Category: Femi Macaulay

Ironically, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo, Osun State, is a Yoruba traditional ruler who has failed to grasp the fundamentals of his role as guardian of Yoruba traditional culture. He is not alone in this category. Aged 56, he became king in 2015 and has been at the centre of several controversies on the throne.   

Oba Akanbi, last week, further exposed his cultural disconnection when he issued a statement banning “the practice of placing sacrifices on the road, most especially junctions, and blocking our rivers by dumping ritual sacrifices in them, which in turn causes floods.”

He said: “Most sacrificial offerings are placed on the road in junctions. You will see palm oil and other dirty items as offerings on the road financed by our taxpayers’ money.  A road that should be maintained through collective efforts and patriotic dedication.”

His so-called ban on road sacrifices by devotees of Yoruba traditional religion, also known as Orisa tradition, amounts to striking a blow against the religion. Perhaps he needs to be reminded that he is a product of Yoruba tradition, and is not expected to destroy the system that built him.    

The Yoruba pantheon is made up of a multitude of divinities or orisas, with Ifa as the oracular mouthpiece of Olodumare, the Almighty in Yoruba religion. According to Prof. Wande Abimbola, a retired academic and Yoruba culture exponent, “Ifa is the heart and soul of the culture and philosophy of the Yoruba people.” The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2005 added the Ifa Divination system to its list of the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

Abimbola explained in an earlier interview: “Sacrifice is a code of communication. We don’t think that verbalisation is enough.” He also said a sacrifice could consist of liquid, clothes, food or animals. A sacrifice, ebo, is usually prescribed by an Ifa traditional priest, known as Babalawo, towards solving a problem presented by the person consulting the priest.

The Orisa way of life is faced with potent challenges in a global village of multiple and contending faiths, some of which have the advantage of apparent dominance. The Yoruba religion, for instance, appears to have been downgraded among Nigeria’s Yoruba population in this day and age, the majority of them reportedly either Christians or Muslims.

This situation has produced many disconnected Yoruba traditional rulers who are either Christians or Muslims. This context explains the emergence of Oba Akanbi and his ilk, who see themselves as modernising agents, across the Southwest region of the country. He has a Muslim name, and describes himself as “a representative of God.”

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In 2021, for instance, Oba Akanbi, in a statement, controversially declared that “Idols must not be in a king’s palace… Our fathers who were monarchs who worshipped deities were wrong. I take a bold step to apologise for their mistakes. The damage deity worshipping by monarchs has caused us is monumental. I will lead the path to right the past mistakes in the Yoruba traditional system.”

His latest attack not only shows his cultural disconnection but also his confusion about his powers in the country’s political context. He presented his hostility to road sacrifices as a fight to protect the environment and infrastructure.  If he truly seeks environmental and infrastructural protection, he can do so without unfairly targeting the Yoruba traditional system he represents. His self-assigned policing role is out of place as it violates the law and usurps the powers of the appropriate authorities, namely the relevant local and state governments.  

His so-called ban on road sacrifices by adherents of Yoruba religion can be described as unlawful in the first place. Indeed, it can be said that his move against traditionalism violates the traditionalists’ right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and their right to freedom from discrimination, among others.

Notably, the President of the Traditional Religion Worshippers Association (TRAWSO) in Osun State, Dr Oluseyi Atanda, in his response to the so-called ban, observed that “Traditionalists will enjoy their fundamental human rights under Section 48 of the Nigerian constitution,” adding, “If he is more powerful than the government, it’s left for all of us to see.”

It’s unclear how Oba Akanbi intends to enforce his so-called ban. Also, it remains to be seen whether he can enforce the ban without being involved in further unlawful actions.

Interestingly, the governors of four Southwest states, Lagos, Oyo, Osun and Ogun, declared August 21 a public holiday to mark Isese Day (August 20), which annually features celebrations of Yoruba tradition and culture. Isese is the Yoruba word for tradition.

 Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a statement, said the holiday “is a reaffirmation of his commitment to continue to provide the necessary support to traditional institutions in the state with a view to promoting our indigenous culture and tradition while preserving our heritage.” Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun said: “The decision to accord Isese Day a special recognition was to continue in the tradition of respecting the tradition of our people and ensure the continuation of the unity and harmony among the three major religions in the state.”

Oba Akanbi should learn from the Yoruba tradition-friendly actions of the four state governments, including the government of Osun State where he is based.

My participation in the 10th Orisa World Congress, in July 2013, at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, was an eye-opener on the status of Yoruba religion. The variegated gathering, which included participants from the US, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico, demonstrated the appeal of the religion beyond its local provenance and brought instructive international perspectives. An all-male family of four from Cuba, a Chinese couple who lived in Venezuela and a densely bearded white American were among the alluring sights. Some of the foreign participants were captivated scholars, and not adherents of the religion.

The five-day programme was the fourth in the ancient town, starting from the first one 32 years earlier, and six others had been held in Brazil, USA, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba.

The event was organised by Orisaworld, “an organisation of practitioners and scholars of Orisa tradition, religion and culture,” said to have “individual and institutional members from over 50 countries,” which was founded by Prof. Abimbola in 1981 “to revitalise and rejuvenate the Orisa culture and all its traditions.”

This is food for thought for Oba Akanbi, who is engaged in a self-defeating crusade against the Orisa tradition.

A curious character, 59-year-old long-term Niger Delta activist Mujahid Asari-Dokubo remains dramatically garrulous. He also retains his old militancy and unapologetic hubris, which continue to attract attention.  He exhibited these features yet again in a recent viral video in which he boasted about his alleged martial exploits. He is described as the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Force (NDPSF).

“I don’t have an army,” he said in an interview in the video, “but I have a private military company that was engaged by the Nigerian government and I have been doing the work for the Nigerian State.”  He explained that his so-called private military company “is engaged by the government and we are fighting side by side with the Nigerian military in many places. Like Niger, Plateau, Abia, Imo and in parts of Rivers State. We were in Anambra too. We are doing a good job and we are being commended by the host communities.”

His claims were uncorroborated by any information in the public domain. They were indeed discredited by the Director Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, who was reported saying “The veracity of his claim can only be ascertained by the relevant agency, statutorily mandated to license such outfits.” Which agency is that? It is unhelpful that the agency in question has not clarified the issue.

Nwachukwu clarified that “the Nigerian Army is not in any form of partnership or collaborative pact with the ex-militant or whatever private security outfit he claims to own.” He added that “contrary to his claims, the Nigerian Army has never conducted any operation jointly or side by side with Asari or the organisation he represents, in any of those areas he mentioned or in any theatre of operations.”

Which information is true? There is an urgent need for clarity on this issue. Who struck such a deal with Asari-Dokubo, if it is true that the claimed arrangement exists? What are the details of the deal? 

For instance, it is no secret that the Federal Government, under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, signed a controversial N48bn-per-year pipeline surveillance contract with a private company, Tantita Security Services, to check the massive oil theft in the Niger Delta. The company was linked to another well-known Niger Delta activist, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly called Tompolo, the former leader of the militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND).  Strikingly, the company discovered more than 58 oil-theft points in Delta and Bayelsa states at some point last year.

Tompolo was reported saying his firm was “only providing intelligence for the security people to assist to do the work.”  It was inexcusable that the Buhari administration contracted a private security company to monitor the country’s oil pipelines. The action amounted to an abdication of responsibility and an admission of incapacity. The same would be true if the Federal Government had a secret security contract with Asari-Dokubo’s so-called private military company.

Interestingly, Asari-Dokubo also bragged in a viral video that his force was capable of ending the crisis in neighbouring Niger by overpowering the military coupists who seized power from an elected government in that country last month.  He said: “If the government commissions me and my people to go to Niger Republic, we will go. We will defeat them and we will come back victorious. It is not a boast… We will go there, defeat them and restore democratic order.”

In 2013, he was reported to have renounced his Nigerian citizenship, saying he did so “in protest against the inability of Nigeria to grant Ijaw Republic.” He said he had relocated his “corporate investments” to Benin Republic, which he described as “my adopted homeland.” It can be said that his citizenship status is unclear. 

It is a measure of the perceived threat posed by Asari-Dokubo and his force that the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), in a statement, last month, observed that the President Bola Tinubu administration “seems to be afraid of Asari-Dokubo despite the fact that the ex-agitator is threatening to destroy the country if arrested for unlawful possession of assault rifles and threat to the life and property of Igbo people in the country.”

The group said he had “dared the military to arrest him, and (added) he would crumble Nigeria’s oil production,” and called on the Federal Government to “take steps to rein in Asari-Dokubo and his threats against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

It is noteworthy that he visited President Tinubu in Abuja, in June. According to him, the purpose of the visit was “to give words of encouragement to the president for the actions and policies so far made in his less than three weeks of governing a very difficult country like Nigeria.” He said they “discussed a wide range of issues, especially on security and oil theft in the Niger Delta,” adding that he assured the president that “there will be zero oil theft and vandalisation in the Niger Delta.”

 In an interview with journalists after the visit, he took credit for bringing security and peace to parts of the country.  His words: “Today you are traveling to Kaduna on this road, it is not the army that made it possible for you to travel to Abuja or travel to Kaduna vice versa, it is my men employed by the government of Nigeria stationed in Niger. Today go to Baga, you go to Shiroro and go to Wase. We have lost so many men; we don’t even have one per cent of the armament deployed by the Nigerian military and we have had resounding success.”

It is puzzling that he presented a narrative of collaboration with the country’s armed forces. It is equally puzzling that the Nigerian Army issued a statement denying knowledge of the activities of his so-called private military company in the places he mentioned.

These conflicting narratives from both sides suggest that the country’s struggle with insecurity is unstructured. The country’s armed forces and security agencies are expected to be the actors in the fight, not non-state actors like Asari-Dokubo and his force.  

The Federal Government needs to clarify the status of Asari-Dokubo’s so-called private military company and its alleged role in the fight to bring security to the country.  Also, the authorities must decisively address the question of illegal arms in unlicensed hands. He has been seen in several viral videos playing the role of militia commander in the midst of gun-wielding robots. Are his martial activities lawful?  Lawlessness must not be encouraged. It sends the wrong signals.