Obaship in an era of palliatives By Abiodun KOMOLAFE

In an interview with journalists recently, the Elegboro of Ijebu-Jesa in the Oriade Local
Government Area of Osun State, Oba Moses Oluwafemi Agunsoye stated that “no one can sit on
the throne as a monarch nowadays without having good money”. According to the first class
monarch, “gone are those days when people brought things to the palace, where the Kabiyesi
would sit down and expect manna from heaven. Now, it is the palace that is giving out … So, an
Oba must be up and doing, must have a job, or source of handsome income and he cannot rely
on the people.”

On consultations with the deities before choosing a king, Oba Agunsoye said: “at times,
traditionalists lie when choosing a king because money has exchanged hands. A rich man can be
made a king once he pays the Ifa and the Ifa would speak in his favour, unlike those years when
the truth is sacred and must be told at all times.”
To start with, when Oba Agunsoye said no one becomes an Oba without being wealthy, Kabiyesi
was only joining the likes of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona and Oluwo of
Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi in appropriately situating the fate that has tragically befallen
the traditional institution in Nigeria. Talking philosophically, Elegboro was also inquiring about
what might have been delaying the emergence of a new Soun of Ogbomoso and Alaafin of Oyo,
close to two years after the demise of the occupants of the exalted thrones.
‘Different strokes for different folks’, goes the 20 th century proverbial saying. Since society is not
static, the relevance or otherwise of the traditional ruler has changed so much that many things
now look bizarre. Well, the major crack is the unnoticeable changing nature of institutions in
Nigeria. Often, all our approaches to modernity are seen as an attempt to repudiate the traditional
core values of the society. Since it is not sharp, it moves piecemeal. As such, it is not all that
noticeable. Yet, it is there! The first thing is that institutional changes come without much
hubbub. In an ideal world, the Oba of a town is a man in three solid offices in which none is
insignificant. He is by all accounts the political head, the traditional ruler and the spiritual leader
of his people.
In a non-homogeneous society like ours, it is a traumatic responsibility. An Oba is the head of
the Sango traditional worshippers. When the Christian community calls, the Oba shouldn’t be
wanting. And whenever it’s the turn of the Muslims, the sacred king must also look for a kurfi
and join the Ummah in making supplications to Allah. In a word, an Oba must just be who his
subjects want him to be.
Hire and fire! Depose and jail! Needless to repeat that the traditional and the spiritual attributes
of Obaship in Nigeria have become moribund and rubbished! Regrettably so, modernity has long
rendered its political attribute impotent. Given the circumstances in Nigeria, the traditional
institution could not have done better. In reality therefore, the traditional institution will have to
reinvent itself; otherwise, troubled times loom. An example is the futile effort to reintegrate the
traditional institution into politics; and it’s distancing its members from their ancestral core
values.

When Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi was to be crowned, all kinds of questionable and
unimaginable insinuations occurred; but they were all dismissed, either for exigency or for
political reasons. For example, Iyiola Omisore warned that the people should not allow Bola
Tinubu to come from Lagos and impose Ooni Adimula on Ile-Ife. But that’s where the warning
ended. Not even the traditional chiefs and/or handlers of the ancient throne of Ife listened to him.
In the end, the Apesin Oodua of Ife lost the battle and Ojaja II emerged. The rest is history!
As things stand, one is at a loss of a blueprint of the roles and responsibilities of the traditional
rulers and the definition of their powers in the Southwest. Of course, things have changed
dramatically from what they were in not-so-distant past in Nigeria’s rich history, when the likes
of Oba Adesoji Aderemi, Oba Olateru Olagbegi and Omo n’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo,
Erediauwa were here! Now, every Ife-born child, whether traditionally right or otherwise, wants
to be a Sooko, a position hitherto reserved for apparent heirs to the throne; a position that’s
supposed to be a product of initiation.
Let’s go to Ibadan and see what the traditional institution has become. Arguably, this is the first
time the ancient city will be having a comprehensively educated and robustly enlightened
monarch. Oba Moshood Olalekan Balogun participated in the politics of the 1970s as a young
Ph.D. holder. Essentially Ibadan bred and born, Okumade II knows his onions. As a matter of
fact, no one engages him in a debate and loses; one is bound to gain something from him. Again,
this is where the media seems to have missed a vital opportunity: that Lekan Balogun became the
Olubadan of Ibadanland and the Fourth Estate has done next-to-nothing in terms of tapping from
the wealth of experience of this man of solid ideas who will always reveal stuff that will shake
the entire country!
Time it was when Nigeria’s physical scenarios did not favour Olubadan Balogun, not because he
was not qualified. The future 42 nd Olubadan was only a target of the attitude of the elite and the
judgment of fate! His Imperial Majesty was a victim of a society that was not ready for a man of
his stature and status. Thank God for sparing his life. Now that he is the Olubadan, it’s time
Kabiyesi revisited some of those brilliant ideas he used to discuss in the ‘70s. As a man with a
deep sense of history, it behooves Oba Balogun to do his best to right some of the wrongs of the
past.
So far, the most reassuring and settled order in the Southwest is the kingship order in Ijesaland;
and that’s the truth! Take, for example, for a prince to emerge as Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, he
has to perform certain traditional rites. It’s not just money! No! It’s not that an Omisore will have
to turn into a protest merchant; or that a Tinubu will allegedly wake up on the other side of the
bed and insist on a particular candidate as the next Owa Obokun of Ijesaland. No! It can’t happen
in Ijesaland! Should anybody dare, then the Ijesas will stand against him; all hell will let loose
because Ogendengbe Agbogungboro will wake up from his grave, fight the cause of his
forebears and restore order; and society will calm down! Take it or leave it, society is not a
detached object; it has an anchor to hold by and to hold to! Incontestably, these are the strictures
that hold any rational society; and Ijesaland can’t afford to be different!

Without doubt, the Obaship institution in Nigeria, especially, in the Southwest is shifting and
drifting. When society begins to drift, it continues in that trend, until there is a jerk to change the
direction. But that doesn’t just happen! As if the gods are angry, the traditional institution is no
longer as potent as it used to be. So, the central advice really is for all traditional rulers to rule
according to the dictates of the native intelligence within their domains. In the considered
opinion of yours sincerely, this is the best option!
May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

*KOMOLAFE writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria ([email protected])