission of uniting the Africans. The Ga people are always delighted to have been connected to our ancestral Agaako compound in Ile-Ife.
“Moses, I am truly delighted to see you once again, please do come here always to check on me. You are my good son.” Ga Mantse said warmly.