How I wished Yoruba history were as simplistic as the Alake of Abeokuta, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, made it appear to be penultimate Saturday when he played host to the new Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi! The Ooni, in continuation of his “unity” visit to key Yoruba Obas, had visited the Alake in his palace in Abeokuta. Oba Gbadebo was then quoted as saying “Ooni is one of the five principal Obas in Yorubaland. The others, in order of the way they are classified on a supremacy basis, after the Ooni is the Alaafin of Oyo; after the Alaafin is the Oba of Benin; after the Oba of Benin, it comes to the Alake of Egbaland; and the fifth and by no means the last or least is the Awujale of Ijebuland”. If Oba Gbadebo did not evoke another controversy or stir the hornets’ nest with this statement, it will not be because everyone concurs with his views. People could have got tired of needless controversies on the over-flogged issue of seniority or supremacy amongst Yoruba Obas, which is not as straightforward as the Alake made it to look. The good work which the youthful Ooni is doing, which is resonating well across the length and breadth of Yorubaland, is another reason why many people will agree that rather than join issues with the Alake over his very controversial classification, sleeping dogs should be allowed to lie, lest the good moves of the Ooni be truncated on the altar of ego-tripping which, ironically, the Alake himself had fingered as the cause of disunity amongst Yoruba Obas.
Let us, however, briefly do a content analysis of the Alake’s statement before we address the more important issue of the Ooni’s peace and unity initiative. “Ooni is one of the five principal Obas in Yorubaland”: True or false? There is no denying the fact that the Ooni is a principal Oba in Yorubaland, but whether the principal Yoruba Obas are only five in number is debatable. How did we arrive at the figure of five: By counting the direct sons/grandsons of Oduduwa; by the importance of the empires they founded after dispersing from Ile-Ife; are those outside of present-day Nigeria included, such as the then Dahomey (now Benin Republic)? If the number “five” is controversial, the order of supremacy mentioned by the Alake will be no less. It would seem as if the Ooni himself is not guided by this so-called order in picking who to visit; otherwise, after his visit to the Alaafin, next should have been the Oba of Benin but he visited the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland instead, before going to the Awujale at Ijebu-Ode who, on the Alake’s order of supremacy, is number five. Alake, the number four on his own list, now came after the Awujale. This is the same Awujale who had said his fore-fathers came from Sudan whereas historians are agreed that Lamurudu/Oduduwa, the progenitors of the Yoruba, came from Egypt. How come the Awujale is “intruding” into the order of supremacy of Yoruba Obas? If there is any issue that has pitted one Yoruba monarch against another, it is the effort to establish supremacy or superiority of one over another. The many chieftaincy laws that swarm our statute books have failed to resolve the controversy. History, too, has not been able to resolve the disputes and contending issues beyond all reasonable doubt and to the satisfaction of all.
I read History in the university and I can, with some modesty, claim to have an idea of the landmines that Obaship issues are, not only in Yorubaland but in most other autochthonous communities. After reading the Alake’s statement, I hastened to re-check some of the settled authorities on Yoruba history; the fact of the case is that needless controversies on supremacy amongst Yoruba Obas should, as much as possible, be avoided. Dwelling on it, we shall never forge unity among Yoruba Obas. At any rate, the law as it is limits every Oba to his local government and, at the best, to his own state. Even then, few Obas are accepted as supreme by other Obas in any Yoruba state. For any Oba to command respect and authority outside his jurisdiction cannot be of law or of any supremacy list but by consent, the force of moral authority, and the integrity of the Obas concerned. This is where the initiative of the new Ooni must be clearly situated in the correct perspectives. If he, or indeed any other Yoruba Oba for that matter, is to succeed to forge the much desired unity amongst Yoruba Obas, the basis for success will not be any nebulous supremacy list. Before state creation, which split the Western Region and later Western state into many states, the fact of the matter is that no single Yoruba Oba commanded the unalloyed obeisance of the other Obas, the force of law notwithstanding. The closest that we had was the then Ooni of Ife, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, which was a function more of his political clout and association than the force of history; but the immediate past Ooni, Oba Okunola Sijuwade, tried as he did and with all the connections, contacts, and wealth at his disposal, was unable to achieve Oba Aderemi’s height. Will Oba Ogunwusi succeed where Oba Sijuwade failed? He can – but he will need more than the authority and backing of a supremacy list to do so.
The concurrence of other Yoruba Obas is vital for the Ooni or any other Yoruba Oba to be acceptable unto other Obas as primus inter pares. No law will achieve that. Whereas Yoruba history upholds Ile-Ife as the cradle of the Yoruba and all Yoruba sons and daughters, including the Obas, accept this, it is a different ball game when it comes to the issue of the foremost Yoruba Oba. There are many contestants, so to say, for the coveted post and the history of the Yoruba can be told from a couple of angles to support one viewpoint or another. We need not go into such distractions here. Commendable as the unity initiative of the Ooni is, I wish to advice that the fruit of it should not be expected to mature immediately. It appears to me as a project for the future for many reasons. One: The deep mistrust and animosities created by past jostling for supremacy amongst Yoruba Obas will take some time to recede into the past. The wounds of struggles inflicted this way will not heal overnight. Traditional institutions are, like the larger government, a continuum. Therefore, even though Obas do pass away, that does not automatically wash away the acrimonies created between stools. It is for the simple reason that traditional institutions operate in continuity that a new Ooni, and one as young as Oba Ogunwusi, can be touted as first among equals among Yoruba Obas. Two: The Ooni must be very careful to differentiate between personal interests and the overall interest of the Yoruba. His initiative will fly for as long as it is seen as devoted to the overall interest of the Yoruba and not a clever ploy to foist his own suzerainty over the other Yoruba Obas or Yorubaland. If he is found out as only scheming to impose himself, be sure that his unity project will fall flat on its face. Therefore, superiority claim is one controversy he can least endure. He must run away from it. If he is selfless, even stepping back now from any supremacy fight, like he cleverly tried to do with the Owa Obukun of Ijesaland, he stands to reap bounteous dividends in future. Three: Leadership in Yorubaland is earned and not commanded or legislated. Dint of hard work; commitment to the overall interest of the race; personal integrity; consistency and doggedness in the pursuit of the common goal are what entrust leadership in Yorubaland. If the Ooni can measure up on these scores, then, the sky is the limit. Four: Age is both a limiting factor as well as an asset for the new Ooni. It is a disability for now because he is young enough to be the son of many of the Yoruba Obas whose concurrence he needs before he can be accepted as primus inter pares. We cannot pretend not to know how such older Obas will feel cringing before someone the age of their own children, Ooni or no Ooni. We must not forget that the same Yoruba custom reverences age. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s prostrating before the Ooni is good for the new image of the Yoruba that every true Yoruba sons and daughters wish can be built; especially when we see how other ethnic groups, especially the Hausa/Fulani, revere their own traditional institution and, through it, have cornered advantages for themselves. Better late than never for Obasanjo because he was not known to have held Yoruba Obas in awe on the two occasions that he ruled this country.
To return to the Ooni, his youthful age recommends that he treads gingerly with the older Obas and not allow any order of supremacy list get into his head. His time will come. May he rule long! In, say 20, 30 years when he, too, would have matured in age and garnered experience on the throne and become one of the “papa” Obas, his good works now, if he is able to sustain them while at same time steering himself away from needless controversies, will speak and leadership of the Yoruba Obas will come to him naturally.
LAST WORD: In 2006, I visited the palace of the Alake in company with the political entourage of Gen. Muhamed Buba Marwa, then a presidential aspirant on PDP platform in the 2007 presidential election. I was Director, Media and Publicity of Marwa’s Presidential Campaign Organisation. One of the palace criers left a lasting impression on everyone. At intervals, he would simply chant “Oba n ki o!” meaning “The king greets you!” His voice was sonorous and magisterial; he had the role firmly under his grips. I later learnt he was educated. If he is still there, I greet him!
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