Ooni leads spiritual cleansing of Ife against Covid-19

Adebayo Obajemu

Coming on the heels of his claim to have cure for the dreaded Coronavirus , the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Thursday imposed a curfew on Ife for spiritual cleansing against the coronavirus pandemic.

The dual events took place between 8 a.m and 6 p.m. yesterday.

The announcement came through his town crier, Oyelami Awoyede, on Wednesday evening.

He disclosed that there will be “Oro” (a Yoruba traditional cult) for spiritual cleansing of the ancient city.

The cleansing is coming two days after the monarch claimed to have a traditional cure for COVID-19. He said some African herbs will cure the disease.

This controversial claim has elicited mixed reaction from the public on social media.

While some commended the monarch for coming out to speak on cure, many Nigerians who did not believe him knocked Mr Ogunwusi.

On Wednesday, Mr Ogunwusi’s town crier warned residents against working and walking in Ife on Thursday. Hence, residents were advised to stay home to avoid being used as sacrifice.

The town crier noted that the ‘oro” deity is no respecter of any individual irrespective of social status and whoever flouts the order would bear a grave consequence.

Areas in Ife where the cleansing took place include Sabo, Ilare, Iremo, Oja-ife, Ita-Osun, Ita-agbon, Iloro, Ilode, Iwara, Isale-agbara, Arubidi, and Ondo-road among others.