Ikere community, headquarters Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State has come under another round of tension as leaders and hundreds of youths there have kicked against the bulldozing of a tree in the community.
The youths were only short of going on rampage in Odo Oja area of the community on Tuesday following what they said were attempts by the state government to force the contractor handling a road project in the community to remove a tree standing in the middle of the road under construction.
The Olukere, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin, community chiefs and other leaders of the community as well as the youths said the tree was not just the heritage of the community, but “a symbol of the existence of our monarch and cutting it means that the the Olukere was dead”.
They claimed that the tree at the site known as “Ereja”, was the main shrine of the people and that it is the site of the worship of Olosunta, the main festival of the people.
To further ward off the construction workers and government agents, they had placed sacrifices near the tree, which included pigeons and a whole goat which offal had also been wrapped in a generally neat package of blood.
The Olukere, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin, who addressed newsmen on the development, said the people were angry because the Olukere, whom he said had agreed that he was a visitor to the community, could not be prompting the government to destroy the heritage of Ikere-Ekiti.
According to Obasoyin, the state governor, Mr. Ayò Fayose, ordered that the tree, which represents my life be uprooted and the people resisted him. My subjects said they don’t want a tenant that will be making life difficult for the owner of the land because I am the owner of Ikere.
“The Ereja is where Ikere people meet once in every year, if that tree is removed, it means they have killed the Olukere. The people came out Monday that they don’t want their king to be killed.
“This is the tradition here, the tree branches are cut if the Oba dies. In every community, we have traditional heritage and cultural heritage and nobody can kill our cultural heritage.
“The only way forward is that government should see reason with the people of Ikere and respect the people’s cultural heritage. If there is no town, you cannot be governor over people.
“They have that type of tree in Afao, it was preserved for them and was not cut for road project. The expatriate contractor said the sacred tree at Ereja does not hinder the construction work and that they could even use the shrine as a way of adding aesthetics to the job.”
However, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Youth and Sports, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, in reaction to the development, said the road construction must continue because for every developmental efforts, people must make sacrifices, saying “houses have been demolished; now that it is the shrine, it is only proper that we relocate the shrine to a proper place.”
Ogunsuyi said: “With the necessary appeasement, the shrine could be relocated. All the gods in Yoruba land are for protection and not for death. We want to assure him (Olukere) that nothing bad will happen to him.
“The government will continue with the construction of roads, government must carry on with its responsibilities.”‎
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