THE YORUBAS

Yoruba is the first language of approximately 30 million West Africans in the South-western area of Nigeria, Togo, Republic of Benin and Sierra Leone. There are many different dialects spoken in different parts, but there is a standard Yoruba language which is understood by speakers of the different dialects. Yoruba Language has also survived in Cuba, where it is called Lukumi, in Brazil, where it is called Nago, in Trinidad and Tobago and the United States

This days Yoruba people can be found in every part of the world. It is a known fact that when foreign nationals, especially Asians reside outside their countries of origin, they always successfully pass on their languages and cultures to their children. It is the contrary with some people from Africa.

While Africans who where involuntarily taken out of Africa through slavery are enthusiastically identifying with and promoting their African heritage, it saddens one to know that there are children of Yoruba parentage living in Yorubaland who are encouraged not to speak the Yoruba language, renouncing their language and culture. This is obviously because their parents believe that the English Language is superior to their own mother tongue, they embrace everything Western and discard their own culture and heritage. This must be changed.

Now is the time to educate both Yoruba adults and children to have a pride in who they are. OUR MISSION STATEMENT is "to uphold the dignity of YORUBA throughout the world - to keep our heritage alive"

The Democratic Structure of Yoruba

The Democratic Structure of Yoruba
Introduction
Looking through the pre-colonial epoch in Yoruba political and cultural history, one can
see some elements of democracy featured in pre-colonial and traditional Yoruba social
and political organization. And while it may be true that some tension exists between the
monarchic nature of society and its democratic features, it remains that the social and
political organization of traditional Yoruba society demonstrated some democratic
values, and thus traditional was established on what can be called a participatory
democracy.
Democratic Values
Democracy emphasizes that power should be shared among people of different
categories, and that sharing of power must also be acknowledged by those who hold
power directly and those whose ownership of power is by mere inference. For the
Athenians, democracy involves rotation in office, and the filling of offices by lot and
enlargement of governing bodies (Sabine 1973: 28). Hence democracy emphasizes that
values should not be forced upon any people against their will, and stipulates liberty, the
separation of power, majority rule, and the sovereignty of the people (Brecht 1959).
Furthermore, the ethics of democracy, according to Sabine, regard mutual concession and
compromise as ways of reaching agreements, which over all were more satisfactory than
any that could be reached by the dominance of one interest of one party over all the
others (Sabine 1973: 844).
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And conversely in this position, democracy does not conceive a community as a
constellation of impersonal forces but rather a complex of human beings and human
interests that upholds the ethos of resolving human antagonistic interests through
negotiation.
Larry Diamond and some other scholars on the subject emphasize the point that
democracy involves contests among individuals and organized groups for all positions in
government (Diamond 1988: xvi). These contests for positions in government should be
done at regular intervals without the use of force or any threat of force as democracy
works to emphasize civil and political liberties. Viewed this way, democracy recognizes
the differences in human interests and put structures in place to provide the means for the
genuine meeting of the minds, and considers 'politics' as the area of negotiation and

political institutions as agencies to make possible the interchanges of opinion and
understanding on which successful negotiation depends. Thus democracy gives primacy
to political and moral values of equality, reciprocity, and respect for the views of others.
According to Salim A. Salim, democratization involves free and unfettered exercise of
fundamental freedoms of __expression, association, and political choice. It also involves
the ability of all citizens to participate in the process of governance (Salim 1990: 29,
Mieder 2003: 259-301). This spirit of democracy is expressed in President Abraham
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address according to which democracy is "the government of the
people, by the people, and for the people" (Salami 2004: 315-328, Held 1998: 1-10).
This expression "of the people" points to the power of citizens to choose those to rule and
to ensure that they are governed in conformity with the general good of the society. In
the same way, the expression "of the people" suggests that democracy is a system of
government whose constitutional rules, principles, and procedures are set up by the
people themselves. In this sense, democracy enables people to participate in decisionmaking
concerning their lives, community, and society (Gyekye 1997: 133-134, Busia
1975: 453-455). Therefore this understanding of democracy stresses the notion of the
people which place democracy as a system that gives institutional expression to the will
of the people reflected in the American Declaration of Independence set July 4, 1776
which says "… governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from

the consent of the governed" that recognizes the inalienable right and power of the
governed to remove any government that no longer serves the general good of the
community with the emphasis on the idea of representation wherein every citizen will be
assured of representation in the scene of power.
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The upshot of this reasoning is that democracy conceives politics as the area of
negotiation and it treats political institutions as instruments to enhance the interchanges
of opinion and understanding as bases for successful negotiation (Sabine 1973: 845), and
thus place emphasizes on the political and moral values of equality and reciprocity.
The Democratic Content of Yoruba Politico-Cultural Heritage
In this context we can now turn to the evolutionary nature of democracy (leadership
choice, checks and balances, Kingdom structure, and cultural heritage) via the constant
changes and development in its conceptualization, and the key topic on the demonstration
of democratic values in traditional Yoruba social and political society established on what
can be called a participatory democracy as it employed different models of involving
citizens in governance which allows for representation of diverse interests. Hence
creating governance through representative and participatory democracy featured in all
the facets of the traditional Yoruba social, cultural and political organization.

For example, in traditional Yoruba society, the leader of an Ilu (town or society) is the
Oba, the leaders of smaller villages are Baale, while the leaders of compounds are called
Olori Ile. The choice of who governs at these various levels is done through democratic
means. The choice of the Baale and the Olori Ile is mostly based on age and prominence
in the ancestral tree of the village or compound, and each has a number of royal families
among which the Oba is chosen.
Furthermore, when there is a vacant stool, candidates for Obaship would emerge from the
royal families, and when they emerged, they are all treated as equal candidates to the
stool, hence subject to the same rules and treatment, with the final choice of an Oba done
by the Kingmakers in consultation with the Ifa oracle. For example, in Oyo, the Alafin
was elected from a number of royal candidates by a King-making body called the Oyomesi
which consists of seven councillors of society [also done in other paramount Yoruba

traditional societies] (Osae 1980: 97). And in Ile-Ife, the primordial or spiritual capital of
the Yoruba, the Ooni also emerged from among members of the ruling houses while the
King-makers, with the directive from the Ifa oracle, chose whoever should emerge as the
Ooni, and in cases of succession and ascension, Yoruba traditional culture employed the
assistance of Ifa oracle to aid the Kingmakers in the determining who on society would
become the King.
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The point here is that in each Yoruba traditional Ilu (town or Kingdom), there are some
families already marked as the royal lineages from which contestants to the stool would
emerge. When those who are considered eligible or who consider themselves eligible for
the contest emerge, they would all be subject to the same and equal exercise by the
Kingmakers who are the society officials in charge of such society duties under the
guidance of Ifa oracle through a mediation by the Ifa Priest who is also an important
spiritual officer in the society. The importance of this is that ascension to throne was

done according to some laid down rules agreed upon by people in the Kingdom.
Furthermore, the rules were applied equally without any differential treatment.
Pertinent to this account is that every member of the Ilu (Kingdom) is aware from the
beginning that when a vacant stool is to be filled, contestants should come from the
acknowledged royal lineages. In addition, among the aspirants from royal lineages, the
one whose choice is supported by the King-makers in conjunction with the
recommendation of the Ifa oracle finally becomes the Oba (King). Thus, ab initio, the
rules are carefully set and the citizens are aware of the rules as they affect them, and there
is no doubt that the choice of a leader was politically charged, and thus when contestation
arises, Yoruba traditional culture employed ritual checks and balances for resolving
conflicts relating to issues of succession (Al-Yasha 2003: 1).
Political Organization in Traditional Yoruba Society
In traditional Yoruba society, the leader of an Ilu (town or society) is the Oba, the leaders
of smaller villages are Baale, while the leader of compounds are called
Olori Ile, and the
political and administrative organization of the society was headed by a King and divided
into towns and regions with each major town and settlement headed by a King in council
with other administrators.
Anthropologically, traditional Yoruba society could be said to be monarchical, yet the
monarch does not enjoy a sole authority of the society, and while the King occupied the
highest seat of the society, there existed an elaborate organization of palace officials and
or chiefs. Hence the affairs of society were transacted by the King in full consultation
with the chiefs and other palace officials which can conveniently be classified as the
council of society. This, in most cases included civil chiefs, the military chiefs, the ward
chiefs and heads of compounds and extended families. And for administrative ease, a
town, apart from the central society power, can be divided into wards, which comprise
several households and extended families.
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As mentioned above, the head of traditional Yoruba monarchy was the King who
wielded the executive power which no doubt varied one set-up to the other, yet his
power was not without in-built checks, as he in most cases, enjoyed a respect and
veneration from the citizenry (in most cases, the King presided directly over the council
of society). And in some of the small Ijebu Kingdoms and the sectional Egba Kingdoms
with strong Ogboni societies, the executive transacted all the business while the King
merely submitting business to be transacted (Fadipe 1970: 25). Nevertheless, the
functions of the King as the head of the council of society include the protection of the
general interest of members of the society which calls for overseeing the general health of
the society and her citizens, including the internal security of members, issues of peace
and war, and the administration of justice, with the King as the last court of appeal for the
whole Kingdom, and also concerned with the conduct of the relationship with other
regional Kingdoms and societies (Fadipe 1970: 206).
Apart from the central administration of traditional Yoruba society by the Oba-incouncil,
there is the local governance by the ward chiefs, with head of compounds as well
as the military chiefs, and family heads responsible for the administration of parts of the
society and within the territories of the society who performed juridical or executive
functions within their territories echoing traditional Yoruba social organization as it
replicated at the ward and compound levels with activities of the Oba-in-council (Fadipe
1970: 207).
Democratic Checks and Balances in Traditional Yoruba Society
In line with our earlier observation, the Oba also represents the head of the political
organization of traditional Yoruba society which gives political, juridical, and executive

power he can exercise in council with other chiefs and officials. The traditional Yoruba
society accorded the Oba a considerable amount respect, which almost equals veneration,
although his powers are not meant to be absolute due to a hierarchy of power relations in
the management of the society. Hence this hierarchy of power relations tilted in favour
of the Oba but it did not translate to an un-checked power, thus the power arrangement in
traditional Yoruba political setting was such that it provided checks and balances with a
structure that gave power to some bodies of persons to exercise on behalf of others with a
second structure to provide institutions with the power to check the possible excesses by
those who wielded power based in a social and political fabric meant to encourage interinstitutional
checks and balances to moderate social and political power relationships in
the society.
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In Oyo Kingdom for instance, while the Alafin (the Oba) wielded much power that
approached veneration, the institution of the Oyo-mesi was also there to check his use and
possible abuse of power. Alafin was the supreme judge of the Oyo Empire; his court was
the final court of appeal, and he was also the fountain of honours and the head of his
people in the inseparable spheres of administration of law and justice (Stride: 298). On
the other hand, the Alafin was elected by the Oyo-mesi, the King-making body consisting
of seven councillors of society. Apart from the role as Kingmakers, the Oyo-mesi also
had power to moderate the power and the influence of Alafin. And thus Alafin had to
govern with caution and a respect for the subjects who invariably held him with
veneration, and when an Alafin displeased his people, the Oyo-mesi, under the leadership
of Basorun, would present him with an empty calabash or parrot's eggs as a sign that he
must commit suicide (although the Alafin could not be deposed, he could be compelled to
commit suicide).
And likewise, the Oyo-mesi does not enjoy an absolute power or influence, and while the
Oyo-mesi
may wield political influence, the Ogboni represented the popular opinion
backed by the authority of religion, and therefore the view of the Oyo-mesi could be
moderated by the Ogboni. Yet, the Basorun as the head of Oyo-mesi was also in a
position to influence the political decisions of both Oyo-mesi and the Ogboni (Stride:
299-300). And most interestingly, there are checks and balances to the power of the
Alafin and the Oyo-mesi, and thus no one is arrogated absolute power.
In another example, in the Ijebu and Egbo Kingdom there was also a similar mechanism
providing checks and balances among the various organs of government. Hence,
occupying the position of Oyo-mesi is the Osugbo (the name for Ogboni among the Ijebu
and Egba Kingdoms) with the Oba (King) who also enjoyed a high level of respect and
power comparable to the
Alafin. Respectively, the Osugbo was the council of society in
the Ijebu and the Egba Kingdoms, and at its periodical sessions the "Osugbo assumed
successively administrative, legislative and judicial roles… [wherein]…it discharged all
the business of society without the King being necessarily in attendance." (Fadipe 1970:
245). However, the King as the head of government referred all business to the Osugbo,
and in turn, the Osugbo had to report to the King on all the business transacted,
juxtaposing the Oba (King) who was considered sufficiently powerful to veto and
override the decisions of his Osugbo, yet like the Alafin, he did not enjoy absolute power.
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Following this further, in Ile-Ife, the spiritual headquarter of the Yoruba, the Ooni was
highly respected and regarded as a powerful being only second to Olodumare, the
Supreme Being, yet as the head of the Kingdom, he did not rule alone, also governed in

council with the traditional chiefs; those on the right hand side who represented the
princely interests and those on the left hand side, representing religious and spiritual
interests. And notwithstanding, the Ooni had the Obalufe, his second in command in
terms of power. And apart from the central governance of Ife Kingdom, there are also
heads of compounds comprises of several extended families (several compounds and
villages made up the Kingdom) who had important political roles to play in social and
political life, although subject to some measures of control from the Ooni-in-council (and
although the Ooni enjoyed power, influence, and respect, he didn't enjoy an absolute
power), and in case an Ooni engaged in any misrule, there were some mechanisms in
place to control the excesses. For example, an Ooni could be asked to open the beaded
crown called "Are", and should that happened, it would signify the need for the Ooni to
commit suicide.
Generally speaking, the Ife Kingdom enjoyed some measure of universal franchise
whereas there was no serious discrimination against women with in regards to the
institution of Obaship, and in fact it was once governed by a female
Ooni named Luwo
Gbagida during the 17th or 19th century. Hence Akinjogbin's record (1980) shows that
between the 10th and the 11th centuries she required the Ife people to adopt clean habits
and worked them so hard that she was forced to vacate the stool. And afterwards, the
populous of Ife decided to not entertain the idea of another female Ooni (Akinjogbin
1980: 124-126). Hence, she was enthroned as Ooni, which involved select administrative
procedures by the Kingmakers under the guidance of the Ifa oracle, and thus whoever
emerged out of the contestants from the ruling houses would pass through rigorous rituals
which under normal circumstances were meant to instil humility and other leadership
qualities in the candidate. And I another case, a descendant of Lajamisan was deposed
and banished to Ife Odan ostensibly for reigning for an extended time and possibly
simple cruelty (Ife history reports that he was deposed for cruelty, while the Ife Odan
account maintains that he was deposed for extending his reigned (Akinjogbin 1980: 126),
again demonstrating that people of Ife reserved the power to change the Ooni if they were
dissatisfied.
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Thus as we continue to look through the accounts of some prominent political Kingdoms
in traditional Yoruba history, we discover that consultation or command went from the
Oba through the chiefs to the citizenry, an arrangement that promoted systematic checks
and balances where each person stood in a defined and generally recognized relationship
to others. And in addition, the power of the Oba was also limited by Eewo wherein '... the
eewo…….. were recounted to him during the ceremonies of his core-society and these
eewo varied from Kingdom to Kingdom, the eewo were designed to curb despotism on
the part of the King and his immediate family, to promote harmony among the different
elements in the town…and to ensure the orderly existence of the people (Akinjogbin
1980: 131)'. Hence in this context, both the King and the citizens have their eewo, which
they must observe, and for each eewo there are penalties because the violation of an eewo
could spell perdition and woe for the entire Kingdom. Consequently, according to
Akinjogbin '... a King who violated an eewo could lose his throne and therefore his
life…. A chief who violated his eewo could lose his title……. The rulers of a Kingdom
would ensure that no town violated its eewo for it was believed that such a violation
could cause the destruction of the town (Akinjogbin 1980: 131)'. And in short, for the

overall development of the society, community, or Kingdom, it was the responsibility of
the King through the citizenry to abide by the recommendation of the eewo who would
ordinarily stand as a relevant spiritual or religious symbol to carry social and political
values regulating the balance of power since the spiritual posture of eewo gave it power
to perform social and political regulatory roles that thus represent a complementary in the
maintenance of checks and balances. In short, there were some means for maintaining the
authority and power of the Oba without creating a despot with limitless power to allow
the system an arrogated power for to the ruler and simultaneously providing a
mechanism for preventing hegemonic excesses.
Democracy in Yoruba Traditional Politico-Cultural Heritage
In reviewing traditional Yoruba social, cultural and political settings, one can easily
assume the presence of some features of democracy. Using Tangwa's view, one can
arguably propose that Yoruba traditional society was a reconciliation of the "autocratic
dictatorship and popular democracy" as traditional Yoruba Kingdoms exhibited a balance
of authority and democracy (Tangwa 1998: 2). Thus many of the important features of
democracy can be located within the traditional Yoruba social, cultural and political
arrangement. For example, while rulers were often referred to as Alase ekeji Orisa
,
(holders of authority, the second-in command to the supernatural being), some features
were in place to diffuse the absoluteness presupposed in reference to the ruler, hence
again there were checks with the structure to balance the power equation on exhibit.
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It is thus incontrovertible that the method of choice of leaders carries some democratic
outlook. The process for choosing leaders portends some lesson in humilities to the
ruler. The humility is required to educate the would-be ruler on the condition of living of
the masses. While the rulers were custodians of the power of the Kingdom, they would
also remember the experiences of becoming rulers. They would remember how among
others like them they were singled out for the offices they held. Beyond this, individuals
were chosen among their equals through some rituals, which again furthered training in
the art of democratic governance.
Another democratic feature traceable to the traditional Yoruba society was that the rules
set for a choice of leaders and governance were clearly recognized by the rulers and the
ruled, and at least, the rulers and the subjects knew that at the departure of an Oba, were
already set with respect to who ascended the throne, with a modality for choosing some
rites. Thus each traditional Yoruba Kingdom had a settled system of ascension after the
demise of an
Oba, already known to the citizens and the potential contestants for the
royal stool. Second, it was democratic to the extent that the rules were strictly followed,
which made it impossible for anyone to impose himself on the society as it ensured that
to become an Oba, both the spiritual and material criteria were observed. And in this
case, the field was open to all eligible candidates who were assumed to have equal access
to the throne, demonstrating to the citizens that they had a voice in determining who
would ascended to the throne, and thus became a ruler.
The above political organization of the traditional Yoruba Kingdoms thus without
a doubt, portrays a participatory democracy. It accommodated the participation of both
the rulers and the ruled; although the Oba was the supreme commander, every cadre of
the society was in various ways included in the operating the Kingdom to the
point that the activities of the Oba-in-council at the societal level were replicated at the
ward and compound levels to indeed establish a participatory democratic process
in traditional Yoruba society. And moreover, the democratic tenets of freedom of
expression, separation of power, and checks and balances are embedded in various forms
in the Yoruba traditional settings. Hence, apart from the separation of power and checks
and balances, citizens also could enjoy the license to express their opinion of the
Oba and
the rulers through songs and other forms of symbolism during various festivals. For
example, during Edi festival in Ife, there are various songs and traditional poetry to either
praise or pass insult onto the ruling Oba, thus, expressing the feelings of the people thus
providing opportunities for citizens to make their feelings known to those who
govern, forming part of the democratic instruments for regulatory purposes.
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These examples of traditional Yoruba society can thus allow one to infer the presence of
some prominent features of democracy and begin to ask '...are these features as described
in the Yoruba traditional social and political arrangements sufficient to infer any form of
democracy no matter how low in sophistication compared to what now obtains?' Hence
the answer to this question cannot be expected to be straightforward because even if
traditional Yoruba society was democratic in structure, it is definitely not the same as the
current form of democracy; and even those regarded as symbols of democracy today
were not always intact, but rather in an evolving stage of true democracy. Thus of interest
here is the question of whether traditional Yoruba society had some rubrics upon which a
modern democratic structure can be built.
In re-tracing our steps we may repeat the question whether the features of the traditional
Yoruba society are sufficient to warrant an ascription of democratic arrangement, and can
we rightly or justifiably claim that the traditional Yoruba pattern of societal arrangement
was actually democratic when we know that its system of governance was monarchical
although at the surface it was the rule of an individual, yet under deeper scrutiny
it revealed an inclusive participatory permissiveness to produce a democratic structure.
Conqueringly in this context we know that the constitutions of the traditional Yoruba
Kingdoms were carefully balanced to allow distributive power among the Oba, the
categories of chiefs, the spiritual and political office holders, as well as, representatives of
different age and professional groups with historical evidence. For example, in the 17th
and 18th centuries, the increase in the power of Alafin and the desire to curtail it by the
Oyo-mesi led to serious tension which led to the continual demand by the Oyo-mesi for
the abdication of Alafin and a later additional demand for the death of the Aremo (the
crown prince) of
Alafin, ending in the killing of some palace chiefs considered loyalists
or associates of the abdicated monarch (Akinjogbin 1980: 137).
At a point, the tension was so high that some monarch had to resort to tactics of filling
such strategic positions with their friends and loyalists to make it impossible for them to
be rid of their power and office. For example, an Alafin in the 1730s used his
constitutional power to appoint Jambu, his friend, as Basorun, although it did not work
out well as the monarch had expected (Akinjogbin 1980: 137). In fact, the demand for
abdication became so rampant that, while some monarchs took their rejections mildly and
committed suicide; some others fought back and had to be met with greater force to be
dislodged (Johnson 1956: 168-177). Thus this raises the question of the sustainability of
the traditional democratic structure of the society, and whether the democratic structure
of traditional Yoruba society would have survived even if it was not truncated by the
advent of colonialism.
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In conclusion, it suffices to claim that the monarchic democracy of the traditional Yoruba
society was full of tension and to some extent lacked an adequate structure to moderate or
resolve the tension generated by the measure to balance the power equation, and although
the system ascribed central and executive power to the
Oba., the roles of the institutions
meant to check the excesses were sometimes weak in the face of the powerful and
immensely influential Oba superstructure within Youruba traditional society.
References
Akinjogbin, I.A. and Ayandele, E.A. "Yoruba Land Up to 1800" in Ikime Obaro (ed.),
Groundwork of Nigerian History (Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 1980) pp. 124-
137.
Al-Yasha Ilhaam, W. "On the Subject of Kings and Queens: 'Traditional' African
Leadership and the Diaspora Imagisociety", African Studies Quarterly: The Online
Journal for African Studies 6, 4(2003):1. [Online] URL:
http://webafrica.ufl.edu/asq/v6i3al.htm (2003):4.
Brecht, A. Political Theory: The Foundations of Twentieth-Century Political Thought
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1959).
Busia, K.A. "The Ingredients of Democracy" in Mutiso, Gideon-Cyrus and Rohio, S.W.
(eds.) Readings in African Political Thought (London: Heinemann, 1975).
Diamond Larry, Linz Juan, and Lipset S. Martin, (eds.).
Democracy in Developing
Countries: Vol.2. (Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1988).
Fadipe, N.A., The Sociology of the Yoruba (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press. 1970).
Gyekye, K. Tradition and Modernity: Philosophical Reflections on the African
Experience (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997).
Held, D., Models of Democracy (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988).
Johnson S., The History of the Yoruba (Lagos: CMS, 1956).
Mieder W., "Government of the People, By the People, For the People: The Making of an
American Proverb of Democracy" in Proverbium: Yearbook of Intersociety Proverb
Scholarship, Vol.20, (2003): 259-308.
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Osae, T.A. and Nwabara, S.N., A Short History of West Africa AD 1000-1800 (London:
Hodder and Stoughton, 1980).
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Salim A. Salim. Africa Recovery, July-September, (1990): 29.

YORUBA AUTONOMY CERTIFICATE

YORUBA AUTONOMY CERTIFICATE
Text of Speech made by General Akinrinade at the official launching of the
by EGBE OMO YORUBA in Washington D.C –2ND MAY, 1998.

Mr. President of Egbe Omo Yoruba,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
First, I thank most profoundly The Egbe Omo Yoruba for making this nightpossible and for giving me the rare privilege of being the guest speaker. But as I look round here, there are a number of people present that I could have liked to listen to myself tonight.
Second, I take some rather serious exception to the title, "guest speaker". I have no intention of subscribing to the idea of me becoming a bye-stander (innocent or guilty) in my own cause. I am Yoruba, that is the only title that I have no means, legal or otherwise, of shedding even in my grave.
Third, I have not really been persuaded that it is a good idea to make speeches before, during, or after dinner. They merely spoil people's appetite or wish they had never made the mistake of coming in the first place. So, I will keep my remarks very short.

The central idea of the autonomy certificate is to create an instrument for rallying resources to prepare the Yoruba Nation for post military Nigeria. In the words of the sage, Chief Anthony Enahoro, post military situation in Nigeria will mean, in its clearest and simplest term, a state of affairs in which the present junta or any of its successors has withdrawn completely from governance and civilians have taken complete charge of government. The situation presupposes that the people have recovered their self-government from the military, taken control of the commanding heights of decision-making processes and are free to exercise that control. The constitution is freely negotiated by the people.
We have succeeded in reversing the situation under which the supposedly competing political parties are those inspired, approved and registered by the military junta, or any government, while all others are banned. A polity under which the junta is the only authority to register political parties, write their manifestoes, fix internal elections for their officials, disqualify aspirants to political offices without adducing reasons, disqualify winning candidates by fiat without any obligation to state any reasons for so doing, have been consigned to the scrap heap of history. What if their conventions are arranged by their military overlords and a country with 100 million politically aware people ended up with only one candidate qualified for President from five parties, and he happens to be the head of the junta?
I hear my people complaining. Isn't it true anymore that those who pay the piper reserve the right to dictate the tune? But lets suppose then that we have managed to establish a Nigeria where there is recognition of equality of rights and privileges for all our people with whatever constitutional restrictions are necessary, Will that guarantee the stability of thecommonwealth of Nigeria? I use the term commonwealth to remind us of the geo-political multi-national, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, character of our country and to further remind us of the existent of nations of different sizes with their own distinct geographic location, with long history of sovereignty and distinct language and culture.
Even with this setting, is it not quixotic to hope that a democracy of one-man one vote will be enough to guarantee the stability of the state? That in our peculiar circumstance we can create conditions under which all the component nation, small and large will feel equally at ease. For instance, universal franchise exercised between 25 million Yorubas against the possible expressed wishes of 500,000 Ogoni's may be democracy, but does it contribute to equality, justice, and fair play, and to the ultimate stability of the polity? Is it therefore not in our interest to look now beyond the military and try to find our own home grown method of creating a stable Nigeria from the ashes of the military jackboot, a nation that will endure, a nation where no man is or feel oppressed. It is in this context that the battle cry of AUTONOMY is worth our serious attention. But is it a new prescription? For me the answer is NO.

But, I was already 20 years old when I went to work as a third class clerk at the Western Secretariat in Ibadan in 1959. I could feel the vibrations of a region that was determined to catch up with the developed world in a hurry. I remember the confidence, pride, bordering on arrogance, aggressive pursuit of education, and the determination to set the pace in all facets of human endeavor showing in the people's faces. Then, I remember my first encounter with the leader when he intruded into my secondary school, in that closed, sacred North, to speak to us on a hot afternoon in the school hall.
I remember as if it were yesterday, when he told us that we were lucky to have caught the train of knowledge and that if we endured the journey we will never go hungry. I was only 14 then. At 18, in the same hall I met the leader of the North, and the school slogan thereafter changed to ‘BOYSES of today, leaders of tomorrow'. Then of course, I only knew there was the great Zik as leader in the East, but he never made it to my school. Political campaigning in the North at that time, for a Southern politician was a hazardous enterprise, and remains fairly so till today.
While the West made education its first priority, it is on record that the North as late as 1979 was still asking Awolowo on Kaduna television what he intended to give a horde of educated youths to do after educating them. Wasn't that an invitation to disorder? Still in 1979 as in 1955, his faith was that educated people do not go hungry. The East also believed in education but found it difficult to achieve the same results as the West. Problem – West has perfected the culture of urbanization, East in scattered hamlets, needed a different approach, no one suggested that they should embark on forced urbanization. The education system of the West catered for all abilities, and the economic system made provision for the use of all its products.
Between the Government, the religious organizations and the communities, enough primary, modern, secondary, and technical schools were provided. Ibadan University was supplemented by massive scholarship schemes overseas before the college of art and science became the nucleus of Ife University. The West invested heavily on Radio and television as part of its education and information system. Adult education and extra moral classes, were directed at the elderly, and my father who never smelt a classroom, started to read the Bible and Irohin Yoruba, and soon started writing to harass my live with letters, written in cursive, about my class position and general work in school. Agriculture and forestry were thriving. The technology of caging chicken had been introduced to farm-settlements. The only dual carriageway in Nigeria, led to its secretariat and the idea of a beltway round its capital is the now bastardized Ibadan ring road.

When I told my 27-year-old son that I used monthly bus pass to commute to my work at Ibadan secretariat in 1959, he fell off the chair laughing. For a change, he caught his father not just spreading rumors, but lying. Rural roads, virile farmers cooperatives, free but efficient public health, first modern stadium in Africa, massive effort at rural electrification and clean water, industrial parks and housing estates were being built successfully.
Let me stop this reminiscing. But things once worked in Nigeria until the reactionary forces, using their military front destroyed the basis of the federation and substituted unitary government. I have gone on this tour d'horizon because:
1. We often overlook the fact that some three and half to four generations of our people never partook in our experience with regional self-government.They are therefore not in position to see the efficacy of regional autonomy. They have lived only through military era of unitary government and are not privileged to see any purposeful civilian government in action. They did notexperience the healthy diversity in regional approach to governance.
2. To remind our people that Yoruba autonomy is neither irredentism nor secession. We simply want the space, the free space, which is our birthright, to develop at our own pace without let or hindrance.
But then they are entitled to ask, why not regional instead of Yoruba autonomy? Let me borrow again from the sage, who was there during and after independence, Chief Anthony Enahoro. He said inter alia: "All through the struggle we never lost sight of the fact that Nigeria is a nation of nationalities, some for unbroken centuries, having their own internal sovereignty, their own countries with distinct boundaries, their own cultural values, their own political systems and values, and even their own gods. In 1960 we secured a constitution which provided for each nationality to protect that which was most precious to it and for each nationality to obtain its own statehood within Nigeria by popular referendum. That was how the Midwestern State was created. No matter what our differences were, the hope was that discussion, compromise, consensus and mutual respect would govern our approach to our problems.
Unity in diversity was our common national motto". It was under that constitution, that the Western Region was able to pursue its ruling party's vision of ‘Freedom for All and Life more Abundant,' which I described earlier. Even then the creation of Midwest State was necessary to give full expression to the yearnings of the minorities that inhabited the region even though they were mostly cousins of the Yorubas. So, Western State ended up being a Yoruba State, and became a target for envy and fear by the caliphate to its North.

All autonomy means is a speedy return to 1960 constitution with necessary modifications to safeguard the peculiarities of each constituent nationality or each to its own tents.With what I have stated so far, perhaps the question will now be raised, why Nigeria in the first place? Yes, less than a century and half ago, various parts of Nigeria were independent empires, kingdoms and republican territories, some of them many centuries old and having treaties and diplomatic relations with European countries, at least since the advent of the Portuguese in West Africa in 1450.
In the 19th Century the British, German, and Spanish invaded West Africa and partitioned the territories among themselves. Wherever the colonial adventurers met and had a stalemate, battle lines were drawn and new and separate countries were named and proclaimed. Let's listen to Nicholson in his 1969 book on the ‘Administration of Nigeria' After 1870 France looked to Africa for rehabilitation, Germany looked to Africa for raw material, Britain feared that Germany and France were about to appropriate the hinterlands of British sphere of influence, thus ruining British trade. The Berlin conference laid down two bases for validation of colonial authority: one was the test of effective military occupation under which Southern Nigeria was occupied. The other was the ‘hinterland theory' under which each power can claim authority over an indefinite distance inland from the sea or its established outpost.
So France claimed Northern Nigeria as the hinterland of the Mediterranean while Britain claimed it as the hinterland of West Africa. The resolution of these preposterous claims ultimately decided the boundaries of present day Nigeria. You will notice that the interest of the Africans did not at any time enter the equation and no regard was paid to the existing boundaries of historic African countries. Thus the Hausa nation was split between England and France, and now between Nigeria and Niger. The Yoruba nation was split between England and France, now between Nigeria and Dahomey now renamed Benin Republic. The Kanuri nation was split between England and France now between Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon. Nigeria, indeed all African countries were created in the image of the European colonizers. This legacy is at the heart of our problems and unless we face it squarely it is most unlikely that Africa will acquire the stability that is necessary to make a renaissance and match progressively in the 21st century. Or name one African country South of the Sahara that has reached appreciable degree of its potential for development since independence. They have mostly been overtaken by unhealthy rivalries between their constituent nations for political control. Because of different values, corruption, Nepotism, favoritism, ethnic and religious divisions, and election rigging resulting in outright tyranny have plagued them. Should we therefore work out a realistic prescription so that we can move forward? Must we wait until we are overtaken by the inevitable tide of history?
I wish to summit therefore that The Yorubas should
- divert their energies to finding freedom and space to
- conduct their own affairs the way the Yoruba people may choose within orwithout of the Federation of Nigeria.

The freedom to form new associations of nations that are contiguous, compatible and manageable seems worth exploring. Could that in fact be the task facing Africa as a whole? Or how do we envision future harmonious living between HUTUS and TUTSIS. What is the root cause of the genocide that has led to the macabre drama of firing squads in Rwanda as we are gathered here. The result of Eritrea becoming independent is a stronger Ethiopia, never mind a 30 years war, wasting lives, resources and opportunities. Now that Ethiopia has enacted a loose Federal constitution, permitting secession, no nationality within it has avail itself of that right. If the world had accepted redefining of boundaries and the regrouping of Nationalities as a norm, the war crime tribunal in The Hague will not be trying people for genocide, rape, arson etc now. Yugoslavia could have been spared the destruction that we all witnessed and is still ongoing. Genocide has started all over in KOSOVO.
Was it not clear before the time of George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man that the Croats and the Serbs were strange bedfellows? Or why is it that as we dine here tonight, most Bosnians are still unable to return to their homes, never mind the pervasive presence of NATO peace keeping troops. Similarly, inspite of ‘no victors no vanquished' the IBOS in Nigeria are still battling with abandoned properties with their immediate neighbors some 28 years after the civil war. We must thank our stars for being spared the horrors that could have been brought into our homes by television if the Soviet Union did not disintegrate peacefully. The Czechs and the Slovaks are making unprecedented political and economic progress and commanding the respect of the world.
Why on earth do we insist that Africa must be different? Why must the decision of some conference in Berlin, meant to keep the African off balance, become sacrosanct? Some of our people raise the question of viably of such a state. Please allow me to give a little statistics. Yorubaland has a definable landmass, fertile with abundant fresh water and luxurious vegetation. (248,574, square miles, larger than 12 African countries.) It has a virile, productive, confident, educated, and elegant population. (25, 996,182 by 1991 census, more populous than 11 of the 54 African countries). Access to the sea and all its resources. Friendly and accommodating neighbors. Gold, Tar sand, Timber, Palm-produce, Cocoa, even Oil in the Mahin, Epe and Badagry peninsular. My friends, perhaps we should divorce our selves from those idlers who only see oil as the only means of obtaining sustainable development. It is now a world where science, mathematics, technology and super computers have made nations, without any appreciable natural resource, great, and OIL, is it BLACK GOLD, has become a source of indolence, corruption and destruction.

Our nation, the Yoruba nation is undeservedly under siege. It had survived physical assaults before from the Hausa/Fulani jihadists. It had survived and been strengthened by its own internal wars, Adubi, Ijaiye, Egba, Kiriji. We have always single-handedly fought oppression in Nigeria. It was Yoruba lawyers who went to Kano to defend those who rose against political and ethnic oppression in the 1950's. They did the same for Shugaba in the 80's. The wet e and Agbekoya uprising were all skirmishes against oppression and lack of freedom. Even as we gather here tonight many of our people are being killed on the streets of Ibadan for daring to protest peacefully against military dictatorship.
While this is ongoing I hear people complain about collaborators or is it traitors in our mist. They have a right to complain, but, the situation is replete with similarities in history. There was war of independence here sometime ago. Were there not apologists for the British imperialists and native collaborators for the sole purpose of personal gain? Hitler pursued a damnable and obnoxious agenda but he was not short of palace jesters, ruthless killers, exterminators, and propagandists, including the notorious Lord Haw-haw, a Briton. Apartheid had black collaborators and its perpetrators probably still have, after its demise. The clown called Idi Amin ate human flesh for breakfast when he was president of Uganda and yet had a lobbyist on Capitol Hill pleading his cause for respectability, so why not Abacha.
So, why do we expect the cause of Nigeria's, or indeed, Yoruba struggle to be different? Why must our spirit be dampened simply because of the activities of black legs? Our people are back at the barricades and I suspect that if the barricades stand the invaders for a while, a lot more people will join in the fighting so they can be entitled to a share of the glory. It is in that believe that I do not think the complaints of those who blame those at the barricades that they haven't made enough efforts at recruitment of their kinsmen for this struggle is valid. Our people often say that ‘you do not need to persuade a blind man that the market has closed'.
Those of us that have not been touched by ethnic cleansing going on in Yorubaland will soon take our turn, if it is allowed to persist. But those who want to fiddle like the damnable Nero have a right to go down in history as Nero did. Let me conclude by quoting from a letter faxed to me as I was typing this. "We must either rise up now and fight with whatever means we have for our dignity and survival or forever we hold our peace. The sanctimonious living room analysis and pontificating over groundnut and drinks, which go on ad nauseam, must give way to concrete, hard-nosed willingness to make a difference.'
As we live here we must let those at the barricades know that we approve of their resistance by contributing generously to their well-being. Civil disobedience, the lowest spectrum of resistance has become an expensive operation to run for those at home. A regime that is bent on impoverishing its people, and staves them to submission has closed the door for extra resources for resistance. A courier from Ibadan to Ado-Ekiti requires more than 5000 Naira for transport, food, excluding lodging if his errand will take him a couple of days just for illustration. I am certain that your contributions will reach the appropriate quarters where it is needed to further the struggle. The Autonomy certificate will be a verifiable answer to our children when they ask "Dad what did you do when Yorubaland came under siege"?
I join my compatriots in saying A Luta continua.

HE ALAAFIN OF OYO KINGDOM, Alaiyeluwa Oba (Dr.) Abdul Hameed Olayiwola Adeyemi III is a monarch with class. He is an enigma by every standard and a chance meeting with him is like an expository adventure through a school of history.
The very urbane monarch, who worked as an insurance officer before heeding the natural call of the gods, through the Oyomesi to ascend the throne of his fore-fathers as the Alaafin of the greatest kingdom in the history of the black race - The Oyo Kingdom - is a man at home with himself at all times, as he exudes confidence in all his dealings.
One enviable highpoint in the life of this great monarch is his deep knowledge and high sense of recounting historic events with facts and figures; and with an accuracy that'll beat the imagination of youthful intellectuals. The Alaafin, at his age still remembers events of over a hundred years old, and still writes his scripts unaided. He is a consummate reader and would pass any day, for a professor of ancient/modern history and archaeology.
He spoke to a team of Focus editorial staff recently in his expansive palace, on a wide range of issues, bordering more on the rich heritage of the famous Oyo kingdom. Welcome on a historic excursion!
Kabiyesi, we would like you to recount the history of the famous Oyo Kingdom for the benefits of your children in the Diaspora
The old Oyo Empire was one of the earliest and probably, the greatest independent race in West Africa, south of the equator. At the height of its existence, the old Oyo Empire dominated all Yoruba kingdoms namely Ife, Ijesha, Egba, Ijebu, Sabe and Owu. The area occupied by the Yoruba Kingdom in south-west Nigeria, is roughly enclosed by latitude 5 and 8 degree North of the equator and Longitude 5 and 21/2 degree East. There are two versions to the origin of the Yoruba race - Migration and Aboriginality. These two theories may not necessarily be contradictory in the sense that our oral tradition was handed down to us by purely non-natives.
But this is a universal phenomenon because if you realise that at one time in history, you have the whites in South Africa; the Eastern and Southern Rhodesia, all living together on the basis of long co-existence. The same experience is also recorded in the case of migration, as there are historical and empirical evidences documented in the famous Lugard lecture series, as well as, in the researches of Saburi Biobaku, (the world acclaimed historian) that the Yoruba race is so large and wide, that it stands today as the greatest and strongest empire ever, in the entire continent of Africa.
The reign of Oranmiyan marked a new phase in Yoruba history as it witnessed the executive transfer of political power from Ile-Ife to Oyo, and thereafter, Oyo become the political headquarter of the Yoruba race, and that is where the Alaafin presides from.
According to historical studies, the Oyo palace is estimated to be sitting on about 640 acres. We still have excavations of the old Oyo Empire, and centuries after, some of the walls of the old Oyo Empire, are still standing in its original form. That is a great testimony of the architectural ingenuity of the Yoruba race.
The old Yoruba Empire distinguished itself in the world; with three very distinctive and unique models. First, it evolved a wonderfully developed constitution, though unwritten. The average Yoruba man is governed by strong convention. Secondly, the Yorubas evolved a military system that allows them to develop weaponry. The Yorubas are the first to smith iron and thus, they built foundries from where they also produced agricultural implements to boost food production. Thirdly, the Yoruba race evolved a very practical method of administration, by adopting the cabinet system of governance. If you are a good student of the evolution of British Constitution, you'd know that the cabinet system came about in Britain only as a matter of temporal expedience; it was not by design. So, as far back as the 16th Century, the old Oyo Empire developed the cabinet system of government. And from the Prime Minister, to the Alaafin, and the various divisional heads, all tiers have their roles and responsibilities clearly spelt out and adhered to with separation of powers, and inputs for checks and balances.

The military command structure is so unique that the Aare Ona Kakanfo as the generalissimo of the military led the Oyo war lords successfully to many battles between the 13th and 16th century that preserved the territorial integrity, of the Yoruba race. And during this time, Oyo extended its territorial limits up to Nupe, Dahomey, Abome, Wema, and other parts of Togo land. And today, these people are offshoots of the great Yoruba Kingdom.
Can we then say that this extension was a sort of expansionist agenda?
I won't say it is. But you see, if you're surrounded by hostile neighbours, you have to be very vigilant. We trained our army first, to ward off all external aggression, as well as protect our territorial integrity so as to have peace and economic prosperity. And for Yorubas who are natural traders to go about their dealings without feeling insecure, wherever they are under the Alaafin's domain, there was need to extend our military might to protect our people, all over.
When Dahomey attacked the smaller state of Wema in 774, the royal heads there ran to Oyo for support and the Alaafin had to raise forces to recapture the town, and that was how Dahomey came under the control of the Alaafin at the time.
It couldn't be expansionist rather; it is as a result of the aggression by other forces threatening the existence of smaller states. If you read your history books very well, you'd discover that the mere mention of "Alaafin" or "Oyo" strikes fear into other adjoining towns. The old Oyo Empire is dreaded and admired for its wide powers and influence.
Because of the strong history culturally, politically, linguistically, and traditionally there are so many things that Oyo gave to the Yoruba nation. The language we speak is the authentic version of Yoruba dialect, the drums, the clothes we wear, the way we build our houses, our ingenious corridor systems, and our underground drainage system which was designed many centuries ago. One can therefore say that civilisation started from the Yoruba race! The Yorubas established a contact with the Portuguese as far back as the 17th century and the Alaafin had maintained an ambassador with the Court of Portugal, ever since.

Kabiyesi, you have said that civilisation started from here. Would it be right then to say that Yorubas were Oyo, and vice versa?
The Oyos were not called Yorubas originally. Other groups that made up the Yoruba race preferred at the time (centuries ago) to be called Egbas, Ijeshas and whatever name they desired. But by the 19th century there was need to forge a common ground and have a standard linguistic form hence, the Oyo dialect was embraced by all Yorubas. So Yorubas are Oyo's by origin.
Many Yoruba youths believe that a town like Ilorin ought to be under Oyo Kingdom. And recently some chiefs were up graded to First Class traditional heads. What is Kabiyesi's view on this?
You see, water will always find its level, and history is very potent, no matter how hard we try to submerge it. It's like blood and water; and you know too that blood is thicker than water. Ilorin has always been a Yoruba town. Afonja was sent there, as the generalissimo of the Yoruba soldiers to protect that flank of the Oyo kingdom from the invasion of the Fulani and the Nupes.
Somehow, he got too ambitious and invited the dissident groups to his camp; cutting himself away from the major ethnic groups. Having realized that he had betrayed them, the Yoruba stock organized a palace coup and overthrew him.
The history of Ilorin is well documented. There's nowhere in Africa that you'll see a Fulani man claiming possession of Ilorin. The language, culture, nomenclature, and even tradition of Ilorin are Yoruba; and Ilorins are Yorubas. There is no dispute about this empirical fact.
How do you run this expansive palace? Do you get funding from government and why has this palace not been developed as to the status of a tourist attraction?
Well, I have written so many memoranda to the government to declare the palace a national monument. First as a major tourist attraction and more for people, from far and wide to see the architectural ingenuity of our people, so that these things are not lost; for the benefit of today's generation and those to come in the future.

When Professor Armstrong (An American) who was the Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, read the memorandum, he came here. I conducted him round the palace, and through the underground buildings which allows the Alaafin to go round the palace without coming under the direct ray of sunlight or rainfall. He marvelled, and subsequently put up a paper to the National Museum but because of the political situation in the country at the time, nothing came out of that process.
Up till now, successive governments have not yet made up their minds on what to do in preserving this rich heritage of the Yoruba race. Whether to make it a national monument or a site for tourists does not seem to be their priority, for now.
As for your other question, the running and upkeep of the palace has been the responsibility of the working class men and women of the divisions that make up the Oyo Kingdom. And the state pays the Alaafin's salaries while the palace is also maintained from the state's purse. The Alaafin have no need to spend his money to run the palace if he so desires.
But as you can see for yourself, the palace is now a shadow of its old self as things are no longer the way they used to be in the colonial era.
What is the ascendancy process to the throne of the Alaafin?
There are two main ruling houses recognised by statute to produce the Alaafin. At the demise of one Alaafin, the crown is given to the other ruling house. The first Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Atiba convened a constitutional conference of the Yorubas before he died, to discuss the succession process so that when he dies, the question of who becomes the next Alaafin does not tear the Yoruba race apart. The conference agreed that an Aremo (the crown prince) who normally would die with his father should no longer be made to die with the king. And if he's found worthy and capable by the Oyomesi (the kingmakers) to be appointed the Alaafin, he would be crowned. Otherwise, other aspirants who are eligible and are seen by the Oyomesi to be qualified to carry the heavy responsibilities of the Alaafin would be appointed to the throne.

When Atiba died, Kurunmi the Aare Ona Kakanfo at the time (15th century) reneged on the agreements. But other Yoruba nations disagreed with him, on the basis that the decision of the confab be upheld; this led to the Ijaiye war, which claimed the lives of Kurunmi and all his five children. So the succession to the throne rotates round the two major ruling houses of Ladigbolu and Adeyemi.
What does Kabiyesi think we need do to make the traditional institution more relevant to our nation politically?
The traditional institution has contributed to the political discourse of this nation. Some of us went through travails, especially during the Abacha era, for being very bold and outspoken. Though the office of the Oba does not play partisan politics, we make ourselves relevant in the political reality of the country by offering very constructive advice to our leaders.
We have channels through which we reach the authorities. We use both diplomatic and sometimes person-to-person contact to make our suggestions to them, for the betterment of the nation. It is up to them to accept and act by these advices.
Drawing from the rich reservoir of knowledge and wisdom of our forefathers, I believe we are strategically placed to offer advice to those in political authority to guide them to take good decisions. This is because, yesterday, today and tomorrow are cyclically related. Today is yesterday's future, by tomorrow, today will be the past, so in order for us to be relevant, we look substantially to what happened in the past and draw from it to offer our advice.
We are not in competition with our sons and daughters who hold political power today, but in a democracy, the usefulness of the pragmatic solutions to problems as may be proffered by the traditional institution cannot be over-emphasized. The traditional institution is very relevant in the scheme of things because it is closer to the people at the grassroots, which is where the power of the masses lies. Traditional rulers are revered and held in high esteem thus, they tend to have more grip and control on the populace.

So as traditional fathers of the nation we'd not cease to give concrete advice and suggestions to those in authority for the benefit of our people. It is left for them to listen to us, or act otherwise.
What were you doing before ascending the throne of your forefathers?
I was an insurance officer before becoming the Alaafin of Oyo. The contest to my emerging as the Alaafin actually started in 1968. I was invited along with ten others from my ruling house that contested for the vacant stool. Our candidature passed through the channels that it should go, (through the Babayaji, who is the official head of the princes). He took us to the Oyomesi for screening and we went through series of processes.
There are three parameters with which we were judged. First is eligibility, which is one's nearness to the throne. Secondly, one's popularity was considered and thirdly the ability to be able to carry the huge responsibilities of the office of the Alaafin of Oyo. We were put through rigorous screening and questioning at the end of which I emerged successful.
However, the government at the time refused to endorse my appointment, saying the procedure was not right; but we knew their action was more political, because of the travails of my late father when he was the Alaafin.
The process was started all over again yet, the Oyomesi picked me, and for the second time I was refused endorsement by the government. Same thing happened the third time. Immense pressure was put on the Oyomesi against my choice because the government had vested interest in their own candidate. But the Oyomesi stood its ground! The process was thereafter put in abeyance until after the civil war, when the process was started afresh. The Oyomesi still picked me.
I was chosen by the kingmakers on 18th November 1970 and the government approved and gazetted my appointment in December 1970; and I moved into the palace after completing the necessary rites.
Through the process, one was inducted into the mysteries of the various gods, like the Ifa mysteries, and the Sango mysteries. One was also made to undergo these inductions in order to be the direct representative of these deities on earth. You are taken through these processes so as to know all the chants, the proverbs, and the Oriki of all the past Obas.

You must also be able to know the Ifa, the praise-songs, as well as understand the sound of the drums in Yorubaland like Bata, Apekpe, Gangan, Dudun, Shekere, and Agogo. After mastering these entire features you are then crowned.
I was crowned at an impressive ceremony on the 14th of January 1971.
Kabiyesi used to be a boxer. Do you still train, Sir?
I also run, and I played football as well, but people know me more in boxing. I have awards in all these other sports. I still jog and do a lot of road walk. I do as mush as six (6) kilometres if time permits and whenever I don't have official engagements, on Saturdays or Sundays. I still skip the rope! And hectic as this responsibility is, I try not to have any dull moments in my life. I have good health.
What is Kabiyesi's best food?
I eat Amala, Pounded Yam, Abula and Ogi. Normal food, simple!
Is there any clash between your faith as a Muslim and the demands of your office as the traditional custodian of our cultural heritage?
The Yoruba race is one of the best organised anywhere in the world. We are very liberal in the sense that religion is not allowed to creep into the governance of the Yoruba race. I don't care what your religious faith is in the cabinet of the Alaafin; what matters are your contributions to improving the lot of your community. That is (absolutely) important.
As the father of all, the Alaafin practices his own religion without discriminating against others in their choice of religious inclination. If you go to my office, you'd see a copy of the Bible and the Quran.
I can recite the Quran as much as I can make references to the Bible. I am also at home with the Ifa priests just as I can communicate with Sango deities in their own language.
I am liberal as far as religion is concerned. But I don't joke with my prayers as a Muslim because I cherish the Quran a lot. It may interest you to know that I was brought up in a strict Christian home, in Lagos. I also went to a Catholic school in Lagos. I am a free mixer.

SOME WONDERS FROM THE PALACE
Artwork on the walls of the palace

Our trip to the palace of His Royal Majesty, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III was an adventure, in a way as we saw some features that will linger in our collective memories for a long time to come. We invite you to come with us, on this expository journey.
In the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo Kingdom, there is one character that has stood like a constant star in the day-to-day goings on around the compound. He is a petite looking man of about 3 feet, in height. He is simply known as Baba Morenikeji, and he's reported to be about 130 years old. He told Focus that he's the head of the palace guards. We learnt that he has served three successive Alaafins and is still active in the palace till date.
Pa Morenikeji stands as one of Kabiyesi's most influential aides such that every visitor gets to meet him first by the palace corridors before getting to see the monarch. The man is said to be single and has no child. It is amazing that at his age he is still very agile and smart. He does not use any walking stick as his legs still carry him strongly. He does not use eyeglasses, and his dentition is still in place for a man his age.
Many prefer to describe Pa Morenikeji as an unusual creature but he sees himself as a normal human being. He is one of the wonders in the palace, no doubt.
Tortoise in the garden

In the expansive garden in the palace, is a huge tortoise that has lived there for 140 years.
Focus was taken to see the aged turtle which feeds on rice, eba, amala, fruits, and water. Its size is gigantic, as it is strong enough to carry up to 2 full grown adults on its back. It is at home in its abode and is peaceful. The tortoise is part of the features that make the historical palace, a wonder to behold. It is called Ijapa Oba.
There's this ancient fish pond where the Alaafin keeps gold fishes. The pond is as old as the palace and is still in place in the garden.
To many who knew that the monarch used to be a boxer in his youthful days, it would astound one to know that the Kabiyesi still trains and skips the rope. We saw the punching bag he uses for training in the garden courtyard.

(culled from nigeria world feature article)

Ife-Benin: two kingdoms, one culture

Ife-Benin: two kingdoms, one culture
Considerng the central place it occupies in the general history of the Yoruba, we know surprisingly little about the history of Ife. After the comparative wealth of detail attached to the legendary founder of the State, Oduduwa, and his immediate successors, we encounter a very spare and broken narrative in the oral traditions for subsequent ages. The archaeological record had done something to fill the gaps, but this research is in its infancy. A first phase in the history of the State, opening around the eleventh century, is characterized by a scattered settlement pattern, the widespread use of floors made of potsherds set on edge, a glass-bead industry and a very fine terracotta art which specialized in the production of naturalistic figures, especially human heads. Because of this latter feature, a link has sometimes been posited between the cultures of the Ife and Nok, despite the thousand years which stands between them. More significant is the very close resemblance which the terracotta art of Ife beas to that discovered in other centres of Yoruba culture. Heads in a style related to that of Ife have been found ar Ikinrun and Ire near Oshogbo, at Idanre near Ikare, and most recently and interestingly at Owo, where a large number of terracotta sculptures have been excavated in a fifteenth-century context. This wide distribution of the style may indicate the extent of Ife influence, but it may also be that it marks the spread of a cultural trait among the Yoruba associated with religious rites rather than with Ife kingship. The potsherd floors, which in Ife have often been discovered in association with terracotta figures, are likewise not a unique feature of that city; similar floors have been found at Owo, Ifaki, Ikerin, Ede, Itaji Ekiti, Ikare and much futher afield at Ketu and Dassa Zoume in the Republic of Benin and in the Kabrais district of Togo. The earliest potsherd floors so far discovared in Ife date to about 1100 AD and the latest bear maize-cob impressions, which means that they cannot be earlier than the sisteenth century. The subsequent disappearance of the floors, and apparently also of the terracotta art, probably reflects some catastrophe which overwhelmed Ife in the sisteenth century. The twenty-five Ife "bronze" heads (they are in fact made of brass and copper), which bear so striking a stylistic resemblance to the terracottas, may have been made in the years immediately before the disaster, when imports of brass and copper by the Portuguese had made casting metal relatively plentiful. We can at present only surmise the nature of the events which distroyed this culture; conquest by an alien dynasty seems the most likely explanation. If the above interpretation of Ife history is correct, the dynasty which now reigns there is that which established itself in the sixteenth century, built the palace on its present site and threw up the ealiest of the walls around the central area of the town. Perhaps the new dynasty has preserved some of the political and social institutions of its predecessor, but we cannot assume that the earlier regime resembled the later in its political arrangements any more than it did in its art. Because the modern pattern of installation ceremonies and royal insignia are so similar throughout most of Yorubaland, including Ife, and because these insignia bear little resemblance to those worn by supposedly royal figures in the earlier phase of Ife history, it is reasonable to conclude that modern Yoruba kingship derives from the originally have been formed on the pattern of early Ife. It is not impossible that the rise and fall of State in the western Sudan in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had a direct influence on State fromation in the Guinea forest zone. Their appearance and expansion may well help to account for the upheavals which happened about that time in the adjacent southern States. We know that the Nupe drove the Yoruba from Old Oyo early in the sixteenth century, and that, before they returned to their capital three-quaters of a century later, the Oyo had reorganized their military forces so as to give greater prominence to the cavalry, the striking force of armies in the savannah States. From the Nupe the Oyo borrowed the Egungun cult of ancestors, and certain features of their revivified State may have come from the same source. Benin was the first State that the Portuguese visited on the coast; they soon established diplomatic as well as trade relations. Situated south-west of Ife, Benin probably became a kingdom early on, perhaps in the twelfth century. In the fifteenth century a major upheaval transformed this limited monarchy into an autocracy and the small State into a large kingdom. Tradition attributes the changes to a ruler known as Ewuare, who acquired the throne by outsting and killing a younger brother; in the course of the struggle much of the capital is said to have been destroyed. Ewuare rebuilt his capital to a new plan and gave it the name of Edo, which it has borne to this day. In the centre of the city a huge ditch and rampart were thrown up, cutting across older structures as did the city wall of Ife. Within the rampart a broad avenue separated the palace from the "town" --the quarters which housed numerous guilds of craftsmen and ritual specialists who served the ruler. The palace itself was organized into three departments--the wardrobe, the ruler's personal attendants and the harem--each with a staff graded into three ranks analogous to the age grades of the Edo villages. Archaeology has confirmed the traditions which assign the construction of the great wall of Ewuare and a major rebuilding of the palace to the fifteenth century. It has also shed light on the developments of the renowned Benin art of cire perdue (lost-wax) casting in brass and bronze. All brass objects found in a pre-sixteenth-century context prove to have been made by a smithing not a casting process. Although the cire perdue technique may have been known at an earlier date, it would seem, both from the archaeological evidence and from a stylistic study of the very large body of Benin brasswork still in existence, that only in the sixteenth century, with the import of large quantities of European brass, did this art become important. In general, wood sculpture dominates black African art. The Ife-Benin civilization is the brilliant exception, in that one finds works of art in terracotta and in bronze which accounts for the particular importance of this region in the general evolution of black African art. We noted earlier that objects in brass were either forged or made by the cire perdue technique, which was known at Ife probably earlier than the thirteenth century. In the light of the most recent research, a natural link unites the terracotta art illustrated by naturalistic figurines, particularly human heads, with the culture of Nok, which goes back to the Iron Age (the fifth century before the Christian era). This is most important and underlines the widespread diffusion of the Nok culture; moreover, we have evidence of exchanges and continuing contacts between the countries of the savannah and those of the forest to the south. Thus the well-known bronzes and naturalistic brass of Ife and Benin are the culmination of an artistic evolution begun at least as early as the Iron Age in a vast cultural region. This seems to be confirmed by the discovery in 1939, in the east of Nigeria, of the site of Igbo-Ukwu, which was explored in 1959 by Professor Thurstan Shaw; some 800 bronze pieces have been bought to light which are completely different from the Ife-Benin bronzes. Igbo-Ukwu is an urban complex in the middle of which were the palace and temples. Different buildings have been uncovered: a great room where plates and objects of worship and treasures were stored; a burial chamber of a great priest, richly decorated; and an enormous hole in which were deposited pottery, bones and other objects. Certainly there are some differences between the bronzes discovered at Igbo-Ukwu and the works of art of Ife. Nevertheless, a number of shared traits show that the two centres were part of the same culture. Indeed, we are in the presence, as at Ife, of a ritual monarchy. It is believed that Igbo-Ukwu was the religious capital of a very vast kingdom, and that the treasures were stored there under the keeping of a priest-king, Ezi Nzi. Information is lacking on the culture of Igbo-Ukwu; inquiries among those who guard oral tradition are continuing, and archaeologists see an extension of the area of bronze manufacture. Nevertheless, Igbo-Ukwu appears to contradict much of what has so far been postulated about State formation; on the evidence of radiocarbon dates, this highly sophisticated culture had evolved by the ninth century among Ibo peoples who otherwise maintained a "stateless" form of society. In other words, the Igbo-Ukwu culture antedates those of Ife and Benin, and all others of comparable complexity so far discovered in the forest region, by at least two centuries.

THE DEMOCRATIC FOUNDATIONS OF TRADITIONAL YORUBA GOVERNMENT

Map showing the greatest concentrations

of Yoruba around the globe

THE DEMOCRATIC FOUNDATIONS OF TRADITIONAL YORUBA GOVERNMENT

By डॉ Stephen Adebanji Akintoye

Most of the literature of European imperialism in

Africa characterized all traditional
African governments as autocratic and barbarously oppressive. The purpose of such
characterization was, of course, to justify the imposition of European rule on Africa, to
show that Europe was doing Africans the good service of bringing them “civilized”
government. The responses of Africans to all this will, naturally, vary from African
people to African people. In the case of the Yoruba people, the answer is that the
European characterization is not true of our traditional system of government. At bottom,
our political system rested on an acknowledgement of the sovereignty of the people, and
a respect by our rulers for their subjects. The practical consequence of this foundational
principle was that the Yoruba system vested in the people the right to choose their rulers
and the right to be consulted in the making of community decisions.
Throughout our remembered history, we Yorubas lived in small kingdoms which shared
the Yoruba homeland among them. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, one of our
kingdoms, Oyo-ile, expanded its rule over many of the other kingdoms as well as over
territories of some of our non-Yoruba neighbors, and thus created a multi-kingdom
empire. That empire collapsed in the first years of the 19th century. Again in the second
half of the 19th century, another of our states, the city state of Ibadan, made a strong bid
to unify all of our kingdoms. It succeeded considerably, thus creating another multikingdom
empire for a few decades. Even at the height of the success of each of these
empire-building ventures, the small kingdoms continued to be the effective center of
political life of our people.
Each of these little kingdoms comprised a central town (or king’s town) and a number of
other towns and villages. The king or Oba, ruler of the whole kingdom, lived in the
king’s city in a large palace. His most important mark of kingship was the exalted beaded
crown which only he could wear. A subordinate ruler, called Baale, ruled each of the
subordinate towns and villages, and acknowledged the suzerainty of the king. Every town
was divided into quarters, each under a quarter chief. Each quarter was made up of many
large family compounds each of which housed many nuclear families (a nuclear family
being a man and his wife or wives and their children) all of whom claimed descent from
one ancestor. Ethnologists call the inhabitants of each family compound a “lineage”; in
this article, I will call them a “family group” – that is, a group consisting of many nuclear
families related by blood.
The family compound was where all our people lined, and it was the base of our
traditional system of government. Every family compound had its own internal
government. The Family Head was the leader of this compound government, assisted by
the elders. He was usually the oldest male member of the family group. All meetings of
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the family group were held under his chairmanship. The family group had a corporate
existence recognized by the whole society, corporate property rights, corporate duties,
corporate judicial authority – all of which necessitated frequent meetings. Giving girls in
marriage to other family groups and receiving girls as wives from other family groups
were corporate functions of each family group. The family group, exercising its judicial
authority, settled disputes within its nuclear families, between nuclear families, and
between individuals in the compound. The family group’s properties included, in the
town, its compound and the land on which it was built, and, beyond the town walls, its
farmland. Every member had the right to use parts of the group’s farmland, but no
member could sell or give any part of it away. Only the family group could allow a nonmember
to use parts of its land. The family group was very sensitive about its reputation
in the society, and therefore about its members’ conduct .and, for this reason, it exercised
beneficial authority over its members. It also bore much responsibility for the welfare of
its members and, therefore, had the power to mobilize contributions (in service or in
kind) from members in the interest of the whole group or of a needy member. Finally,
some family groups, in the course of the history of their town, became vested with
chieftaincy titles. At the death of the family group member who held such a title, the
family group meeting must choose his successor (even though his power as chief went
beyond the family compound); and the family group would then hand him over to the
king for the investiture.
The family group structure was the base on which our democratic system and traditions
were built. Inside the family compound, the family group meetings were strongly
democratic institutions. Every member had full rights and freedom to express his views.
In fact, it was one of the most important duties of the Family Head and the elders to
ensure, not only that every member’s opinion was heard, but also that every member was
encouraged to express opinion. Participating and contributing was regarded as every
member’s duty; and any member who habitually failed to honor that duty risked
becoming obnoxious in the compound. For the family group, moreover, continuity was a
matter of very great concern. The group conceived of itself as consisting not only of its
living members but also of its members who had already passed away, and those who
were yet to be born. The group buried its dead in the soil of its compound, and
systematically involved its children in its activities. The children were made to sit and
watch family group meetings. We Yorubas have a saying that a shrine which does not
regularly have children attend it rituals will perish. Women too – that is, wives of
members (or Obirin Ile) – commanded great influence in the affairs of the compound. No
compound would take a decision without involving its women. And, in such matters as
weddings and engagements, the women were very influential indeed.
Early foreign visitors to Yorubaland (for instance the Christian missionaries in the 19th
century), were often impressed by how eloquently and fearlessly Yoruba people could
express themselves in meetings and gatherings. The culture of the family group
compound was the school where the eloquence and confidence of expression were
inculcated.
In the context of the wider society of a town or village, the individual’s membership of a
family group was all-important. It guaranteed for him protection against abuse and
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disrespect. A citizen who abused or grossly disrespected another citizen risked conflict
between his own family group and that of the victim. In the exercise of their powers and
judicial authority in their quarters, quarter chiefs were supposed to consult the leaders of
the family compounds regularly. Even at the highest levels of government, in the palace,
leaders of the family compounds were treated as a very important level of authority.
Before trying and punishing an offender, for instance, the palace would usually contact
and consult the leader of his compound.
The title of king was hereditary in the royal family group. So too were the titles of Baale
and quarter chiefs in their own particular family groups. In the appointment of a king, the
Yoruba political system took a decidedly democratic direction. In other known
monarchical systems worldwide, the king is simply succeeded by his eldest child. This
system of succession, known as primogeniture, was completely rejected by the Yoruba
people, even though it was the system used by our closest neighbors - for instance, the
Edo kingdom of Benin. When a Yoruba king died, he was not automatically succeeded
by his son. All male members of the royal family group, sons (and even grandsons) of
former kings, were eligible for selection as king. In some kingdoms, the oldest son of the
recently deceased king was ineligible; in some others, all his sons were ineligible.
This system of selection meant that a Yoruba king was not only born, but was also
selected by his subjects from a pool of eligible princes. Unlike other monarchical
systems. we chose our kings – an acknowledgment that ultimate power belonged to the
people.
The power to carry out the selection on behalf of the people was vested in a standing
committee of chiefs now known as the Council of Kingmakers. The selection by this
council was always final. In theory, the Council of Kingmakers was all-powerful in this
matter of selecting a king, but in reality its powers were limited by many circumstances.
First, the general populace was free to lobby the kingmakers individually and collectively
and to express opinions on the princes, and the kingmakers were obliged to listen to the
people and seriously consider their opinions and wishes. Consequently, as the
remembered history of any of our kingdoms will reveal, decisions of the kingmakers
were frequently expressions of the people’s wishes. When, at the end of the exercise, the
Council of Kingmakers told the people, “We have given you your king. We have done
what you asked us to do”, they were speaking the truth. The selection was essentially a
decision of the people.
Secondly, neither the chiefs nor the common people ever wanted to give the palace to
some rich or powerful prince who could later claim that he won the throne on the strength
of his wealth or power. Ours was a sort of “limited monarchy”, and the ideal candidate
was a prince who was assessed to be temperamentally able to work within the traditional
limitations on royal power. The history of every Yoruba kingdom is replete with stories
of rich, powerful, princes who were passed over for their humbler brothers or cousins.
The chiefs and people were usually generally agreed on this, even though most eligible
princes would have partisan supporters of their own.
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In the important matter of selecting our rulers, the young state of Ibadan, newly founded
in the 19th century, went even more democratic than the national norm. Ibadan turned its
back on the hereditary principle; instead, it instituted a system of total selection. Anybody
who demonstrated leadership abilities and good character, no matter his origin, could be
appointed a chief. The new comer to position of leadership would be started with a junior
chieftaincy title; he would then be promoted step by step up the line as vacancies
occurred. His continued retention on the promotional ranks depended entirely on his
performance and continued good character. With luck (if enough chiefs ahead of him fell
off or died), he could rise to the very top. It was a system of meritocracy. Under this
system, Ibadan set up two parallel chieftaincy lines – a civil line and a military line. The
head of the civil line was the Baale (now the Olubadan), and the head of the military line
was the Bashorun (although the greatest of the Ibadan generals, Latoosa, preferred the
title of Aare when he rose to the top). The Ibadan masses exercised very powerful
influence over the selection and promotion of their chiefs. Massive public demonstrations
were an important feature of Ibadan’s political life.
Even in the more conservative, older, kingdoms, the powers of a king were limited. In
theory, the government was the king’s, and he was spoken of as having the power of life
and death over his subjects. We called our kings “Ekeji orisha” (lieutenant of the gods),
and said that the king owned all the land – “Oba l’o ni ile”. In practice, however, there
was not much truth in all these. The king must rule with established councils of chiefs,
the highest of which councils met with the king daily in the palace to take all decisions
and to function as the highest court of appeal. After its decisions were taken, they were
announced as the king’s decisions. Then the town crier would go through the streets
proclaiming, “The king greets you all and says so and so and so”, and the people would
loudly respond from their homes, “May the king’s will be done”.
Over land, the king’s authority was very small indeed. Within the town, the king’s
government simply could not touch a family group’s compound for any purpose. Beyond
the town walls, the king could not do anything to a family group’s farmland without the
explicit consent of the family group. “Oba l’o ni ile” therefore meant no more than that
the king was protector of all the land, and that he was the adjudicator when land was in
dispute between family groups.
Every kingdom had an annual festival or two during which the common people were
totally free to demonstrate in the streets and say whatever they chose to say, usually in
crudely composed songs, about their king and chiefs. No holds barred; no complaints; no
arrests! This was a way of reminding the persons in authority that the authority belonged
to the people.
Most kingdoms also had institutionalized town meetings in the palace at which any
citizen could express opinion or offer suggestion about current events and ask questions
from the chiefs. Such meetings were held from time to time throughout the year, usually
early in the morning of certain market days traditionally known to all citizens as town
meeting days.
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We did not only establish the right to select our kings, we also established the right to
remove them. If a king became over-ambitious and tried to establish personal power
beyond the limited monarchy system, or if he became tyrannical, greedy, or otherwise
seriously unpopular, some chiefs bore the constitutional duty of cautioning, counseling,
rebuking him in private. If he would not mend his ways, the chiefs might take his matter
before a special council of notables and elders called Ogboni where he would be
seriously warned. If he still would not change, the quarter chiefs might alert the Family
Heads - and the latter might inform their compound meetings. The final action would
then be that certain chiefs, whose traditional duty it was to do it, would approach the king
and respectfully ask him to “go to sleep”, that is, commit suicide – and he would do so. A
Yoruba king could never leave the throne and live as an ordinary citizen. This final action
against a king was very rarely taken, but every king was informed at the time of his
installation that it was in the power of his subjects.
Our traditional constitution created very important roles for our women. In every one of
our kingdoms, towns and villages, we had a cadre of women chiefs, the highest ranking
of whom was part of the highest council of chiefs. There were also specialized women’s
chieftaincy titles whose holders performed special duties in the society. And, though our
laws generally excluded women from being kings, only a woman (a princess) could be
appointed as regent between the death of a king and the appointment and installation of
his successor. Our women were among the greatest traders in Africa, and they enjoyed
freedom to travel throughout the length and breadth of our homeland and beyond, buying
and selling. In most Yoruba communities, there were women who were very wealthy in
their own right. According to the written records available to us, for instance, two of the
richest and politically most influential people in our country in the 19th century (before
British rule), were women – namely, the Iyalode Efunseetan of Ibadan, and Madam
Tinubu of Lagos. Both were great traders. In addition, the Iyalode had a large farming
business in which there were employed at one time, according to the records of the
missionaries who knew her, over 2000 workers.
Finally, the king’s relationship with the Baale in his kingdom was never one of detailed
control or coercion. It subsisted on mutual benefits. As defender of the kingdom, the king
could ask the Baale for contribution of men and materials if any part of the kingdom was
attacked. That benefited all towns and villages. Besides that, the Baale honored the king
with gifts on certain ceremonies, and contributed men and materials to the occasional
repairs on the palace buildings. In return, the Baale was free to send to the king difficult
disputes that arose in his town or village. Rigid taxes and levies did not form part of the
system. In the day-to-day governance of his town or village, the Baale was not controlled
by the king. Residents of the subordinate towns and villages usually had no reason to feel
inferior to the residents of the king’s town.
Raised in this culture of democracy, we Yoruba people cherished our individual freedom
and independence. We were not used to being repressed or degraded by our rulers. Even
when we found ourselves in the naturally restrictive, authoritarian, setting of a war camp,
we still preserved our freedom and our right to participate in decisions that affected our
society. For instance in 1886, the British government sent some men to come to the war
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camps between Igbajo and Imesi-ile and offer to help make peace between an Ibadan
army and the Ekitiparapo army facing each other there. In its bid to unify all of
Yorubaland, Ibadan had conquered most of the Yoruba kingdoms. In 1877, the kingdoms
of the Ekiti, Ijesha, Igbomina and Akoko had formed a confederacy, named Ekitiparapo,
to resist Ibadan. Chief Ogedemgbe of Ilesha was the Commander-in-chief of the
Ekitiparapo army. When the British officials came to the Ekitiparapo camp, they, in
between official meetings with Ogedemgbe and his officers, walked around the camp
talking with the soldiers. In one such conversation with a group of soldiers, one soldier
told the foreigners that it was the joint decision of all members of the Ekitiparapo to stay
firm where they were until the Ibadan army had gone away. If Ogedemgbe were to try to
move without a change of that decision by all, he added, “We will cut off his head”. How
surprised the visitors must have been by such freedom of speech!
In short, our forefathers evolved a political culture that was democratic. Political contests,
chieftaincy disputes, group rivalries, open discussion of issues, popular protests – all
these have been common in our political life from very early times.
This freedom and independence is, needless to say, strength. In an autonomous modern
Yorba country, it would have produced a vibrantly democratic and progressive society. In
a Nigeria of many peoples, however, it has looked like weakness and, on many critical
occasions, it has even operated as outright weakness. Used to freedom of opinion and
choice, the Yorubas have, in Nigeria, been the most accommodating of ideas and political
parties and have appeared, unlike other peoples, incapable of sticking together even when
their vital interests have been obviously in jeopardy. A friendly, non-Yoruba politician in
the 1960s Chief Tony Enahoro, expressed his dismay at this apparent factiousness of the
Yoruba people in the following words: “Political rivalry has always been most keen, even
bitter, in the Western Region. This is partly because party politics is more advanced there
than in the rest of the country, the people having been accustomed by their long history of
chieftaincy disputes to the political game of “ins” and “outs”; partly because a higher
standard of living from less exacting labor affords them comparatively more time for
public affairs; partly because the Yorubas, in politics as in religion, prefer to worship
many gods - - -“.
Our apparent proneness towards divisions and factiousness are products of our history of
political democracy. Because of our democratic orientation too, we respect our right to
choose, and have usually, in Nigerian politics, reacted very violently when politicians
dare to insult us by rigging our votes at elections. Finally, a democratically oriented
society tends to attach much importance and priority to education. This, therefore, is the
reason why we as a people are the crusaders for education in Nigeria, why we were the
first African people to institute a free education program, and why we are the most
literate people today on the African continent.