People Misunderstand Us - Ogboni

The supreme leader of the Ogboni Fraternity, Otunba Francis Meshioye, has said the fraternity has over 1.5million members nationwide. Punch reports.

Otunba Francis Meshioye, Leader of the Ogboni Fraternity in Nigeria

Meshinoye, who is a council member of The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) and Executive Director, JMG Ltd, stated this at a recent unveiling of the fraternity’s centenary celebration in Ikeja, Lagos.

He decried the notion in the society that the organisation is a secret cult. He said the fraternity is fostering unity and love among people of diverse religions, political affiliations, professions and race.
The leader of the fraternity said members of his group would not engage in unnecessary debates to change what he described as public misconception about them but would conquer “the unfairness with pure thoughts, good words and honourable deeds”.

He added, “The biggest challenge that many fraternities have is the impatience of those who are not their members to examine their purposes with open minds and without prejudice. A pure and investigative mind that is searching for unbiased understanding should possess these qualities.

“Many people create mental stereotypes on what the fraternity should be or how its members should or must look like.” He described the spread of the organisation and the growth of membership as the greatest achievement of the fraternity in 100 years