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Fri, May 23, 2014, 3:57 PM
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Village where goats walk with two hind legs !
In
Itoikin village near Epe many mysteries are revealed here .The place
has attracted tourists to verify the veracity of their mysterious
stories ..Taiwo Abiodun reports
Goats walk with two legs in the night
The
environment is clean and quiet.No noise and no bleating of goats . No
animals stray about but only two dogs were sighted barking at this
reporter in the small village. The villagers are mainly peasant farmers
and they live peacefully with one another .No stranger or visitor comes
here without not being easily recognized as they have low population
so one is easily noticed when he comes in.One thing is cocksure; the
indigenes know their rules and taboos thus they obey their rules to
the letter .Here in the community nobody , whether you are a stranger or
an indigene you must not rear goats or ducks. No matter how powerful
or rich you are these rules are obeyed and must not be flouted as the
consequence could be fatal. When the townsmen and their monarch were
asked why animals were not sighted , they all chorused that it is
forbidden .No one must not rear goat and duck here .Why? Their
response was strange and terrifying as they all declared "In the
midnight these goats would change to human beings and would be walking
with two hind legs and be walking like human beings .No wonder rearing
is banned !
"
They changed in the night and would transform into human beings and
be walking with their hind legs with their forelimbs raised up like
human beings, So that is why we don't rear all these", said
the village head Pa John Bamitale Ogunaike, the Alade Ebute of Itoikin
.The monarch with voice raised said " it is a taboo to see such animal
and bird in the village , " No, no, we don't rear goats or ducks here,
it is forbidden. We have some powerful people here".He then delved into
the reasons behind it , his words " it has been long we have been
practicing this taboo and it has been in existence since.Our
forefathers stopped rearing of goats.The reason was that in the night
these goats would be walking with their two hind legs , they turned
into another thing and which is strange that is why we stopped rearing
this domestic animal.Though we do eat them as delicacy but we don't rear
or kill them here.We would go and buy it from another place and killed
it there before bringing it into this village. We must not rear it .It
is forbidden."Asked whether one could try it , he replied " then you are
on your own.You are at risk.I have no hands in it.No matter what, any
stranger that comes into this village today would have been informed ,
so there is no ignorance in it. We also don't rear duck, these are
forbidden".
The controversial Tomb
In
the market place is a tomb where a German Civil Engineer Mr
Shelf was buried . Many did not know the name of the late German
while some claimed the man buried there was Julius Berger others said
he was one of the Engineers who constructed the Itoikin bridge.
However,the village head said it was one Engineer called Shelf that was
buried there.The the story behind the German was controversial.The tomb
is stuffed with a lot of rubbish by a lady with an unsound mind who
claims the man buried there was his 'father'.The lady even engaged this
reporter in a fight as she did not want this reporter to take pictures
of ' her father' , as she cried out to the market women that she was
going to report to the village head that this reporter had come to
steal the tomb where her father was buried .However, after consoling her
and sending her away some shots were taken.
According
to the monarch , people misrepresent and narrate false stories about
the German buried here saying it was Julius Berger, he said " we have
heard many stories about this tomb that it was Julius Berger that was
buried here , but let me clarify it that it is a wrong information. The
man that was buried here was a German Civil Engineer , he was part of
those constructing this road then .The German was living in Ijebu Ode
at that time .We learnt that he had a quarrel with his wife before he
left home ( Ijebu - Ode ) while driving his white Beetle Volkswagen
coming down here to Itoikin , but about two and half kilometers to
this place , to be precise at Ope Olori meji he had an accident as he
hit a tree .The accident was fatal and he was rushed to the hospital
but he died two days later". The monarch denied the rumor that the
late German did not make any vow with Mammy Water Spirit , "He did not
make any vow that he would offer his life to the Aaye river if he was
successful in constructing the bridge , it was all a hear say.He was
buried here for his people were here then and they thought there was no
need of taking him back to his home country.'
On
why the German was buried in the market , the monarch said " there was
no market at that place as at that time , but it just happened that it
was coincidental that a market was built where he was buried and near
the river ".
However,
a Public Transporter Bayo Ojo who lives in the community disagreed
with the monarch over the circumstances and where the Ferman was buried
, he said said he did not agreed with what the monarch said ,
according to Bayo" we were told that when the Itoikin bridge was
under construction it was collapsing and while many Nigerians and
foreign workers were drowning into the river the white man would
screamed ' One Spanner lost' until when a Mammy Water spirit appeared
to the late German engineer and asked him ( the German) to make a vow
that he would offer him his life if he successfully constructed the
bridge .The German Engineer then vowed , he built the bridge
successfully but he later had an accident which consumed him and in
fulfillment of his vow he was buried by the river side". Bayo
rhetorically asked " do we bury anybody by the river anyhow? Those Who
died by the riverside are buried there that was the reason why the
German was buried there in fulfillment of his vow" .
When
this reporter visited the tomb , it is unkempt as a lady with unsound
mind uses the place as her abode as she filled the tomb with dirty
stuff .She told this reporter that her father was buried in the tomb.A
man who came on tourism decried the situation of the village and pleaded
to the Federal government and German Embassy to come and renovate the
tomb.
Mysterious Aaye River
Their
well constructed market is closer to the mysterious Aaye River .There
is an arcade here where the ill fated Bellview crashed consuming
Professor Claude Ake and 198passengers. The river flows ceaselessly but
was still and immovable as if it doesn't flow.The little flowing
river is mysterious as no man has ever thrown stone across to the other
end in spite the closeness of the two ends .Not only this, no
stranger has ever successfully swam across to the other side which is
very close except the indigene of the village . According to the
village head Pa John Bamitale Ogunaike, the Alade Ebute of Itoikin , no
stranger can swim across the small water no matter how powerful or
highly skilled he would not get to the other side, while his lieutenant
Chief Chief Moyidi Ajayi the Olorikun Of Isale Ijebu , corroborated
the story and added. " any stranger that swim across will die .Infact ,
if he loves himself he must go back when he gets to the middle for no
stranger has ever swam across the small river , those who tried it
died along the way .But for a native nothing will happen to him " .Not
only this , the Baale added " while if a stone is thrown to the other
side it will never reach the end but will instead get into the water! It
is a mystery .If you want to try it you are free, but be careful ".
The
Alade Ebute continued " I am 76years old now , we all met this
river called Aaye, here.If you throw a stone across the river it will
not get to the other side despite its smallness but will rather go into
the river! .No matter what the stone will not reach the other end even
if you use bow and shoot arrow to the other side , the arrow will go
into the river". He continued " even if you attempt to swim across
you will fail or die on the way as a stranger , but a native can
swim across .If a stranger forcefully attempted to swim across , he
will die in the middle.It had happened to many who tried it or did it
out of ignorance!"
On
why they have a lot of palm wine and local gin( ogogoro), the monarch
said we are close to the river and that is what we have here to survive.
We are rich in history and culture but we are still begging the
governor of Lagos State to come to our aid and support us .We are far
away from the bubbling city .We have a lot of thatched roof houses as we
are near to nature
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