Festus Adedayo


Last week’s ascension to the Alaafin of Oyo throne by then Prince Abimbola Akeem Owoade courted tremendous ruckus in Yorubaland. Why would an unseen Ifa deity and its cloudy, ancient system of divination choose an Alaafin? Implicated in the back-and-forth that followed was 92-year old Ògúnwán̄dé Abím̄bọ́lá, professor of Yoruba language and literature and one-time vice chancellor of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. In 1981, a conclave of Ifa priests in Yorubaland anointed Abimbola as the Àwísẹ Awo Àgbàyé (World Ifa Priest). He was then investured by the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade. It was to this man I headed on Sunday, January 12. Àwísẹ had given a 1pm appointment for an interview session to which me and two newspaper editor friends of mine – Lasisi Olagunju and Saheed Salawu – responded.

In one week or so, the fierce war between tradition and modernity became manifest. Where else could the war be waged other than Oyo Alaafin, a place which prides itself as the locus of traditional Yoruba society? Oyo was the centrifugal point where traditional power, culture, language, history collaged. When those powers were collapsed by British forces, Oyo manifested how the vapour of the powers drifted away. It was home to traditional heritage, political authority, power and influence. The power of its monarchy was awesome. Today, Oyo is a fragile carcass of the awesome and imposing Oyo Empire founded in the late 14th or early 15th century. That empire grew, in the words of historians, to become “the largest and most powerful of the forest states of West Africa.” From its Old Oyo, located somewhere in the Savannah below the bend of the River Niger in the Bussa-Jebba area which was abandoned in 1835, Oyo showcased an extremely impressive internal organization, imposing military strength with the Alaafin as an Emperor. Alaafin, who was the sole king in Yoruba land, reigned over a vast empire. He was the sole king to bear the appellation, ‘His Imperial Majesty’, had governors called Ajele in all the regions. These governors ruled as suzerains from areas that extended as far as to the Popos, Dahomey, and parts of Ashanti, with portions of the Tapas and Baribas. Dahomey is in the present Benin Republic. The Alaafin also had Ilari, messengers who kept the Ajele in check from excessive wielding of power.

This Sunday morning, I was interested in a brand new worship at the feet of the Àwísẹ Awo Àgbàyé. I was ready to abandon everything else for a momentary worship by the Ifa priest’s feet.

Àwísẹ himself affirmed the traditional truism which says that, one major way to ascertain the potency of one’s Ogun deity is to hit its metal insignia on the head. Unbeknown to Abimbola, that was what he literally did. On arriving at the ancient city of Oyo, how could his home be located? The Ifa priest merely told the journalist, “just tell anyone in Oyo town that you’re heading to my house.” The priest was dead right. “Follow me” was the simple retort from an Okada rider when asked for the description of the Ifa priest’s abode. In few minutes, we were inside an expansive compound which, from its outside, you needed not being told you were in the home of a quintessential traditional worship czar.

Oyo had been very cool this Sunday. It was oblivious to the social media uprising over its new king. As you drove past Ibadan, the state capital city, you felt the flavour of driving northwards in the air. The mangrove receded, giving way to an arid temperature and weather. A few kilometers from Oyo, a heap of dirt by the roadside confronted you, shattering the sanity of the beautiful forest zone. In this particular place, you could feel the texture of an absent environmental enforcement and a people sworn to a life of filth. Then, a long file of articulated vehicles lined the highway, with northern traders surrounding this particular roadside. These telltale signs announced that our northern brothers hibernated there. They were dead to the stench of the heaps of filth and the diseases they harbour. They were almost indistinguishable from their dirty heaps.

Drummers welcome guests into what looked like Abím̄bọ́lá’s own palace. And a black statue, presumably of the Ifa priest, sat regally in the expansive compound, dead to the curious stares onlookers give it. The compound itself was home to a number of houses. It was built like a typical African family compound – agbo ile – with houses within it. The only difference is that this compound comprises semi-modern apartments.

Promptly, we were ushered into the Àwísẹ Awo Àgbàyé’s own section of the compound. He sat regally on a black-coloured elevated chair that mimics a king’s stool. He was dressed in an all-white attire, a brown native cap clinging to his low-cut grey-haired head. He had a dangling ring of coloured beads on his neck, with an elephant tusk-like traditional Ifa priest whisk, an insignia of office called Iroke, which he held in his hand. He flung this momentarily as the whisk makes whooshing noise. Three white-headed effigies surrounded his seat, sitting regally on the terrazzoed sound. Once in a while, Awise dashed out to attend to the milling crowd of Ifa devotees who needed his attention, like the Oluwo of Oke and Isale Oyo. His brisk sprint, which belied his 92-year age, was an awesome spectacle to behold. His wife, a Causasian Ifa priestess, Iyanifa Ajisebo (one vast in daily spiritual offering and sacrifices) Mcllwaine, sat on the next black chair to him, pounding glibly on a Mic laptop. She occasionally lent her voice to conversations, especially when her husband demanded affirmation of a particular anecdote.

At a time, some Ifa priests divining within the premises came to ask Àwísẹ about a divination process and Iyanifa Ajisebo offered to go bring her own divination ring (opele) and Àwísẹ’s to the priests so as to aid their divination process. The living room was over-decorated with photographs hung on its walls. Abimbola’s parents’, as well as ones he took with Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, late Ooni of Ife, Pope Benedict, Deoscóredes Maximiliano dos Santos, alias Mestre Didi of Brazil and many more photographs majestically flaunted the fact that we were in the home of an iconic man of history.

Even at 92 years of age, a scholar of reputable intellectual prowess and achievements, who was vice chancellor and senator, Abimbola still mirrored the humility that his Yoruba race was known for. When he returned from his occasional dashing out which punctuated our interview session, at each of his returns, Abimbola bowed to his audience, all of whom his children were older than, mouthing the deep Yoruba greeting, “e ku ikale o”.

Professor Abimbola told us how he began divination and how he was taught by a Baba Lejoogun in Akeetan, Oyo, as well as how he was almost beaten by his colleague senators one day at the federal parliament. “It was God that prevented them from beating me. They could have beaten me but for who I am. O si ye, o bo, eegun o gbodo na babalawo” (It is beyond them; a masquerade must not beat a Babalawo).” he said. When asked what if they had beaten him, he said so little but so much, “Beat me? Parara l’ewe koko o ya. Parara (cocoyam leaf gets torn terribly; terribly is cocoyam leaf torn)” he replied.

On his role in the choice of the Alaafin, Baba Abimbola said, “I did not insist on the choice of the candidate, the kingmakers approved him. It turned out that the candidate is a good man when his file was presented. We did the divination a long time ago and as an academic, I wrote a 21-page report on the divination process. When they called me four or five days ago, I asked for the report. They said maybe it was with the governor, and things like that. They asked if I remembered the name of number one (the first candidate). ‘But I wrote a 21-page report! Then I sent for my wife, with whom I carried out the divination process…She fished out a copy of the report. I did not choose the Alaafin, the kingmakers did. Ifa chose the person and they approved him. They expressed satisfaction with the choice. Maybe they had been scrutinizing him all this while to find out if he had done something wrong in a previous workplace or committed any kind of wrong before.”

We were then interjected by a group of Ifa worshipers who came to pay obeisance to the Awise. They laid prostrate on their bellies while the Awise prayed for them, flinging his Iroke intermittently, “Ifa will fight for us… We will not fall into calamity. I pay respect to you. As we live to see this year, all of us and our families will celebrate more on earth”, which he said in Yoruba as “Ifa o se’gbe fun wa o… Aa ni si se. Mo gba fun yin o. As’odun yi, a o se’min t’omo t’omo, t’aya t’aya,” he prayed. Then he punctuated the prayers with the poetry that accompanies Ifa divination. Its alliteration, rhyme and onomatopoeia were fascinating and the rhythm enchanting to listen to. Awise, with a mellifluous voice, then began to chant the poetry of Ifa, which to a non-initiate sounded like gibberish

“Kekenke l’awo kekenke, gegenge l’awo gegenge,

A d’ifa fun Orimonike omo atorunke waye.

Ifa moo ke mi, o ge mi o; gege l’adiye nke’yin…”

The professor then went into explanations: Four things act as existential prods to the life of every human being. One is one’s father; second, one’s mother; one’s head (ori) is the third while the fourth is one’s ‘Ikin’, the deity one worships – either Ogun, Sango, Oya or whatever. Like a pastor, he told the devotees what Ifa had in store for humanity for the year. And the Ifa worshipers departed, happy and thankful to the Awise. While asking each of them their names, those who answered English names, the Ifa priest jocularly added “Ogun” as prefix to them. The person who bore Smart, for instance, he called ‘Ogun-Smart’!

At any point the Awise’s reference came to someone who had departed, a sobriety instantly overwhelmed him and his head dropped on his chest. For instance, when he referenced Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, an SDP governor of Anambra State, he said he heard Ezeife had ‘gone to the Ogun deity shrine’ – “Idi Ogun” – Ifa diviners’ own way of euphemizing death and the dead.

Abimbola, the teacher, spent every minute of this session doing what he knew how to do best. While explaining how the former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, attempted to bring sanity into the scramble for the Senate Majority seat of the Third Republic senate, as the Awise mentioned “Osoba” he taught all gathered that the pronunciation we were used to was faulty. “Oso,” he said, was the name of a deity, so the name is Oso-ba, just like Oso-nimore, the name of another deity, he said.

When asked why he doesn’t take alcohol, Abimbola had an Ifa poetry which named alcohol and all its local variants Oguro, emu and oti as “amuwagun eni,” – refiner of character. In other words, said the priest, Ifa does not frown at alcohol but hates over-indulgence in its consumption.

Abimbola said there was no knowledge that is as in-depth as the Ifa corpus in the world. It is a knowledge, he said, that is taught to a youngster for 20 years. Odu Ifa, he said, is 256 and the story in each of the Odu is 800. Thus, to know the stories in Ifa, you will need to multiply 256 by 800. “For example, in a university, if a postgraduate student wants to write a paper on everything Ifa says on cockroach, the student may need to visit about 20 babalawos, because the stories that Ifa tells on cockroach may be about one thousand. Stories on worm may be two thousand, and stories on a particular bird like Opeere may be one thousand. Ifa is a compendium of the experience of Yoruba people throughout the ages; experience about animals, trees and various mountains, about forests, about fish, about seas, about us, humans. It’s a whole library. This is the same Ifa that they are trying to extinguish, but it will not become extinguished in my lifetime. If Ifa becomes extinct, it is we, the Yoruba, that go extinct. There are no other peoples in the world who have the like of it. What they may have is part of what has been written down. I will tell you the reason why our forefathers did not write things down. If one begins to write things down, one’s mind will not be sharp again to remember. Writing things down may is an enemy of memory. People around the world invite me to come and give talks. Pope Benedict XVI invited me three times. He once invited me alongside other religious leaders from Japan, India, Russia, Syria, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Jewish religious leader,” he said.

By now, we had spent close to four hours of literally worshiping by the feet of Àwísẹ Awo Àgbàyé. We didn’t want to let go of one another. Baba Abimbola thoroughly enjoyed our first-time acquaintance while we relished his. He left a statement that rings in my subconscious as we prostrated in obeisance to him, ready to leave his home, his Iroke flaffing in salute. “Yoruba are standing by as they want to leave us in ruins – Won fe pa wa run l’e nworan!”, he shouted, his voice laced with a genuine agony. “Identity walks on two legs like a human being,” he said again, and continuing, Abimbola told us, “If they take Ifa, our identity, away from us, they have taken Yoruba from the face of the earth”. Awise then recited a traditional Ijala poetry chant of an uncle of his named Adeyemo, who he said, as far back as 1945, lamented that the culture, religion and language of Yoruba people were going extinct. Adeyemo, said Awise, described the potential collapse of Yoruba language, culture, religion and ways of life as “Kungu fo!” It was too dense for me to attempt an interpretation.

As we bade Awise bye, on the verge of leaving the ancient Oyo town, we prayed to Ifa to help us see Awise again so that we could drink, yet again, from the purity of his brooks of ancient knowledge and wisdom.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Delete

By Augustine Akhilomen

In recent months, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has witnessed a remarkable shift in the fight against crime, particularly the menace of ‘one-chance’ criminals. These perpetrators have terrorised residents, leaving a trail of fear and insecurity. However, under the leadership of Commissioner of Police (CP) Tunji Disu and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, the tide is turning, due to a proactive and pragmatic policing approach.



The decision to enforce regulations against tinted windows and the unwarranted covering of vehicle license plates is not only timely but also strategic in combating the one-chance menace and kidnapping in the FCT. The policy has significantly tackled the root of the problem—anonymity. According to the Commissioner of Police for Abuja, criminals have long exploited tinted windows to conceal their identities and activities, making it difficult for security operatives and members of the public to rescue kidnapped victims. By restricting the indiscriminate use of tinted glass, the police have sent a clear message: Abuja will no longer be a haven for such activities.



Critics, particularly from the political elite, have raised concerns about this policy, arguing that the policy is too sudden and would require adequate time before it can be enforced. Some have even intelligently questioned the powers of the police to make laws in the first place. Some residents of Abuja have also noted that the policy hasn’t settled well with the elite and political class because it inconveniences their families and staff. However, this perspective misses the bigger picture. The target of this policy is not law-abiding citizens but those who have weaponised tinted windows to perpetrate heinous crimes. The initial discomfort expressed by some residents and political class members is understandable; change often meets resistance. Yet, their reluctance should not overshadow the broader benefits of enhanced public safety.



One must also appreciate the courage it took to implement this policy in a city like Abuja, where appearances and privileges often precede collective security. It is no secret that the use of tinted windows has long been a status symbol, and reversing this trend would never be easy. However, the commissioner of police has demonstrated that effective policing is not about popularity but about making tough decisions in the people’s interest.



Beyond the tinted glass policy, this initiative highlights the importance of community-focused policing. It recognises that public trust and cooperation are vital to any successful crime-fighting strategy. Emboldened by the visible commitment of law enforcement to protect, FCT residents have begun to take off their tints and make videos, encouraging other motorists to be civil and law-abiding. This increased synergy between the police and the public is a testament to the effectiveness of leadership.



It is also worth noting that this policy is not about punishing law-abiding citizens. Exceptions exist for individuals with valid medical reasons for tinted windows, provided they follow the proper channels to obtain clearance. The focus remains firmly on those who abuse such privileges for criminal purposes. In light of this, it is difficult to argue against a policy prioritising safety without infringing on legitimate needs.



For far too long, the narrative surrounding law enforcement in Nigeria has been predominantly negative. While criticism is often warranted, acknowledging and supporting initiatives that work is equally important. CP Tunji Disu and the IGP have shown that the police can be proactive rather than reactive, which deserves recognition and reinforcement.



This development should serve as a template for other states grappling with similar challenges. The battle against ‘one-chance’ criminals is not unique to Abuja, and the success of this approach underscores the potential of targeted, intelligence-driven policing nationwide. If replicated and adapted, it could significantly reduce urban crime across Nigeria. During a recent press briefing in the FCT, the police said dozens of arrested one-chance criminals who have been taken off the streets have led to reduced cases across police stations in Abuja, which shows data-driven policing.



Moreover, this policy raises so many important questions about accountability. Why should public vehicles, including the minibuses—popularly known as Korope—which are meant to provide transparent and accessible transportation, have tinted windows? Such practices defy logic and create loopholes for criminals to exploit. By addressing this anomaly, the police have demonstrated their willingness to confront absurdities that undermine public safety.



Effective policing is a collective responsibility. While the police must lead the charge, citizens must support them through compliance, cooperation, and constructive feedback. Ongoing efforts by the police have reminded us that positive change is possible when law enforcement officials are given the tools, autonomy, and public backing to do their jobs effectively. The journey toward a safer Abuja is far from over, but the progress made so far is undeniable. Disu still has his work cut out for him, as some of his men have used the policy as a money-racking avenue and a means of extorting members of the public. He needs to caution them and make a scapegoat of erring officers to deter others.

By Tunde Rahman

President Bola Tinubu’s one-day visit to the Southeast, his first of 2025, was not just a routine event. It was laden with symbolisms, from the enthusiastic reception to the subsequent positive comments. The import of this visit, with its many remarkable aspects, was not lost on anyone. While many have spoken favourably and commended the visit, it equally throws up some questions.

Is President Tinubu’s January 4, 2025 visit to Enugu, the old capital of the Southeast region, during which he inaugurated Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s landmark projects and made important pronouncements a new level in his relationship with the Southeast geopolitical zone?

Is the President’s visit across the Niger a game changer and a subtle indicator of what lies ahead between him and the people of the South East?

The Southeast’s posture towards President Tinubu has not been enthusiastic, just as it was with President Muhammadu Buhari. Of course, the results of the 2015, 2019, and 2023 elections reveal the political aloofness of the zone towards the two leaders.

The Southeast was particularly lukewarm towards Tinubu’s presidential aspiration following developments in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election and the results that had arisen from it. In the run-up to the election, the Southeast put all its political eggs in the basket of homeboy Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor, who had broken ranks with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to emerge as the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate.

The boisterousness of the Obidients –as Peter Obi’s supporters had christened themselves – had somewhat captured the imagination of the Southeast. Any Igbo who sang a different tune in the 2023 election was, more or less, seen as an outcast.

Peter Obi himself did not allow the kind of amity that should prevail. He campaigned based on his Igbo ethnicity and overtly promoted his Christian faith to reap electoral benefits. When the election came, the Igbo voted en masse for him, signposting a strong correlation between region, religion and elections in Nigeria.

As a geopolitical breakdown of the 2023 presidential election results shows, Obi and his LP polled 1,952, 998 votes from the five states of the Southeast, representing a massive 89.62% of the total votes in the region. President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress polled 127,370 votes, a paltry 5.85% of the votes from the area while the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, got 90, 698 votes, amounting to a meagre 4.16%.

Although Obi recorded impressive results outside the Southeast, like winning Lagos, Nasarawa, Edo, Delta, Plateau, Cross River, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, his 2023 presidential challenge was essentially a Southeast affair.

After the election, he and his ethnic supporters remained in their cocoons—or the alternate reality they had built. They acted like Obi had won the poll but denied victory. It seemed that the Obidients would rather not hear the name Asiwaju Tinubu, let alone President Tinubu. This trend continued even after Obi’s petition against President Tinubu’s victory in court failed. Any move of the President was criticised and condemned.

On assumption of office, President Tinubu made overtures to the zone in key appointments such as the appointment of Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, who hails from Enugu, and through key ministerial appointments like those of Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi from Ebonyi State, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Hon. Uche Nnaji, and the first Minister of Trade and Investment, now Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, among others.

Remarkably, when the President reshuffled his cabinet in October last year, he brought in, among others, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, wife of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. She got the portfolio of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. President Tinubu also established the Southeast Development Commission, a significant move to promote and accelerate the region’s development.
A top journalist who is a friend from the Southeast zone and a staunch Obidient who had never masked his dislike for Tinubu said those two appointments were sufficient to forgive President Tinubu’s perceived sins against the Igbo.

It was against that background that President Tinubu accepted Governor Mbah’s invitation to inaugurate some of his projects in the New Year.
At the inauguration of Governor Mbah’s projects and during an interactive session with Southeast leaders, President Tinubu made significant statements that gladdened the hearts of the Igbo.
At the inauguration of the Command and Control Center, the President emphasised the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the Federal Government and the sub-nationals to drive development.

“This (Command and Control Centre) is a profound demonstration of what we can do together. It reassures me that more revenue going to the sub nationals and local governments is not a waste; it is for development.

“We have committed leaders like Peter Mbah taking Enugu on the path of 21st-century development, taking Enugu to greater heights, and building our tomorrow today.

“I cannot forget the sight of those children I just met at the Smart Green School. I have seen the gadgets and vehicles with 21st-century technology. You are indeed working for today, tomorrow and the future.”

The President inaugurated the GTC Smart Green School, New Haven/Bisalla Road, the International Conference Center, the Command and Control Center, and 150 patrol vehicles with surveillance cameras. He also inaugurated other notable projects virtually at the Enugu State Government House.

Later, at an interactive session with Southeast leaders, President Tinubu promised that his administration would complete the Eastern Rail line connecting Port Harcourt to Maiduguri and support the development of the Anambra Basin as a significant energy reserve estimated to hold up to 1 billion barrels of oil and 30 billion cubic feet of gas. He made the commitment while responding to the requests made by former Minister of Power Professor Chinedu Nebo and an Enugu State indigene, Chris Ugoh, at the interactive session.

After commending the Tinubu administration for completing the Port Harcourt to Aba section of the Eastern rail line, Nebo had appealed to the President to prioritise the completion of the remaining portions of the rail link to facilitate exports of non-oil products and catalyse development in the region.

Dignitaries who attended the session included governors, traditional rulers, captains of industry, and serving and former presiding officers of the National Assembly from the zone, including former Senate President Ken Nnamani.

With the Enugu visit and the importance he attached to the invitation by PDP Governor Mbah, President Tinubu demonstrated political maturity and his commitment to supporting developmental strides from any part of the country and by any governor or stakeholder. The visit was a bold testament to his nonpartisan inclination and willingness to put the country first. He was full of commendation for Governor Mbah for demonstrating “an irrevocable commitment to human development.”

In the same vein, sighting Abia State Governor Alex Otti at the Enugu event, President Tinubu said: “I don’t care which party you come from; you are my friend. Alex Otti of Abia State is also doing very well. It is not about the differences in languages and place of birth.
“None of us has control of the mother tongue. God created us, and you can find yourself in Enugu, Onitsha or Lagos. We are all members of one huge family called Nigeria, but we live in different rooms in the same house. We must build this house to satisfy our immediate and future needs.”

Speaking before the inauguration of his projects, Governor Mbah had described President Tinubu as a true federalist committed to Nigeria’s development.
“Your Excellency, your credential as a true federalist stands out brightly, and the legacies thereof will long earn you resounding accolades.
“In signing the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, you liberalised electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. That singular act will consistently rank as an enduring legacy,” he said, adding: “It is noteworthy that Enugu State was the first sub-national to which the NERC ceded regulatory oversight of the local electricity market. That reflects how swiftly we are pursuing our goals.”

On the Southeast Development Commission, the governor said the commission would address infrastructure and ecological challenges in the region while complementing the many development strides unfolding across the state.

Development and governance may have been the overarching themes of the visit. Still, analysts reckon that given all that transpired during the visit, a new chapter in the relationship between President Tinubu and the Southeast geopolitical zone may have been unwittingly opened. This rapprochement, they observe, may signpost other important things to come for President Tinubu from the zone, particularly going into the next election in 2027.

*Rahman is a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media Matters.