Arẹmu, His Peppered Dundu and The Royal Breakfast

By Wole Adejumo 

About two decades ago, I got talking with a friend whose younger brother married the granddaughter of an Ekiti monarch. The discussion that day bordered on how Kabiyesis's treasured Mercedes Benz got stolen and when the story got to the palace, Kabiyesi wanted a report to be made at the Police Station. The chiefs would however have none of that. They urged the traditional ruler to go get some rest because the vehicle would be found in a matter of hours. How true that proved to be! The story was that the car suddenly stopped and the four tyres went flat. So, it was no longer of use to the thieves who needed to find a way of escaping, else it would be doomsday for them. 

That was the kind of respect a Yoruba traditional ruler commanded. Or what else would make subjects go to the extent of deploying "African Traditional Tracking System" to avenge an insult to their monarch?

Until the white man came, Yoruba kings were second only to the gods. They had the powers of life and death; from the days of Alaafin Ajaka Oko to the days of Ààrẹ Kurunmi of Ijaiye, traditional rulers could order executions and no one dared protest! Then, kings were "aláṣẹ ekeji oriṣa" (second only to the gods). 

Things however changed after the Europeans subjugated our system. Then came the white man's superiority and names like "Obatoyinbo" (the king is as important as the white man) entered our lexicon. 

We would soon realise that we copied from them and copied wrongly! In his 1986 album, "Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense", Fela Anikulapo Kuti sang that "if good teacher teach something and the student make mistake, teacher must talk so but òyìnbó no talk so". 

The mistake in this sense is that in England, the Prime Minister would not ask the King to stand up as a mark of respect. 

Choosing an Oba was the prerogative of the Oracle and interpretation of the kingmakers. The sobering reality of today is that the case is gradually becoming different; the Governor is the new Oracle whose word is law - the all in all. Kingmakers may select their preferred candidate but it is the Governor who hands over the staff of office and other paraphernalia of kingship to the Oba-elect. Nowadays, Obas hold office at the pleasure of His Excellency, the Governor. 

More saddening is the fact that the powers of traditional rulers have been attenuated by the stark reality that their salaries are paid by the Local Government Chairman; it is that bad! Across all the geopolitical zones, there have been different fora where it has been pointed out that traditional rulers should respect authorities. 

In a 1982 personality interview he granted Oloye Lekan Alabi at the Ogun State Government House in Abeokuta, the then Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi did not mince words as he confirmed that the Emir of Kano was a public official who was being paid from public funds. "The Emir of Kano is nothing but a public officer who is being paid from public funds and whose appointment is at the pleasure of the Governor of the state", Rimi affirmed. 

One then begins to wonder, of what use is the monarchy in a democracy? Have they truly been cowed into subservience? But, whether subjugated or not, no one would stand and watch his Oba disgraced. And when Obas are ridiculed, it was usually with direct or sometimes indirect consequences which could be physical or spiritual. 

At any rate, former President Olusegun Obasanjo who bashed Òkè Ogun Obas in Iseyin is not called the Ẹbọra Owu for nothing's sake and he is not a newcomer to controversies. And when backlashes come, he has a way of wriggling free. General Godwin Alabi Isama, Former Governor Ayo Fayose, Otunba Gbenga Daniel to name a few have been at the receiving end of the Owu Zombie's abrasive tongue. His daughter once wrote him an open letter which was arguably the first of its kind in Nigeria. At least no Nigerian President had ever been dragged openly by a close family member. 

And apart from the destitute who attacked him at the airport , only Fayose and Ladoja have been daring enough to look into his face and antagonize him. 

While it is being said that an incalculable damage might have been done to the reputation of Oyo monarchs, one is tempted to ask, was Chief Obasanjo really at fault? 

The answer should be "no". Coming from a military background and attaining the rank of a General by the age of 39, he had been used to military ethics and protocols. And running the affairs of a country has provided an in-depth knowledge of what should obtain in a normal society. Moreover, it is not out of place to rise to welcome a Governor to an event. Enforcing it the Obasanjo way may however be an overkill. 

To be honest, Obasanjo's Dundu did not start becoming peppery yesterday. It has always been; only that this is the first time traditional rulers are being served. 

And now that Aremu has rubbed it in, a precedence has been set for generations to come.

Adejumo sent this piece from Ibadan