Culture and traditions all over the world are known to be two siamese twins that are almost inseparable. High Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, the Araba Awo of Osogbo land, who, for many decades is an authority in these fields.
The scion of culture and tradition who also doubles as a living Ifa oracle for his wealth of knowledge of Ifa divination locally and internationally, in this interview with Bukola Aderibigbe and Moshood Suleiman, unravels some mysteries around the burial of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the fate of his numerous wives and the plans to resuscitate Ifa Olokun Asorodayo, a popular TV drama series rested some two decades ago.
Excerpts:
Osun
Newsroom:
Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi recently joined his ancestors. We seize this opportunity to commiserate with you and the traditional institution which the late Oba Adeyemi represented so well in all ramifications until he breathed his last.
Elebuibon:
No doubt, it was a panful loss. However, our only consolation lies in the fact that Oba Lamidi Adeyemi was a colossus in the field of customs and traditions of Yoruba race at home and diaspora. He was an encyclopedia of anything royalty. He lived it. He practised it. He symbolised it . In fact, he was an enigma. A royal father of local and international reckonings who did a lot to promote the traditional institution more than what can be describe in a jiffy . Oba Adeyemi’s death was one great blow to the royal and traditional institution. May his soul rest in peace. Erinwo! Oba daada lo. However, he made his impacts felt tremendously.
Osun Newsroom:
Can you be specific about his contributions in the area of customs and traditions of Yoruba race?
Elebuibon:
There’s no day or time, publicly or privately, that news men will ask me one question or the other regarding Yoruba cultural heritage that I will not make a good reference to the late Oba Adeyemi. Everything about him was culture and tradition personified. Recently, when I was interviewed on a BBC Yoruba program, I made an allusion to the fact that the type of Oba Adeyemi is very difficult to come by. Is it in terms of knowledge of what it takes to be an Oba, or the knowledge of the rudiments of what an Oba should know? Just name it. He was full of life in all these and others too numerous to mention.
He was endowed in all the schemes of the knowledge,custom and traditions of the Yoruba that one tends to ask what kind of creation he was . Nature did not only endow him to the people of Oyo town but the entire Yoruba race at home and diaspora.
Today I must be quick to say that It saddens ones heart that a lot of the so called traditional rulers of the present age can not and will never measure up to half of what the late Alaafin of Oyo stood for and represented in the royal institution .
Their knowledge of Yoruba history, culture and traditions when compared with that of the late Oba Adeyemi was a washout . I am not making a sweeping statement about all the Obas but majority of them are not intellectually and naturally groomed like the late Alaafin.
Osun Newsroom:
How do you mean sir?
Elebuibon:
Thank you.
Do you know that virtually everything that royalty represents must be learnt by all Obas before they can parade themselves as an Oba? Even the way to brandish an ordinary horsetail (irukere) must, as a matter of royalty, be learnt by any serious-minded oba. The way to walk in the private and in the public, the way to dress, the way to respond to greetings and even the way to dance must follow the rudiments of royalty. All these were basically reflected in the person and royalty of late Oba Lamidi Adeyemi while alive during his Oyo kingship of 52 unbroken years. Majority of today’s Obas are far below his standard and it is unfortunate. They are just royal fathers by appointment but institutionally speaking,they are not qualified to be Obas. This is what modernisation and westernization has caused our Royal institutions especially in Yoruba land. For instance, one of the basic requirements of a good Oba must be the ability to have a thorough grip of the history of his domain as well as his ancestors. He must know the ideals of the past,the present and what it takes to make a projection into the future.
An Oba should be able to chronologically narrate all the historical idiosyncrasies of his forebears without being helped. He must be grounded thoroughly in all known customs and traditions. Obaship is not just for grandstanding or showmanship. No. It is not an institution for every Tom, Dick and Harry the way it has been turned to now. Majority of the modern day Obas are half baked in the history of their progenitors and if you are caught in the web of not knowing the past ,how can you confidently carry out Obaship functions as being done in the days of yore where merit rather than favouritism was the order of the day? The Obaship institution needs a rejuvenation to avoid offending the sacred institution of our progenitors .
Osun Newsroom:
You must have known and interacted a lot with the late Oba Adeyemi to have known all these basic qualities about him .
Elebuibon:
If you say so, you are not far from the truth because on many occasions when I had the privilege of sitting face-to-face with him, the late Oba Adeyemi will be reeling out different “odus” about the 16 “Ifas” in two, two verses. He was extremely gifted and I learnt a lot from him.
Osun Newsroom:
Are you saying many of the present day Obas are lacking in this aspect ?
Elebuibon:
(laughs loudly).
For where? Let me give you some instances to substantiate my position. Is it an Oba that just got to the throne of his forefathers just for the fun of it or an Oba who just got there simply because of his fat pocket or because of having somebody or some people as godfathers? Everything about Obaship is almost thwarted in this modern day of ours. Or how on earth can you believe that things that ordinarily an Oba should not be seen doing are what the modern day Obas derive pleasure in doing even openly. We have seen and heard of an Oba who smokes cigarettes and indian hemp (marijuana), some Obas are drug addicts. Imagine an Oba that dances disco and drinks alcohol to stupor. Do you call that a real Oba or an imaginary and glorified Oba who just found himself seated accidentally on the throne just for the fun of being called an Oba ? Honestly, the institution of Obaship has been abused and battered beyond remedy. But this late Oba Adeyemi was a great one, an original Oba with no blemish of any kind. Please tell me of any Oba today who can stand shoulders high with the late Oba Adeyemi in the area of following the ethics, rules, tradition, customs and what have you of Yoruba land? They are just
a few
of them around.
Let’s for instance recall with nostalgia the way the late Oba Adeyemi talks while alive. He didn’t just come about all these royal nature by accident. It was a product of what he inherited from his predecessors. He learnt everything carefully and methodically to get himself fully prepared for the Obaship position which he represented perfectly before he joined his ancestors.
Osun Newsroom:
Was that why Baba was very popular within and outside the royal institution?
Elebuibon:
Of course, he was very popular. He stood tall and even taller among his fellow Obas. He dignified royalty and in turn he got dignified to an enviable position by Yoruba and non – Yoruba speaking people. Honestly speaking, Alaafin was a royal enigma who was very deep into the Yoruba culture to the fullest. For instance, Alaafin was an Oba specially gifted with the ability to interpret the beatings of talking drums or Bata as the case may be. Let me ask you, how many Obas can readily do this today? The late Alaafin was an all-rounder in all aspects of native intelligence, customs and traditions that you can’t but wonder if he was an idol. Truly, he wasn’t but he only took his time as a blue-blooded person to prepare himself for the many challenges of what it takes and feels to be called an Alaafin in line with the age-old institution of Obaship of Oyo empire.
Osun
Newsroom:
Are you saying religiously, he kept faith to all the nuances of traditional institution?
Elebuibon:
Yes. Oba Lamidi Adeyemi did it with vigour and all the powers, influences and connections at his disposal. He was not a one-way Oba in the area of religion. He was an Oba to all religions despite the fact that he was a Muslim .He was never discriminatory against any religion neither was he ever accused of being biased or sentimental towards his own religion, Islam. He was a custodian of culture and religion to the fullest.
The way he talked, dressed or even walked embodied all elements of royalty. You can’t but respect him even by mere looking at him from afar not to talk of coming closer .
Osun Newsroom:
Shortly after joining his ancestors, traditiona worshippers frowned at the way the late Alaafin’s remains were displayed openly before the public to observe his Janazah prayers by the Chief Imam of Oyo town. The traditional worshippers were particularly quoted to have frowned at the act saying such an act was akin to desecrating the highly-valued institution of Obaship in Yoruba land.
What’s your opinion on this?
Elebuibon:
Well, what is important is for us to thank and appreciate
the Oyo kingmakers led by the Basorun of Oyo who is now the overall head of the palace activities after the demise of the Alaafin. What informed that action of displaying his corpse before the public was to set the record straight in lieu of the likely rumours and hearsays that Alaafin’s head, heart, ear, nose or other parts of his body have been cut or removed. It was deliberately displayed in the open to clear the many unfounded and speculations which may have followed if he was not given such a muslim burial rites in the first instance before being taken over by the traditional worshippers. You will recall that as soon as the Chief Imam of Oyo performed the last muslim prayers on the corpse, it was instantly taken away by the Sango worshippers back to the main palace for other traditional rites in line with the agelong Yorubs tradition. Modernisation has been allowed to creep in because a lot of the present day Obas have embraced Islam and Christianity. Ordinarily, the Alaafin shouldn’t have been buried that way but thank God for allowing reasons to prevail and the processes went smoothly that day. It must be explained that the Islamic aspect of the burial rite which was performed first was alien to traditional institution. Again, a very important point that must be emphasized here is that any person who readily makes himself available to be made an Oba must know that after eventually becoming an Oba, his religion of either a Christian or Muslim has become secondary. He is now for everybody and all their religions. In fact, once you become an Oba you are no longer the property of your own biological family. If you die on the throne, your family has no control any longer over what to do with your body or where you will be buried. It is an unwritten law of the customs and traditions of the Yoruba which nobody can alter. It is sacrosanct.
Osun
Newsroom:
Who has the final say on the appointment of an Oba in Yorubaland?
Elebuibon:
Before the advent of modernisation, the power and authority of who becomes an Oba was the exclusive right of Ifa divination. Unfortunately, today’s government has upturned this. The government of the State underwhich the town in question falls, uses its official power and authority to determine the choice or the appointment of the oba. This shouldn’t be if customs and traditions would ideally be allowed to hold sway.
On many occasions, the person that Ifa will chose to become an Oba may not even know. He could be in the town or outside the town or even in the farm innocently carrying out his usual day-to-day chores . But once a pronouncement has been made by Ifa, the person will automatically be picked up where he is to be made to assume his fathers’ throne. That was how it was being done, not like it is done now. No favouritism was involved, no sentiments. It was basically on merit, as divined by the Ifa oracle . You can not bribe anybody. It was not a question of money or influence but the power of an Ifa oracle to pick legitimately. The selection exercise was perfect and neat in those days. It was devoid of any religious or political influence. The rich and the influencial persons now dictates the tune of who occupies the throne of our forefathers . This is far below the required custom and tradition of Obaship but what do we do ? The kingship Institution has been hijacked. It is now for the moneybags and the influencial persons.
Osun Newsroom:
Are you saying some of the kingmakers are no longer being allowed to make a choice as was traditionally and customarily the case in those days?
Elebuibon:
Of course.
We can only continue to appeal to our kingmakers to desist from being
bribed or influenced in the choice of who becomes an Oba. It is not a good omen
Osun Newsroom:
In practical terms, what are your fears and anxiety over the inability to follow the known rules and values in the choice of an Oba these days?
Elebuibon:
Are we not seeing the repercussions already? An Oba dancing disco? An Oba smoking indian hemp? An Oba beating his wife? An Oba playing politics openly? The consequences are many and it is only God that can change the affairs of things. Customs and traditions are no longer given its due right of place. This is unfortunate. It is indeed an aberration.
Osun Newsroom:
Let’s come back to the late Alaafin of Oyo, Iku Baba Yeye.
He was popularly known as a traditional ruler with a handful of beautiful wives. The wives are so many such that it has become a subject of discussion in public and private circles. What is your reaction to this especially now that the late king has joined his ancestors?
Elebuibon:
It is not a new thing for an Oba to have one wife or a harem of wives like the late Alaafin of Oyo. He had every right to have them. The choice of the number of wives to have is the exclusive right of any Oba, not even Oba Lamidi Adeyemi alone as it is said in this case. It must, however, be emphasized that in Yoruba land, there is no limit to the number of wives of an Oba. In other words, no king, as a matter of fact, is limited to one wife. There’s no respect and honour for any Oba with one wife though it is a matter of choice. He is genuinely and traditionally allowed by all known customs and traditional finesse to have as many wives as possible . It is not about him but about the kingship institution which he represents.
Osun Newsroom:
Again, there’s this story making the rounds that any man who dares to marry any of the wives left behind by the late Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, risks the wrath of the dead.
What then becomes their fate as majority of these wives are not just beautiful, but are quite young and fresh?
We even gathered that no indigene of Oyo town should attempt marrying them. Is this not a serious case?
Elebuibon:
For now, all the wives will remain the property of the Oyo palace until they are through with the widowhood rites and customs. This is a must. But let me tell you and the larger public that there’s no iota of truth in the rumour that they must not remarry. It is just a mere speculations. No custom and tradition forbids them from marrying anybody either in Oyo or outside Oyo. Anyone of them is free to go and remarry. But certain special rites will have to be performed to appease the gods and the ancestors to make them free for any suitor to have them in his house as a new wife. Again, the choice of whether to remarry or not or stay in the palace for the rest of their lives is their own cross. We have seen a situation where some of them may have decided to stay permanently in the palace and some may go to continue their lives with other husbands elsewhere. Those that may decide to stay will be taken care of by the next oba who succeeds the late Kabiyesi. The decision to have anything to do with them by the new king is simply personal. The new king may also decide to keep them without having to get intimate with them and he may decide to be intimate with them. There’s no harm in this (laughter). But basically, they must be fed and clothed by the new Alaafin if they decide to remain in the palace with him. Staying in the palace by the old wives of Alaafin is legitimate. It is traditionally and culturally allowed. There’s no oba in Yoruba land that will be crowned as new oba without meeting some of the wives of his predecessor in the palace. It is very rare. Therefore, it is forbidden to send any of the wives of the late Alaafin packing from the palace because of the demise of their husband. Again, there is no law banning
indigenes of Oyo from
marrying anyone of them. The only reason it is not advisable for an indigene of Oyo to marry any of them is because of the attendant stigma and gossips of people. In a nutshell, the wives are as free as anybody to marry anybody that is willing to put them under his roof. It is not a taboo. People should desist from peddling unnecessary and unfounded rumour.
Osun Newsroom:
Money -making ritual is currently on the increase in our country. Are traditionalists the brain behind this ?
Elebuibon:
No traditionally-groomed herbalist will be found behind any act of
ritualism. As traditionalists, we are trained not to venture into whatever is traditionally unlawful.
The society is generally guilty of this malady and it is so unfortunate. The problem is that up till now, the society is yet to know who a true babalawo or traditionalist is as opposed to the fake ones all over the place. It is indeed sad that these days whoever is involved in any inhuman and untoward means to make money, in the society is expressly linked with the sacred traditional institution which we proudly represent. A line needs to be drawn here for clarifications.
We have the authentic and we have the unauthentic traditionalists going about doing things unauthentically thereby casting aspersion on we, the genuine traditionalists. I am stressing it here and again that we are not and we will not be the ones aiding and abetting ritualists for quick money.
Osun Newsroom:
Many years ago, there was a popular television series known as “Ifa Olokun Asorodayo” put together by you. Why did it just die naturally like that and what efforts are you putting in place to resuscitate it or do you not think that it will go a long way to correct the upsurge of immorality in our society if brought back to the screen?
Elebuibon:
(Laughs ). Thank you so much for that sense of history and of course the compliments you made about that popular television series. It was rested for one reason or the other. But I want to tell you that “Ifa Olokun” is not completely dead . After all, I am one of the lead actors and I am still alive by the grace of God . For the purpose of hindsight, it was one of the national TV stations that was solely shouldering the responsibility of getting it broadcast and viewed by the public. At a point, however, the economy of the country coupled with other logistics, especially sponsorship by corporate and non-corporate organisations affected its sustenance. It cost a huge amount of money to keep it on air. You can imagine how much it will cost now if we are to get it back. But efforts are being made to reawaken the sleeping giant in Ifa Olokun Asoro Dayo as a weekly television series. I will personally be glad to live to see it being brought to the public glare again.
Osun Newsroom:
Can you please refresh our memories of some of the cast whether dead or still alive?
Elebuibon:
Haaaaaaaaaa, many are still alive but as you rightly pointed out, majority are no more. May their souls rest in peace. In the cast we had Koledowo who acted Omolokun. We also had the late Kehinde olunlade, Dele Tomori, Ahmed abiyi, (baba omolokun) Ojuina from Ibadan among others. There was also Tunji from Ede, to mention a few.
