A recent attempt to exploit the revered ORO ritual, a sacred tradition in Yoruba culture, to threaten protesters has sparked widespread condemnation from Arch. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Labour party Lagos gubernatorial candidate in 2023 election. This move is perceived as a blatant assault on the sanctity of Yoruba tradition and an affront to the community’s values.
Gbadebo noted “in 1916, peasants in Iseyin-Okeho resisted colonial imposition and sought freedom for themselves and their children. As the brilliant Yoruba Intellectual, Prof. Segun Gbadegesin puts it, “A people who disdain unfairness by deities cannot be expected to countenance the same by their king, who is subservient to the deities. The mindset that challenges the deity to avoid worsening their condition if they are incapable of improving it (òrìṣà bóò leè gbè mí, fi mí sílẹ̀ bóo ti bá mí) will, by the same token, resist any attempt by their earthly kings to aggravate their social life.”
As youth planned protests continue to sweep the nation, demanding good governance and an end to oppression, GRV is urging restraint while acknowledging the right to peaceful assembly. However, he is also calling on traditional leaders to unequivocally condemn the desecration of Yoruba tradition and safeguard the integrity of revered institutions.
The exploitation of ORO to silence dissenting voices is seen as a desperate tactic to maintain the status quo. He asserts that Yoruba tradition is not a tool for political manipulation and must be protected from those seeking to exploit it for personal gain.
