I dug graves to make ends meet after my father was sent into exile – Alaafin
By Vincent Akanmode and Adeola Balogun
Published: Saturday, 20 Sep 2008
Source
====> http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?t...00809201215881 In a few days from now, the drums will be rolled out in celebration of the 70th birthday of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi. In this interview with VINCENT AKANMODE and ADEOLA BALOGUN, the royal father recounts his tortuous journey through life. In a few days from now, you will mark your 70th birthday. How would you describe life in the past 70 years?
Well, life has been very eventful and one has gone through very many travails and challenges. But because of one’s philosophy, one has been able to face life with courage, hope and the fear of God.
What are the challenges?
There is a mythology surrounding the stool of the Alaafin. The Alaafin inherits the attributes of divinity, which the Yoruba believe means death. As the Alaafin-elect, before you are crowned, you are taken through several propitiations and sacrifices. You are taken to the hollow grounds of Yoruba ancestors. You are made to swear an oath and make a covenant with the forebears that you will defend, project and enhance the traditions, customs and values of the Yoruba people.
This is mandatory for you to become the Alaafin. Also, you are inducted to the myths of Sango and other gods. You are taken before the Ifa corpus as a way of studying some philosophies guiding the institution. Once you pass through these, you eliminate fear completely in your life and imbibe the philosophy of service to humanity. You no longer have a private life of your own; the totality of your life must be spent in service to people and humanity.
When you are taken through all this, you become the embodiment of Yoruba customs and tradition. You radiate it and project it in your day-to-day appearances. Before you are crowned, they take 200 bullets, put them in the fire and melt them together, after which you are made to swallow it with concoctions. Then you become the beneficiary of death, ailment, predicament and controversy. You are then expected to defend and, if possible, die for the cause of the Yoruba. That is the reason why the mythology surrounding the Alaafin is a living one.
How old were you when you ascended the throne?
Well, I have spent 38 years now. You can add up the rest. Let me give you an explanation to help you: I was selected by the Oyo kingmakers on November 18, 1968, after the demise of my great predecessor, Oba Bello Gbadegesin Ladigbolu, who died in February that year.
In March, there was a meeting of the Oyomesi, six voted for me, one abstained. For political reasons, the then government of the old Western Region rejected the outcome, ordering a fresh selection. But because of some eminent Nigerians who are forthright; people like Chief Emmanuel Akanmu, people like Chief Olopoeniyan, people like Dr Omololu Olunloyo, Omodehin Taiwo, they asked the Oyomesi to sit again and after sitting again, they elected me.
Eventually, the exercise was suspended for political reasons and it began again in 1970. In 1970, November 18, among other 10 contestants, I was selected. This time, the government did not have any choice. They published a gazette on 19 December ratifying my selection. By the 20th December, I moved into the palace and began the rites. I was officially presented the staff of office on 14 January 1971, at an impressive ceremony witnessed by thousands of people and covered by the world press.
In 1968, before the exercise began, I made a prediction that I was going to be the next Alaafin. A week later, the Daily Times carried the story that the young prince who predicted a week ago that he would be the next Alaafin had been selected by the majority of the kingmakers as the Alaafin of Oyo. Maybe that was what infuriated the powers that be at that time.
That means that you were just about 32 years then. At that age, were you not afraid of the rites you had to pass through, especially swallowing the bullets and all that?
Three elements helped. I took into boxing primarily as a means of developing my character. I had a very good background. Let me tell you something, I think many people don’t know: I am a practising Muslim but I was brought up in strict Christian homes under the tutelage of very devout Christians. Firstly, I stayed in Iseyin where I studied the Quran.
After completing the Quranic education, I came back to Oyo, but my father would not allow me to stay in the palace. He believed that the influences in the palace would not be good for a proper Western education, so he sent me out again to live with a headmaster, Mr. Olatoregun, at the Demonstration Practising School. Still, he was not satisfied. He then took me to Abeokuta to stay with Sir Oladapo Ademola, the Alake of Egbaland.
But my stay there was short-lived because during the women agitation against taxation, led by that irrepressible and indefatiguable woman leader, Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the Alake was asked to abdicate the throne and go on exile, and I had to accompany him. So my education stopped. My father believed that during adversity, a man should not desert his friend, so he asked me to remain with him. But the Alake insisted that I should leave so that my education would not suffer.
Yet my father would not allow me to stay in the palace; he took me to live with Sir Adekunle Abayomi, a medical doctor at Tinubu, Lagos. I became a member of the Methodist church at Obalende. That prepared me to face life without fear. I developed my mental ability and retentive memory while at that place. And because I stayed in Obalende, a miniature Nigeria, in order to make a headway, one had to be tough. That was why I took to boxing, which helped me later in life.
I remember that one question I was asked by the Oyomesi was that since I wanted to become the Alaafin, what did I know about the Alaafin of Oyo? I told them that the Alaafin was the greatest traditional institution ever founded by any African potentate, and that the Oyo palace was the largest and one of the most enduring empires, lasting for more than 600 uniterrupted years.
And for me to become the Alaafin, I must be prepared to face the challenges. I think they were impressed. They said okay, but that I was very young. I said it was not a matter of age, and I gave them instances of young men who assumed positions of authorities in their lifetimes, like the Mansa Kankan Musa of the old Mali Empire and Peter the Great who westernised Russia. I told them that if they gave me the opportunity, I would be able to face it and learn along the way with the youthful energy in me.
You said you had both Islamic and Christian backgrounds. How easily were you able to reconcile these with the traditional institution of the Alaafin and the rituals you had to perform?
They are not in conflict at all. Let me tell you something: there are people who do not believe there was Jesus or Muhammed, but they are free. Faith is what matters. God listens to you on the basis of your faith in Him. The Yoruba were the first to believe in one supreme being called Eledumare; nobody taught them. The Yoruba believed in sanma meje and ile meje (seven heavens and seven grounds). Before Aristotle and Socrates came out with their theory of metaphysics, the Yoruba had their own.
The best people who know the Bible and the Quran are the Yoruba. Don’t forget Bishop Ajayi Crowder who translated the Bible into seven languages. The first practising lawyer in Nigeria, Sapara Williams, was a Yoruba man. He graduated from Fourabay College at the age of 19 in 1878. The first woman doctor was Yoruba, Mrs Abimbola nee Akerele. The first woman to drive a car was Mrs Ransome-Kuti. So, there is something in Yoruba that Alaafin must bring out. They excel not because they are Christians or Muslims, but because we are born and nurtured in a certain culture, which is the responsibility of the Alaafin to showcase.
Coming into the palace this afternoon, we saw you doing some physical exercises, including boxing. At 70, you are still in love with boxing. How did you develop the interest?
During our days, we had the good fortune to be trained by experts. I told you that I took to boxing primarily as a means of developing my character. Where I stayed, unless you were able to hold your own, you would be trampled upon. To be able to excel, you must engage in one sporting activity or the other. Right from when I was in Tinubu Methodist School, I was nicknamed Local Stanley Matthew in reference to the Stanley Matthew who was the first professional footballer to be knighted. I took to boxing in order to discipline myself and be like other boxing heroes of the time. And my education at St Gregory’s College also gave me an insight into the fact that human struggle is for life. In order to have a healthy body, you must have a sound mind.
Maybe you would have pursued a career in boxing if you had not become the Alaafin?
Well, I don’t know. But I tried to do what I was supposed to do and I had over 52 bouts. I lost only two, which were disputed.
As a prince, what was your father’s reaction to your involvement in boxing?
I was not living with my father. I didn’t stay long with my father, like I told you earlier. Because of the problem my father had later, I was pushed out and I had to find a way of ekeing out a living. I had to stay with the Osadebey family in Obalende. I was sleeping in the passage and I had to take a job as a casual labourer registered with the Lagos City Council. I dug graves to make ends meet, because as at that time, my father had been forced into exile. This was where I developed the strong will to survive.
How did you feel when your father was sent on exile?
Well, because of the Islamic background that my father had, he believed that he was wrongly treated. One of the things he said was that maybe that was how God wanted it. But he believed that by proxy, he would still come back. There was an enquiry that was set up by the Western Region, headed by a Queen’s counsel, Mr. Lyord, who was a British lawyer. They brought up 11 charges against him. But at the end of the day, the panel exonerated my father of all the charges. The government never published the report.
Why do you think he was witch-hunted?
So many reasons. Most of them political. There have been realignments of forces, so I don’t want to go to into that. Otherwise, so many people will be offended, including those who are now my friends.