An order jointly issued by the Soun-in-Council, local governments’ chairmen and traditional chiefs to suspend the ongoing Egungun festival in Ogbomoso has been defied.
Though the festival is billed to end today, Sunday, many Egunguns were sighted parading the streets today with their followers tagging along in apparent disregard for the directive to forthwith halt the continuation of the festival.
The order emanated yesterday’s evening following spate of violence that dogged the festival leading to the death of a boy at Ojude Ajaawa area on Friday.
According to the order monitored on radio stations, the chairman of the masquerades in Ogbomoso Chief Ifatona Akinyemi Omofowowe was directed to immediately halt the continuation of the festival.
Investigations by ogbomosoinsightonline.com revealed meanwhile that the crisises were often instigated by area boys who waylay Egunguns.
“It’s usually that the area boys seize the advantage of Egungun festival to take it out on rivals they sighted behind Egunguns,” an adherent submitted.
To curb the activities of the hoodlums, the Amotekun Corps came out in large numbers yesterday morning to apprehend area boys congregating by the streets and at junctions.
The same thing was witnessed today, and that action seems to have restored sanity to the annual festival as violence was not reported again.
Perhaps many of the adherents had not heard the news of the suspension and had gone out to fulfill their traditional performance.
