LADY BLEEDS UNCONTROLLABLY AFTER DISGUISING AS MAN TO FILM SACRED OLOOLU MASQUERADE IN IBADAN

By Aiyepola Abayomi

IBADAN — A young lady is reported to be in a critical condition after she disguised herself as a man to record the sacred Oloolu masquerade in Ibadan and posted the video online, in defiance of a standing directive from the Olubadan of Ibadanland restricting the masquerade’s movement for the season.

Oloolu belongs to a class of egungun regarded as Eegun Nla or Eegun Ipeku, alongside Agan, Paaka and Jengbo Jenju, and is distinct from Eegun Alaare, the lighter masquerades that dance publicly and collect gifts from crowds, ValidViewNetwork reports.

Ahead of this season’s outing, the Olubadan had directed that Oloolu be taken through bush paths rather than main streets, and its custodians complied fully with the directive.

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It was the lady, not the masquerade or its handlers, who breached the restriction. According to sources, she disguised herself in male attire, recorded the masquerade, and made the footage public. Custodians of the tradition reportedly viewed the act not as a private mistake but as an open provocation.

Shortly after the video was posted, the lady began bleeding uncontrollably, sources said. She reportedly confessed what she had done to her parents, who took her for appeasement at a shrine. She was told she would survive the bleeding but might no longer be able to bear children, according to the sources.

An unconfirmed report has since circulated that the lady has died. ValidViewNetwork could not independently verify this claim as of press time and urges the public not to treat it as fact until confirmed by credible sources.

The incident has renewed public debate on how indigenous traditions are regarded in contemporary Nigerian society.

A cultural observer, reacting to the incident, said the reintroduction of indigenous languages and culture into the school curriculum has become necessary, arguing that a generation cut off from its language is also cut off from the caution that language carries. The observer said parents do not need to abandon Christianity or Islam to raise children who understand that traditional beliefs carry real consequences and deserve respect, even from those who do not practise them.

Drawing a comparison with the ceremonial rites observed at the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the observer said similar rituals performed by Africans are often branded fetish, a double standard attributed to bias rather than to the traditions themselves. The observer noted that both Christianity and Islam took root in societies with pre-existing spiritual beliefs, citing the biblical instruction to give “to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” and the Quran’s Suratul Kafirun, which counsels believers not to force their way into another’s religion, arguing that both teach restraint toward other belief systems rather than mockery or provocation.

The observer cautioned against religious extremism that pushes people to disrespect the warnings of their own ancestors, saying consequences of this nature should be read as instructive rather than as proof of malevolence. The observer called on government to restore language and culture to the school curriculum, urged parents to teach children both scripture and custom, and appealed to young people to exercise restraint online.

ValidViewNetwork will provide updates on this developing story as more facts are confirmed.