Praise the Lord.' And the audience chorused 'Hallelujah''Praise, praise, praiseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, the Lord.''Hallellujaaaaaaaaaaah.''My name is Prince Sina Oluwafemi, Chief Executive Officer, Tours Consultants. I am praising God for His mercies and blessings over me. He has been too good to me. Imagine me scampering from Ajegunle in Lagos to Oke'Ikoyi in Osun State after which I relocated to Ikoyi in Lagos. Is it not wonderful' Praiseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the Lord.''Hallelujaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah 'filled the air.This was some years ago at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Press Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan, Oyo State during a prayer meeting.Ade Aderinwale, was a bit surprised sometimes last year when he had the privilege of being given a ride by a very top non Yoruba speaking security operative attached to the Presidency from Abuja to Ibadan. On getting to Ikoyi junction after Ikire, the man informed him that he was heading to Oke Ikoyi and that the driver should take him to Ibadan after he would have alighted at the foot of the mountain.To Pastor Ayodele Oke, 'It is one of the mountains which God deliberately planted on the Nigerian soil for prayers to be answered automatically.'This and many other testimonies of faith, deliverance, miracles and wonders activated the Tribune Tourism Magazine to venture into this famous spiritual resort called Oke Ikoyi, a mountain located in Ero'Omo, Aba Iya Ibeta village, Ikoyi, Isokan Local Government Area, Osun-State.Getting to Oke Ikoyi is made easy from any direction.Visitors coming from Lagos need to take the first turning by the right after a six-kilometre drive from the old Ibadan'Ife Toll Gate, - there is always a motley of people heading to the mountain or getting out of the town waiting for a ride at the junction in addition to a directional post planted there, while those approaching from Ile'Ife have to take a turn by the left after a four-kilometre drive from Ikire.You cannot miss the location of the mountain as every soul in the vicinity will tell you 'Just follow this road, then at the round about, there is a big sign'post on the right, then make the turn and you can't miss it.'As directed, we obeyed and luck smiled on us as we saw an old acquaintance who was always flavouring his opinions with spiritual interpretation whenever we were engrossed in any discussion at the Press Centre some years past.We quickly halted the car and exchanged pleasantries with Mr. Ayodele Oke, now Evangelist Ayodele Oke who, after, volunteered to join us.A two-minute drive off the major round-about in Ikoyi took us to the foot of the mountain.We parked our car at what looked like a standard car park with flood light poles mounted on the fringes.'Let's pay homage to the Baale,' Evangelist Oke advised.We climbed the two steps leading to the Baale's residence a four-room apartment.And luckily, Chief Jacob Odekunle, Baale of Ero'Omo was on seat with another distinguished son of the village who is one of the triplets of Iya Olomometa, from whom the village derives its name, Mr. Odewole Abel Oyeranmin.Baale tells the story of Oke Ikoyi. 'This mountain was formerly called Mososi Mountain by our great grandfathers, (which means don't throw dirty things on it). The only thing we used to do then which was of necessity was to dry yam or cassava flakes on it. Our people then believed it harboured some spirits which they didn't see, but needed to be respected. Then there were attempts at worshipping it, but it was not done with much funfare. The most notable caution was Mososi, (don't throw litters or faeces on the mountain). Until a fateful day in 1935, when Pastor Isaac Ayo Babalola, Pastor Babajide, Oba Akinyele and Ogunola who was then the Baba Egbe of CAC in Ikoyi came and demanded that the mountain should be given to the CAC Church. There was no difficulty in handing over the mountain to the crew then because our forefathers had known about Christ before then and Pastor Babalola had been frequenting the mountain praying and spending days there. Our forebears were happy then. This was when one could count the number of sheds in the village on one's fingers tip,' the Baale revealed.After a good historic discussion, we headed for the foot of the mountain. Though the road to Aba Iya Ibeta is good, getting to the foot of the mountain was tedious.Yes, it could be likened to the Biblical saying that 'narrow is the path that leads to ''' You will be surprised having to pass through a labyrinth of windy foot ' path which tunnelled through the door-mouth of mud houses to the foot of the Mountain. This led to a question for Evangelist Oke 'Do you mean all the world acclaimed Nigerian tele- evangelists, big men in power, powerful prayer merchants and warriors, blessing seekers and great prophets use this tunnel- like path to Ori ' Oke Ikoyi' 'Yes. this is the path to the place.'We noticed rows of shops along the path offering daily needs, provisions, anointing oil and other spiritual condiments.One thing that first put us off was the stench which emanated from a growing garbage dung at the foot of the Mountain.'And the patrons of this Ori'Oke cannot ensure keeping this place neat.' 'Well, they are trying. You will fall in love with the sanitation code on the Mountain when you reach its top,' Evangelist Oke assured.Apart from the stench from the garbage dump, the Mountain confronted us with a solemnity of peace. Welcome to Ori'Oke Ikoyi The first thing was to put off our shoes and hide them under the steps. 'You can take your shoes along or leave them here as no one will steal them, 'Evangelist Oke affirmed. And thus, we made do with our shoes and started climbing the 175 steps to Ori'Oke Ikoyi.As we were climbing, we saw people lying down, walking and others being prayed for while majority took their fate on their hands supplicating to God.We were surprised at the simplicity of the Mountain.No effigy. Old houses and a big church which state of construction cannot be equated with the fame of the mountain. A new altar or preacher's platform is being built. There is a small concrete box where Development offering/ Tithes are dropped and array of water containers. But at the centre top of the Mountain is a demarcated area where tins of anointing oil, kegs of water and others were kept.No special rules for admission as individuals concentrated on what brought them up hill. Though there was a register which we learnt was being kept for those who might want to stay for days on the mountain.Being a Sunday, those we met lying down, walking in prayers and soliloquising could not be less than 300 and most of them slept on the floor of the church silently talking to God.Accosting Rev Yuke Ukrakpo of Life Hope Revival Ministry, Warri Delta State, he said: 'God directed me to come over here to pray. I have my church in Warri, but the spirit of the Lord ministered to me to head to a place called Ori Oke Ikoyi in Osun State. And I found my way here. And since I came, I have seen many people telling me what God has done for them through prayers on this mountain. God has been answering prayers on the mountain, people have been coming from places far and near both within and outside the country and I must tell you God has been awesome to people, those who come to the mountain never go home the same. I am one of them.' Pastor Oyekunle Adekunle who claimed to have been on the mountain since 2001 said: 'Oke Ikoyi is a place for automatic answer to prayers, people come from all walks of life to this mountain to pray and they have their problems solved. I don't want to mention names, but we've had uncountable number of great men who have visited and will still visit for spiritual exercise.'He said further that the mountain committee has been trying all its best in putting in place structures for the convenience of the faithful who storm the mountains for prayer. 'For instance, we have electricity, toilet, boreholes, guest houses for clergy men and others usage.Speaking on how they get fund to finance and maintain the mountain, Pastor Oyekunle disclosed that the contributions, donations, tithes and offerings are the major sources for development.Just like the Bible says, 'your faith shall make you whole,' people who visit the mountain must have faith that all their worries would be over after visiting the mountain without stress, said Pastor Taiwo Lanre, a pastor of Christ Church Eternal Salvation who acted as a tour guide to the crew of TTM during the visit.According to him, 'I am one of the people who carried blocks to the mountain in the 80s and since then I've been coming here to enjoy the power of God. I do come here to pray, at times, I spend up to a month here. 'I came here last week and I will be leaving on Tuesday.' The Baale revealed that the mountain has been a blessing.'We are so lucky in this village, Ori'Oke Ikoyi has been a blessing to us. This village had just four sheds before. Now, it is developing fast into a town. I live with Lagos people. Most of the people you see here are from Lagos. If you want to travel to Lagos, you cannot wait for 10 minutes before the bus is filled up.'Mr Oyeranmi added that most of the social facilities being enjoyed in the village is as a result of the Ori Oke Ikoyi, God loves us best. The bore-hole, road, drainage are all the result of having the mountain here. Deluge of people visit this village daily and we are happy about this.'The Baale however, appealed to the government and the patrons to 'construct public toilets. 'Our farms are being littered daily with faeces by patrons. We want the government to construct pay as you go toilets and employ people to manage them. Government or whoever will make money and our environment will be kept neater, is welcomed.'Mrs. Yemisi Olagunju who sells anointing oil, handkerchief and drinks said that she came to the mountain for prayers from Ikirun. 'We realised the economic advantage of the mountain, so we decided to stay back and continue to do our business, we have no regret whatsoever. We are okay as our business blossoms here.'Commenting on the Mountain, Evangelist Clement Ekundayo, and a veteran journalist said 'God is incomprehensible. He has His own reasons for planting this mountain here. The reasons, our God has been made known to a lot of people who throng this Ori-Oke Ikoyi from all over the world irrespective of age, class, religions and political affiliation. Our Lord is an awesome God. So is this Ori'Oke Ikoyi.
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