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On Behalf of Whom Is Akiolu Speaking? By Otunba Morakinyo Akinfolarin Woolwich, London, United Kingdom
Before commencing my making known what prompted the question posted to be the title of this write-up, it is appropriate to give a brief introduction of which I am to prove my identifiable status. I am born to the royal family in both sides of my parental lineage. I am by the grace of Olodumare one of the several descendants of Oba Terere, the 17th Osemawe of Ondo Land and Oba Ajisowo, the 18th Osemawe of Ondo Land in my father’s side of parentages. As it is said in Yoruba land you cannot have a father’s home without a mother’s home, my mother is the great-grand daughter of Oba Arilekolasi the 28th Osemawe of Ondo Land, and my grand mother was from Iga-Oluwa in Isale-Eko. Naturally, all, me inclusive are the descendants of Oba Pupupu the 1st Osemawe of Ondo Land that was descendant of Oduduwa. Therefore, I am well placed to know the accumulation of developments connected particularly Yoruba nation. Yoruba bo won ni omo ko ba itan, sugbon o ba aroba. Tani ko ma pe aroba ni baba itan? (Yoruba saying: child bumps not into story, but come upon narration. Who does not know that narration is the father of story! I did not bump into story, but came upon narration. I
have said that brief about which I am not to put the readers in any
doubt of any kind about my position and as to why I felt so strong about
the question that I asked above. In addition, I am not on an ego trip or
one of the latter-day writers or givers of interviews that are
interested in the orchestration of history for present-day politics,
like the Oba of Benin, OmoN'oba Erediauwa, in his biography. I
would have let sleeping dog lies after the Arole of Odua, Ooni of Ife,
Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II had in all wisdom sent Erediauwa to go
and read what his forefathers told the Portuguese explorers during their
visit to Ile-Ibinu (Ibini) on July 2, 1550 AD about the relationship
between Ife and Ile-Ibinu (Ibini) in dealing with the crux of the matter
relating to the foolish claim by the “Oba of
Ile-Ibinu (Ibini), OmoN'oba Erediauwa, in his biography, "I
remain Sir, Your Obedient Servant." that the Yoruba migrated from
Ile-Ibinu (Ibini)”. But for Oba Rilwan Akiolu to say that he is in
agreement with OmoN'oba Erediauwa that the Yoruba migrated from
Ile-Ibinu (Ibini) smacked of cutting his own nose to spite his own face.
If
it is true, what is published inside THISDAY, Dateline: 05/05/2004 by
Shaka Momodu, then the Akiolus of this world need lessons about Yoruba
race if they were descendants of Oduduwa. This statement ascribed to Oba
Rilwan Akiolu who is supposed to be the custodian of the history of Eko
people brought it home to me that this type of errant nonsense is not
confined to the Ilorin/ Lokoja axis within the Yoruba speaking people.
Before concluding on the role of a spoiler that Oba of Lagos has chosen
to play, I commence with what I think motivated OmoN'oba Erediauwa to suddenly
drag in the question of Ife and Benin to the book that was for all
purposes is an auto-biography and about his experience as a civil
servant. Between
the late 80s and early 90s there was a serious show down verging on
personalities clash, as well as customary observances in Ibini town
between the father of the present Governor of Edo State, which is Chief
Igbinedion (I think his chieftaincy title was Esama of Ibini then) and
OmoN'oba Erediauwa. I
am unable to lay my hands on clips from Nigerian daily newspapers that
featured the accounts of this battle that I am about to employ to
enunciate the motive(s) of OmoN'oba Erediauwa. My inability not able to
get these clips is because at this particular moment I am not residing
in Nigeria and I have these clips among other clips in my news archive
in my personal library. Therefore, I shall only be able to say as much
as I could remember from memory about this occurrence. As
I said, the conflict was an Ibini-wide conflict that arises from
personalities clash, as well as customary observances, which is not
unconnected with rite of passage. Since I am not having within my reach
records that would have served to say without any errors I shall not
give detail accounts of what happened. However, at the end of the day
Chief Igbinedion had his way, he came out of the confrontation
unscathed, but OmoN'oba Erediauwa came out of the confrontation gravely
embarrassed. To
those who are familiar with Obaship institutions in that part of Nigeria
knows very well that Oba Ibini is one of the Obas, which one dare not
cross its way. But for a Chief in Ibini to have stood up to the Oba of
Ibini and came out of it unscathed, a home truth must had being said by
the Chief to OmoN’oba Erediauwa. What this home truth could be is a
matter of conjectures. Notwithstanding, my gut feelings were that the
uniqueness and legitimism of OmoN'oba Erediauwa were questioned. OmoN'oba
Erediauwa over night found himself in the position of an adopted child
facing identity issues that need to be resolved. To resolve it is to
building of identity that cannot be separated from the people of Ibini,
the historical events, and social circumstances that surround him to
prove that his ancestors were of the Ibini, and naturally I am ONE of
YOU. It
is a common knowledge that our identity locates us in the social world,
thoroughly affecting everything we do, feel, say, and thinks in our
lives, therefore there is a need for the acquisition of self. The
question that I can assume to be going on in the minds of readers now,
is why would OmoN'oba Erediauwa be in quest for an identity? This
question is very apt. The answer is presented by OmoN'oba Erediauwa
himself in the chapter of The Benin-Ife Connection “This
is a convenient point to return to the issue I began this section with,
which is where and how the future Oba of Benin chooses the title —
name by which he is to be known at his coronation. As stated above, it
all began with the arrival of Prince Oranmiyan from Ife. We have stated
that the earliest rulers or kings in what is today Edo or Benin were
known as “Ogiso.” The first was known as Ogiso Igodo and the last
(of the thirty-one or so of them) was Ogiso Owodo. It can be said that Ogiso Owodo’s era ended the first
period of kingship in our history.” As
OmoN'oba Erediauwa said that Ogiso Owodo ended the first period of
kingship in Ibini history, it is obvious that Oranmiyan have to be part
of that extinct kingship. It is a knowing fact both in Ibini and all
over Yorubaland that there was a period in history that Oranmiyan was
the first Oba of Ibini, which is made possible as a result of the
request of the ancestors of those that are nowadays known as Benin. Oranmiyan
left Ibini leaving behind a son whose mother was an Ibini woman to
succeed him on the throne, never to return there; and to this day it is
the descendants of Oranmiyan a Yoruba man that have being ascending the
throne in Benin. This
is how the issue of IDENTITY came to play out in the mind of OmoN'oba
Erediauwa and his fellow fabricators. In order to establish a historical
link between Ogiso Owodo and Oranmiyan and to put in place that the Obas
of Ibini were and are not Yoruba as people are made to believe or think,
the story of a son to be killed and not killed became an instrument to
validate the missing link. According to OmoN'oba Erediauwa, “His
(Ogiso Owodo) was a long account of an unhappy reign but briefly it was
that as a result of these events, which were traced by oracle to his
only child and son, Owodo was advised by oracle, so it was said, to have
the son executed. Owodo (unaware that he had been tricked about his son)
got the Oka odionmwan (public executioner) to perform the act. But the
executioner had pity on the son, and on reaching the outskirts of the
city, let him off. From there the prince wandered into the world,
settling alone first in Ughoton, where the elders gave him
hospitality.” To
cut a long story short in the period of
interregnum when the Ibini people
were yearning for a king they now woke up to know that Ogiso’s son was
not executed by the public executioner but living somewhere west of
Ibini. Messengers were sent there, but getting there the messengers
learnt that out of fear he (Ogiso’s son) had moved further west, and
finally this sacrificial lamb was found in Ife now an Oba with the name
bearing Oduduwa. OmoN'oba Erediauwa further stated that: The
Benin emissaries delivered their message, but Ekaladerhan (or Oduduwa)
replied, as the emissaries reported back to the elders at home, that he
was happy where he was and, in any case too old to travel; but he was
prepared to send his youngest son if the Benin people would submit to a
test that they would take good care of him. This is another lengthy
account which we need not go into here. Suffice it to state that the
Benin people did submit to and passed Oduduwa’s test and so Oranmiyan
(or Oranyan in Yoruba) came to Benin as the ruler of the people.
In
one hand, with this account by OmoN'oba Erediauwa and his fellow
fabricators the mission of identity creation is accomplished. On the
other hand he subsequently
lay to rest the issue of legitimism that the subsequent successors to
the throne of Ogiso were and are truly the descendants of Ogiso Owodo
and that the Obas were/are not pretenders. This is to say that they
were/are and he is not a Yoruba. Thus,
according to OmoN'oba Erediauwa and his fellow fabricators since Ekaladerhan
was not executed but speared by the public
executioner, was found alive in Uhe (Ife); having several sons
and willing to dispense with his youngest son to go back to Ibini to
ascend the throne of his ancestor (Ogiso Owodo),
in his stead. As
a faithful and obedient son Oranmiyan accepted to go to ascend to the
throne of his late grand father as OmoN'oba Erediauwa and his fellow
fabricators want to make the whole world to believe. Oranmiyan arrived
in this homestead of his supposed grand father, became the king, married
to or have canal knowledge with a female indigene that gave birth to a
son during or after Oranmiyan have left according to contradicting tales
emanating from the modern Benin people. He, Oranmiyan left there in
anger and calls the place Ile-Ibinu and returned to Uhe (Ife). This
son that was left behind by Oranmiyan grew up to ascend the throne of
his supposed great-grand-father (Ogiso Owodo) and since then the
subsequent successors to the Benin throne were/are of the dynasty of
Ogiso. What a story serving OmoN'oba Erediauwa and his fellow
fabricators interests in establishing IDENTITY and LEGITIMACY! I
am now at the points of making use of fact findings to enunciate the
uniqueness of ODUDUWA in YORUBA BELIEF. It is a forgone conclusion among
scholars of history, anthropology, archaeology and sociology that the
beliefs of people often harbour the path pointing towards the origin of
the people. Whence
those that discard the words of Arole of Odua, Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade
Sijuwade, Olubuse II that “Oduduwa the legend, the father of the
bigger Yoruba dynasty, has no connection whatsoever with Ogiso dynasty
in Benin history as portrayed by the Oba of Benin, because Oduduwa
descended directly from heaven through a chain to where is now known as
Ife today in company of four hundred deities.” With the wave of the
hands are ignorant of the import of MYTHS and LEGENDS in the domains of
theogony and apotheosis. The
swift and apt respond from Arole O’dua Ooni of Ife, the most
authoritative and custodian of the accumulation of developments
connected particularly Yoruba nation generated positives, negatives and
constructive critics from different quarters. The notable challenge to
the response of Arole O’dua Ooni of Ife is how can somebody descend
from heaven to this earth by the chain made of gold? In
fact one of the writers that are saying this account of O’dua
descending from heaven is not to be trusted made reference to Professor
Biobaku writings as pertained to the history of the Yoruba. It was not
in 1955 that Biobaku came out with his own version of Yoruba history,
which was pure, political like that of Oba of Ibini; it was early 60s
during the political crisis in the then Western Region of Nigeria. I was
in primary school when Biobaku came out with his theory that the Yoruba
were descendants of Olofin and not O’dua, naturally this generated hot
arguments and fierce debates among the educated elites in Western Region
that lead to the discredit of Biobaku among Yoruba, but he survived that
period because he pitched his tent with the government of the day, for
whom he purposely came out with his sophism that lead to the forming of
Egbe Omo Olofin. And Yoruba to their eternal credits let Egbe Omo Olofin
died a natural death. The
myths and legends of Yoruba deal with the creation of the world, the
mysteries of creation, deities, demons, and Man. The Yoruba myths and
legends are not the first and primitive material out of which evolved
and developed authoritative narration. This world we are living in is
overwhelming with many different accounts of how this world came to be.
Myths and legends are congenial products of the popular mind and of the
soul of the people. Without
gain saying all myths and legends owe their origin and existence to the
conceptions of the people and their traditions. They are manifesting the
characteristics of each race, mirroring its soul, its dreams and hopes,
its joys and sorrows. The
Rabbis and mythographers of Judaism gave a full expression to the
beliefs and traditions of the Hebrews/Jewish, to the floating myths and
legends, but they invested this legendary lore with a beautiful
symbolism. They made use of this branch of post-biblical lore as a means
of expression for speculative thought and profound spiritual teaching.
To the eternal credits of the Rabbis, their own versions relating
to the mysteries of creation in spite of en masse entrants from
Egypt and later on from Babylonia, Persia, and India are mostly
broadcast. A
scholastic work relating to creation stories from around the World was
done in the University of Georgia, encapsulations of some traditional
stories explaining the origin of the Earth, its life, and its peoples.
In the booklet, which title is “Creation Stories from around the
World” twenty different stories were paraphrase from all the
continents in the world. This
booklet contained the Yoruba mythology of creation as well as that of
the Hebrews/Jews plus others. I hereby give equal summaries of that of
Yoruba and Hebrews/Jews. 1.
The Golden Chain This
creation story comes from the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Togo and Benin.
In the religion of the Yoruba, the Supreme Being is Olorun, and
assisting Olorun is a number of heavenly entities called orishas. Long
ago, well before there were any people, all life existed in the sky.
Olorun lived in the sky, and with Olorun were many orishas. There were
both male and female orishas, but Olorun transcended male and female and
was the all-powerful Supreme Being. Olorun and the orishas lived around
a young baobab tree. Around the baobab tree the orishas found everything
they needed for their lives, and in fact they wore beautiful clothes and
gold jewellery. All the orishas save one, however, were content to stay
near the baobab tree.
Obatala
was the curious orisha who wasn't content to live blissfully by the
baobab tree. Obatala went to Olorun and asked Olorun to let him make
something solid in the waters below. That way there could be beings that
Obatala and the orishas could help with their powers.
Touched
by Obatala's desire to do something constructive, Olorun agreed to send
Obatala to the watery world below. Orunmila brought out a sacred tray
and sprinkled the powder of baobab roots on it. Obatala went to his
fellow orishas to ask for their gold, and they all gave them all the
gold they had. When Obatala realized that the goldsmith had made all the
gold into links, he had the goldsmith melt a few of them back down to
make a hook for the end of the chain.
Meanwhile,
as Orunmila had told him, Obatala gathered all the sand in the sky and
put it in an empty snail shell, and in with it he added a little baobab
powder. He put that in his pack, along with palm nuts, maize, and other
seeds that he found around the baobab tree. Obatala hooked the chain
into the sky, and he began to climb down the chain. The sand hit the
water, and to his surprise it spread and solidified to make a vast land.
Still unsure what to do, Obatala hung from the end of the chain until
his heart pounded so much that the egg cracked. From it flew Sankofa,
the bird bearing the sprits of all the orishas.
Finally Obatala let go of the chain and dropped to this new land,
which he called "Ife", the place that divides the waters.
After walking a long time, Obatala grew thirsty and stopped at a small
pond. Before long, Olorun dispatched Chameleon down the golden chain to
check on Obatala's progress. Chameleon reported Obatala's disappointment
at making figures that had form but no life. Gathering gasses from the
space beyond the sky, Olorun sparked the gasses into an explosion that
he shaped into a fireball. Olorun then blew his breath across Ife, and
Obatala's figures slowly came to life as the first people of Ife. I
have chosen to give the summaries of the two different creation stories
of Hebrew/Jews because theirs is the most flaunted one, which is
employed by both the adherents of Christianity and Muslim in our
societies to mystify the people. 2.
Yahweh That
text, and thus the Old Testament, contains two creation stories. This
creation story is from Genesis 2:4 to 3:24 of the Hebrew Bible or the
Old Testament. The paraphrase below maintains J's use of the Hebrew name
"Yahweh" rather than the English word "God".
Certainly J's story is a more human story of temptation and punishment
than the austere story written later by the author known as
"P", and J's creator is more anthropomorphic.
In
J's story, the humans that are created have names. Yahweh
Yahweh
created a garden in a place called Eden. In this garden Yahweh placed
all the trees that bear fruit, including the tree of life and the tree
of knowledge of good and evil. Yahweh put the man there and instructed
him to cultivate the garden and to eat of whatever fruit he liked,
except for fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This
man was Adam, and the woman's name was Eve.
When
the man and woman heard Yahweh in the garden, they hid from him, but
Yahweh called them out and asked why they had hidden. Yahweh asked the
man how they knew to be ashamed of nudity, and if they had eaten the
forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The man
explained that the woman had eaten of the fruit and given him some too.
When Yahweh asked the woman, she explained that the snake had beguiled
her into eating the fruit. 2a.
The Elohim This,
the second of our two Hebrew creation stories, is from Genesis 1:1 to
2:3. P's story is one of creation ex nihilo (from nothing), and the
creation is a much more stately process than that in J's story. "Elohim"
( , pronounced "e lo
HEEM") is actually a plural word perhaps best translated as
"the powerful ones". P also used plural phrasing in the
Elohim's creation of humankind "after our own likeness". The
Elohim
In
the beginning the Elohim made the sky and the earth, but the earth was
shapeless and everything was dark. The Elohim said, "Let there be
creatures in the waters, and let there be birds in the skies," and
so there were sea monsters and sea creatures and birds. The Elohim
blessed them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply". The Elohim
said, "Let the earth have animals of various kinds", and so it
was. The
creation version of that of the Yoruba was not giving by a Yoruba man
living or born in Yoruba-Nigeria, but by a Yoruba of Republic of Benin
stock. This story was written down by David A.
Anderson/ Sankofa, who learned it from his father, who learned it from
his mother, and so on back through the Yoruba people and through time. Apart
from the versions of Yoruba and Hebrew/Jews, as I said above, there are
other eighteen equally tenable versions relating to creation. To all
purposes, all the different Creation
Stories from around the World have a common thread, which is there is a
CREATOR. In
the belief of the Yoruba, this CREATOR is known as OLORUN OLODUMARE,
with many attributes such as Eleda, Orisha Nla, Oba Aterere ka ori aiye,
Ela, Eledua, Oyigiyigi, Ope, Alase, Oduduwa. I have deliberately
mentioned Oduduwa last, because is whose essence, existence and origin
is to be found in the story
of OmoN'oba Erediauwa and his fellow fabricators, which is directly in
contradiction to the words of Olodumare that proceeded forth from the
mouth of Orunmila, which is IFA. In
a book that was writing by Canon E. M. Lijadu about IFA which was
published in 1901, which gives tremendous insight to our ancestors’
belief before the arrival of foreign religion; in spite of Canon Lijadu
intention to disparage Yoruba belief in this book that he titled IFA: IMÔLE
RÊ TI ISE IPILE ISIN NI ILE YORUBA, we found the true meaning of
Oduduwa. I have to let readers know that Late Canon Lijadu wrote this
book about his ancestor’s belief not to credit his ancestors but to
discredit them. From
reading the book, the writer gave a recitation of Oturupon Di a verse in
IFA that underlined the meaning of ODUDUWA. He said “ONI A WIJO, E NI
OTURUPON DI LO JEBI; OLA A WIJO, E NI ELA KO SE AIYE RERE; O MU ODUNDUN
S’OBA EWE, O MU TETE S’OSORUN RE: SIBESIBE E NWIPE ELA KO S’AIYE
RERE. ASEHINWA-ASEHINBO ELA TA’KUN O R’ORUN: NJE ELA, JOWO TA’KUN
KI O WA GBURE, ELA! OTURUPON DI. (Today it’s assert, you said OTURUPON
DI is guilty; tomorrow it’s assert, you said ELA have not governed
well… at long last ELA ascended to heaven: Please ELA descend to earth
to hearken to our supplications, ELA!) He queried the IFA High Priest
who is ELA and what’s the meaning of this name. The IFA High Priest
said to him that ELA ni ODUDUA. Late Canon Lijadu went on that the High Priest of IFA do performed a rite, a rite that is known to be ODU. And this ODU is ODUDUA. In concluding the Late Canon Lijadu presented one of the several prayers of ODU, which goes like this “ODU, ERU WARI,
(4) ELA, S’OGBO-S’OGBO (4) ELA S’ATO-S’ATO, (4) IWA MI, DAJI: (4) BI A BA KU L’AIYE OHUN GBOGBO TI A NI OMO ENI LI A IFUN.” (4) Where
he (Late Canon Lijadu) observed that the Being that was referred to as
ODU same Being is called ELA, also in the fourth line is called ‘IWA’.
Thus he said the meaning of ODUDUA is (A) The Great One that created (iwa)
character, or/and (B) The Great One that exist by SELF. This is an
incontrovertible conclusion of a critic of IFA about ODUDUA as made
known to him through the recitation of a verse in IFA. From
the foregoing it is obvious that ODUDUWA (ODUDUA, O’DUA, and ELEDUWA)
as we Yoruba prefer to pronounce our progenitor, have no doubt in our
mind about the essence of HIM. The
onus now is for OmoN'oba Erediauwa and his fellow fabricators to say and
prove to the whole world the ORIGIN of modern day BENIN, if they are not
suffering from IDENTITY CRISIS AS WELL AS THE ISSU OF LEGITIMISM. In
addition, I have this to say to them that YOU CANNOT HATE THE ROOTS OF A
TREE WITHOUT HATING THE TREE. YOU CANNOT HATE YORUBA AND NOT HATE
YOURSELF.
As for Oba Akiolu in “Adding his voice to the raging controversy, Oba Akiolu submitted that what the Oba of Benin said on Yoruba history was correct. Akiolu, who spoke to newsmen, said Erediauwa could not be faulted on the history of the Yoruba. According to him, Omo N'Oba is a man of integrity who could not lie on this matter.” Let him (Oba Akiolu) present to us his own version about the origin of the Yoruba that his ancestors handed over to him, otherwise let him for ever remain silent. BY: Otunba Morakinyo Akinfolarin Woolwich, London, United Kingdom |