Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

An Iwo Chief, Abdulrosheed Jeleel has urged traditionalists to desist from mixing idol worship with Yoruba culture and traditions.

This followed a recent criticism of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi by Ifa Council worldwide accusing the monarch of denigrating yoruba traditional religion and culture.

Chief Jeleel, in a statement made available to newsmen by Ibraheem Alli in Osogbo on Monday, wondered why the Ifa council was lumping idol worshipping with Yoruba culture and tradition, saying deity worship was a practice worldwide in the dark days.

He noted that Islam and Christianity have never hide under culture to deceive people, challenging the group to come out clean with their written code of conduct as we have in the Bible and Qur’an.

“Yoruba has the richest culture and traditions. Our rallying point, Oduduwa, never worshipped any deity. He worshiped only Olodumare. He brought unilateral leadership committed to Olodumare (God).

“After the demise of Oduduwa, the family of Obatala known for idolatry hijacked the throne. That was the genesis of how they started to lump idolism with our culture and traditions. The mess has not be cleaned since the return of Oranmiyan.

“Now the truth has come, and it will stay. Deitism has no link with Yoruba culture and kingship. Yorubas are a special creature. We communicate directly to Olodumare and not through any intermediary”.