Among the Yorubas who observe the ancient festival, Oro, the people of Ikorodu have remained loyal to the festival over the years.
However, in spite of the city’s burgeoning population and development, it has recently found itself at a crossroad between ancient customs and modern sensibilities.
Time and again, whenever news breaks that women and non-indigenous people are being advised to stay indoors, it is met with outrage from residents who see such customs as outdated and unsupportive of any socioeconomic good that the community should be pursuing.
To paint the background of the festival, it is one celebrated in the South-West of Nigeria by the Yoruba towns and settlements.
It is a festival that lends itself to patriarchy, as it has as its principle that only male descendants who are paternal natives of the location where the festival is upheld should be allowed to celebrate it.
This, in effect, means that women and non-natives during this festival are excluded from the thick of things, and what’s more, there is a consequence that follows them when they disregard this rule.
It is stated that these categories of people are forbidden from seeing the god, Oro, or else death becomes their lot.
This consequence has once allegedly befallen a Hausa woman in 1999, who was said to have flouted the rule and saw the Oro when she should not have and was killed as a consequence.
It was later refuted, however, that the death was courtesy of the Oro people because it is believed that whoever dies on account of seeing the Oro would have their body vanish.
But in this case, the woman’s body was found, which, according to the Oro people, is an indication that she was murdered by a different group of people unconnected to the Oro worshippers.
Festivals are part of the culture. Everywhere you go, you find cultures, and in those cultures are festivals they prioritize.
In America, you will find Halloween, the Blues Festival, the Dogwood Festival, and the Country Music Festival. In India, we have Diwali, Holi, Navaratri, Makar, and Sankranti.
In Saudi Arabia, we have the Jenadriyah, the Eid-al-Fitr, the Eid-al-Adha, and the Mawlid.
Even in Nigeria, across other tribes, we have the New Yam Festival, the Argungu Fishing Festival, the Egungun Festival, and a host of others.
Countries around the world are big on festivals, and it is a given that they all come with their own different dynamics, and it is expected that those dynamics are not contravened, as that gives value to the festival.
The Oro Festival is one of them, and from its precepts, the male descendants of the Yoruba land where it is celebrated are the only ones allowed to celebrate the festival with all others indoors on the day the festival is held.
This is the caveat that comes with this festival, just like other festivals have theirs.
Over the years, undoubtedly, time has changed, and modernization seems to have eclipsed a major part of our society.
While in the past, the festival must have held sway with little or no resistance, civilization immersing the country seems to be getting on the other side of festivals such as the Oro.
The grouse with it has bordered on its principle that forbids some categories of people from coming out in broad-day light, and this is found bothersome when you factor in that some of these people are highly dependent on being out daily for their survival. It is also being slammed as diabolical in light of modern religion, as such, such should not be seen still in practice in the 21st century especially during the day. This has been the grouse with it from people that have always seen them protest against the festival.
We apparently live in a time where systems are evolving as a result of civilization.
For instance, the restriction of women indoors on the day the festival will be held would never sit well with the extant generation in the light of gender equality being advocated for vehemently in almost all quarters of the country.
The fact that women are taking the bull by the horns, buoyed by feminists, to break the gender barriers that have excluded them from enjoying the equal privileges accruable to men, would always see the ban of women during the Oro festival come with stiff resistance.
The festival is obviously gender-biased, and women are most likely going to resist it in the light of the pervasive gender-equality movements.
The economic effect is also one area that has unsettled most residents, as on such occasions, their businesses and jobs are hampered because of the restrictions that come with the festival.
There is even the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination going on and have exams holding on the day. The question begging for answers is: will the female students be prevented from writing their exams on the day because the festival will hold? This goes further to establish that the festival also impinges on the educational sector.
To practice a culture is beautiful and iconic. It is what makes us who we are and what differentiates different people from their different cultures.
The Oro festival has its beauty and value in the fact that it seeks to make society secure and peaceful by warding off evils and is also used for entertainment purposes. The Yoruba people should never be denied the right to practice that which is theirs and should ensure that they celebrate their culture.
But if it is possible, then the urge should be to the authorities to look into the socio-economic implications of the festival, and just like many have suggested, have it celebrated at night so as not to distort the socio-economic proceedings of people who have found a home in the Yoruba land, and in consistency with the objective of the Oro festival, promotes peace.
