This historic city, which is one of the places that have been a source of attraction to visitors and tourists, is the palace of the town’s traditional ruler, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi, Ajagungbade III.
For those visiting the place, what appears to be the magnet drawing them there is a 324-year-old tortoise popularly called Alagba by residents.
According to those living in the palace, the tortoise has lived in the palace for over 300 years. This is not the only spectacle about Alagba. Since its arrival in the palace, the tortoise, which is said to have mystical powers plays host to different calibres of people including royal fathers, tourists from foreign countries, ailing individuals seeking divine healing and people seeking longevity.
In an encounter with the tortoise’s caretaker during a trip to Ogbomoso recently, it was gathered that the tortoise receives up to 150 visitors daily.
According to Samuel Ojo, the current caretaker, the tortoise was brought into the palace several years ago by one of the past traditional rulers of the town, Oba Toyese Ikumuyi, Ajagungbade I.
Ojo further revealed that the monarch saw the tortoise while returning from the war front, and consequently brought it to the palace.
“This is the history handed down to us from our forefathers. We all grew up to see the tortoise in the palace. Out of curiosity, we inquired from our parents why the tortoise was brought by the king and we were told that the king’s initial aim was to keep it as a pet, but that when it was discovered that it had some mystical powers, a decision was taken to take care of it,” he declared.
Ojo further revealed that a detached apartment was later put up for the tortoise within the palace.
“Since that time this tortoise has become part of our life not only in the palace but also throughout the town. You cannot talk of Ogbomoso without talking about the tortoise.”
On how the tortoise acquired its mystic powers to perform various miracles credited to it, Ojo said: “My brother, it is only God that can explain it. But what I know is that several people come here every day seeking to be cured of one form of ailment or the other, and they believe that whenever they touch the tortoise that their problems will be solved. This is why you see all these visitors here. They are not here for picnic, they are here to see the tortoise because they believe that it has powers to provide solutions to their problems,” he said.
Recalling a time when a traditional ruler from the Southwestern part of the country came to the palace, Omo said that the monarch was carried to the palace by his aides, but that as soon as he touched the tortoise’s head, the monarch regained his health.
“There are many instances that I have witnessed here where the tortoise was only touched and you see people jubilating that their ailment had disappeared.”
Asked whether the tortoise has any taboo , Ojo said: “There is nothing extraordinary or unusual about the tortoise. But when you come here, there are certain rules you must observe. As they say, when you are in Rome, behave like Romans, when you come here you don’t call the tortoise by name you address it as Alagba which mean the elderly one in Yoruba language. Not only that, you then prostrate or kneel down depending on your sex before you proceed to touch the tortoise on the head or any part of its body, and then table your requests.”
Reiterating the importance of addressing the tortoise as Alagba, Ojo said failure to do so would make the tortoise unhappy.
“If you come here, and you refuse to follow the rules then this tortoise will not cooperate with you. If you don’t address it as Alagba, you will just notice that the tortoise will suddenly become cold towards you, and before you know what is happening it would gradually move towards its resting place. There were occasions when the tortoise got provoked, and for some days, it would not come out of its resting place. There have been some occasions when some visitors from far places had to wait for three days or more for the tortoise,” he stated.
On the kind of food the tortoise eats, Ojo said it could eat anything as long as such item is edible.
“The tortoise eats anything eaten by human beings. At times, we serve it moin-moin, rice and fish, bread and tea and even rice. But what still baffles all of us here is that the tortoise drink water only once in every two weeks. If you give water to the tortoise now, it won’t drink again until two weeks later.
While saying that there have been one or two occasions when the tortoise took ill, Ojo however quickly added:
“Even for human beings, we do fall sick, let alone animals, but this tortoise hardly falls ill, and whenever it does not feel fine, nobody administers any drug on it, the tortoise will just retreat to its abode, and for few days will not come out. But by the time you see it moving round the palace ground again, you don’t need anybody to tell you that it has regained its health. I don’t know the secret of its longevity; this tortoise has outlived over 15 Souns, that is talking about our traditional rulers here.”
Has there been any attempt to relocate the tortoise to a zoo? You inquired. “Never!”, he retorted. “For what reason? Since it was brought here, this tortoise has never left the palace ground. It is generally believe that any attempt to take the tortoise out of the palace will have a negative consequence.”
Speaking with some residents of Ogbomoso on how they feel about the tortoise, most of them described it as a blessing to the town.
For Madam Adunni Adunola, a petty trader, the tortoise since its coming to Ogbomoso has been a harbinger of blessing to the residents.
“Since the tortoise came to Ogbomoso, everywhere has always been peaceful. Have you heard about any crisis in Ogbomoso? Our city is a haven, and we owe this in part to the existence of this tortoise,” she declared.
The 78-year-old trader enjoined Soun of Ogbomoso and his chiefs to continue taking care of the tortoise.
In his own view, Solomon Ayanlola, a political leader in the town, the history of Ogbomoso can’t be complete without the tortoise.
“The tortoise has been with us for many years. It has become part of our history. We all treasure its presence among us, and we urge our leaders to continue taking good care of it.”
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