Oba Ademola Elegushi salutes govts’ who recognize Isese Day

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The traditional ruler of the Ikate Kingdom, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, salutes the Lagos State Government and other state governments that have given official recognition to Isese Day, a traditional festival celebration.

Oba Elegushi said at the Isese celebration in his palace yesterday that the recognition of Isese Day as a public holiday was long overdue. He argued that traditional worshippers are just as much a part of society as Christians and Muslims and that it is only right that they have a holiday to celebrate their beliefs.

Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the traditional ruler, Temitope Oyefeso, quoted the king as saying that the king is happy that after years of speaking about the issue to the government, tis have now been recognized by the Lagos State Government and some state governments in the Southwest.

Oba Elegushi urges the government to see to making Isese Day a national holiday so that people  who do not believe in the two known faith also contribute to the advancement of the nation.

Isese Day, a day set aside to recognize and celebrate traditional religious worship, is celebrated annually on August 20

Dr. Ifarotimi Balogun, the Oba Isese Worldwide, led adherents of the traditional faith in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to celebrate this year’s Isese Day yesterday.

He prayed for the state, Yorubaland, and Nigeria, and said that the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidies was a temporary phase that would lead to better days for Nigerians.

Oba Ifarotimi said believers of the traditional faith knew through the Ifa Oracle that there would first be an economic hardship and which for a moment, that after a while it would give way to a new dawn of riches and abundance under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He encouraged Nigerians to stay strong and persevere, as the economic downturn was only temporary and would soon be overcome and soon it would lead to prosperity to the nation.

The traditional leader of Isese Day was speaking to reporters in Ija Ofa, Abeokuta, where the people had gathered to celebrate their Isese traditional festival.

Oba Ifarotimi Balogun, the Oba Isese, has commended the governments of Ogun, Lagos, Oyo, and Osun for declaring today as Isese Day. He also appealed to the governments to support believers of the traditional faith to go on a spiritual pilgrimage to Brazil, as is the practice for Muslims who travel to Mecca annually for the hajj and Christians who perform pilgrimage in Israel and Jerusalem every year.