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The Distortion Of Yoruba History: Et Tu Bola Ajibola? |
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Written by Remi Oyeyemi
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Tuesday, 06 November 2007 |
The Distortion Of Yoruba History: Et Tu Bola Ajibola?
By Remi Oyeyemi
“It is personalities like Prince Ajibola, who through indiscipline and astounding capacity for intellectual mischief always make it irresistible to refer to some aspects of Yoruba History in the medium like this, what ought to be left within the four walls of History class in our schools.”
One has just read the attempt by the former Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Bola Ajibola’s to distort a segment of the Yoruba History. In this effort he had made a claim, albeit a false one, about the saving and preservation of one of the greatest cities in Yorubaland, Abeokuta.
In the Vanguard newspaper of Monday 29, October 2007, Prince Ajibola made a very weird claim that “Abeokuta owes its existence to Owu people.” According to the report, the former Attorney General who spoke as “Olori Omo Oba of Owu” at the poorly attended (reported) 8th Owu Day Celebrations had contended that “it was the Owus who saved other sections of Egbaland from being conquered by Dahomey warriors.” He was quoted thus:
“..without us (Owus), there would not have been any Abeokuta today. That is what should be realized in this regard.”
Reportedly, he was quoted further:
“It is our view that Abeokuta owed its existence to the Owu people. We have gallant fighters. It was because of this that our homestead never succumbed to defeat.”
This would have been very comedic, if not tragic because of its possible consequences, especially in the hand of intellectual enemies of the Yoruba who always seek every available opportunity to ridicule a distinguished race. It is personalities like Prince Ajibola, who through indiscipline and astounding capacity for intellectual mischief always make it irresistible to refer to some aspects of Yoruba History in the medium like this, what ought to be left within the four walls of History class in our schools.
To go out and flagrantly make blatantly false claims like this is beyond the pale for someone who once sat on the International Bench at The Hague. It is a false claim to posit that “Abeokuta owes its existence to the Owu people.” It is also a false claim that the Owu “homestead never succumbed to defeat.” But it is true that the Owus are “gallant fighters” and this particular quality of theirs was what got them into the greatest defeat of their entire history and what resulted into their coming to be part of Abeokuta today.
For the purpose of clarity and putting the records straight the following outlines would illuminate the issues relating to Owu History:
- The Owus have the reputation as one of the fiercest fighters in the entire Yoruba History.
- Their origin is in the vicinity of the present day Orile Owu near Ikire in Osun State.
- Among several Owu towns, Ipole and Ogbere were the most famous where the elites military and royalties lived.
- Ile-Ife in particular and its satellite towns in general were regarded as “no go” area for all Yoruba warriors because of its importance as the origin of all Yoruba people and respect to Ooni who sits on the Oodua stool.
- The Owus ability to fight and their military invincibility pushed them to threaten Apomu around 1810.
- Apomu was one of the commercial satellite towns of Ile-Ife under the rulership of Ooni and as such regarded as a “no go” area.
- Every appeal made to the Owu warriors not to violate the sanctity of Ile-Ife territory by all well meaning Yoruba kings were ignored.
- In 1812, Apomu was attacked and conquered by the Owu people.
- Over several years, other Yoruba kingdoms appealed to the Owus to give up Apomu and restored it to Ile-Ife.
- The Owu people remained adamant, secured in their belief that Ile-Ife or Ooni have no capability to take them on.
- Then came Ooni Gbegbaaje (1822-1835) who raised a refurbished Army under the leadership of Maye of Ile-Ife, Chief Okunade in 1823.
- This Ife Army was supported by the Armies of the Awujale of Ijebu and the Oyo who fought for over 3 years (1823 -1825) to liberate Apomu from the Owus and destroyed the Owu kingdom.
- The Owus were so defeated and became dispersed all over Yorubaland and probably beyond.
- Ooni Gbegbaaje was the one who ensured that the Owu capital at Ipole was never rebuilt.
- This recalcitrant behavior of the Owus in the manner they disrespected Ile-Ife, regarded as the Origin of all Yoruba, gave birth to the saying among the Yoruba which goes thus: “A bi omo l’Owu, e ni ako ni abi abo. Ewo l’omo ninu omo Owu” meaning “A child was born in Owu, you are enquiring if it was a male or female, which one is desirable of Owu children.” (This saying has since receded into archives since time has healed the wounds).
- It was the Egba famous son and warrior, Sodeke who gave the Owus a reprieve in 1834 by providing them a quarter of Abeokuta to occupy.
- Shortly before then, the Egba Alake, Oke-Ona and Gbagura have just avoided war among themselves as to who should be their ruler. It was Ifa divination that warned them against such foolishness before they all agreed on Sodeke who was a respected warrior.
The obvious conclusion from this brief outline is that the present abode in which the Owus are residing is not their real “homestead.” Prince Ajibola’s claim that “..without us (Owus), there would not have been any Abeokuta today,” is not only patently false it is untrue and should have been the other way round. If not for the real Egba and the large heart of their leader, Sodeke, there would never have been any Owu as we know it today.
Another conclusion from this outline is that his statement made thus: “our homestead never succumbed to defeat,” is also untrue. The fact of History is that not only did Owu’s real homestead “succumbed to defeat,” it was destroyed permanently, that only remnants of it has survived history.
When a supposedly well educated, well travelled legal luminary like Prince Ajibola make this kind of statements in a public gathering, he is lending whatever that is left of his battered credibility to falsehood, discord and dishonesty.
It is very important that records be set straight because of personalities like him who have no intellectual integrity and are given to fictionalizing segments of our collective history as Yoruba, because of their political ambitions.
One must commend the rulers of Egba Alake, Oke-Ona and Gbagura for coming out swiftly to promptly rebuke him and put him where he belongs. The Yoruba Obas, who are the custodians of our tradition and history should emulate these 3 traditional rulers by not allowing untoward claims about our history be made without serious challenge.
Also the serious intellectuals in the field of History, should not stand aside with their arms akimbo and not come to the rescue of the integrity of our history, every time a confused prince with bloated ego comes up with atrocious versions of Yoruba History that would suit his political schemes within the larger Nigeria context.
Politics should be separated from serious academics, a discipline of which History is, where facts are sacred as opposed to opinions or fiction.
It is heinous that a Yoruba son would engage in this kind of intellectual charlatanism and shenanigan for whatever reasons.
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Last Updated (
Thursday, 24 April 2008 ) |
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Posted by Robot| 06.11.2007 06:12