ISESE, is the Yoruba word for tradition but it refers to the religious, and spiritual concepts and practices of the Yoruba people which is their traditional religion. The practitioners honour a range of gods and goddesses, including Osun, Esu, Sango, Obatala, Oya, Obaluaye, and Yemoja. Central to this belief system is Eledumare, revered as the supreme entity and source of all existence. This report is the third instalment of The ICIR series ‘The Others‘
Isese, which the traditionalists claimed is one the first religions in Africa, has a firm root in the Southwest part of Nigeria and has also spread to other places around the world like Cuba, Brazil, the Benin Republic, and the United States of America (USA).
Despite its age-long existence, adherents of Isese are struggling to gain ground in Nigeria, a country dominated by Christianity and Islam which traditionalists refer to as “foreign religions”. According to them, the coming of the Abrahamic religion posed a threat to the “real religion” and its practitioners. They also blamed the movie industry’s negative portrayals and actions of security agencies for the way people perceive the religion. This has contributed to adherents of the religion being constantly attacked, disparaged, shunned, and discriminated against.
Discriminated against for being an Isese adherent
The Mogaji Onibudo of Ibadan land and president, of the International Council for Ifa Religion (ICIR), Fayemi Fakayode, faulted the manner traditional worshippers are being disparaged. He said the hatred emanates from those practising foreign religions but want to put their religion above those of their land.

Fakayode, an Ifa priest, said when he was a student at the Adeyemi College of Education where he obtained his National Certificate of Education (NCE) and first degree respectively, he had lecturers who discriminated against him because he wasn’t a christian.
“I have a lecturer who gave me an E in a 3-unit course even though I was the president of the department, I was also the president of Ibadan students at Adeyemi College of Education at that time. So a person who heads all these associations, including the financial secretary of the student union, is not brilliant?” Fakayode asked.
“I had a CGPA of 3.9; I needed just 11 points to achieve a first-class before I was given an E because he asked me to come to his church and I refused. I did not because of that “stop practicing Isese,” Fakayode stated.
The ICIR did not independently verify the claim by Fakayode.
He stated that the discrimination had continued to the next generation as his child is also at the receiving end.
“My child faced similar discrimination in school when a hostel mate blamed a stomach ache on milk my child provided. This lead to mockery and he became reluctant to share anything again,” he stated.
Fakayode said issues like intimidation and discrimination have made many children of traditional worshippers convert to Islam and Christianity.
He added that he faced job discrimination due to his traditional beliefs, with subtle hints in interviews and hostility from colleagues.
A prominent traditionalist, the Baba Ijo Ose meji, of Ibadan, an Ifa Priest, Awoniyi Omorodoye Amosun, lamented that traditional religion is being disrespected and belittled, while its practitioners consistently choose to respond with love and consideration, mindful of the harmonious relationships their ancestors maintained.
He warned that if their ancestors were to retaliate against the disrespect in kind, it would lead to conflict.
Amosun, who is the Otun Awise of Ibadan land, expressed concerns over the intense criticism and attacks on traditional religion from various directions.
He highlighted past violent clashes between Muslims and masquerade groups, resulting in loss of lives, and called for greater self-regulation within the Muslim community.
Amosun also noted that some individuals from his community, upon gaining influence, often disregard traditional customs.

He further alleged that traditional religions face ridicule and discrediting efforts from other religions through media channels. He called for traditional practitioners to speak out against these attacks, believing that the world is increasingly recognising the flaws in other religions.
“They are looking for all avenues to wipe out traditional religion and they are overdoing it in Ibadan,” he said.
The Otun Awise, Amosun complained that when crimes like murder or money rituals occur, security agents unfairly link them to traditional worshippers, even when the perpetrators have prefixes like ‘Alhaji’ or ‘Pastor’ before their names.
He argued that it’s not traditionalists who engage in such acts, but rather individuals from other religions who bring in foreign charms and practices.
He alleged that foreign religions, specifically Christianity and Islam, are actively working against the traditional Isese religion. He claimed that in cases of conflict, the police and courts tend to favour Christians and Muslims, against traditional worshippers.
An Ifa Priest, Adepoju Taiwo Ifadairo, a student of Ekiti State University, and an herbalist based in Ibadan, Oyo State said the challenges and opposition he has faced due to his beliefs are countless but do not bother him again.
“Sometimes some of my lecturers would tell me that Jesus said we should do this and that. I don’t usually interrupt them but when they are done, I politely explain to them what Ifa is and what other deities represent,” he said.
Ifadayo Osunsanmi, an Osun and Ifa Priest, said, “in Yoruba culture, Ifa refers to the revered deity, Orunmila, also known as Ifa, who embodies wisdom, knowledge, and intellectual growth, and is considered a powerful symbol of insight and understanding, has been bastardised as many people do not even want it attached to their names.”
According to Ifadairo, no religion preaches the truth like the traditional religion.
“These people will come to Africa and tell us the Orisas our forefathers have been worshipping are not good. Sometimes they will pay cash to buy some of them,” he inferred.
Movie industry impact negatively on Isese religion – Adherents
The strength of the Nigerian movie industry has gone beyond the spheres of Africa and has attained a global status. The industry plays a significant part in reflecting Nigerian culture, traditions, and societal issues, resonating with local audiences.
The Yoruba movie industry, also known as Nollywood Yoruba, is a significant component of the Nigerian film industry. The movies churned out by this industry have been blamed as being one the militating factor against Isese religion. According to Ifadairo, the film industry has caused a lot of damage to the Yoruba land through their movies.

He stated that many people have never visited the house of a herbalist but the movies they watch have polluted their minds with all manner of negativity regarding traditional religion.
“You can see where they will tell a herbalist to make use of three human heads or use someone for money rituals. It is not like this during our forefathers, where unimaginable things are done to get rich.
“What our forefathers usually used in those days were different species of rats and fish among other animals,” he stated, stressing that spiritual fortifications are “normal things” in Yoruba land and do not require using humans as a ritual.
“Sometimes when they ask someone to go and consult Ifa in a movie, they might ask for the person’s heart or any part of the body after death, this is not correct,” he added.
On the negative impact of Yoruba movies on Isese, Amosun – earlier mentioned – said there is a deliberate attempt to use the movie industry and communication channels to destroy Isese.
“They will cook something up and send it to the theatre practitioners to use and write stories that are untrue like saying, traditionalists are killing people for atonement, bringing seven pregnant women for sacrifice. These are all the things they are using against us but that doesn’t stop one from progressing.
“The movie industry is filled with people who don’t have any knowledge of Ifa acting as Babalawos in the movie. Then the scriptwriters are mostly Muslims and Christians, they are writing it to promote their religion,” he claimed.
The movie industry is filled with people who don’t have any knowledge of Ifa acting as Babalawos in the movie. Then the scriptwriters are mostly Muslims and Christians, they are writing it to promote their religion
Amosun accused foreign religions of sponsoring efforts to undermine traditional religion, using their wealth to promote their own beliefs while disparaging indigenous practices.
He warned that denigrating the traditional religion and its adherents will have consequences, as they are the original owners of the land.
He urged them to stop speaking ill of traditionalists and to cease portraying them negatively in movies, which often depict herbalists as engaging in human sacrifices and murder, a misrepresentation of reality.
Indian, Chinese movies promoting their religions but we are killing ours – Actor
The director, of Crown Troupe of Africa, a dance-theatre group, Segun Adefila alluded to the point made by traditional worshippers that the Nigerian movie industry is working against our culture and tradition.
According to Adefila, art is the means of expression through which one introduces his or her culture to the world but the reverse is the case in Nigeria.

“What we see in Indian films, is how we accepted everybody is rushing to America because of the soft power America was able to push. You cannot watch American movies without seeing an American flag. and they tell you of all their beautiful cities.
“The Chinese too, if you observe, we never see any of those things. For instance, in Indian films, you never see where a white or a foreigner in suit will come and win them in their shrine. It is their shrine that always overcomes. It is well portrayed when they talk about Buddhism, Hindu. The Hindu shrine is well taken care of, and well protected, so it’s highly restricted.
“We are the ones that have problems. We demarket ourselves,” Adefila stated.
While stating that the movie industry should have corrected cultural misconceptions, he explained that films often depict a pastor using their Bible to collapse a shrine, perpetuating harmful stereotypes about traditional practices.
“I went to a country one day, somebody came to pick me up at the airport, the first thing the person said to me was that he was scared of me as a Nigerian, that he had seen our movies, we have black power. So something we should be proud of has now turned against us,” Adefila stated.
According to the actor, he shares the opinion that the film industry reinforces harmful narratives about Isese religion, instead of promoting understanding and dispelling misconceptions.
First, we have, to know that before Western interference, before colonialism, our ancestors thrived and survived on their intellectual heritage and knowledge systems.
Stigmatisation is an issue
Ifadairo believes that traditionalists are being stigmatised due to their beliefs and claims it is affecting their morals.
“There is also shame, for when they (traditionalists) are in a place filled with Muslims or Christians that are talking or playing, they don’t want anyone to know that they are traditionalists so they pretend to be like others.“
An Ibadan-based Ifa Priestess, Ifayemisi Atinumo said, “I was at a naming ceremony a few months back and the pastor saw me sitting down there with my beads on. He said to me “You that want to do this and that, Orisa worshippers you are going to hell fire. For peace to reign, such words should not be coming from religious leaders.”
Ifayemisi queried the intimidation and harassment of Isese adherents and recalled experiencing a situation where she was asked to remove her Ifa bead while in school, but she refused, comparing it to asking an ‘Alhaja’ to remove her veil.
She also mentioned that some men have made comments suggesting that dating her would invite supernatural retribution if they broke her heart, to which she responded that she is human and wouldn’t harm anyone even if they treated her poorly.

“People believe that being a traditional worshipper, you tend to do bad things to them. They believe that you have charms that you can harm them with,” Ifayemisi said.
Egungun (Masquerade) in danger
Ifakayode who is also the Jagunmolu Awo Agbaye, said fights always break out between adherents of foreign religions and the Egungun masquerades in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, during the Egungun festival because some Muslim clerics always try to stop the Egungun from accessing major roads during processions.
But according to him, in Ibadan, there is a way to resolve such issues by involving the king and the government.
“Such incidents have happened in the past when a Muslim cleric called Ajagbe Mo Keferi started stopping masquerades from using the roads.
“Some of the troubles he started are still on the ground today because that was when a lot of masquerades started arming themselves with cutlasses for protection ,” Fakayode stated.
On his part, Amosun claimed that it’s unimaginable for an herbalist to launch an attack on Muslims while they’re praying, stating that such an incident is unlikely to occur. Instead, he alleged that Muslims are the ones who often initiate attacks on others, implying that they are the aggressors.
“Anytime we are having our festival, they will go and give thugs money to come and attack us. Recently, a harmless masquerade came out, it belongs to the government. The masquerade had already returned home when they went to give some thugs money to fight it,” the Otun Awise stated.
Amid the opposition, Ifadairo advised his fellow traditionalists to always be proud of their religion because according to him, there is no way they can prove that traditional religion is not a bad one if those who are practising it cannot be proud of it.
“Don’t let us hide our names, it’s a good name. If someone that has Oluwa before their name or Taofeek or Taoreed are not ashamed of their names as Christians or Muslims, why should we traditionalists be ashamed of ours? he asked.
Ifayemisi on her part encouraged other traditionalists to be proud of Isese and not hide behind the curtains due to fear of harassment.
As for Fakayode, what traditionalists who are scared of associating with Isese require is knowledge which, according to him, is the responsibility of parents
The secular nature of Nigeria stressed
Ifayemisi referenced an incident where an Ifa priest was victimised for choosing not to convert to Islam, highlighting the irony that Nigerian law guarantees freedom of religion, yet some individuals refuse to acknowledge and respect the existence of other faiths.
She emphasised that traditional religion, like hers, predate the arrival of other religions in the region and that they have never prohibited others from practising their beliefs.
Ifayemisi advocated for mutual respect and peaceful coexistence, urging that individuals be allowed to live their lives as they see fit, without imposition or persecution.
We perform our duties regardless of religion, ethnicity, or philosophy – Police
On the allegation that security agents, especially the police, are tarnishing the image of traditional worshippers, the spokesperson of the Oyo State Police command, Adewale Adefeso, said all allegations against the force are false.
He said the force has always tried to be fair to all in their dealings.
“I don’t think there has been there has been any revolt in that light about favouring a side. In Oyo, if there is any such situation, they should cite it.
“We have respect for the rights of citizens, residents and non-residents alike. If there is a case they are referring to, they should bring it forward and it will be reviewed accordingly,” Adefeso stated.
Ifayemisi advised the government to add Isese studies to the school curriculum,
“If the government should add Isese studies to the curriculum, the children, the upcoming generations will get to learn about Isese in schools instead of Christian Religious Studies and Islamic Religious studies. People can get to learn. The upcoming generation can get to learn more about Isese from scratch.
She also asked for more government support in all Isese festivals and praised the Oyo State governor for providing security for all the Egungun (masquerades) and all that.
A professor of Philosophy at the University of Lagos, Douglas Anele, expressed his scepticism regarding the existence of a supernatural being and advised that all expenses for pilgrimages should be borne by the pilgrim.
“A sensible government should not be involved in religion except for regulatory purposes,” he stated.
Oyo government reacts
The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Oyo state Governor, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, declared that the state government respects all regions and does not discriminate. He added that the government is very tolerant of all religions.
“Just last week [2024], the government of Oyo State was represented by the deputy governor at the Sango Festival in Oyo. It was a very big event and the government was fully represented and supported the occasion. The ambassador of Portugal was there.

“On the issue of pilgrimage, where is the place they want to travel to?” he asked.
He noted that in Oyo State, it’s a common practice to have representatives from three religions offer prayers at official events. Christians, Muslims, and traditional worshippers each take turns to offer prayers, promoting religious inclusivity and diversity.
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This is impressive. Thank you for showing the world what the Isese community is going through.