By Editor
A clarion call has been made to the government of Ekiti State to encourage royal fathers in their various communities to pay more attention into exploring all aspects of peculiar cultural artefacts in their domains with a view to preserve them for future generations.
Oba Olatunji Olatunde the Onimesi of Imesi Ekiti in the Ayekire Local Government area made the disclosure in an exclusive interview with EKITI STANDARD at his palace last week.
The monarch who described himself as an enthusiast of Yoruba culture, tradition and history, spoke of how he built a museum of antiquities in his palace.
“I’ve done a lot of work here in this place we are. This place used to be the palace of our predecessors but I’ve turned it into a museum. A museum of royal antiquities containing the pictures of past Obas of Imesi. I had to go to the archives, paying heavy money for them to help me search for pictures or replicas of those past Obas which are on display in the museum”
Speaking further, the monarch recalled the history behind his coming to the throne as a unique historical phenomenon where Warrant Chiefs conducted his election.
According to him; “You know elections into Obaship are done by High Chiefs but my own was done by a peculiar group called Warrant Chiefs because there were a lot of issues at the time and government had to suspend the real High Chiefs and appointed Warrant Chiefs. It was a unique thing. Their portrait is there because it was a historical phenomenon” he said.
Oba Olatunde went further to equip the museum with royal custumes of the past royal fathers.
” The families of my predecessors had agreed to release their Baba’s clothes, shoes, cutlasses and so many of their personal effects to be kept in one of the rooms inside the museum.
“I have a cultural troupe which I started immediately I came here which I called Imesi Palace Cultural Troupe and we’ve been everywhere. We’ve been to Olojo festival at Ife, they’ve been to the Canadian Embassy, the Nigerian Bar Association and Federal Polytechnic to mention a few. I started it first, by getting trainers for them from Muson Centre, Lagos and Obafemi Awolowo University Institute of African Studies and if not for limitations, I’m still expanding the scope
” Apart from this, there are unique historical sites here. In the palace, there is a place filled with potsherd like broken black pot. After Ife and Imesi the next place you can find them is Benin. The replicas are still there. They said in the olden days, slaves were made to lay those broken pots on the floor up to 50,000 or more because we learnt that Obas in the olden days don’t walk on mere floor but normally walked on those potsherd which can be likened to floor tiles we use today.
“Then there is Arinta Falls here too. The place has a staff that looks exactly like the Oranmiyan Staff in Ife. All these things I’m working on as soon as I settle down.
“And lastly we have Odun Ade or Crown Festival. It is a display of crowns worn by my predecessors. It is now a big festival. Ewi has been here, Akarigbo of Remo has been here for that festival. Others like Ajero, Oluyin were here to grace the occasion. There is another component of this which is called Oja Aje. Any market day that falls within the week of the festival is a special market where we invite all marketers or traders in the form of a trade fair. I believed once all these are developed, they would create sufficient attraction for Ekiti. I think government should encourage all traditional rulers to look into their culture and exhume so many things from the archives such that there may be need for competition among the traditional rulers to showcase their cultural artefacts” he concluded.
