A popular Ifa priest and Araba of Osogbo land, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon on Thursday recommended the use of traditional deities by all political officeholders in the country while taking their oath of office to reduce the spate of corruption and other nefarious activism.
The traditionalist, who made the recommendation while featuring at the Osun state Correspondent of the Nigeria Union Journalists programme tagged: “News Point” in Osogbo, argued that if the political officeholders are sworn in using “Ogun”, the god of Iron; or “Sango”, the god of Thunder, they would not mismanage public fund or later acted contrary to their pledges, adding that if otherwise, the traditional gods and deities of the land would not allow them to go scot-free with the public funds in their possessions.
Chief Elebuibon, who maintained that the use of the Bible or Quaran as tools for oaths taking or swearing-in ceremonies for political officeholders make them go scot-free whenever they perpetrate financial frauds, saying their punishment from God will be tarried “but, for instance, if it is done in the name of ‘Sango’, the God of thunder, it will strike them down with lightning.”
He, however, appealed to politicians to shun indecent acts that could bring curses or disrepute to them and their entire households while in the corridors of power.
Speaking on the cases of paternity fraud that have disintegrated and scattered many homes, the Ifa Priest affirmed that the matter could be resolved through traditional means.
Elebuibon said, “The race had enough traditional means to determine a child’s paternity that could be considered by whoever was interested in such investigation.”
According to him, “Yoruba has traditional DNA and they are very potent. They vary from one family or compound to another. We are having a high rate of cases of paternity fraud now because people of our race have decided to abandon what belongs to them and embrace two foreign religions.
“In Yoruba culture, even during childbirth, paternity of a baby can be determined. In my own compound those days, a new wife would take oath before the Ogun shrine to remain faithful to only her husband.
” Traditionally, there are several ways we can determine the paternity of a child. Those means are cheap and safe but our people are not interested in them. They are alternatives available for those that are interested.”
He finally maintained that “total rejection of Yoruba culture was responsible for the high rate of infidelity in marriage.