My people, make I yarn you wetin happen for the Osun Grove wey I visit last week. E no be small thing o!
As I waka enter Osogbo, I come dey feel as if I don enter another world. Dis na the home of River Osun, wey dey flow like sweet melody for the heart of Osun State. Na so dem dey call am State of the Living Spring, no be play. E get history wey go make you respect our culture pass all these foreign wahala.
Osun State dey surrounded by Ekiti, Ondo, Kwara, Ogun, and Oyo. Dem form for August 27, 1991, and since then, na Osogbo don dey carry the gavel. This river na the heart and soul of the Yoruba tradition, every year people dey jam for Osun-Osogbo festival to show respect, e dey bring people from Brazil, Cuba, and plenty other countries wey get Yoruba blood for body.
As we enter the grove, na so the forest dey glow with life. You go see shrines, sculptures too many to count, and the spirit of Osun dey hug you like say you be long lost child wey just return home. We pay N1,000 to enter and N1,500 to snap with our phones, we no wan miss any moment.
As I dey snap picture, monkeys dey follow us like we be film stars! But one bad thing wey catch my eye be the road wey dey lead to the grove, na only God know how e still dey look like that. Dem suppose fix am sharp sharp o, this na heritage wey we go preserve well well.
Inside the grove, the Amititi Bridge dey shine like say e just come out from Ogbomosho market. But e get wahala, the small gate dey locked, so we no fit cross the bridge. Water wey suppose dey pure for River Osun don change color, brownish like say dem mix am with garri! Dem talk say na illegal miners wey dey cause am. Enemies of progress, I call dem.
People dey still dey believe say this river get healing power, but abeg, how far? Wetin government dey do for the pollution matter? Na wetin we go fit raise our voices for. After we finish for the grove, we visit the palace of the Ataoja, na another place full with beautiful stories.
Osun no dey carry last, abeg! E dey produce correct people like Davido, Wole Soyinka, and the first female speaker of House of Reps. Na serious level o. As I dey talk, I dey feel proud to come from dis kind place. We gatz protect our culture, preserve our history and make sure say River Osun dey shine like e suppose dey.
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