Thursday, 19 November 2015

MODAKEKE COMMUNITY VISITS OONI OF IFE, OBA ENITAN ADEYEYE OGUNWUSI, OJAJA II




In the spirit of oneness and solidarity the Modakeke community led by Ogunsua of Modakeke HRM Oba (Dr) Francis Olatunji Adedoyin paid a courtesy visit to Arole odua Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (Ojaja ll) Ooni of Ife yesterday.

In his 'Ile-Ife And Yoruba of My Dream' acceptance speech, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi has promised to set up a foundation that will support post war effects and the rebuilding of war torn Ife and Modakeke.

The Ife and Modakeke are both Yoruba of Osun State in southwestern Nigeria. According to oral tradition, both are descendants of Oduduwa, the perceived progenitor of the Yoruba people.

The socio-cultural and political systems of the two communities are essentially identical and their geographical distribution largely overlaps. As related as Ife and Modakeke are, however, both engaged in protracted conflict for over a century.

The impacts of these crises have led to loss of lives, displacement of people, destruction of properties, etc. Thus, the greatest challenge facing the the new Ooni of Ife Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi is the issue of maintaining lasting peace between Ile Ife and Modakeke comunities.

Oba Ogunwusi has promised to consolidate on all achievements of his predecesors which among othersthings includes aiming to resolve any ethnic conflicts through constructive means.

Ife-Modakeke crisis  remains the oldest intra-ethnic conflict in Nigeria which makes the process  of continuous engagement and dialogue highly imperative.

Historical accounts suggest that the people of Modakeke migrated and settled in Ile-Ife in the aftermath of the collapse of the Old Oyo empire in the nineteenth century, causing a refugee crisis to the south and resulting in the occupation of their contemporary location.

Two distinct categories of people were thus created: the original settlers (landlords) and the migrants, tenants, farmhands, and a resettled group considered as refugees (Modakeke).These categorizations form the remote causes of the conflicts between the two groups.

It is recognized that the causes of the conflicts between Ifes and  Modakekes are many and varied. Historians generally trace the crisis to pre-colonial Nigeria especially during the Yoruba internecine wars of the nineteenth century.

Some of the identified major conflicts that broke out between the two groups include:

    The two bloody battles of 1849.
    The communal war of December 1882.
    The conflict over selection of Imam by the Modakeke in 1934.
    The Isakole (Land Rent) dispute of 1946 – 47.
    The confrontation over the reception of a British parliamentarian (Rev. Sorenson) in January 1949.
    The conflict over the establishment of Modakeke High School.
    The conflict over the establishment of Olorunsogo Plank Market,
    The opposition to self help development projects by a Fund Raising activity of Modakeke in 1980.
    And the request for a separate Local Government Council which began in 1950s.6

Efforts of  both the Federal and the State Governments in resolving these crises have brought relative peace to the comunities.

By AuthenticNews Network

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