The Nation Newspaper

Tag: YORUBALAND

  • Royal rivalry in Yorubaland (2)

    Royal rivalry in Yorubaland (2)

    Ahead of independence and after independence, many Yoruba sub-ethnic groups never perceived themselves as equals. The Egba, the Ijebu, and the Ibadan would refer to Ekiti, Akoko, Igbomina, and Ebolo as “ara ilu oke” (natives of yonder).

    Traders in the days of yore trying to cross Ijebuland to the Ejirin market and Lagos coast suffered in the hands of fellow Yoruba brothers who imposed levies on them. Proximity to the sea was a mark of class and distinction.

    Even, in a civilised era, lawyer and Agent-General Apena Toye Coker sighted Regional Minister Chief Oduola Osuntokun and exclaimed derisively: ‘Ekiti Kete.’ Osuntokun, a very educated and intelligent Ekiti man, rejected the label of group inferiority and protested instantly. Sensing the brewing trouble, Premier Obafemi Awolowo cleverly introduced a new topic to divert their attention and restore peace.

    Many Yoruba traditional rulers were divided by political leanings in those days of hot politics. After the split in the Action Group (AG) in 1962, monarchs who supported Awolowo, Leader of Federal Opposition, became the foes of their brother obas who gravitated towards Chief Ladoke Akintola, Premier of Western Region.

    In ancient towns, there are unresolved age-long suspicion and repressed tension over the inexplicable and unfading dichotomy between townspeople who perceived themselves as aborigines and others who were classified as settlers. According to observers, that rivalry shaped the relationship between Oba Adeyemi 111 and the late Ashipa of Oyo, Chief Amuda Olorunkosebi.

    READ ALSO; BBNaija and the evolution of Nigeria’s entertainment industry

    Up to now, the descendants of founder of Ago Oja are unrelented in their agitation for a crown, even if is a lesser one, as a tribute to the pathfinding and pacific exploits of their forefathers.

    In the eighties and nineties, there was commotion in the Oyo State Council of Obas. The Alaafin rejected the permanent chairmanship position allotted to the Ooni. When Osun State was created, the Owa also raised the same complaint. In Oyo State, the Olubadan said the Alaafin cannot be the permanent chairman of the Council of Obas. The monarchs wanted rotational chairmanship, which the Alaafin rejected in Oyo and the Ooni rejected in Osun.

    Now, long standing politician, former governor and Olubadan-designate, Oba Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, has jocularly sent a notice that on rotational chairmanship he stands, and that since the matter is within the purview of the Oyo State House of Assembly, people should know that the highly populous Ibadan, with 16 of 32 members, and in a situation where the Speaker would not vote, would always have an edge in any contest.

    But in the pre-colonial and colonial days, Alaafin usually sent his choice ‘Ilari’ to place ‘ewe akoko’ on the head of Ibadan ruler, signalling his installation either as Balogun, Basorun, Aare or Baale. In the 20s, an Alaafin even deposed Baale Shitu (Omo Aare) of Ibadan. A high chief of Ibadan, Adebisi Idikan, had to beg an Alaafin for his life with lots of money and gifts for appearing in a more expensive costume during the unveiling of Mapo Hall in Ibadan where the Alaafin was guest of honour. The rich businessman was accused of stealing the show during the ceremony.

    In Osun, caution was thrown to the wind when the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi, Telu, allegedly beat up another traditional ruler, the Agbowu of Ogbagba, Oba Dhikrulahi Akinropo, claiming that he had interrupted him during his speech at a meeting by calling him a madman.

    In many communities, many obas also oppressed their chiefs by treating them as  personal assistants. Protest, in many cases, led to suspension or dethronment.

    Eminent Yoruba leaders should not take sides in the Ooni/Alaafin feud. They should appeal to the two influential rulers to bury their hatchet and allow the sleeping dog to lie. The two foremost obas should cooperate. Today, the Ooni is establishing industries all over Yoruba land and creating jobs for youths. The Alaafin should complement this effort. The two royal fathers should be concerned about the plight of the Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi states, who are politically marginalised. They should be concerned about the Yoruba language that is going into extinction. What should bother them is the collapse of moral values among the young population.

    The Yoruba race needs to embrace the reality that it has two towering monarchs with antagonistic claims of supremacy. It is not illogical that both are usually right when they tender their facts, which nobody can contradict. In short, the Yoruba race has two fathers – the Ooni and the Alaafin.

    There should be a proposal along the line of a symbolic collegiate monarchial order in Yoruba land. This should be organised in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

    The historical records show that the Alaafin was acknowledged as the King – political and administrative head – of the Yoruba by the colonial authorities, being the head of the Oyo Empire. The British Government signed the treaty with him. While inviting the British to assist him in ending the 16-year-long Kiriji War, Alaafin Adeyemi 1 said the Yoruba race was a gift to his forefathers from God.

    The Alaafin installs the Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yoruba land, the Iyalode of Yoruba land, and even the Mayegun of Yoruba land, and there is no controversy or dispute. The Alaafin keeps a deep memory of the ancient Oyo Empire of his illustrious forebears. That kingdom no longer exists. But the past cannot be obliterated.

    The Ooni installs the Odole of Ife, or the Odole of the Source; the Yeyeoba of Ife, or the Yeye Oodua. But when the late Alayeluwa Okunade Sijuwade wanted to install Chief Tom Ikimi as the Akinrogun of Yoruba land, the late Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi III objected and his complaint was upheld by the government. He said the Ooni could only install an Akinrogun of Ife. He delved into history, emerging with the evidence of how the title of Akinrogun can only be conferred on an Egba man.

    Yet, the Ooni also elicits awe, reverence, honour, and admiration of all and sundry as the custodian of Ile Ife, the “Orirun.” He is recognised and respected as the father and head of the ancient town and giver of crowns to Yoruba obas.

     When Owoni Adenekan Olubuse was invited to Lagos by the British to shed light on some knotty problems of crown and land ownership in the Ijebu axis, the Yoruba nation knew that he took up the assignment on behalf of the race. As Owoni Olubuse left his palace, all Yoruba obas, including the Alaafin, left their palaces and resided in their “ehin odi” as a mark of respect, until he returned to Ile-Ife, the cradle. That was in 1901. The venerable Obanikoro of Lagos, High Chief Ajayi Bembe, was the interpreter between the Colonial Governor William MacGregor and the Owoni.

    In fact, the British Government bore the expenses of the unusual journey from Ife to Lagos. Goats were slaughtered as sacrifice whenever Ooni was about to cross any river.

    All the foremost Yoruba rulers, including the Alaafin, trace their backgrounds and crowns to Ife. An account even said that Oranmiyan, the grandson of Oduduwa, founder of Oyo Kingdom and progenitor of the Obas of Benin, was buried at Ife. Up to now, there is “Opa Oranmiyan” at Ife. In fact, Ooni presided over the rotational meetings of Yoruba Obas from 1934.

    It is to the credit of Ooni Sijuwade and Eleko of Lagos Oba Adeyinka Oyekan that some high chiefs and baales were elevated to obaship in sensitivity to the fact that the clamour for autonomy, as it were, and the preservation of identity are the anthems of the millennium.

    It is only in Yorubaland that the royal rivalry is serious, protracted and destabilising. Some scholars have even attributed the division among Yoruba to the curse that oozed out of the mouth of Alaafin Aole during the dispute between him and the legendary Aare Ona Kankanfo Afonja of Ilorin.

    Other ethnic groups tend to manage the clevages better. In the North – the Muslim North – the Sultan of Sokoto, who calls the shots from the Caliphate, is the undisputed Number One. He is the Commander of the Faithful. His deputy is Elkanemi, the Shehu of Borno. Other revered monarchs, nevertheless, have their local sphere of influence in the vast North. The Ohinoyi (or Attah) is the overall ruler of Ebira land, comprising five local governments in Kogi State. The Tor Tiv is the leader of the Tiv nation, the dominant ethnic group in Benue State. Attah is the ruler of Igala nation. The Lamido reigns supreme in Adamawa. Etsu Nupe is the paramount ruler of Nupe Kingdom.

    In the Southsouth, The Olu, whose kingdom has links with Yorubaland, is the ruler of Itsekiti and Warri. The Obong of Calabar is the king in his town and its environs. Opobo is ruled by the Amanyanabo. The Igbo society is presumed kingless; only warrant chiefs subsist in the area. The community elders are in charge. This age-long system works for their society.

    The Yoruba need to agree that they have two fathers who are from the same source, Oduduwa. The two have incontrovertible claims. There is no need for rivalry. The two royal fathers, and indeed, all royal fathers in the country, should also constantly acknowledge the restrictions on their influence by the ‘republican order.’

    The people of Yoruba land should maintain an abiding fidelity to tradition, history, and precedence in an atmosphere of mutual respect and brotherhood. If there are other grey areas that fuel conflicts, eminent Yoruba leaders should reconcile the two topmost monarchs. Miscreants in the social media should pull the break and halt indecent postings and portrayals. Yoruba deserve its peace.

    So, between the Ooni and the Alaafin, who is superior? More questions, elusive answers.

    The questions may not be necessary after all.

  • Regional integration

    •“Yorubaland beyond 2019:  Let’s set forth at DAWN”, the theme of an Ibadan conference, put South West integration back on the front-burner

    The Development Agenda of Western Nigeria (DAWN), on March 19, held a stakeholders talk, on the future of the South West political bloc, with regional integration as a central plank.  At that forum, Seye Oyeleye, DAWN director-general, tasked the three newly elected governors in the region (Lagos, Ogun and Oyo) to make regional their policy hub, so that the Yoruba region of Nigeria could maximally benefit from a synergy of developmental policies.

    Though the pitch was basically to the newly elected governors, it is trite to state that it applies no less to the other three (Ondo, Ekiti and Osun), whose governors are not due for re-election till, at the earliest, 2021.  It is assumed – and strongly so – that these incumbents would continue to be receptive to the idea.

    “Some benefits of such integration include collective opportunities as a bloc, attaining self-sustenance and enhancing internally generated revenue,” Mr. Oyeleye said, “through the harmonization of taxes and levies within the region.”  Challenging the governors, he called on them all to key their respective policies towards these benefits.  Sound counsel!

    This DAWN reminder is timely and should be lauded by all.  The idea of South West integration is not new.  Indeed, DAWN, since its inception, has chalked up credit for initiating policies, programmes and protocols to make South West integration a reality.  That dream inspired DAWN’s formation.  It is heart-warming, therefore, that DAWN is delivering on the mandate for which it was set up.

    Yet, there are still many mountains to climb.  Aside from DAWN mastering the policy lane, The Nation as a newspaper, has also done some work in advocacy and active mobilization, organizing a chain of South West integration summits, hosted by Oyo, Osun and Ekiti states, in that order, since the first of such summits in Ibadan, in 2012.  For these successful summits, special kudos to host governors, Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo, 2012), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun, 2013) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti, 2014).

    Since then, however, the political landscape has changed – and still changing.  Governor Ajimobi is bowing out after two terms.  Governor Aregbesola left office in 2018 (also after two terms), while Governor Fayemi is back in office, after losing power in 2014, after only one term.  But even during this 2012-2014 period, zest for the project varied among the six governors, from the zestful to the tepid.  Yet, the regional integration is one project every governor and every state government must take very, very seriously.

    That is what makes this DAWN reminder all the more appropriate.  Even with the change of guards in South West state houses, there should not be any changes in core developmental interests.  There is more to gain from that common purpose.  On this score, the incumbent governors in Ondo, Ekiti and Osun should go the extra mile to draw the in-coming governors into the DAWN path.  Governor Fayemi has a special role to play, in showing leadership on this score.  He is the only survivor, aside from exiting Ajimobi, among the original set of governors that started implementing the DAWN protocol.

    No less crucial to this plan is in-coming Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.  That he belongs to another party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should not make any difference.  DAWN and integration are about the core interest of Western Nigeria, which trumps whatever partisan colours that domicile in the different State Houses.  But Makinde’s fellow governors should make it easy for him.  DAWN itself must not rest in its advocacy, policy-brewing and implementation role.

    Regional integration is key to every of Nigeria’s six geo-political zones.  In the absence of a consensus over formal restructuring, regional integration offers a vibrant and health way in socio-economic self-help.  It could well be the prompter for a future re-federalized polity; after the component parts of Nigeria themselves had tasted of its good.

  • Aare Ona Kakanfo installs 21 chiefs across Yorubaland

     

    The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Adams, on Saturday said the restructuring of Nigeria was important for the country to rise above its challenges and stay on the path of progress.

    Adams made the statement in Lagos at the installation of 21 Aare Onakakanfo chiefs –in-council.

    Adams said that restructuring to strengthen all the federating units would accelerate development of Nigeria.

    ‘’Solution to the problems bedeviling Nigeria is for the country to adopt restructuring.

    “We are living with these problems because we are reluctant to retrace our steps and adopt the system that suits us,” he said.

    Adams added that strengthening the federation units would help the country to realise its development goals.

    He said that the appointment and installation of the 21 chiefs was to assist him in his assignment as the Aare Onakakanfo, for success.

    He said that Yorubaland was vast and that he needed to delegate responsibilities to people across all the Yoruba speaking states since he could not be everywhere at the same time.

    READ ALSO: Gani Adams: Council of Yoruba Obas in Diaspora is illegal

    Adams said that appointment of chiefs by Aare Ona Kakanfo had precedence and that his action was sanctioned by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi.

    ‘’I appointed these 21 chiefs to help me to succeed. As the Aare Ona Kakanfo, my job covers the entire Yorubaland, but I cannot be everywhere at the same time.

    ‘’The people I am installing today as chiefs from everywhere we have indigenous Yoruba people, including Kogi and Kwara, will act for me in their respective domains and handle issues.

    ‘’They will interface with their local Obas and traditional chiefs to ensure peace and development in Yorubaland.

    ‘’I am not the first Aare to have appointed chiefs. In fact, I am the 13th Aare to have done that.

    “The only two who did not appoint chiefs were Aare Abiola and Akintola and that was because they were seriously engaged in politics and had limited time,” he said

    Adams that the appointment was to ensure effective service  in the interest of the Yoruba race.

    He said he would soon appoint a 70-member advisory council to advise him and his chiefs on ways to further move the Yoruba race forward.

    He urged the 21 chiefs who, he said, were selected based on their pedigrees, to justify the confidence reposed on them, by serving the people diligently.

    Some of the installed chiefs are a Labour Party chieftain, Dr Kayode Ajulo (Maiyegun Aare); Mr Ademola Ige (Baameto Aare); Mr Shola Oshunkeye (Baaroyin Aare) and Prof. Taofeek Raheem (Parakoyi Aare). (NAN)

  • Adams urged to protect Yorubaland from herdsmen

    Adams urged to protect Yorubaland from herdsmen

    Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) candidate in Akinyele/Lagelu Federal Constituency, Oyo State, in 2015 general election, Yusuff Kunle, has congratulated Otunba Gani Adams on his installation as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland.

    He urged him to ensure protection of Yoruba territories from Fulani herdsmen and others.

    Yusuff said the installation of Adams was timely and significant for unity and protection of Yoruba nation.

    The politician, who is the chairman of Trustee Concern Initiatives for Community and Social Development, a non-government organisation (NGO) caring for the less privileged across the six geo-political zones, especially Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Borno State, who traced the history of past Aare Ona Kakanfo to the time of Latosa, said the Fulani could have invaded Yorubaland, but for the efforts of the then Aare Ona Kakanfo.

    The PDP stalwart, in a statement by his media assistant, Olamilekan Oke, said the choice of Adams as Aare Ona kakanfo was an indication that the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi II, appreciated hard work, self-sacrifice and commitment of Gani Adams to the development and unity of Yoruba nation.

    He noted that as the leader of Oodua, Aare Onakakanfo fought battles on behalf of the Yoruba and enjoined Adams to sustain the legacies.

    Yusuff said: “Aare Ona kakanfo has always been there for the Yoruba nation in a time of distress. We can imagine what could have happened to Yoruba land if Aare Latosa didn’t perform the role he performed during his time. If he did not secure the outskirts of Osogbo, the Fulani could have invaded Yoruba land and our Obas could have been using the title of Emir now.

    “The role of Aare Ona Kakanfo is very significant and Gani Adams, being a good Yoruba son, at a youthful age, has taken over the challenge of defending Yoruba nation. For recognition of his selflessness and commitment to the Yoruba nation, Alafin Iku Babayeye has taken the right decision by installing Adams as Aare Ona Kakanfo. He is the right choice. It’s an indication that youths can play significant roles if given a chance. My advice to him is to protect Yoruba territories from terrorism, especially from the herdsmen. Our people must be ready to defend themselves from the menace of herdsmen. We are not agents of anarchy, but if you want peace, you must work for it.”

  • Aare Ona Kakanfo: Lawal felicitates with Gani Adams

    Aare Ona Kakanfo: Lawal felicitates with Gani Adams

    The National Chairman of APC Scandinavia and a Global Affairs Analyst, Ayoola Lawal on Friday join the league of Yoruba sons and daughters across the globe in congratulating the next Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams.
    The Global Affairs Analysts congratulates Otunba Adams as he joined the league of elites in the rank of generalissimos in Yorubaland.
    Indeed, history depicts that is the youngest person to ever attain such an esteem status in the history Yoruba as a race.
    Ayoola Lawal also congratulated and commended the Alaafin of Oyo, Iku Baba Yeye, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, for his unbiased wisdom in chosen a real warrior of proven records that is worthy of such honour and esteem position.
    Otunba Gani Adams selection as the next Aare Ona Kakanfo is a clear indication that not everything is still for sales and hard work and commitment to a cause is still of adorable virtues in Yorubaland.
    The APC Chief said: “Truth be told and bipartisan apart, Otunba Gani Adams is not an accidental Aare Onakakanfo because he paid the price upfront and in full scale.
    His indefatigable endeavours in fighting for the Yoruba race and promoting the Yoruba culture and heritage across the globe can’t be denied.”
  • Female monarchs in Yorubaland seek recognition

    Female monarchs in Yorubaland seek recognition

    Foremost traditional ruler in Yorubaland ,Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, has added his voice to the debate over the existence of female traditional rulers in southwest and attested to the existence in Yorubaland and other parts of the country. The monarch made the clarification when he played host to a group of female traditional rulers from across the states in the region in his palace recently.

    Oba Ogunwusi, who urged Nigerians to be more curious about the histories of their communities, also used the occasion to support the request by the visiting monarchs that the various government should grant them recognition in order to free them from the overlordship of male traditional rulers who, they claim, have done so much to keep their female counterparts off the radar.

    Before the historical visit of the female traditional rulers to the palace of Ooni, not much has been known or heard about female traditional rulers especially in the South West. At best, what has been the issue was a fierce debate generated by historians over the existence and place of female monarchs, especially in Yorubaland.

    While some historians have argued that the history of the people of Yorubaland would be incomplete without recourse to the role of female traditional rulers, others vehemently deny the existence of such monarchs across the region. But statues and monuments built in honour of such heroines abound in major cities of Yorubaland, thereby manning it difficult to wish away the debate.

    The recently built monument of Moremi, said to be the third tallest in Africa, by the Ooni of Ife himself, according to those championing the recognition of female monarchs, is a testimony to the wonderful role played by female traditional rulers in Yorubaland. Sadly, female traditional rulers, according to those who spoke during the visit, are generally expected to  subject themselves to the whims and caprices of male traditional rulers.

    Also, although they exist and have very important places in the traditional lives of their communities, in most places, female traditional rulers  are never heard of as they are kept in the dark by the system promoted by their male counterparts. Fearing that their male counterparts may invoke sanctions against any perceived affront, female rulers have over the years remained in the dark .

    It was revealed at the parley that several efforts have been made by the female traditional rulers to draw the attention of the authorities to their plights, all to no avail. Some were said to have been threatened by male traditional rulers for alleged disobedient. In most communities where they exist, it is always difficult for them to stand and be counted where their male counterpart exercise authority.

    However, the visit to the Ooni of Ife’s palace by the delegation of female traditional rulers led by a renowned researcher and scholar from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Professor Fatai Olasupo, has brought rays of hope to the age long traditional institution. The royal father, Oba Ogunwusi, in his welcome address, lauded the effort of the varsity don in revealing the concealed truth about female traditional rulers.

    The monarch, while welcoming the female traditional rulers who came from Ekiti-state to pay homage to him, said ‘whatever is good for the Goose is good for the Gander”. He added that just as there are male monarchs so there are female monarchs. He added that the authorities of the both emanated from Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba race.

    According to him, just as most male kings left Ife with crowns to wherever they are today, so did their female counterparts. He cited Iwo, Owu and Ile-Oluji as examples. Beyond that, he said even a woman, Luwo Gbadiga, once ruled as the Ooni of Ife.  According to him, another outstanding woman in the history of Yoruba race is Moremi.

    Oba Ogunwusi, who offered to give support to the female rulers in their quest for recognition, joined the female monarchs in their call for a legislation by both the states and national assemblies that will help to accord them full recognition. He told the gathering that a legal backing to the institution of female traditional rulers is all that is needed to appreciate the wonderful roles of female rulers in the development and growth of Yorubaland and Nigeria .

    Oba Ogunwusi alluded to the fact that female rulers exist in different parts of Yorubaland, adding that the contradictions that necessitated the suppression of  the roles of female rulers in the region were fueled by social factors. Female traditional rulers, the Ooni noted have made tremendous contributions to the socio-economic development of Yorubaland over the years and deserved every recognition and support.

    Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Professor Fatai Olasupo, described the monarch as a blessing to mankind. The varsity don, who called for support from well meaning Nigerians for female rulers, said he has been on the research project for over ten years and the result was the discovery of the existence of powerful female traditional rulers in not only Yorubaland, but in other tribes in Nigeria.

    According to Professor  Olasupo, there are abundant evidences, backed by history, indicating that female traditional rulers have been in existence hundreds of years ago. The varsity don said female traditional rulers wielded very strong powers as much as male traditional rulers, stating that just as  male traditional rulers have kingdoms, cabinet and subjects, so it is for their female counterparts.

    The leader of the female traditional rulers from Ekiti State,  Eunice Bolatito, the Eyegun of Ijero Kingdom, thanked the Ooni for his kind gestures and support. The traditional ruler charged other monarchs to emulate the spirit of the Ooni by promoting issues relating to gender. She later called on the National Assembly to give legal backing to the institution of female traditional rulers in the country in order to stop what she described as the age- long traumatisation of female Kings by their male counterparts across the country.

  • Foluke Ogunleye: Ritual of stupidity in Yorubaland

    In Yorubaland, as in other parts of the country, stupidity has become a routine ritual, and we all partake of it gleefully, unconscionably, like accomplished zombies.

    Will it be different tonight, I wonder? The question gnaws at mind now as we arrive on the street.

    It is the cars that tell us we have reached the right address. Parked on the pavement on both sides of the narrow road, they sit huddled against one another like disordered tombstones, barely leaving room for other traffic.

    But I have anticipated this, that there will be some difficulty on arrival to find a place to park. The deceased that we have come to mourn was a sister to the current Special Adviser to the country’s President so it is logical to expect the crowd to be large.  This is why I brought a driver along to drop me.

    I get down now, and he drives on to find a parking space.

    It is one of these sultry evenings. More cars are arriving; there is a lot of hooting and hullabaloo; but everything is nevertheless in surprising order, no doubt because of the heavy presence of policemen, many of them bearing guns.

    Two of their lorries, flashing blue and amber lights, stand conspicuously to the right in a kind of barricade.

    I turn like others towards them, noticing that they have blocked the main entrance into the street. But they usher us on with unfamiliar courtesy through a side gate. I am impressed.

    However it is still a long walk to the venue.

    The street is in one of the city’s elite neighbourhoods. Most of the buildings are two-storey affairs, unpainted though, as if still unsure of their final look. As you walk past, they glare at you furtively behind their walls like suspicious sentries.

    Ii is the same street, I now recall, where the playwright, Zulu Sofola, lived years ago, until she and her husband, right in the prime of their lives, passed away one after the other rather dramatically, in a scenario reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

    There are more vehicles now, and more police personnel as I pass. But their forms are already receding into suggestive ghosts in the falling dusk.

    At the bottom, where the street turns sharply to the left, a lone singing voice suddenly wafts towards us over some microphone. And now I see them, at the far end of the close, the crowd I’ve come to join.

    Lit by a few bulbs hung on surrounding walls, some marquees become visible now at the far end, in front of which are rows upon rows of white plastic chairs on which the guests are seated.

    I select one of the empty ones at the back and fold myself into a quiet anonymity.

    I can make out the figures more clearly now from my seat.

    The man singing is the leader of the choir obviously. Behind him, shadowed under the marquees, are his choristers.

    Directly in front of them are the officiating priests, seated behind a covered table.

    Facing them, on the first row, and about thirty lines of seats away, are the immediate members of the family of the deceased. I am unable to distinguish them clearly from the back.

    Closer to me, I recognize here and there some familiar figures from the academic community in Ibadan and Ife. The skin of our foreign colleagues glows dimly in the half light.

    In a very short while the seats around me fill up with new arrivals.

    One of the priests has stood up to make an announcement. The service is yet to start, he says, because the copies of the official programme, which have been printed somewhere, have not arrived.

    The priest does not say where the printing has been done, but it is an easy guess, given the family’s present links with Abuja.

    Now I understand why the choir master is singing alone—he and the choir have been asked to improvise something while we wait.

    He is a good singer, with a rich, sonorous voice. And he evidently relishes it. With the microphone in his hand, his voice drowns out the others completely, to his evident delight. He is the self-adoring hero of the evening.

    The audience however is disappointed, one can see. They have come not just to listen, but also to perform and participate.

    Indeed the main reason they are here/—why the ‘Service of Songs’ has become a popular social event in Yorubaland—is precisely this fact that it has become a kind of soporific, communal rite.

    As the people sing together and sink deep in the swampy bog of their grief, something strange happens, something close to catharsis. They achieve an illusory state of bliss, and it shelters them for a while from their trembling fear of tomorrow.

    The Service of Songs has become popular precisely because of its capacity to induce amnesia and, even if briefly, provide relief. It is our opium against the anguish of Sudden and Violent Death, now in flagrant rampage in our land.

    (After the songs we sit and drink ‘tea’, a misnamed concoction of cocoa powder saturated with milk and sugar, which has become a favourite with mourners, and whose sweetness is also an emblem of our penchant for quick nostrums.)

    Hence the audience is not much impressed by the choir master’s virtuoso performance. It is robbing them of the chance to shed their desperation, and escape into oblivion.

    But finally, to everyone’s relief, the priests decide to start without the programmes.

    Everything proceeds smoothly now. The hymns are announced an sung; the prayers follow in appropriate sequence; the sermon is prompt.

    Nothing falls out of place; priests and audience are on the same familiar page. It is a ritual we perform every week.

    For, according to the Christian calendar that we have all accepted, funerals take place on Friday mornings; and are preceded on Thursday evenings by the Service of Songs.

    Everybody who is here now was probably there last week at another service; and will be there next week at a similar wake. That is why the ceremony has become mere routine; why all the songs and Bible quotations are already part of our memory, to be recited at the slightest prompting. We do it every week.

    The service comes now to the interval assigned for tributes to the deceased. Speaker after speaker remind us tearfully of her pleasant personality and of her precocious, glittering achievements. They speak of her soft but impressive presence, her gracefulness and her religious devotion, and of her cherubic face, a feature that seems common to her family. For many of us, Foluke’s loss is a deep, deep wound that nothing can heal.

    Then the priests proceed to the final prayers. Soon it will be time for tea.

  • Yorubaland as battleground

    Last week I promised I will play truant for three weeks and only reproduce my choice of the best three articles in Nigerian newspapers from the last fifteen years for their currency, beginning with last week. This week, however, I decided against absenting myself without leave as I reproduce the second article on these pages, this time by Professor Femi Osofisan in his column, Sunday Note. The article, which was entitled “Yorubaland as a riddle,” first appeared in the rested Comet-on-Sunday of December 17, 2000.

    My apologies then for trying to eat my cake and still have it, that is, write today and still keep my promise of reproducing my choice pieces. This, however, has been made possible only by the grace of the editors at Daily Trust and The Nation who obliged my request for more space in their print editions.

    The background to my promise last week was my tribute to Malam Abubakar Gimba, a former president of the Association of Nigerian Authors, who died on February 25. His article which I published last week was, as I said, one of the best I have read in at least the last fifteen years. It was a passionate plea to President Olusegun Obasanjo in his second full year in office to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness so that he could begin to heal the deep wounds of divisions in the nation.

    Obasanjo did not heed Gimba’s plea and Nigeria became even more divided, especially along religious lines, than it was before 1999 when he returned to power as elected president. President Goodluck Jonathan, his since estranged protégé who he almost singlehandedly railroaded into power at the centre from an obscure position as deputy governor of Bayelsa, the country’s smallest state, has only made the wounds wider and deeper.

    Certainly no leader has tried to use religion – and ethnicity – to hold on to power as President Jonathan. In the eyes of most Nigerians and, I am sure, to the discomfiture of most ordinary Christians and many Christian leaders, he, in cahoots with Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor as its national president, has reduced the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), once the scourge of those in authority, into the religious wing of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Again, alone among all our leaders, he has transformed the Church as a platform for policy pronouncements.

    As for the use of ethnicity to hang onto power, it’s impossible, for its absurdity and inaccuracy, to beat the statement only last week by the First Lady, Patience, that whether Nigerians like it or not her husband will serve a second term because every leader before her husband had done so! Those saying her husband does not deserve a second term, she seems to say, are saying so because he is a minority Ijaw. Obviously the First Lady is completely blinded to the fact that apart from Obasanjo no elected Nigerian leader – neither Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa nor President Shehu Shagari nor President Umaru Yar’adua – had ever served two terms.

    For a cynical manipulation of ethnicity to hang on to power, however, last week’s promise by the president to implement the report of the somewhat inconclusive National Conference which he convened late last year, deserves a gold medal – along with his award of multi-billion Naira contracts to Otunba Gani Adams and Dr Frederick Fasehun, the leaders of the Yoruba militia group, the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), for securing oil and gas pipelines in their region. Ditto the renewal at the same time of similar contracts to several Niger Delta ex-militants.

    To begin with, the President convened the national conference in bad faith as was apparent, first, from its timing so close to this year’s general elections especially considering his long-running rejection of calls for it and, second, from its composition deliberately to put the North and the Muslim population of the country at great disadvantage. And when the crudely skewed composition failed to secure the desired agenda, a strange 102-page document authored by Raymond Dokpesi, the Chairman of Africa Independent Television (AIT), and apparently the presidency’s cat’s-paw at the conference, surfaced purporting to be the “Terms of Agreement of Six Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria.” By the way, AIT seems to have since transformed itself into the propaganda arm of the PDP, along with the NTA, which however, is not altogether surprising, the station being Federal Government owned.

    Among the provisions in Dokpesi’s dubious document was the five-year, single term, presidency so dear to the president. It also contained the so-called fiscal federalism so dear to delegates from the South-West, a provision sound in principle but difficult, if not impossible, to practice in a federation like Nigeria where it is the centre that has created its constituents, at least since 1967, not the other way round as it should be.

    As we all know, the attempt to sneak this dubious document into the conference nearly marred it and led to lack of conclusion on several key issues including revenue allocation, which is fiscal federalism in another guise.

    It is this inconclusive report that the president has now promised to implement because he obviously thinks it is sweet music to the ears of the leadership of Afenifere, the umbrella Yoruba cultural organisation, even when he knows he lacks the capacity – on the strength of his past record of failing to honour many of his words – and the authority to do so, were he to win this month’s election.

    There is, of course, some logic to the president’s promise. Of the country’s six geo-political zones, only the South-West seems open for real contest between himself and his main rival, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The North-West and North-East seem safe for Buhari just like the South-East and South-South look safe for the president, leaving North-Central a likely 50/50 between the two; Plateau, Benue and Kogi for Jonathan, and Niger, Kwara and Nasarawa for Buhari. As Professor Femi Osofisan says in his article which follows this piece and the second of the three I’ve promised the reader, Yorubaland is truly a riddle.

    However, if it makes sense that the president should make his pitch for a zone, many of whose leading lights are in his support, it is the height of cynicism to promise what you know you cannot deliver. It is even more cynical to use public revenue to secure such support, as is the case with the no-bid award to OPC. This is especially so because all previous beneficiaries of such a contract had woefully failed to deliver on their side of the bargain, as is clear from the industrial scale thefts of oil and the sabotage of gas pipelines that have gone on in this country in recent years.

     

     

     

    Yorubaland as a riddle

     

    The Yoruba, affirm some people authoritative, are cowards. They cannot be counted upon to stand and fight.

    If, at first, they seem aggressive and tough, it is only because you have not found their price. But offer them the right amount of inducement, and you take the sting out of their bite.

    Cash-laden, they will be willing at once to sell their most intimate friends, agree to the readiest compromise, however humiliating, and retire to a life of miliki. Hence there is no principle, and no ideal, they can ever offer to die for.

    Those who hold this opinion assure us that one does not need to try very hard to find the proof. The events of our history, they say, offer abundant evidence.

    Almost at every point when their support has been crucial, they have chosen instead to recant their words, and betray their allies. The Biafran war, during which the Yoruba chose to side with the Federalists, is a case much cited by the Igbo.

    But this penchant for betrayal is not limited to their conflicts with outsiders. Even among themselves, cowardice and duplicity are so entrenched, that the people are incapable of forging a united front even for some mutually beneficial cause.

    The loss of Ilorin to the Hausa-Fulani by the Yoruba, as well as their repeated defeat each time they have attempted to recover the town, is a showcase both of this flaw for self-destructive intrigue, and of their readiness to scatter and run at the slightest shout of danger.

     

  • Leyin Ibo: the day after election in Yorubaland

    Leyin Ibo: the day after election in Yorubaland

    Yoruba people react to the organisation of elections in three basic ways: spontaneous celebration, immediate contestation and delayed reaction

    Our new season of elections calls for an examination of the Yoruba worldview vis-à-vis election and the various attitudes shown by Yoruba citizens after elections. Local and international election observers with interest in consolidation of democracy in Nigeria will benefit from exposure to what election means to the average Yoruba man or woman. Such understanding will be useful not only for the purpose of evaluating specific elections but for the purpose of gauging or predicting what can happen in Yorubaland (and by extension in other parts of Nigeria) as the region struggles, along with others in the country, to build the culture of democracy, particularly electoral democracy.

    The verb Dibo (to vote) and the noun Ibo or Idibo(voting or election) are borrowed from Yoruba metaphysics, particularly Ifa, where dibo means choosing between alternatives or selecting among options. The Ifa priest is the organiser of Ibo. He or she is expected to be transparent in conducting idibo. The priest is not allowed to rig the process. When the divining chain is thrown to indicate which option concerns the divinee, whatever side that shows must be announced to the divinee, regardless of whether it is a good sign or a bad omen. When the divinee looks worried or shows any doubt after a choice has been indicated, the diviner throws his or her chain again and again to confirm the position of things. Once the same side of the divining chain comes up, the diviner makes his pronouncement, having satisfied himself or herself that the right thing has been done.

    It was the Ifa model of voting that influenced the choice of words to match voting when the colonial master introduced election. Yoruba people over decades of voting have always viewed their votes as important and the process of voting significant to the choice they make during elections. Reinforced by the Yoruba notion of simultaneous existence of good and evil and the right of the individual to prefer good over evil, every Yoruba recognises the consequence of whatever choice he/she makes. The Yoruba carries the spiritual value attached to Ibo in Yoruba metaphysics to voting in the secular realm, as he or she sees choosing between ideological orientations of political parties as seminal to the organisation of modern secular societies.

    Should foreigners in particular find the attitude of the Yoruba to election unique, the reason is located in the worldview of the Yoruba that includes the imperative of the individual to always have the freedom to choose his/her path in life. The response of the average Yoruba voter to election is determined by his view about the credibility of the electoral process. Yoruba people react to the organisation of elections in three basic ways: spontaneous celebration after the result of voting is seen to reflect the choice voters believe they have made; immediate contestation or protest against an election they presume to have been rigged; and delayed reaction to an election they also perceive to have been rigged. All of these three patterns of response on the day after an election have been witnessed in the region since the emergence of voting for political parties in the country.

    On the day after an election that a majority of Yoruba voters believe to reflect their choice, there is generally a spontaneous outburst of joy and conspicuous display of approbation. Voters do not wait for election candidates to organise victory parties for them; they organise and pay for their own soiree. On such a day, voters buy drinks for each other and even owners of  bars give out palm-wine or beer to customers free, to show that they are happy about the congruence between the votes they cast and the result released by the umpire. It is only when elections are rigged that the candidates pay for celebration, to give the appearance of voters’ acceptance of manipulated results. This happened in the six Yoruba states in 1999, in Lagos State in 2003, 2007, and 2011, for example.

    When an election is perceived by the majority of voters to have been manipulated through announcement of false figures for candidates favoured by the umpire or his or her sponsor, the average voter who believes he or she has been cheated may get on the streets to demonstrate against the umpire and his principal. This had happened several times in the region’s history. For example, in 1965, Yoruba voters started serious anti-rigging protests after the election to the Western House of Assembly. The same thing happened when Chief AdekunleAjasin’s election in Ondo State was rigged in favour of Chief Akin Omoboriowo in 1983.

    Occasionally, the Yoruba choose the model of delayed reaction on the day after an election. A majority of the voters remain in their houses without showing any emotions. They do not even countenance individuals whose political parties celebrate a victory majority of voters believe to be false. Such voters wait for the most opportune time to react to a rigged election. This happened after the 1964 federal elections when the Nigerian National Democratic Party claimed to have won 870,833 votes while 494,730 votes were recorded for the Action Group. The outburst in the so-called “Wild Wild West” in 1965 in response to the rigging of the election of that year included the airing of pent-up anger against the 1964 election. The absence of an electrifying and self-financed celebration by voters at the end of the recent election in Ekiti State is another form of delayed or repressed response. Time will tell what percentage of Ekiti voters were happy with the results of the last gubernatorial election in that state.

    The Yoruba value of plurality of perspective allows the average voter in the region to respect the principle of multiparty democracy. This principle also allows individuals to choose which of the parties is closest to his/her expectations in and from life. This explains why there are Yoruba people in all political parties. In the Yoruba region, twins belong to different or opposing political parties, the same way they may choose to belong to different religions. Siblings are happy with each other regardless of the parties or religions they espouse. But when an election leads to “giving the son of Oba to Osun” (transferring the victory of candidate A to candidate B) friendship ends and tension emerges even among family members.

    What the average Yoruba voter abhors is rigging citizens’ right to choose the party of their preference to govern them. Whenever Yoruba voters feel cheated by the umpire or the organiser of an election, the chance of a threat to peace and progress in the region increases. Local and foreign election observers who are interested in survival of democracy in Nigeria need to get introduced to the anthropology or sociology of voting in different parts of Nigeria, more so now that the African continent is getting ready to qualify for increased trade and investment with the United States of America. Election observers, like African political leaders, need to take to heart Barack Obama’s statement: “Our message to those who would derail the democratic process is clear and unequivocal: the U.S. will not stand by when actors threaten legitimately elected government or manipulate the fairness and integrity of democratic process….”

  • ‘How I became the Oba of Yorubaland in  Rivers State’

    ‘How I became the Oba of Yorubaland in  Rivers State’

    After spending 20 years in Rivers  State, Obey Makanju Akin, was crowned as  His Royal Highness, the Eze Emene of  Ekpeye Kingdom in Rivers State, writes Taiwo Abiodun.

    Dressed in royal regalia, he swings his royal staff, adjusts his cap with beads dangling on his neck and on his wrists. Obey Makanju Akin waves his fly whisk to respond to greetings. He is happy and did not hide it. He is proud to have achieved, for he left home without beads, but returned home with one of the most honourable titles, the Eze Emene Yoruba in Ekpeye Kingdom in far away in Rivers State that has over 50 communities under it. Today, he is referred to as His Royal Highness in Rivers State as he dines and wines with first class monarchs in the state.

    According to Akin, this is one honour he never expected in his life. “To become a king in Rivers State is not easy .I never thought of becoming a chief not to talk of a King. It was based on merit. You must have been living in the community for years with good record before you are conferred any title not to talk of a king,” he said.

    The 44-year-old Yoruba king, who is from a royal family in Owo, Ondo State, said he had spent 20 years in Ekpeye Community before he was conferred the title. On how he became the king of the Yorubas, he said: “I have lived in Ekpeye Kingdom in Rivers State since 1993. I attended University of Port Harcourt where I studied Sociology, graduating in 2004. I am a business tycoon and had been involved in the development of the community and lots of philanthropic works. For example, I assist the needy by paying school fees of some children; cater for the sick, among others. Based on this I was given the title.”

    According to Akin, the search for new Eze Emene started when the former one died in 2011 due to old age.”The former one was a retired Military officer and had been there since 60s before he died.The community prayed, consulted clergymen, consulted oracles and divination before I was invited, later a letter was sent to me that I had been conferred the title by the Logbo  Ekpeye In Council in conjunction with  Ekpeye Council of Traditional Rulers  and chiefs , the  letter  was signed by His Majesty Eze Robinson .O.Robinson the Eze Ekpeye Logbo of Ekpeye Land.”

    The new Yoruba king, HRH Eze Ekpeye, said he plans to promote and foster unity among the Yoruba and the Rivers indigenes in the state. This place will be great by God’s grace. I am planning to build our palace; I will contact the Olowo of Owo, Ooni Of Ife, Osemawe of Ondo, Olubadan of Ibadan who will give me moral support and advice on how to do all these things. We are going to have a Yoruba museum that will make us proud while this place will be a tourist center.”

    On why he is called Mungo Park, he said: “It is the Yoruba community members who started calling me many names, some called me MKO, and some said I am Mungo Park; but I told them that Mungo Park discovered River Niger but I thank God I am appreciated. They said I have milk of kindness in me and some said I have contributed immensely to the development of Yorubas in the area. The Yoruba communities, who are in their thousands here, are progressing; they are not dubious as they maintain their integrity anywhere they go.”

    On the roles of his new position , he said: “I am an Ambassador of Yorubas here. I make sure no one flouts the rules and laws, we put so many things in order in order to live peacefully and in harmonious community. According to Akin  Bori, there are about five kingdoms  in the area, but we have about 77 villages ruled by His Majesty Robinson and Robinson, who  is the Eze Ekpeye  Logbo.

    “I ascended the throne last month, to be precise , October 17, when a letter was given to me.The Eze Ekpeye is like the Ooni Of Ife in Yoruba Kingdom. But we, the Yoruba speaking community, are great people and great tribe there. They don’t discriminate as we also fight for their cause. I was among those who welcomed the late Gani Fawehinmi when he came to fight for the Ogoni, and Ken Saro Wiwa. I am an activist too. I fought for Saro Wiwa’s release. I fought for the Environmental pollution. I am ready to die for the Rivers community, and I thank God that we are appreciated .And the struggle continues .I don’t know the difference between Igala, Hausa, Beriberi, Igbo for I believe we are all one, so we need to fight for emancipation of everybody. I love Adaka Boro and Saro Wiwa and I celebrate the two every year!”

    On the rituals performed over his new position, the the Eze Emene of Yoruba said “There was no rituals as such, they used bottle of schnapps, kola nuts and placed akoko leaves on my head for prayer in their shrine. Some also prayed for me by using Bible while some Muslims recited some Koranic verses. They all prayed for me and asked me to continue doing the good things I am doing. There is nothing secret; it was done in the public”.

    The monarch who is married to the indigene said the community appreciate education, he said  his father in-law challenged him “when I was going out with my wife , I had only my  secondary school certificate but her father called me and told me that if I wanted to marry  his daughter I must go to school. Since I was in love with the lady, I went back to dust my nooks, read and passed JAMB, and was admitted into the University of Port Harcourt where I read Sociology. Today, I am happy. My wife is also happy. She is now doing her doctorate degree while she lectures in one of the higher Institutions here in Rivers State.”

    On his new attires, he said: “I now wear Yoruba and Rivers dressings; it is interesting with my royal caps. My people who are Yoruba greet me like a king. I will continue to promote the cultures of the two tribes till I bow out from this world. It is interesting to see how the two cultures look similar, my wife is called Yeye or Olori too,” he said.