The position of the executive governor of Oyo state, Engineer Seyi Makinde on the lingering controversy on the procedures of ascension to the coveated seat of Olubadan reminds me of the biblical King Solomon. God had given the young king a rare chance to request for anything. As young as he was, he made the right and the best choice. Solomon opted for wisdom to the consternation of his subjects.The wisdom was subsequently granted and surreptitiously accompanied with other needed impetus that facilitated his success on the throne. Solomon shunned covetousness, greed, materials and a host of other ephemerals. His reign was successful.
Like King Solomon, the executive governor of Oyo state has displayed an uncommon wisdom. He listened, meditated, sought advice and prayed. The resultant effect is his verdict on the imbroglio that has almost desecrated the globally respected ascendancy process of Ibadanland.
The position of his Excellency cannot be said to be biased. He has the knowledge of the subject matter and so could not be subjective to manipulation. His statement is central and an influential expression of the mood of the teeming populace.
Although, the anxious indigenous people had waited patiently to hear from the oracle. He; and probably the court holds the ace; and so can set the pace. And he has set it the right way.
Prior to the statement, there were tenacious searches for the norms in the face of intrigues, double-dealing and swindle at the hands of the cooked guides and fabricated narrations.
The intrigues had shown a near collapse of the ancient tradition of ascension which was torn asunder by some over-zealous elites through the muzzle of power. They showed the city a wobbling adrift through the chaotic fractures of systemic and institutional dysfunction but to a dead end. The advocates of this apocalyptic move are better explained in the Frantz Fanon book, ‘The wretched of the earth’.
The statement of the amiable governor was crystal clear, lucid and germane. It was a resolution to revolution and one against reactionary imperialists. We are privilege to have amongst a people lost in collective amnesia; a select few who have elected themselves as national soul-guides and chronicler of history.
Equiped with fact, the state governor had made a startling remarks which has prevented the rottenness of our heritage. For archive, a periscope into the four main cardinal points as encapsulated in the statement read thus:
(1). Ibadan traditional institution must revert to its original concept.
(2) This is the last time there will be a controversy on who should be the next Olubadan.
(3) I am giving the assurance to every indigene and resident of Ibadan that what Kabiyesi, Oba Saliu Adetunji stood for is what I will carry through.
(4) Anyone who wants can key into it.I know Baba( Oba Adetunji) is watching us and will give us the support we need to do what is right and needful to protect the integrity and sanctity of the traditional institution of Ibadanland.
With these statements, it is cock sure that the family of the late kabiesi would have noticed a vibration in the grave of Baba, turning his side and beaming with smile in approval of the position of the governor to which had fought relentlessly. In contrast, someone else might wear a forlon and melancholic look in anticipation of the accompanying timidity of surrendering of the crafted crown.
Like the coined maxim of “no victor, no vanquished; the stance of the governor did not in a way obstruct the installation of the learned potential successor but the decision lies with the high chiefs themselves. Though a precarious situation. The situation could be likened to the “aliens compliance order” of Ghananians authority when the foreigners were forced to return to their countries at the twilight of their woeful economy. In the same way, the “Obas” would have to renounce, retrace and retract some pronouncements hitherto made on the unfolding drama. In simple terms, the gladiators would have to walk a tight rope in negotiating their ways to the ancestral fold.
However, it takes more than tribal marks and a family name to claim citizenship.
The soft-spoken governor is much more than a historian. A historian can only record an event on the face value but a visioner turns event into a human experience beyond the plasticity cause and effects-permutations.
The verdict has indeed unlocked the memory door into our recent past and retraces the footsteps of some un-sung heroes who transgressed the formidable barriers erected against self-worth.
A significant percentage of respondents have expressed support for the position taken by His Excellency. One of such was from a notable politician and Lawyer, Chief Lanlehin. He had commented to commend the governor saying; ” your position was borne out of conviction, courage”.
Late music maestro, Michael Jackson once posited that; “it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.
Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathon.”
Reform is essential in view of the dynamic nature of the world. It is a phenomenon that must not be mingled with politics. If the propounders of the reform had not attached sentiment, it would have been the best. The political colouration attached to it had erode d its merit, originality and given it the interpretation of imitation which Jackson was referring to.
It remains to be seen whether the modern obas would heed the advice of the governor.
Ibadan O ni baje… E ba n gb’omo oke…!!
Comrade Lekan Badmus is a Columnist with Oduduwa Online news.
For comments:
lekanbadmuscolumn@gmail.com