The Alaafin has finally cornered himself in a triangle of mockery. Without uttering a single word, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, quietly but decisively relegated him to the land of the inglorious.
When people who have little or no regard for culture – overseas returnee “I wanna, I’m gonna” dunderheads who were never properly grounded in the traditions of Yorubaland – are foisted upon royal stools, these aberrations and unroyal, abrasive behaviours are inevitable. It is becoming increasingly necessary that before anyone is crowned king in our land, he must be rigorously tested on tradition and made to pass through the crucible of becoming a true Omoluabi. This is the only way to avoid such taboos as those recently perpetrated by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade I, whose forebears must by now be turning in their graves in horror and shame.
Indeed, the Alaafin has chosen the path of a content creator, turning the once-revered stool of Oyo into an endless stream of ridiculous drama, drama in which he alone cannot see that he plays the fool.
The people of Ibadan, thoroughbred Omoluabis steeped in culture and tradition, are rightly angered by the Alaafin’s conduct, which now borders on imbecility. Anyone who saw the visuals of what transpired between the Olubadan and the Alaafin would be forced to wonder whether there is a slow-working clock somewhere in the Alaafin’s head. There was absolutely no decency in the awkward stretching of his right hand across his chest in that attempted handshake. It was clumsy, childlike, and deeply embarrassing.
Common sense at least dictates that if he could not stand up to greet Oba Ladoja, the least he could have done, was to allow him sit before offering a greeting. Let’s call a spade a spade, if this was how the late Oba Lamidi Adeyemi (Iku Baba Yeye Alasẹ, Ikejì Oríṣà) could he have been so honoured, respected and widely recognised?
Frankly, the people of Oyo should be worried. Something is not quite connecting in the king’s sensory responses. The message conduit appears faulty. His actions are consistently unwarranted and in open defiance of the very traditions he is meant to embody and protect.
For clarity – if indeed Oba Owoade struggles with learning, his chiefs must drum it firmly into his skull that the royal stool of the Olubadan is in no way subordinate to Oyo. History records that it was the Ibadan warriors who saved the Oyo people from the ravaging Hausa armies when all seemed lost, in ancient times.
They should also take him through history – perhaps in kindergarten language – since his mental circuitry appears to require a strong jolt into reality. The Olubadan is not his subordinate; he is also thirty three years older, a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a former Governor of Oyo State, and a well-educated business mogul. His Imperial Majesty, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, has been on the path of kingship since 1993 – when Owoade was a mere 15-year-old boy.
It is also pertinent to point out that the Olubadan is the current Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Traditional Rulers.
Only a petulant child or someone riddled with an inferiority complex seeks attention through necessary obnoxious conduct. One must therefore ask: what is really wrong with this Alaafin of Oyo?
While His Imperial Majesty Oba Ladoja was leaving enduring footprints on the sands of time – immersed in rigorous academic pursuits, becoming Mogaji of the Arusa Compound, steeped in the traditions of the land for close to four decades, patiently climbing the cultural ladder and mastering the ethos of kingship, Owoade was still in primary school, grappling with Arithmetic 001 as a 10-year-old.
It appears he has not yet grown out of boyhood. The Alaafin does not seem to understand what the crown on his head truly represents. His conduct negates dignity, royal carriage, respect, restraint, and wisdom – the defining traits of kingship. Instead, he behaves like a street urchin; renegade, haughty, awkward, and carrying himself with the misplaced arrogance of a peasant. He has become the clown in his own court.
This strange king in our midst must be reminded that Ibadan has always been the stronghold and command centre of warriors. That History must be revisited in the Oyo palace, urgently.
It is about time our traditional councils stopped crowning “bugger-shop counter boys” as kings.
- Dare Adeleke writes from Ibadan
