When Wisdom Is Sidelined – By Olusola Ajiboye
The deposition of the Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Olugbemiga Oloyede Lanimogun on 7th May 2026, by Osun State government finally put a lid on integrity questions that dogged the traditional Ruler on fraud related handling of Covid 19 relief fund by the American government.
Oba Joseph Oloyede was convicted and sentenced to thirty six (36 months) equivalent four (4) years in prison by an Ohio federal Court in the United States of America.
Tax sleazing, wire fraud and money laundering to the tune of 4.2 million Dollars,meant for victims of the global pandemic were high points of the charges for which the traditional Ruler was jailed.
But for the personality involved in the crime, the sentence could have been dismissed as inconsequential by Nigerians, used to recurring decimal of corruption and abuse of trust by highly placed individuals in public and private sectors of the country.
The removal of Oba Joseph Oloyede is not without far-reaching negative implications for progress and integrity of the throne he once occupied, but the tradition and custom of the Yorubas he represents as a crowned Head.
The ancient Yoruba country recognized Traditional a Ruler as soul and symbol of the people. He bore their challenges, assuaged their despairs and ensured their survival. His person was held inviolate, his authority was unquestionable and his orders were biding on all his subjects.
Why was he dreaded and respected? The answer is found in a well-grounded Institution that survived thousands of years and became a mirror for the Yorubas to navigate individual and collective life experiences.
This is why Obas are not enthroned without a faithful observance of tradition, custom and rites appertaining to the sacred office they hold. Ifa Oracle is considered the most critical feature of Royal Institution through which a Prince is elevated to the position of a King. No Oba is fit to wear the Crown without having been pronounced by the Ifa-Oracle. King makers may exist as an integral part of the evolution of the various Kingdoms of the Yoruba but their decisions are subject to the declaration of the Ifa-Oracle.
Why was Ifa so indispensable to the primordial Yoruba civilization in the enthronement of Kings? Yoruba Elders are of a time honoured belief that Ifa is the all knowing seer and a vessel that conveys humanity’s requests to God Almighty (Olodumare) and Vice-versa.
To the Yoruba school of thought, ifa is the eye of the all-knowing God who oversees the Earth and walk the shadows of man, guiding him from sliding or falling. Yoruba historiography is said to align with a general belief that the Yoruba Country has its peaceful period and attained its Zenith of prosperity whenever Kingmakers adhere to the words of wisdom, spoken by the If-oracle. When kingmakers succumb to the tyranny or pressures of the flesh, the land is plunged into avoidable chaos and instability, “Eiye ko ni ke bi eiye, eku ko ni dun bi Eku, ‘The Bird will no longer cry like a bird, the Mice, will no longer sound like a mice,”.
In cases like this, a wrong choice is. Or has been made. To emphasize the critical role of Ifa in the trajectory of Yoruba civilization, ancestors of the Race were wont of tracing the genealogy of a child between three and seven days after birth, where upon the Child’s ten toes are imprinted on the temple or train of Ifa to reveal what the future hold in stock for him or her. In every of such ventures, the predictions are explicitly found to be true.
The life and times of the Olowo of Owo Oba Olateru Olagbegi who reigned between 1941-1968, and 1993-1998 aptly summarized the Inimitable oracular prediction of what the revered Oba would encounter and how he would end.
So predicted before his coronation, “Olateru would be crowned at twenty five (25) years of age, deposed after twenty five (2%) year on the throne, and re-enthroned after twenty five (25) years in deposition.
All happened as Ifa had spoken. Inspite of the time tested veracity of Ifa-corpus, many Traditional Rulers in Yorubaland have been enthroned without consulting this very important religious heritage. More are still being enthroned. The results have not been palatable in many towns, cities and communities where crowns are placed on the heads of individuals ungroomed for the sacred responsibilities of Royalty.
A Traditional Ruler was recently suspended in Ogun State for acts unbecoming of his office.
The skin bleeching monarch threw decency to the dustbin by publicly assaulting a man old enough to be his father. The disturbing trends are not happening without sharp condemnations from the knowledgeable. Ifayemi Elebuibon, an Ifa priest and Yoruba culture exponent has been most vocal against what he termed,“the erosion of values and customs that held the Yoruba Nation together in pursuit of goals germane to their individual and collective progress,”
In response to misdemeanors of some Traditional Rulers, the Ifa priest is often quoted to liken them to “Olujogbo”, a principal character in Saworo-Ide, a popular Yoruba Nolly wood film. Elebuibon attributes the fall from grace of many Natural Rulers in Yorubaland today to untidy subservience and substitution of their revered thrones to political brinkmanship.
In an interview with this writer, the Ifa priest asked a number of questions relevant to the issues in discourse.
“How many of these Obas were prepped for the pristine requirements of their offices? How many were purged of Euro-centric mindsets before they were enthroned? How can Traditional Rulers who are not confined to Ipebi (Conclave of Kings) marry inherited customs with condescending modern demands and still be free of religious confusion?
These questions point to an ambiguous submission that the Royal Institution in Nigeria is suffering recruitment deficit not unconnected to the sidelining of Ifa in the selection process.
Any prince aspiring to be King must accept the imperatives of tradition which include among others, the sacrifice of personal interests in religion, culture, social orientation and prejudices for those which the throne demands of its occupant.
In other words, an Oba is recognized only by his capacity to carry out the sacred responsibilities outlined by his ancestors and supported by native laws and custom. There can be no room for doubt for a prince who desires to sit on the throne of his fore fathers.
The kingmakers, Hgh-Priests and Denizens of the palace are in place to extract a pledge to execute ancestral duties and maintain full compliance no matter the number of years an Oba sits on the throne.
This is the climax of rites that a make a king out of a prince, “Oro ti o soni d’oba.” It is worrisome how infusions of Western and Arabian religions and Cultural beliefs are allowed an unchecked impairment to the point of eroding the pillars on which the values, respect, compliance, promotion and sustenance of Yoruba religion, culture and tradition stand.
As Yorubas bemoan the fate of their Royal Institutions under a divisive self-serving foreign influences, is it not worrisome that products of such contraptions continue to destroy the institutions they are supposed to protect? By succumbing to the tyranny of the flesh, Oba Joseph Oloyede has lost what was his by birthright.
He is now confined to a tiny cell in an American jail, bringing into the mud, the dignity which his forebears paraded and bequeathed to their descendants.
His family is not the only loser; the kingdom he once superintended over is the larger victim.
His deposition in such untidy circumstances is a lesson for all, particularly the Royalty, How can such mishap be avoided in other parts of Yorubaland? There appears no two-way solution to a reoccurrence, but a return to the custom of our forebears which placed the counsel of Ifa on top of consultations for princes angling for the throne.
Olusola Ajiboye is a Veteran Journalist and Media Consultant based in Osogbo, Osun-State.South-West Nigeria.
