Ode-Irele, an Ikale community
and headquarters of Irele Lo­
cal Government Area of Ondo
State, was last week
enveloped by mourning,
following the death of many
natives of the town.
A strange disease was
ravaging the town, causing
instant blindness and death.
No fewer than 22 young men
were despatched to their
early graves.
Elders of the community said
the town had not seen such a
mysterious disease in its 200
years.
Many had wondered what
could be responsible for the
mysterious disease. But
some leaders of the
community insisted that the
victims were involved in the
theft of some ancient
artefacts inside the Malokun
shrine.
This submission was,
however, countered by
medical experts, including the
state Commissioner for
Health, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju.
He said the strange disease
could have been caused by
poor hygiene and other
issues, stressing that findings
by medical experts on the
matter would be made public
after the conclusion of the
laboratory tests.
But the rulers of Ode-Irele
insisted that the epidemic
was from the gods of the
town who were angry with
the community following the
appearance of some
unauthorised people in the
revered Malokun shrine and
the theft of ancestral
artefacts by some residents
of the town.
Till now, medical experts are
baffled by the disease. Even
international medical experts
from the World Health
Organisation (WHO) are at a
loss over the cause of or cure
for the strange ailment.
But it seems that the
residents of the town,
especially the natives, are not
too worried about the
development. A visit to the
town by this reporter
indicated that life goes on at
Ode- Irele, as many shop
owners have returned to their
shops. Social activities are
also continuing in spite of the
disease. But some individuals
were seen discussing the
unfortunate incident, just as
many were seen mourning
their beloved ones felled by
the disease.
Olofin of Irele kingdom and
traditional ruler of the town,
Oba Olanrewaju Lebi, was out
of the town when the ugly
incident happened, but it was
gathered that he had been
informed. Arrangements are
on by the palace to appease
the gods of the land, the
reporter gathered.
The Oluomo of Irele Kingdom,
who spoke on behalf of Oba
Lebi, explained that the
disease was caused as a
result of some individuals’
disdain for the tradition of the
community. He said the gods
poured out their wrath on the
town following the action of
some individuals who visited
the Malokun shrine without
the necessary rituals and
appeasement of the gods,
adding that the thieves stole
some traditional artefacts
necessary for peace to reign
in the town.
Hear him: “Some individuals
who we believe are robbers
went to where we call Oju
Malokun shrine in Ode-Irele
with an attempt to steal some
antiquities at the shrine. It
was impossible for them to
steal many of the antiquities
eventually, but they stole
some artefacts which are
useful to the town, and that
was the major cause of the
problem we had in the town.
“The gods became angry and
we passed a warning round
that anyone who stole or
knew any person that stole
any of the artefacts at
Malokun shrine should return
same within seven days, but
they thought it was a joke.
When we consulted the gods,
the gods insisted that after
seven days, if the artefacts
were not returned, they would
strike. And this message was
passed round the town. At
the end of the day, the gods
struck in a strange manner,
and many people were killed.
“There are ancestral artefacts
and antiquities in this town
that should not be seen by
anyone, including the
traditional ruler of the town,
except the custodians of the
shrine. Some of these
artefacts are deposited at
Malokun shrine. These
artefacts were stolen and the
thieves felt they could go
scot-free.
“Only the custodians of the
shrine are allowed by the
gods to visit the shrine and
that could only be done at
night. But from our findings,
these hoodlums and thieves
went into the shrine, which is
located in a secluded area,
during the day and carted
away the artefacts. That is
the cause of the disease that
cut their lives short.”
Corroborating his views,
Oyewoga of Irele Kingdom,
Chief Moses Oyewole said it
was the palace chiefs who
met at the palace of the
Olofin of Irele Kingdom after
the artefacts had been stolen
that invoked the spirit of the
deity on the hoodlums and
cursed them with the strange
disease.
He said the deity only visited
the perpetrators of the
devilish act through a
strange ailment to expose
them. “The disease was just
the wrath of gods. It was
meant for those involved in
the theft of the precious
artefacts and not for the
people of the town. Any of
those who stole the artefacts
would be struck down by the
ailment, even if he or she is
outside the town or even
outside the country.
“We knew that none of the
thieves would confess that
they stole the items, because
if they say the truth, they will
die. Many of them are the
miscreants residing in the
town. They are mostly
commercial motorcycle
riders. The effigies and
historical artefacts they
carted away are important to
our existence in this
community.
“We specifically told Malokun,
the god of our land, to punish
those who looted the shrine.
We asked the god to make
them blind and kill them all.
Few days after, we started
hearing that some persons
had headache, went blind and
eventually died few hours
after. Some of them turned
black, no matter how fair-
skinned they were before the
illness.”
The 87-year-old traditional
chief, who said such incident
had never happened in the
history of the town, informed
further that all the victims
were males whose ages were
between 25 and 35. He said:
“The government has done
well on the matter by
deploying medical experts,
but the truth is that the
matter is beyond medicals.
It’s purely traditional.”
He regretted that the
community had been unable
to recover any of the stolen
artefacts. “The victims were
not able to talk when we saw
some of them before they
finally died. The government
recorded 22 deaths, but some
were buried without the
knowledge of the community
or the government. So, those
who die are likely to be more
than what was recorded,” he
informed.
But one of the victims of the
strange disease, who is still
in the hospital, Mr. Gabriel
Adegbehin, said he was not
involved in the looting of any
shrine. He said he was sitting
at home when he discovered
that he couldn’t see well
again.
The state Commissioner for
Health, Dr Adeyanju and
Commissioner for
Information, Mr. Kayode
Akinmade, said the disease
was not the Ebola Virus
Disease. They said samples
were taken for laboratory
tests and the results did not
suggest Ebola. They said the
state government influenced
the deployment of WHO
officials to the town in an
attempt to cure the disease,
adding that the state
government was also
responsible for the treatment
of the victims that were
hospitalized.
http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=115412

The gods are not to blame anything can happen at any time

eleyi gidi gon

More water please, me head is not yet washed well..

whytepawn1:
eleyi gidi gon

lol DZ one is strong

whytepawn1:
eleyi gidi gon

lol DZ one strong no b small tin

oh my god! who the hell cares

H