In the Yoruba oral tradition, there was a powerful king who was revered and feared by his subjects. Even people from neighbouring villages trembled with fear whenever his name was mentioned. Although he epitomised royalty and opulence, his greatest strength was his ability to spring surprises. This idiosyncratic feature made his subjects hold him in awe and took him as a god.
His words and deeds were absolute. In this oral tradition, neither the king’s name nor the kingdom where he reigned was ever mentioned. This is understandable since most oral traditions were not written but were rather passed down from one generation to another. So, along the line, some vital information were often lost.
One day, the king asked his newest and youngest wife to bath him. The wife naively mocked the monarch as she could not fathom why such awe-inspiring man’s manhood could be as small as a tortoise’s. The king took the insult in his stride but had a sinister surprise as his response.
The next day, he summoned his wife to his room and asked her to open a calabash placed in the room’s corner. When she opened it, her father’s head was in the calabash. She was bewildered by this strange discovery. The king retorted angrily: “You can see why my subjects hold me in awe!”
This was at a time, as we say in oral literature, ‘when the eyes were on the cheeks and buttocks were on the kneecaps.’ Then, the average Yoruba king had absolute power. This is why they are called “Kabiyesi”. When they sneezed, their subjects must surely catch cold.
This seemed to be the thinking of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan when he met with some Yoruba monarchs who converged on the palace of the immediate past of the Ooni of Ife, late Oba Okunade Sijuwade, to seek their ‘royal blessing’ in his quest to get second term in office. During the ‘royal blessing’ all the monarchs present stood and pointed the edge of their walking sticks to the former president who sat on a chair.
Some said it was a ‘curse’ since according to those who came up with such narrative, the ideal thing should have been to use their horsetails to bless the former president. But when ex-president Jonathan visited the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, he told him that gone were the days when traditional rulers could summon their subjects to the village squares or their palaces and gave them orders which they automatically obeyed.
If Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi were to be on the Ife throne then, he would have toed the line of Oba Adetona that Yoruba monarchs should not be partisan since his subjects cut across all political parties. It is safe to say Ooni Ogunwusi qualifies to be dressed in the robe of monarchs who will always call a spade, a spade instead of calling it a garden tool going by his antecedents since he ascended the throne of his forefathers. The monarch has within a short time proved that the age of Methuselah does not necessarily confer the wisdom of Solomon.
His kneeling down in front of a church’s altar shortly after ascending the throne was an indication of a man who had surrendered himself to the supreme “Kabiyesi”, the only superior being, that has absolute power and authority over other lesser beings. In the old days, Yoruba monarchs were real “Kabiyesi”.
Nobody questioned their authority except perhaps in the old Oyo Kingdom where the principle of checks and balances thrived. But here is a monarch who has totally submitted himself to the will of his creator and acknowledged that there is real “Kabiyesi” somewhere. Oba Ogunwusi has also extended the olive branch to the people of Modakeke, the sworn ‘enemies’ of the Ife, going by their age-long war.
Ife and Modakeke are close to each other just as the jugular vein is to the neck. But in terms of good neighbourliness, peace and harmony, the two communities are parallel lines despite the similarities in their socio-cultural and political system.
The enmity between the two neighbours often reflects in their voting patterns in election years as they rarely support the same political party. The hostilities are about “indigenes- settlers” imbroglio resulting in loss of lives and properties by both sides in what is considered as the longest Yoruba war, which started in 1849.
But with the attendance of the Akoraiye Day in Modakeke on December 26, 2015, by the Ooni has shown him as a humble and benign being, a quality that may not common among first class Yoruba monarchs. Although the Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Francis Adedoyin and his entourage had in November last year paid a visit to the Ooni, a proud monarch would have said it was expected going by the historical antecedents of Ife and Modakeke. For those who thought the monarch’s visit was a strange quirk of fate, Oba Ogunwusi’s visit to the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has proven that the Ife monarch is a man of peace who is interested in peaceful co-existence among the Yoruba monarchs and how to hasten development of the South-West.
Prior to his historic visit to the Alaafin last week, the last time an Ooni visited any Oyo monarch was 79 years ago. In the years ahead, it is possible that there would be debate about who is superior between the Ooni and Alaafin and the visit may become a reference point.
The Ooni could have thought of this before embarking on that historic visit. This is time of reason and not fear. This is a new dawn for the Yoruba both at home and in the Diaspora. For me, that visit was the high point of Alaafin’s 45th coronation anniversary.
A monarch who is thinking of peace deserves the support of all the Yoruba. He is at present building Ife Resort Centre and his proposed farming project will provide gainful employment to about 40,000 youths in Ife and its environs. These are laudable projects that will take many unemployed youths off the street. I found in the precocious young monarch, cultural renaissance of the Yoruba.
His reign is a guarantee that the development of the Yoruba and their environment is certain provided all monarchs are ready to support him. I doff my hat prostrate and say Kabiyesi to this uncommon Ooni. This monarch can only get better.
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Long may this Ono reign.He is doing it right.Anyway any King who acknoledges the Supreme is on the right track.Long life KABIYESI