The battle for cultural supremacy between Ile-Ife and Ugboland does not appear to be something to abate any time soon. It seems things are even going to be compounded further with the recent step taken by the Kingdom of Ugboland to make an indelible statement about its traditional belief about the role of Moremi Ajasoro, a key figure of high significance in the history of the Yorubas.
The Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba Fredrick Akinruntan and his people, have unveiled a statue of Moremi with her knees bowed in Ilaje-Ugbo, in a bid to castigate her vices as a treacherous traitor while the Ifes extol the virtue of the amazon.
Olugbo, Oba Akinruntan and Ooni of Ife, Oba Eniitan Ogunwusi, have been locked in a battle of supremacy and historical accuracy, as they both have given distinct versions of the exploits of Moremi in the era past. The divergence of accounts has pitched both traditional rulers against each other at different times.
To the Ooni and the Ife people, Moremi was a heroine whose feats were very pivotal to the freedom of Ife people at an age when external forces of the Ugbo extraction would invade their territory at will, cart away their possessions and enslave them. From the perspective of Ooni, Moremi Ajasoro became a goddess of liberty that liberated her people from captivity.
But Olugbo would have none of the Ooni’s account, which he called historical distortion. According to Olugbo, Moremi, contrary to widespread belief, was a villain who betrayed the trust of the Ugbo people and sold them out to the Ifes. Olugbo explained that Moremi was the wife of Osangangan Obamakin, the first paramount ruler of Ile-Ife and the first Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, whose secrets and powers she later divulged to the Ifes.
It was this alleged treacherous act of Moremi, a beautiful, light-complexion woman that makes it a forbidden act for Ugbo men to marry ladies who are fair in complexion. By tradition, Ugbo men who are attracted to light skinned ladies should do so with great caution and are always enjoined to perform some traditional rites to exorcise Moremi spirit from the woman in order to make the union a blissful one.
So whenever Ife people are celebrating Moremi as heroine, Ugbo people will be ceremonially castigating her as a traitor who betrayed the love of her husband. This is the more reason the statue in Ugbo depicts Moremi in kneeling posture to reflect her regrets and penitence. The traitor celebration comes up on 8th of August, 2018 at Ode Ugbo.
