It was exactly 2:35 pm on a sunny Monday when I arrived at Erio, an ancient and historic community in Ekiti, South-West of Nigeria where the practice of idol worshipping is abolished and prohibited.
As I dashed to the foot of the mountain where late Apostle Joseph Babalola prayed for long hours during his lifetime, I saw an inscription: “Christ Apostolic Church, Mountain of Mercy” with accompanied dos and don’ts for first-timers like me to adhere to.
A brief history of Erio Community
Erio is a micro-community with a population of about 50,000 houses that accommodated one of the most popular prayer mountains in the world, Oke Aanu (Mountain of Mercy) or New Jerusalem, which was founded by the late founder of CAC Evangelist Ayo Babalola in the 1930s.
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The mountain attracts a lot of people including foreigners, especially those seeking inspiration and inner strength to solve all kinds of problems.
Baba as fondly called was said to have established that prayer mountain as a place where God answers prayer based on spiritual directives and evidence that produce a bountiful harvest.
Prior to the establishment of the prayer mountain, it was gathered that the people of the community like every other Yoruba town and village worship their native gods.
Based on available data, the community has a deity called “Olodeode“, which resides inside the huge rock that is adjacent to the Ori Oke Aanu. “Olodeode” was their major deity and people have shrines, charms, and other forms of materials in their possession which they strictly used to appease the gods for safety and blessings.
But the situation changed around the 1930s after the Ori Oke Aanu was established. The community was plagued by chickenpox and young people were dying as a result of the epidemic, several efforts made to appease the gods to save them from the grave situation did not yield any positive result until a Godsent Evangelist Babalola who claimed to have received a miracle on the mountain where he served a supreme God intervened with prayers and the situation changed; the disaster began to reduce gradually until it vanishes. It was a miracle!
This development triggered the traditional ruler of the town and some of his chiefs to rededicate their lives to the God of Babalola (Christ) who saved them from the disaster that would have cleared the future generations of the community.
Like the Biblical Gideon, the king and his chiefs destroyed and burnt their shrines, charms, and materials associated with idolatry and this was how they abolished idol worshipping in the community.
At the Mountain
When I climbed the mountain, I saw another inscription showing some of the prohibited dressing with photos to illustrate them. As a journalist who pays attention to details, I zoomed my camera lens to be able to capture the poster as seen illustrated in the photo below.
A few metres from the spot, I saw a little boy as captured below dropping his widow’s mite into the offering box. It was an exciting sight, isn’t it?
Another side attraction to the venue is a section where an altar of prayer with bells was raised (Babalola’s prayer house). This sacred section is out of bound for women but men are permitted to pray there as rightly inscribed on the signpost. I also prayed there and strongly believe my prayers are answered.
The healing water
About 2 kilometres from the altar of prayer, lies the healing water, reportedly having no sources and never dried. What a mystery! This water was used to cure all diseases, illnesses, and to give barren women the ability to carry a child.
Recall water therapy was one of the most important services of Babalola. They have water there that is intended strictly for drinking, which possesses healing abilities, and also a place where one can bathe.
The healing water is situated at the outskirt of the mountain and takes about 30 minutes to locate with the help of white pointed arrow signs directing it to the mountain. I was amazed to see a pregnant woman ascending and descending to fetch the water during my few moments gazing at the spot. It was a whole lot of experience for me. This was an indelible day in the annals of my historic years of being a journalist and it is my pleasure to pen down the experience.
- Arogbonlo Israel, a journalist and peace advocate writes from Lagos
