Ifa devotee advocates yearly pilgrimage to Ile-Ife

Secretary-General of the International Council for Ifa Religion, Chief Adesina Olatunji Aresa, on Monday, in Ibadan, Oyo State, said the secularity of the country was in doubt, urging the Nigerian government to give equal opportunity to all recognised religions in the country.
Addressing a press conference at his Apata-Ganga, Ibadan residence, Aresa lamented that despite the pretence of the Nigerian government at different level, the country was not a secular state.

H said government used huge amount of money to finance both christainity and Islam, but neglected the Ifa religion, “which is the country’s indigenous religion.”
The Secretary-General of the International Council for Ifa Religion used the opportunity to call on the government to either adhere to the secularity dictates of the Nigerian constitution or be ready to finance all religions in the country.
Aresa maintained that Nigeria could generate millions of dollars yearly, if the Oke-Itase in Ile-Ife, Osun State, was promoted into a world prigrimage centre like Jerusalem and Mecca, “as Ifa adherents from different countries of the world, including Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, United States of America, Mexico, among others, visit the place every June.”
He added that Ifa was an international religion on the same pedestal with other major religions like Budhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Christainity and Islam, with thousands of people embracing the religion in those countries on daily basis.
Aresa revealed that the International Council for Ifa Religion, which Professor Idowu Odeyemi heads has resolved to propagate Ifa religion, not only in Nigeria, but also across the globe.