The Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, Oba Lawrence Adebajo, has called for sustained grassroots mobilisation to eradicate polio, recalling how the disease crippled children in rural communities in the 1960s when it was often attributed to spiritual causes.
Adebajo said his younger brother also contracted the disease but survived, while two other people he knew were left crippled by polio.
The monarch spoke on Saturday during an awareness walk organised by Rotary International District 9112 in Ijebu-Igbo to mark the 2026 World Polio Day.
He said his childhood experience of the disease had reinforced the need for vaccination and public education to prevent further infections and disabilities.
“When we talk of polio, I think I experienced it in 1960, 1961, in the village, but at that time, we thought it was a spiritual problem. They would give it different names and perform all sorts of rituals without knowing that there was something causing it that could be contained.
“In fact, my younger brother was also hit by the disease, but he survived it by the mercy of God, yet I know two people who are not that lucky, and they were crippled by polio.
“However, today, we know, with the commitment of those who insist that it must be eradicated, that polio is like going, going, gone.
“And as the traditional rulers, we shall always be glad to also give our support to whatever the government, organisations and individuals are doing to ensure that the deadly disease is eradicated across the world,” he said.
Adebajo, who led seven other traditional rulers and Rotary members on the campaign, pledged the support of traditional institutions for efforts to eliminate the disease.
Children aged between zero and five years also received oral polio vaccines during the awareness walk through the town.
The monarch commended donors, sponsors and health workers supporting vaccination campaigns, adding that traditional rulers would work together to ensure that eradication messages reached communities.
Speaking on the campaign, the Chief of Staff to the Rotary International District 9112 Governor, Rotarian Adenike Abdulazeez, said World Polio Day, observed annually on October 24, was an opportunity to renew global commitment to ending the disease.
She said Rotary International began its global polio eradication initiative following a vaccination project in the Philippines in 1979, later expanding its efforts through partnerships with governments and international health organisations.
Abdulazeez said global immunisation efforts had made significant progress since 1988, when wild poliovirus was endemic in more than 120 countries and paralysed hundreds of thousands of children annually.
She identified Pakistan and Afghanistan as the two countries where wild poliovirus remained endemic, warning that the progress recorded so far should not lead to complacency.
She urged parents and caregivers to ensure that children received polio vaccines in line with public health guidelines, noting that the disease could cause paralysis or death.
Abdulazeez also stressed the importance of traditional rulers in promoting vaccination, saying their involvement could help overcome distrust and ensure that public health messages reached residents.
“Many people will not believe you if you go to them and talk to them, but if they see their own traditional ruler involved, they believe because these are people they know and respect.
“If they are saying the same thing you are saying, then your message will get to the grassroots,” she said.
Also speaking, a past District Governor of Rotary International District 9112 and Vice-Chairman, South-West, of the Nigerian National PolioPlus Committee, Yomi Adewunmi, said sustained awareness campaigns were necessary because misconceptions about polio persisted in some communities.
He said some residents still regarded the disease as a spiritual attack, a belief that could delay vaccination and expose children to preventable disabilities.
“Even though Kabiyesi talked about 1961, we know that in 2026, there are still people who believe that when they see a child come down with polio, it is a spiritual attack, and they begin all kinds of rituals,” Adewunmi said.
He described vaccination as the most effective means of preventing polio and urged parents to ensure that children under five received the recommended doses.
Adewunmi added that traditional rulers’ influence could improve public acceptance of vaccination and help protect more children.
“They are the custodians of our culture, and they are the grassroots owners. There is nobody in this village who does not know the Kabiyesi, and once the Kabiyesi talks, everybody in that community listens,” he said.