Ogboni Is A Secret Society, Not A Cult Group – Islamic Scholar Turned Oba Ogboni Agbaye

High Chief Tajudeen Olanrewaju Ajala popularly known as Ajamajebi is a renowned Islamic scholar with deep knowledge in the teachings of the Holy Quran and Arabic language. He holds a Diploma, Bachelor and Master Degrees in Arabic and Islamic Education from Arabic Teachers College, Jebba, Kwara State, College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies, Ilorin, College of Education, Ilorin and University of Lagos, respectively. As an educationist, he is the proprietor of Vibrant Brain College and Fabat Nursery and Primary School, Ikorodu, Lagos State. He is also an hotelier. In this interview with MICHAEL-AZEEZ OGUNSIJI and ZAINAB IBRAHIM, the pioneer President, Oba Ogboni Agbaye, who hails from Ifelodun Local Government, Kwara State, demystified the myths and realities surrounding Ogboni fraternity and its role in contemporary Nigerian society. Read on:

You have a solid background in Islamic Studies, why did you switch from being an Islamic scholar to an Ogboni leader?

You see, sometimes when you don’t know whom you are, or what you are, or what you are going to be, because you are not God, you have been predestined to be something. And according to what I heard from my parents that the Quran says: The God has commanded you that you should obey your parents; listen to them, whatever they say. So, after my secondary school, my father called me and asked me what I wanted to do? I said I would love to be a lecturer at the university; a professor. But my father said no. What he was told by his Islamic scholar was that I’m going to help people, so I must be an Alfa. I said okay, and I combined it with education. I love to be a lecturer. So, it wasn’t my intention to study Arabic. It’s the will of my parents, and I don’t want to disobey them. So, that is what prompted me to study Arabic and Islamic Studies. But fortunately for me, I was able to go on teaching line, Arabic Teachers College. So I combined both education and the Arabic Studies together. I pleased my father and at the same time, I satisfied myself, working towards my future ambition. On what prompted me to become Ogboni leader: normally, I don’t believe in Islam or whatever. I just studied it to satisfy my father being a Muslim. I knew when I grew old and became independent; I would choose whatever I wanted. But while I was studying Arabic, I was initiated as an Ogboni member at the age of 25. I’m now 56.

The Ogboni fraternity is shrouded in myths and several misconceptions. As Oba Ogboni Agbalaye, what is the true origin, purpose and philosophy of the Ogboni fraternity?

Literally, Ogboni means somebody that can keep secret. So anybody that can keep secrets is an Ogboni. Anybody who can keep the secret between two or group of people, the more you can keep it, you are an Ogboni. We cannot literally trace the origin of Ogboni. If we are tracing the origin of Ogboni, you will trace it to the time of creation, when God was creating everybody. Ogboni has been in existence before the creation of mankind. Ogboni has been in existence, because God himself is an Ogboni. Ogboni is all over the world. There are some countries that have a sizeable population of Yoruba like Brazil, Cuba, and they trace their origin, they trace down to Nigeria, Ile-Ife to be precise. When we are talking about misconceptions, there is no way there wouldn’t be misconceptions. Even in Islam, there are misconceptions. In Christianity, there are misconceptions. It depends on how you conceive the message being given to you. In the Quran, God says marry one, or two, or three, or four. So, everybody is now marrying two or three wives. It is misconception, because there is a clause. An Ogboni is a secret society, but not secret cult. There’s difference between secret society and secret cult. Cult involves human blood, but Ogboni does not use human sacrifice. They are all fallacies.

There are claims that the Ogboni fraternity is associated with secrecy, occult practices, and of course rituals. What is your take on this?

To be candid, when you are talking of Ogboni, truly there is secrecy in Ogboni. That is what the real meaning of Ogboni. You have to be secretive. And like I said earlier, every religion all over the world, not only in Nigeria, has their secrets. So every society, every association, has their own secret. Ogboni is more secretive than any other organization, because there is oath in it. It’s that oath that makes it very secretive. Whatever we do here, nobody should hear, except whoever is a member. But when you are talking of rituals, is ritual not in every religion? We do rituals, not human ritual, but animal rituals. But we are not cult. That is where the problem is. We are not cult.

What are the core values and principles that members of Ogboni Fraternity are expected to uphold, particularly regarding morality, justice, leadership and community development?

Before the colonial era in Nigeria, there was nowhere in Yorubaland that you will not see Ogboni. And Ogboni was the real government then. That is why the colonial people could penetrate into Yorubaland, because Alaafin himself was an Ogboni, and he worked along with other Ogboni leaders and members. So there is no way you can penetrate into them to know their secrets. The British colonial masters tried as much as possible to make sure they broke into us. They easily penetrated into the Igbo land, penetrated into the Hausa land, but it was difficult for them to penetrate into Yorubaland. Now, when we talk of governance, justice, economy, Ogboni is number one. In Yorubaland, when you give judgment on anything, it’s the work of Ogboni. So our tenets will tell you, don’t do evil, because we have made oath. Don’t do evil. As members, we have dos, we have don’ts. Whatever we do, we must make sure we do it in accordance with our culture and tradition. So to be an Ogboni member, you must be a person that is mature, because Ogboni is somebody that is old. And when we are talking of old, we are not talking of age this time around, we are talking of intelligence.

What is the difference between the Ogboni societies and the conventional Ogboni that installed the kings in Yoruba land?

They are clearly different. In the olden days, it’s Ogboni that installed Obas. But nowadays it has been changed. Why do I say it’s changed? If you want to become an Oba, they will say you need to have Osugbo. So Osugbo is different from Ogboni. They are clearly different, our worship are not the same. But I can say precisely that we worship through the same deity, because God is too merciful to face. You must have an intermediary. So our intermediary is the Edan. Osugbo has Edan, Ogboni has Edan. But our tenets are different.

Ogboni is even older than Osugbo. It’s more or less we are talking about R.O.F and Ogboni. So, Ogboni has been in existence. Some people now came and they reformed it. So when you are talking about kings, the kings are allowed to do Ogboni before being a king. Because when you are in a Ipebi (seclusion place), it is the Ogboni that teach a king how to talk, how to walk, how do king interact with people. But now they say that it’s Osugbo or Opa that will bring the king or so. No. That is just a new thing entirely.

Critics portray the Ogboni as a powerful secret network capable of influencing traditional rulers, politicians, and community leaders in our society. What is the reality of the Ogboni influence and its role in contemporary Nigerian society today?

If I want to say it properly, I will say because Nigeria has ignored Ogboni, that is why we are having the problems in the country. In the Ogboni fraternity, if you are running for an elective post, they will make you to swear an oath. For instance, there was a governor in Nigeria, late Governor Olusegun Agagu. While he was aspiring to be governor, he went to the Ogboni for help and protection. They assured him that he would win with a warning that he must abide by the promises he made to the people and he won. Not knowing that what he said, there was a spiritual power that stamped the covenant he made with the Ogboni that day. He swore that if he reneged on his pledge to the people, he should be struck with the wrath of Ogun (god of iron). That was why he died mysteriously. Even in death, his dead body involved in a plane crash. So, when we are talking of impact in politics, not only in politics, in all aspects of life, in economy, in whatever, if we have included Ogboni in Nigerian politics, no politician would siphon public fund or divert projects. If you take one naira out of public fund, you already knew what should happen to you? So all our monies that they are keeping somewhere, they will bring it out. I can’t comprehend how somebody will say, we have a fake DG. How is that possible? You can’t have a fake DG. It’s somebody that put him there. He didn’t fulfill the agreed promise and that is why they said, I will tell them you are a fake. He is not a fake! It’s somebody that put him there, collected money from him. I don’t want to mention names that everybody knows. So, when we are now talking of politics, influence on politicians, influence on Nigerian economy, it’s because they ignore Ogboni. That is why the whole of Nigeria is having problem. But if you have made an oath before going into government, nobody will steal. So in all aspects of life, Ogboni has influence. This is because they make oath, they say the truth. They tell you things as it is. They don’t deceive. That’s it.

Would you suggest that there is need for more Ogboni members to take government position?

I have suggested that long time ago. But the politicians of today did not recognize the traditional people, including Ogboni. And mind you, all these politicians do go to Ogboni to seek protection and power. Although, there are some Ogboni initiates that believe in money or flashy things. They forgot the oath they have taken. And when you now see their end, it is very bad. I’m still saying it, up to tomorrow, if the government of Nigeria does not include Ogboni in the system, the system will never be good. I can’t comprehend how somebody will have houses in all 36 states of Nigeria. So, if we have Ogboni members as politicians they will think twice before deceiving the masses. But they would rather prefer the Bible or the Quran, because they know nothing will happen to them if they lie on oath.

How has the Ogboni society transformed from its traditional Yoruba roots to its contemporary form? What is the aspect of the Ogboni institution that has changed over time?

Yes. There have been a lot of changes, but that does not change our core tradition. In the olden days, when Ogboni members were doing their worship, they did not put on normal clothes; they put on a wrapper tie around their body, and from the chest upward are exposed. Contemporarily, there have been a lot of changes that now warrant Ogboni wearing their normal clothes during worship. That one does not have any negative impact on our worship because of contemporary things that are happening. Nowadays, we now put on stickers on our cars to further promote the fraternity.

There are many young Nigerians who now join Ogboni for protection, and they also abuse the privilege of being an Ogboni member by using Ogboni title to engage in land grabbing and other criminal stuffs. Are there any punitive measures you have put in place as Oba Ogboni Abalaye for such members of Ogboni who have tarnished the image of the society?

Yes, I’m happy you said as Oba Ogboni Abalaye. Abalaye is an association. We have Aborigine. We have a lot of Ogboni societies nowadays. We have Iwashe, Aiye funfun. But we have different things that distinguish us – leadership and welfare. And it’s that leadership and that welfare that is causing the mayhem you are talking about. How did they take you in? What kind of oath did they perform for you? The real oath nowadays is not taken by some association in Ogboni, that is why we are having the issue, because they are after money, they are not after our heritage. They are not after our tradition. That is why as Kabiyesi of Ogboni Agbalaye, I did a lot of sensitization on TikTok. You will never see me discussing any other thing on TikTok than Ogboni. So, when we see people using Ogboni name to perpetrate evil, I will expose them to the world, that is why they tagged me as being controversial. Ogboni is working endlessly to make sure that every fake members or bad leaders in Ogboni are checkmated.

What are other fallacies associated with Ogboni Fraternity?

There are lots. They will say it’s a must for an Ogboni to replace himself or herself with either his daughter or son. It’s a blatant lie. They don’t need it. You don’t force anybody to do Ogboni. But because, like I said, some association wants people to come in, and when they see that a member is rich, they suggested he brings his son or daughter to be initiated so that, they can continue to enjoy the benefits from such family.

Secondly, they say we cut human heads, but no, we don’t cut human head or any other parts of the body. That is why anytime we want to bury anybody in Ogboni, we call the family of the deceased to inspect the body after we must have performed our normal rituals or sacrifices with goat or whatever on the body. All those ones are fallacy. We don’t do that, it is just a way to crucify us in the society. Another one is that, if you do Ogboni, you will die young, that’s another misconception about Ogboni. Even if you don’t join Ogboni, if you’re destined to die young, you will definitely die. Young people die as a Muslim and Christian too. Should people then stop practicing the two imported religions because someone died young? If you are predestined to die young, you will die young. Once you abide with the rules and regulations given to you, you will not die young.