'Ogbanjes,' emeres from US, UK, Cuba, others hold convention in Nigeria

Delegates of the association of Peers of Heaven, otherwise known as 'Egbe Emere Onitesiwaju' in Yoruba, have converged on Osun State, Nigeria for their annual thanksgiving and convention.

The association, peopled by those referred to as Emeres in Yoruba land and loosely called Ogbanjes by the Igbo, attracted members from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Brazil and Venezuela for the event.

Others also flew in from Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago to join their colleagues in Osogbo, Osun capital, for the 2024 edition of the thanksgiving to their deity and God.

The delegates, mainly men and women traditionalists, partook in many cultural and spiritual activities, including propitiation to the spiritual being, public lectures on the peculiarity of their being, as well as singing and dancing.

The event was led by the group's General Overseer, Priestess Oyelola Elebuibon.

Speaking at the event, Elebuibon said the association aimed at fostering unity among members of peers globally to form a formidable force against all evils confronting humanity.

"One of our major objectives is to bring heavenly mates across the world under one umbrella to confront negative energy on earth, if we are united, we can always defeat negative forces with our positive energies.

“Besides Thanksgiving, the convention is like a reunion for all of us. Our members that are based in Nigeria, during this convention, will reunite with their colleagues who will come from different parts of the world.

"We have delegates from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Cuba, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. This convention is coming a few days from the grand finale of the annual Osun-Osogbo cultural festival,” she said.

Commenting on the prevalent hardship in Nigeria, Elebuibon emphasised the need to stop cursing political leaders, noting that current happenings are the consequences of the negativity of Nigerians towards the leadership of the nation.

“As Nigerians, we should stop all negative proclamations about our land. Whatever negative thing we say with our mouth, we will experience it, if we don’t work hard to prevent it from happening. Nigerians should begin to say positive things about this country.

“Also, we should learn to sew our dresses going by the available clothing materials. We should not overreach ourselves. We should stop raining curses on our leaders. If a leader is not doing what we want, heaping curses on him would not help the situation,” she added.

One of the delegates, Osunlola Ifakemi, from Texas, United States, spoke of how she always enjoyed the comradeship the gathering offered, as well as the opportunity to meet other heavenly peers in Nigeria.

She also urged other peers in other parts of the world to join the annual gathering.