Right from the beginnings, there have been stories of different warriors who have had there names in the book of history, and today, I will be narrating a story of one. Long time ago, in the faraway land of Oyo, there lived a powerful hunter who was also a ruler and warrior by the name of Aro....CONTINUE READING
On several occasions would the white men enter the Kingdom to disturb the peace of the people, and through that, they would want to trade the people as slaves.
One day, Aro and his warriors sketched a plan to migrate to Igbo Aje along with his leopard, once after they had settled in the town, they began attacking their enemies who were slave traders.
Aro restored peace and security back to his people after he had defeated the slave traders from neighboring Kingdom named Dahomey, which is known as Benin Republic today. After a while, the warrior, Aro decided to migrate and settle down in a town named Ilu-Aro meaning the town of Aro which was named after him but later changed to Ilaro.
When the powerful warrior became old, along with his leopard, he disappeared into the grounds to prove how powerful he was to his people, but before he disappeared, he told his people to always call upon him by pulling the chains attached to the leopard and himself. Aro laid a powerful and remembering legacy to the town of Ilaro.
The spot where the powerful warrior disappeared along with his leopard which is known as Amotekun in yoruba is now called the Orona Shrine, it has gone through renovation on several occasions but however, it is the place where the coronation of a new town King is always conducted.
For his legacies to live on, am annual festival called Orona festival is held every year in Ilaro, Aro lived a life of protecting others, hence, he is well remembered and respected.
