Ember Months: Myths and Realites
There are several myths about the last four months of the year popularly called ‘Ember’ months. Many believe that September to December is the most dangerous months of the year. Some Christians are of the opinion that it is the period when Satan embarks on in-gathering of souls by causing mysterious deaths, accidents, calamities or catastrophes. They, therefore, call for much prayer and fasting, vigils and crusades to frustrate the ‘plans’ of Satan and enemies who do not want them to see the New Year. Is there any mystery about the ember months? Funmi Salome Johnson, examines the myths and realities of these months
The last four months of the year usually are time when a lot of festivities take place. Marriages, burial ceremonies, chieftaincy celebrations, carnivals, launch of new houses (housewarming) and many other festivals are often fixed for these months because it is assumed that the rains would have subsided. Many corporate organisations also grant annual leave to their staff, while some close down for the year by mid-December to enable their workers observe the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Thus, it is a period of holidaying and relaxation.
A lot of travelling takes place due to the increase in the activities of festivities during the ‘ember’ months, thus the roads are busier at this period than any other time of the year. Aside from travelling, a lot of people are also under intense financial pressure, having to pay school fees and attend to several invitations or contributing to different ceremonies. Many travelling to their homestead or birthplace also want to show off their progress for the year.
For the fact that the roads are busier during the season, coupled with our transporters’ obsession to make super profit, road accidents occur more during the these months, particularly close to the end of the year.
In a chat with Sunday Mirror on the ‘Ember’ months, Managing Director of Rite Insurance Brokers Limited, Ikeja, Lagos, Toyin Sanyaolu, said, “Osu ba ba ba (that is the Ember months) are here and that has brought a dreadful panic, morbid fear and travel phobia. As a matter of fact, churches have dust up old, reliable ember homiletics for their congregation. Special vigils are being called by pastors to avert the murderous revenge of ba ba ba months. Long drawn out fasting are imposed on reluctant fellow worshippers to placate the many demons of ember months who apprenticed under Dracula as blood suckers.
“Imams are not left out. Special ‘hadiths’ are being chanted and repeated over a thousand times to ward off ‘satany’ whose ghoulish and gory moment is in the same month of ba, ba, ba. Nigeria is truly a land of myth. Mythological nuances are imported into all areas of our life from child birth to the time we return to the grave. We pay high priests to placate family-assigned demons. Even modern pastors and alfas must have sound grounding in myth busting and high divination to be seen as highly-gifted.
“We are manacled by the power of self-imposed myth which has no root in science but deeply embedded in daily experiences and happenstances. Let me cite an example: I joined a commercial bus from Ojota to Ilorin late September. A dark woman who I guess will be in her late forties sat in my front. She looked pensive, apprehensive, sober and in deep meditation. When she collected the manifest log book which contains names and next of kin of passengers, she prayed before filling it.
Before we moved from Ojota, Lagos a young man had come to the door of our bus to pray and collect offering using the ember months as prayer points. As the bus moved again, the dark woman in a loud voice shouted, ‘Praise the Lord!’ She started singing and shortly after an interactive prayer session; it was a Yoruba prayer session, typical CAC-driven fervent prayer. She must have called ba, ba, ba, hundred thousand times during the prayer while cursing the ember months to perdition. Of course, out of her fear and ours, we joined and became sombre while the prayer lasted. Mercifully, ember demon was eventually arrested during our journey, he added comically.
Babatunde Fatoyinbo, a transporter in Lagos who owns private buses he hired for commercial purpose, noted that the issue of ember months is nothing but myth.
He said, “The ember months become more monstrous with the belief that drivers tend to drive maniacally during this dreadful, accident-prone months to make more money before end of the year. Actually, this is just myth! Has it been proved that the rate of accident between January and August is lower than that of ember months? Has it been proved that Nigerian drivers drive sanely between January and August? From my experience, our drivers are on ‘speed rush’ everyday of the year. Not even the ‘drive safely’ plea of FRSC could placate the restive madness of the majority of our drivers who are not just bad but reckless. They are just next to mad men and it is sad!
“Another issue I want to look at is that myth that commuters are forced to drive insanely in order to meet loan repayment, especially in the ember months that are laden with festivities. To me, it is illogical! Ramadan month is not a social festive period, neither is Christmas. Both are spiritual and sober period that are meant to offer believers, drivers and non-drivers a self appraisal time and self discovery. The ember months should be a God-sent period for repentance and purging of bad behaviour, impatience, greed and carelessness. It should actually be a period of debriefing and dejunking of bad habits and morals. Let me draw an instance here.
According to reports, the vision of road safety corps started in Oyo State, when the first governor of the state, Chief Bola Ige, established Oyo State Road Safety Corps in the early 80s. Then, they were called ‘Maja-maja’.
In February 1988, the Federal Government took a cue from the pacesetter state when it created the Federal Road Safety Commission through Decree No. 45 of the 1988 as amended by Decree 35 of 1992 referred to in the statute books as the FRSC Act cap 141 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN). Passed by the National Assembly as Federal Road Safety Commission (establishment) Act 2007.
The functions of the Commission generally relates to:
Making the highway safe for motorists and other road users.
Recommending works and devices designed to eliminate or minimise accidents on the highways and advising the Federal and State Governments including the Federal Capital Territory Administration and relevant governmental agencies on the localities where such works and devices are required, and
Educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of discipline on the highway.
In particular the Commission is charged with the responsibilities for:
Preventing or minimising accidents on the highway;
Clearing obstructions on any part of the highways;
Educating drivers, motorists and other members of the public generally on the proper use of the highways;
Designing and producing the driver’s licence to be used by various categories of vehicle operators;
Determining, from time to time, the requirements to be satisfied by an applicant for a driver’s licence;
Designing and producing vehicle number plates
The standardisation of highway traffic codes;
Giving prompt attention and care to victims of accidents
Conducting researches into causes of motor accidents, methods of preventing them and putting into use the result of such researches;
Determining and enforcing speed limits for all categories of roads and vehicles and controlling the use of speed limiting devices;
Cooperating with bodies or agencies or groups in road safety activities or in prevention of accidents on the highways;
Making regulations in pursuance of any of the functions assigned to the Corps by or under this Act.
Regulating the use of sirens, flashers and beacon lights on vehicles other than ambulances and vehicles belonging to the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police, Fire Service and other Para-military agencies;
Providing roadside and mobile clinics for the treatment of accident victims free of charge;
Regulating the use of mobile phones by motorists;
Regulating the use of seat belts and other safety devices;
Regulating the use of motorcycles on the highway;
Maintaining the validity period for drivers’ licences which shall be three years subject to renewal at the expiration of the validity period; and
In exercising the functions, members of the Commission were given power to arrest and prosecute persons reasonably suspected of having committed any traffic offence.
In February 2013, FRSC celebrated its silver jubilee (25 years) and was able to beat its chest at having assisted to reduce road accidents.
Reports have it that in 2008, the total number of fatal cases of accident recorded across the 36 states and FCT was 3,024. Serious cases stood at 5,671, while minor cases were 2,646. Total cases recorded were 11,341 with 6,661 persons killed, 27, 980 injured and 34,641 as total casualties.
In 2009, total fatal accidents across the country were 2,460; serious cases were 6024, minor cases 2,370. Total cases stood at 10,854 with 5,693 killed, 27,270 injured out of a total of 32,963 casualties.
Statistics of road traffic crashes on quarterly basis show that in the first quarter of 2009, there were 2,855 cases of road accidents with 7,372 injured, 1414 killed out of a total casualty of 8,786, while the second quarter shows 2660 cases with 6,720 persons injured, 1,699 killed out of 8,419 total casualty.
The third quarter shows 2,707 cases with 6,426 persons injured, 1,272 persons killed and 7,698 as total casualty; while in the fourth quarter, 2,632 cases were recorded, 6,752 injured 1,308 killed out of a total 8,060 casualties. In the fourth quarter, 2,632 cases of road accidents were recorded 6,752 injured, 1,308 killed out of 8,060 casualties.
A media consultant and public affairs analyst, Segun Fadipe, said, “I dare say however that it is not yet uhuru for Nigeria in terms of road safety. Most accidents to my mind are unreported. Aside from that, our motoring and road safety consciousness needs to improve. I still see a lot of people driving against traffic; driving without seat belt on; making phone calls while driving; not respecting zebra crossing; double parking; etc. Even pedestrians oftentimes refuse to use pedestrian bridges where one is provided while many walk backing traffic instead of facing traffic. This is not to diminish the laudable achievements of the FRSC but to call on all and sundry to partner the FRSC by playing our part.”
The Commission’s operatives have been doing their best and are usually called to a great deal of task in the last quarter of every year which have been tagged the “EMBER” months, a period that has come to be associated with more accidents and loss of lives on our highways.
Indeed available statistics on the “EMBER” months represent a grim reality that evokes fear in many Nigerians who have now come to label them the “notorious months”.
Former Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Tumes Sylvanus Dalop in an interview once said: “Even without statistics, common sense will tell one that accidents and deaths are higher during these “EMBER” months because of the various festivities lined up during this period and which warrant much more travelling; it’s a period when commercial drivers cash in to make more money through overloading, excessive speeding, among others.”
~
According to him, the statistics of fatal accidents and deaths that would have been recorded on most roads across the country, especially along Gwagwalada – Abuja, Benin – Ore, Ibadan – Lagos express roads and about 19 others, would have been higher if not for special patrols always mounted by both the Regular and Special Marshals during these “EMBER” months.
“If these roads are not specially manned during these four months, September to December, every year, the number of accidents and deaths would have been higher because everyone is rushing home or back from one festivity or the other and you know, most drivers are usually impatient as they rush to make more money from passengers and so they over-speed, overload and end up in fatal accidents and loss of lives.
He said despite the sensitisation of drivers on the need to be more cautious during the “EMBER” months, they (drivers) tend to ignore the lessons and opt for reckless driving in their desperate bid to make more money. “We are trying our best but our best is not yet the best because these drivers are very volatile. Some of them carry weapons; they are heartless and any attempt to stand on their way could prove fatal and if you want to meet force with force, they won’t hesitate to run over you.”
Mr. Dalop pointed out that rather than meet force with force; they have now resorted to taking the numbers of the erring drivers and handing them over to the Police for arrest or report to the owners of the affected transport companies.
The Zonal Coordinator of Special Marshal and Partnership Department, Professor S. Oyeleke, in his paper delivered at a workshop in which the theme of the workshop was, ‘Advocacy as a Tool for Improved Road Safety Activities’. The workshop among various others was aimed at reducing the rate of accidents on our roads, especially during the “EMBER” months. During the workshop, National Coordinator, Special Marshals, Mr. Sini Titsi Kwabe, in his paper called on both Special and the Regular Marshals to brace up, especially in the last two months to see to the total reduction of road accidents and deaths on our highways which he said are avoidable.
He attributed the frequent fatal accidents on the roads to the increase in the poverty level of the people, poor driving culture, danger of night trips, over-loading, dangerous driving, poor vehicle maintenance, among others, saying that there was the possibility of higher figures in subsequent years if nothing is done to arrest the situation.
Mr. Kwabe, however, made it clear that road safety is the business of all Nigerians and therefore advised motorists to complement the role of the FRSC in the realisation of “safer roads and fuller lives”, especially during these “EMBER” months in order to reduce the rate of accidents during the Xmas and New Year celebrations.
Tayo Ogunbiyi who works with the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja Lagos in his own submission asked what actually myth is. He said, “Myth is derived from the Greek word mythos, which means story or word. Various writers have defined myth in diverse ways. William Bascom in his article ‘The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives’ defines myth as tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of the world, and with extra-human, inhuman, or heroic characters”. To Mary Magoulick, “myths are symbolic tales of the distant past (often primordial times) that concern cosmogony and cosmology (the origin and nature of the universe), may be connected to belief systems or rituals, and may serve to direct social action and values.
For many people, myths remain value-laden discourse that explains much about human nature. In most cases, however, myth is always a far cry from reality. For instance, both myths and science put forward explanations to justify the existence of the universe. A major differentiation, nonetheless, is that explanations concerning the universe as offered in myths are not empirical, whereas that of science could be analysed and subjected to continual empirical assessment.
It is from the foregoing that one would like to examine the age-long belief in the country that the so-called ‘ember’ months (referring to the last four months of the year) are naturally tragic periods. This conviction has become so entrenched that various religious groups and other institutions often organise special prayer sessions with a view to warding off the ‘dangers’ associated with the ‘ember’ months. So, it’s not unusual to see faithful of the various religions engage in fervent spiritual warfare in a bid to dislodge blood sucking devils that are always on the prowl during these months.
The reality, however, is that the so called ‘ember’ months are not in any way different from other months of the year. Tragedy occurs in the ‘ember’ months just as it happens in other months of the year. Ascribing needless spiritual and mythical undertones to tragic happenings during the ‘ember’ months is nothing but the usual Nigerian way of trivialising serious issues instead of using methodical means to appraise matters of crucial public concern. Rather than clothing the ‘ember’ months in a garb of gratuitous mystery, the pragmatic way of explaining dreadful events during these months is more human than mythological.
The truth is that there is usually an increase in the tempo of public, private and corporate activities during this period. This is when most public and corporate institutions organise end-of-year events that involve massive human movements. Many religious organisations also arrange various events to fit into this period of the year mostly as way of rounding off during the year.
Consequently, in a bid to be part of the various end-of-year activities slated for the ‘ember’ months, most people throw caution to the wind by disregarding critical safety issues. Vehicles are driven in particularly reckless fashion, alcoholic drinks are consumed in amazing manner, social outings are organised with reckless abandon while the atmosphere is often filled with unusual allure and jollity.
It is in the midst of this frenzied state that avoidable human blunders often result in diverse kinds of misfortunes leaving in their trail sorrow, tears and blood.
In the past few weeks, cases of preventable tragedies in form of road mishaps and the like have been reported in the media. Sadly, rather than tackle the real issues involved, our people, as usual, have started making the customary allusion to the peril of the ‘ember’ months and the need to take necessary ‘spiritual actions’.
When you have a situation where people are in so much haste to make all the money they have not made since the beginning of the year, there is bound to be bizarre consequences. When commercial drivers, who usually embark on five trips per day, but because of the aura of festivity and in a bid to make more money, now decide to go on 10 trips, something must surely give way.
Also, when you have an exodus of people from various parts of the country to other parts, there is bound to be a measure of uncertainty and disorder. The ‘ember’ months are always the busiest on our roads for obvious reasons and the tumultuous air of festivity does not really help matters.
To reverse the trend, it is important that the people must first and foremost change their perception of the ‘ember’ months. In doing this, it is vital that we make conscious efforts to disrobe the months of every garb of unjustified mysticism.
It is only when we are convinced that the dangers associated with the ‘ember’ months are human rather than spiritual or mythical that we could really make appreciable progress in our efforts to systematically tackle the issues that are involved.
In this respect, enforcement of existing laws and attitude change must be central to making any progress. The truth of the matter is that law enforcement agents, who ought to ensure that sanity prevails on our roads and other places during this period, are themselves involved in the mad ‘ember’ month’s rat race. Therefore, in a bid to make some ‘extra’ cash to furnish the special festive ‘necessities’ of the period, they often engage in treacherous compromise that encourage law breakers to go unpunished. The result, of course, is the continuation of an avoidable circle of pandemonium and sorrow.
As we march towards the end of the year, it is imperative that we all modify our perception of these months by making sure that we do not get involved in any pointless extraordinary end of the year ‘rush’ that could endanger our lives and, indeed, those of others. Those who have to organise social events around this period should do so bearing all safety precautions in mind. Commercial drivers and other road users must respect the sanctity of the human life by observing road safety measures.
Perhaps, more importantly, relevant government agencies must step up enlightenment campaigns as well as enforcement strategies to guarantee that ‘ember’ month’s crashes and other related tragedies are reduced to the barest minimum.
“The FRSC and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, should be commended for their ‘ember’ month’s safety strategies, in Lagos and adjoining states. However, there is a need for them to intensify efforts in this direction while more relevant government agencies should also come on board the ‘ember’ months re-orientation and re-awareness project. Currently, the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy is embarking on ‘ember’ months responsiveness campaign across the state. The objective is to change the attitude of the people towards these months and offer key safety tips. It is essential to reaffirm that ‘ember’ months are just like all other months. If only we could be modest in our approach to the months, we would certainly avoid the dangers and hiccups usually connected to them. One thing is sure, nothing is wrong with the ‘ember’ months; if only we could rid ourselves of what is wrong with us”, Ogunbiyi added.
Recently, The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Ota, said it has intensified efforts on patrol and public enlightenment to reduce road accidents in the “Ember Months.”
The Ota Unit Commander of FRSC, Mr Sunday Omafu, disclosed that the command had embarked on pre-trip inspection twice a week in all parks in Ota and its environs.
He said, “The unit inspects vehicles going outside the state with defects like bad tyres, side mirrors and wind screen. We stop motorists with defects on their vehicles from embarking on a journey until those faults are rectified.”
Omafu disclosed that the command, in collaboration with the transport union in the state, embarked on the inspection and screening of vehicles. According to him, the commission intends to do radio and television jingles during the ember months to warn drivers against overloading and speeding.
“We have written to companies operating in Ota and its environs to come to our aid in sponsoring the jingles,’’ he added.
The ‘ember’ months, he advised, should not be seen as different from other months.
The months, which formed the last quarter of the year, were observed to be busier than other months of the year as motorists, businessmen and women rushed to make ends meet in speedy manner. The FRSC official said that to achieve that, commercial motorists try to make more trips during those months to make more money.
In a bid to ensure improved safety on the nation’s highways, Nigerian Breweries Plc also signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the FRSC. The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, disclosed this during the inaugural ceremony of the seventh edition of the ‘Don’t Drink and Drive, DDD’ campaign with the corps in Lagos.
Vervelde noted that with the signing of the MoU, collaboration on road safety between the two organisations would further be enhanced, adding that the company through this means would contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety, which is to reduce road-crash deaths and accidents by 50 per cent by 2020.
He explained that the FRSC had over the years been a great partner in executing the DDD campaign, hoping that the partnership would continue to produce the desired result.
If you have to go out for an important appointment and it starts raining and you are not driving, what will you do? Use an umbrella to cover yourself right? It seems like the right thing to do though, however in Iwoye-Ketu, a border community in Ogun State the use of umbrella under any circumstance is a taboo. It is also a taboo for the residents and indigenes of this community to rear pigs.
The sale of umbrellas is usually high during the rainy season which is ongoing but not in a community like Iwoye Ketu in Ogun state. For residents of this community, they would rather get soaked in the rains that make use of an umbrella because the use of umbrella is a big taboo in that community.
Reports have it that this custom dates back to some hundreds of years estimated to be as far back as 1705 when its first set of settlers discovered the land and since then the custom has been passed down from generation to generation.
Despite civilisation amongst the younger generation who feels the tradition has lost its essence, they dare not break the tradition till date.
Split between Nigeria and Benin Republic, Iwoye- Ketu is about 98Km away from Abeokuta the Ogun state capital and it is bordered by Iwajowa Local Government area of Oyo state to the north and the francophone country to the west.
The most accessible from of transportation there is the bumpy motorcycle ride which best navigates the dusty Imeko- Iwoye road and this takes about 30 minutes from there to get to Iwoye Ketu
The community is estimated to have a population of between 50, 000 to 75,000 dwellers at present.
How the taboo on use of umbrella started
Legend has it that one of the first settlers of the community, Olumu, who was said to have been a powerful man from Ile-Ife in Osun State brought three items along with him to Iwoye-ketu: a crown; a staff called Opa Ogbo; and his deity called Orisa Oluwa.
The shorter version of the legend is that it is Orisa Oluwa that forbids the use of umbrella in Iwoye-ketu and Wasinmi, a relatively smaller community under its control up till the present day.
In addition, the deity is also said to forbid the rearing of pigs in the communities.
Our correspondent did not sight a pig or anyone using an umbrella during his visit to the community.
But interestingly, there are no known consequences for people who defy the custom. However, that has not affected the strong level of compliance with the rules by the residents.
“It’s the Orisa that doesn’t want umbrella to be used here. It also detests pigs because they are dirty. We have abided by te rules because we (residents) know the custom. Children are told about the custom and when strangers come in, we also let them know they cannot use umbrella or rear pigs here,” said the Ooye of Iwoye-ketu (community’s king), Joel Aremu.
He described the use of umbrella within the community as an affront to the deity as he told the story of how the community’s legendary early settler divided the Ogun River with his staff, similar to the Bible’s account of how Moses parted the Red Sea to rescue thousands of Jews from slavery and oppression in Egypt, famously known today as The Exodus.
“Our residents can use umbrella outside the community; it’s in the community that it’s forbidden. We inherited the tradition from our forefathers and we have guided it since then because we respect our culture. Thankfully, no one defies the rule,” the Ooye of Iwoye-ketu said.
“When strangers come into the community and use their umbrellas, we don’t harass them, we only tell them it’s against our tradition and they always abide by it. Nothing bad will happen if someone uses the umbrella but it’s our tradition and we want to keep it that way.”
It was observed that many residents of the community, including Aremu, own umbrellas which they use outside the community.
“I have an umbrella in my car and I use it outside the community,” Aremu confirmed to our correspondent.
However, there is a longer version of the story as told by elders of the community.
One of them, Mr. Jonathan Idowu, 75, said the story began with the earliest hunters of the community. Idowu’s late father was one of the community’s most celebrated hunters.
He said, “In those days, our forefathers used to hunt elephants in the forests. Since elephants have big ears that are wide like an umbrella, they felt threatened by the sight of umbrellas anytime they saw hunters with them.
“Most times, the elephants would chase after them. In spite of their size, elephants are fast animals. When an elephant is running, you will only see the dust rising after it because it’s so fast.
“As a result, there were many vicious attacks by elephants on the hunters. And since it was the tradition of hunters to consult with Orisa Oluwa before setting out, later, the deity warned them against the use of umbrellas.
“We (residents) obeyed whatever Orisa Oluwa told us to do. If it told the hunters not to go out and that they would be killed in the forest if they did, they would stay at home. Orisa Oluwa was also consulted in the wartime. So when it forbade the use of umbrellas, we obeyed and have obeyed since then.”
Idowu also told of how attires like gowns worn by masquerades equally elicited violent reactions from elephants back in the day.
“An elephant, with its size, appears like an object wearing a cloak so it could also be threatened by anyone who appeared like a masquerade,” he said.
Meanwhile in the absence of umbrellas, residents are accustomed to the use of polythene, clothes, hoods, rain coats, boots and traditional woven hats (akete), depending on their suitability to the sun or rain.
For instance, a 40-year-old trader in the community, Mrs. Modinat Adepoju, said she has grown to rely on other things in place of an umbrella.
Adepoju, whose last child is still a toddler, said anytime it rained or the sun became too hot while she was out with her baby on her back, she would spread a piece of cloth or polythene over her as protection against the harsh weather element.
“The taboo is not strange to us since we grew up with it. Sometimes I wear akete and give to my child that is older to wear too. And when I go outside the community, I use umbrella.
I have one at home,” she told our correspondent.
A community split between two countries
Iwoye-ketu is a multi-cultural community with its over eight ethnic groups which include Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Egun, Ohoi and Igede.
A concrete pillar within the community separates the section under the Nigerian territory from the part that falls under Benin Republic, although residents see themselves as one since both fall under the authority of the same monarch- Ooye of Iwoye-ketu.
It was also discovered that the boundary dividing the community along international lines had been demarcated since the colonial era but with little regard for its sanctity in the early post colonial period. Following the indiscriminate construction that sprang up all around the border line, a former Minister of Works and Housing, the late Gen. Abdulkareem Adisa (retd.) under the military regime of General Sani Abacha, redefined the border and demolished some illegal structures in the community.
But at the Benin Republic end of the community, also called ‘French’ by residents, the taboo is also strongly respected.
A gendarme at a police post belonging to Benin Republic, Tonasse Germain, who spoke to our correspondent through a translator, confirmed that the French speaking section of the community also complies with the age long tradition.
He said residents have learnt to read weather signs and work with them.
“We don’t have any problem with the tradition since Iwoye is one and we’re under one king. We watch the weather, when it looks like it would rain, I will stay indoors if I don’t want to get wet. And if it’s important, I can hold a polythene over my head. Some people wear raincoats and the like,” he said.
How the tradition affects politics in Nigeria
Incidentally, umbrella is the logo of the Peoples Democratic Party, the ruling party in Nigeria. And trust politicians from the opposition parties, they would not miss an opportunity to use the taboo to their benefit during political campaigns.
Apart from the fact that PDP members cannot put up umbrellas during campaigns in the community, members of the other parties also make it a point of duty to remind residents that the deity of the land forbade the use of umbrellas.
“We tell people not to accept the party with the umbrella logo because our deity forbids the use of umbrellas. Of course, they are political statements and some residents know that but we might be able to win a few sentimental people to our side through that,” the youth leader of the All Progressives Congress in Iwoye-Jabata ward, Mr. Idowu Odekunle, told our correspondent.
Mr. Peter Bamgbowu, PDP Secretary, Iwoye-Jabata ward, who confirmed the situation said as a result, his party members sometimes have to explain to residents that his party was not after destroying the tradition of the community.
“During campaigns, some people will say ‘go away, we don’t use umbrella here.’ We explain to them that it’s only a logo and that it doesn’t mean we want to use umbrellas in the community,” he said.
Taboo on pig rearing
Known as a nomadic tribe, a large Fulani population in Iwoye-ketu makes the community a destination for lovers of beef. Even though, pork is eaten by some of the residents of the community, it is a taboo to rear them.
Legend has it that a bad omen awaits any pig that strays near Orisa Oluwa shrine.
“Because Orisa Oluwa does not like pigs, any pig that goes too close to its shrine will die mysteriously. So it became a taboo for anyone to rear pigs in the community,” Idowu said.
However, findings showed that some residents living on the outskirts of the community rear pigs.
