By Tunde Odesola
If only the eyes could unsee the seen, the sin of abomination would fall off the heart; the scene of sacrilege would fade away from the mind; taboo and its punishment would remain in the communal pouch; and blood would not race higher than its pressure; life would be good. The soul would be at peace…if.
But the eyes cannot unsee that tragedy in Ilorin, where the reincarnated warrior with flaming arrows, the Timi Agbale of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal, knelt to an ancestrally younger authority, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari. Abomination! Orí ó gbodó di írú: the head must not become the tail, says a Yoruba proverb.
Many eyes saw the eyesore and mouths flung wide open like crocodiles regulating body temperature on a sunny day, leaving many wondering if that horror truly happened in Ilorin Afonja founded by the Yoruba or if that was a scene from an episode in a mediocre movie titled, “The Timid King”.
Founded by Oyo Empire authorities in the 16th Century, Ede is not only older than Ilorin, which was founded in the 18th Century, Ede was also a frontier military outpost of the Old Oyo Empire with Aare Ona Kakanfo Afonja as the field marshall.
In the “History of the Yorubas”, Samuel Johnson says before the collapse of the Oyo Empire in 1796, a succession of Timis reigned in Ede-Ile, marking out the land of Mapo Arogun as one of the strongest military powers in Yorubaland.
By genealogical, cultural and traditional indices, the Timi stool, by a vast margin, predates the Ilorin emirate. In their seminal book, “The Entire Yorubaland”, Professors Isaac Akinjogbin and S. A. Akintoye, affirmed Ede as one of the established monarchies in Yorubaland – long before the birth of the caliphate in post-1800, let alone the Ilorin emirate, whose first emir reigned between1823 and 1836.
This viewpoint is vividly expressed in the book, “Yoruba Warfare in the 19th Century”, written by Professor J.F. Ajayi, and “War and Peace in Yorubaland”, edited by Professor I. A. Akinjogbin. While Ilorin was a theocratic state, Ede was both a military and traditional state.
Oral tradition says the etymology of Ilorin is rooted in three Yoruba expressions: (1) Ìlo Irin (Iron Sharpening), (2) Ìlú Irin (Iron Town) and (3) Ìlú Erin (Elephant Town). Ìlo Irin suggests that the name Ilorin was derived from iron sharpening practice by its occupants. It connotes that Ilorin is a place noted for iron sharpening in its early days.
Ìlú Irin suggests that the name Ilorin evolves from iron smelting in the area while Ìlú Erin implies that the community is probably associated with elephants.
Also, a myth says Oláderin was a popular elephant hunter in the locality and that Oko Erin, the name of a settlement in Ilorin, shows the town’s relationship with elephants.
Ede is a town with a rich history and incredible people. Long after the reign of the first Timi Agbale Olofa Ina, Ede remains a town of no-nonsense indigenes – going by the way its people fiercely defend Abere, a large portion of Ede land – from external incursion.
Ede is a town I love. It was the first town I visited upon my arrival from Lagos State as state correspondent of The PUNCH in 2003. It was my first week on the job and I was about to go back to Lagos for the weekend when the multitalented Olumide Ajayi barged into my office and said, “Ha, egbon, e je ki a wo town; let’s go and have a drink.” “No, as you see me so, na Lagos I dey,” I replied him. “Ha, egbon, e le lo o. You can’t go; you must see my principal,” Olumide insisted. But I responded, “I’ll see your principal when I return.” “Ha, no, o ti o. Ede is just 10 minutes from Osogbo. It’s on the way to Lagos, we’ll just branch, see my principal and you’ll be on your way to Lagos,” he maintained. “Ok,” I gave in.
Olumide jumped into my car and we drove to the residence of the first public figure I made friends with in Ede, Rt. Hon. Adejare Bello, a former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly and former Ambassador to Mexico with concurrent accreditation to Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama. May Olumide’s soul continue to rest in peace.
An embodiment of charisma, tact, intelligence and integrity, the immediate past Timi of Ede, Oba Tijani Oladokun Ajagbe Oyewusi, the Agbonran II, ruled from 1976 to 2008. Through a colleague, Wale Folarin PhD, I later came to closely know the colourful Oba Oyewusi, who stood for peace and united Ede sons and daughters at home and abroad.
A man of vision, class and character, the great Timi Oyewusi was schoolmates with the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; the late Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Olaolu Ayoola; the late Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin, the late Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), at the Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife.
Later, I became friends with the first executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Adetunji Isiaka Adeleke aka Serubawon, a jolly good fellow and gentleman. One day, Serubawon called me, “Tunde, I have an advert for you. Can you, please, come to the country house in Ede?” “I’m on the way, sir,” I said.
By the time I got to Adeleke’s home in Ede, the sun was fully up, but Adekele had lost his shine. I asked if there was anything the matter and he replied tersely, “We lost a family member.”
He gave me the artwork of the advert; it was an obituary of an extremely beautiful woman. “I don’t know where my chequebook is,” he said, looking for a piece of paper. He asked me the amount of the full-page colour advert, and I told him. Serubawon scribbled the amount on the piece of paper, signed it and gave it to me. “Please, go to Pacific Bank and ask for the manager. I’ll call him before you get there.”
The manager and the accountant of the bank were at the gate waiting for me. I presented the paper to them and they gave me the advert fee with tonnes of courtesy. I headed straight to the office to process the obituary of Mrs Vero Imade Adeleke PhD, Davido’s mother.
I also know some other Ede politicians. They include ex-Ede LG chair, Alhaji Kamarudeen Adegoke; Dr B.T Salam, OSHA member, Taofeek Layiwola; Osun Special Adviser, Sunday Atidade; ex-House of Reps member, Mufutau Ayinde; the late Pa Fatai Rolling Dollars, the late Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Alhaji Laide Adeniran, who invented the popular political slogan, “Change ese re, Ede lo wa, Ede lo de,” among others.
I do not know for how long the reigning Timi stayed in ìpèbí – Yoruba’s kings’ college – but I know that no ìpèbí in the Land of Oduduwa will approve an oba to kneel in greeting to anyone mortal. This is why what the Timi did in public in Ilorin was an abomination. It was unheard of. It was an insult to the rich history of the Yoruba. I wished it was not the Timi.
I wished the Timi had just kept quiet after committing the taboo. But no, he did not. He issued a terrible statement in support of the sacrilege.
Timi’s statement said, “Oba Lawal, having an imposing frame, bent to exchange pleasantries with the Emir because Alhaji Sulu Gambari, possibly due to his age or other personal reasons, could not stand to greet the guests who went to pay him homage.
“At first, Oba Lawal leaned towards Sulu Gambari to greet him, but because the Emir could not still hear greetings from his visitor, Baba Timi had to bend and move closer for clearer communication to take place.
“We also note that it was not only Baba Timi that Emir Sulu Gambari did not rise on his feet to greet. The Emir did not leave his seat to greet any of the guests who entered the inner chamber to meet him.”
Timi’s statement elicits some questions, “Is the Timi saying Alhaji Sulu-Gambari hears better when subjects kneel to speak to him than when they move inch-close to him? “Does kneeling to Emir Sulu-Gambari bring his subjects closer to him than when they move some inches close to him while standing?” The Timi said in his statement that he bent? Did he bend or kneel? And must he kneel to move close to Sulu-Gambari?
I’m sure the Timi knows this Yoruba proverb, but if he does not, here’s it: Ka ka ki n dobale fun Gambari, ma kuku ku! It means, “Instead of me to prostrate to Gambari, I rather die.”
* To be continued.
Written by Tunde Odesola and published in The PUNCH, on Friday, January 24, 2025)
Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com
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