A traditionalist, Ifagbenusola Atanda, says the gruesome murder of worshippers at the St Francis Catholic Church in Owo by terrorists is a wake-up to all Nigerians to be firm in securing their communities through the traditional means.

Speaking on behalf of other traditionalists in Osogbo, Mr Atanda, the president, Ancient Religion Societies of African Descendants International Council (ARSADIC), said that “non-conventional and traditional methods” remain the only way to fight terrorists.”

Mr Atanda, also the Asiwaju Awo Agbaye, said that time has come for everyone to adopt traditional means, like in the past, to step up security across Nigeria.

He said there was no doubt that governments alone could not secure the lives and property of Nigerians.

“For whatever evil that befalls us, we are all to be blamed because God has continued to give us signs of calamities ahead.

“But, we have not done enough to prepare or show the capacity to push intruders and aggressors away from our communities,” he said.

The traditionalist said that God would never come down to defend people from the sinister prey of “these evil-minded and blood-thirsty monsters.”

“God has endowed us with brain and knowledge of what to do to survive as people in all situations.

“And, we want to assure our people that we are not going to fold our arms and allow these people to operate freely and unchecked on our God-given land.

“But, we need the cooperation of the people and our traditional rulers to play our part as traditionalists, who are prepared to combat these aggressive crooks the way our forefathers did to their forebears.”

He decried the non-cooperation of many traditional rulers, particularly in Yorubaland, to work with the traditionalists to secure their domains and, by extension, promote and protect the tradition and culture of their people to which they have sworn to uphold.

Mr Atanda said the traditional rulers were carried away by their “newfound” religious faiths and, therefore, could not maintain the spiritual balance as royal fathers to their subjects.

He said that the assailants should not be seen as Muslims but as terrorists, urging Yoruba people to put aside their religious differences and come together to fight a common cause for posterity.

(NAN)