When it comes to travelling, I will call myself an opportunist. I have had to travel to many places unplanned. Being an Igbo man, I have travelled to most Yoruba major towns in south-west Nigeria. All the places that I have visited have different physical attractions. Some of those places have natural endowment like waterfalls, mountains, rocks, some rocks with special characteristics, streams and lots more.
Out of the places I have been opportuned to visit, the ancient town of Idanre holds a special place in my vision and memory. The journey to Idanre was one of the most planned trips I have ever had.
I was in my second at the university when my department organized a field trip to the ancient town. The Historical Society of Nigeria, an organization established for students and teachers of history, was part of the organizers of the excursion in collaboration with the university board.
We looked up for the fun that we shall experience during the excursion. Some of the ladies in our department had to buy new clothes while others prepared food of different tastes and pastries. I bet you, we never knew what was ahead of us as the trip was more for research and facts finding purposes.
One the day of the excursion, I woke up very early so as not to miss the bus. As usual, the history department was known to have very few undergraduates but this said excursion was for students at all levels in the department. After we had filed into the bus, the driver turned on the ignition and our Aluta Jet (the name of the Marco Polo bus that conveyed us) drove out from the school quadrangle area to the busy highway.
About five to seven minutes after we set out, the bus was flagged down at a police checkpoint but all the students started singing solidarity songs and at once, the police officers and way for the bus to drive past the checkpoint, in a bid to avoid the impending problem that may arise.
From the school premises to Idanre town was about forty-five minutes to one hour drive. As soon as we arrived in the town, we drove straight to the palace of the king where we received permission to visit the ancient dwelling place of the earlier progenitors of the Idanre people.
The town is surrounded by high mountains. One of the mountains was always in smoke-like flames. The orator who took us to the town told us that aircraft cannot fly over that particular mountain.
At the peak of one of the rocks, over three hundred steps that have been carved with rails is the ancient above of the Idanre propel. The history of the place dated over four hundred years of communal life.
There were skeletons of mud buildings and dilapidated meeting bans where village court proceedings were held. When we asked about the reason why the people chose to live on the rocks, the orator gave a superstitious answer that the rocks that surrounded the community acted as shield against external attacks. In fact, during the year when there were civil wars around the Yoruba kingdoms, Idanre remained undefeated by the many foes that surrounded her.
Their dying system was quite believable. It was not like we were taught in the four walls of the classroom. They counted the number of years the kingdom had been established by the number of buffalo skulls that were kept in the ancient palace archives. This is done in such a way that every year when the king hosts a special ceremony, the hunters would have to bring back a big male buffalo for the celebration and the skinned skull is thrown into the archives for the purpose of counting the number of years the community has been established. This ritual is still being observed till today in the town of Idanre.
Tourist Site Potentials In Idanre Town
There is no gainsaying the fact that Idanre town could attract tourists from all over the world for her many natural attributes.
•The Flaming Mountain: If this was a volcanic eruption site, I bet you, it must have matured over time but this is a natural gift of nature for thick flames like smoke to protrude from the top of the mountain into the skies. This is a sight to behold and the government will make a lot of income if the town is given a beautiful road network and the rock site is re-designed and gated for tolls to be paid before tourists can walk in to feed their eyes and even take photo shots of this unknown gift of nature.
•Elevator To The Ancient Rock Town: Climbing the over three hundred steps manually could be painful. The state or local government could invest there by building an elevator that would carry tourists into the ancient town. These are the changes that are needed which would have brought the needed change that would make Idanre a huge tourist site in Nigeria..