Appeal to Idanre royal family and the kingmakers, By Niyi Akinnaso

As the selection process gets underway, I send my best wishes to the royal family and competing candidates for the coveted crown. I also wish High Chief Akindolire and the other kingmakers Godspeed. While wishing Idanre community a most successful outcome at the end of the process, I look forward to the installation and coronation of our new Oba within the next six months.

Idanre anthem

Igi oko gh’oko
Oisa i m’obi ṣ’aghayo
Dun-un ma ma so po
Odede ma ma dule yeghe
Oyi ma sigi gherekeke
D’eye run-un ba le
Dun-un ma s’Olaja Udan-e
D’Ogwa jere oye ooo
Ee hun-hun-un (x4).

Flashback

“Oba Adegunle Aroloye ascended the throne in 1976 after seven years of community turmoil over which of two brothers would succeed their father, Oba Aladegbule Aroloye, Arubiefin III, who transitioned in 1969. The community was as divided over the choice as was the royal family itself…

“What was remarkable about Oba Adegunle Aroloye was his ability to meet the challenges emanating from the long tussle with equanimity and determination to change the course of Idanre history for the better…

“Perhaps what was most remarkable about Oba Adegunle Aroloye was his humanity. He was humble, selfless, kind, empathetic, and compassionate. He once told me that he felt the pain when a child was flogged or otherwise beaten…

“His embrace of peace, harmony, and love of his people should be rewarded with peaceful succession to the throne he so well dignified.”

Introduction

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This short piece has five identified sections. The first two, Idanre Anthem and Flashback, are fixed and non-discursive. In this introductory section, I provide the rationale for them and for the sections that follow.

I begin the piece with Idanre anthem to remind the stakeholders in the forthcoming selection process of a new Owa of Idanre of the high esteem in which the Owa is placed by his subjects. It is not translated into English here to underscore the mystical power of the anthem. Young Idanre citizens and lovers of the community should seek the help of Idanre elders to decode the anthem for them.

The next section is a flashback to my tribute to Oba Frederick Adegunle Aroloye, Arubiefin IV, following his transition on 30 July. He reigned for 48 years. The tribute invoked the seven-year struggle leading to his choice, which created a major hurdle for him to cross in the early years of his reign. It also delved into his personality and remarkable achievements in the development of Idanreland (see Kabiyesi, Oba Frederick Adegunle Aroloye, Arubiefin IV, 1926-2024, The Nation, 7 August).

Neither the royal family nor Idanre community should have to go through this experience again. To be sure, competition is inevitable whenever a choice has to be made among several candidates for a position of power and authority. However, there are reasons why the choice of Oba Aroloye’s successor should not be unnecessarily politicised this time around.

The Appeal

The goal of this appeal is to enjoin all stakeholders in the selection of the next Owa of Idanre to avoid the cut-throat competition and seven-year community strife that attended the choice of the departed Oba. Caution is particularly desirable at this stage of the selection process before presenting a candidate or candidates to politicians for ratification. The more united behind a candidate the royal family and kingmakers are, the less opportunities there are for politicians to complicate the process.

I bring three humble qualifications to the appeal. First, I am an octogenarian native of Idanre, whose first major youthful attraction was the annual Ogun festival in the 1940s. On one occasion, I trailed the retinue of Oba Aladegbule Aroloye, Arubiefin III, as he engaged in royal dance to the captivating rhythm of Ogun festival drums and iron gongs that sounded to me at that time as Jájá-Ògún-Jonjo. It was common folk knowledge at the time that once the Kabiyesi danced to the foot of the hills, Egbé would carry him up into his palace on top of the hills where, he lived throughout his reign. I wanted to witness the spectacle, but I got lost in the crowd. Worse still, I could not trace my way back home.

Second, in addition to initiation into the Ifa tradition, I also trained professionally as an anthropologist with a keen interest in culture and tradition, particularly of Idanre, my hometown. My knowledge of Ifa came full circle when I had to study and write about it as an anthropologist. The experience allowed me to make sense of my youthful encounter with Ifa and to understand Ifa’s role in the choice of the Owa of Idanre. My backgrounds were not lost on High Chief Samuel Agbo Akintan, the late Ojomu of Idanre, who invited me to give a lecture on his 90^th birthday and to review his definitive book on Idanre history (Samuel A. Akintan, A History of Idanre (Ufe’ke) Earliest Times to the Present, John Archer Publishers Limited, Ibadan, 2014, 360 pages).

Third, I was a participant between 1969 and 1976 in the prolonged and rancorous struggle of succession to the throne: Although Idanre has only one ruling family — the Agboogun family dynasty — the family still was divided on the choice of a candidate. So were the kingmakers themselves. Idanre community was divided as well. There were families and friends, who did not see eye to eye during the period.

Neither the royal family nor Idanre community should have to go through this experience again. To be sure, competition is inevitable whenever a choice has to be made among several candidates for a position of power and authority. However, there are reasons why the choice of Oba Aroloye’s successor should not be unnecessarily politicised this time around. For one thing, the politicians and the powerful elite, who prolonged the struggle last time, are neither active now nor even around any longer. Second, it seems that a consensus is now building around town on the choice of a candidate.

Nevertheless, there is still need for caution. On the one hand, competition has been brewing among the children of Oba Adegunle Aroloye. Unfortunately, the late Oba made little or no arrangements for a successor.

On the other hand, the competitor with him between 1969 and 1976 is still alive and interested in the throne. True, all the kingmakers then are no longer around, but Idanre community has not forgotten about him. They know him much more than they know any of the children of the late Oba.

Let me repeat the central theme of this appeal, by citing the last sentence of my tribute to Oba Adegunle Aroloye, cited at the beginning of this piece: “His embrace of peace, harmony, and love of his people should be rewarded with peaceful succession to the throne he so well dignified.” Rancour and litigation should never be allowed to disrupt the peace and progress he worked so hard to achieve for half a century.

He is an old man now, to be sure, but age is neither a qualification nor a disqualification in the Owa of Idanre Chieftaincy Declaration. Moreover, the cultural technicality that the Osolo should not take part in two rituals of succession is a non-issue at this point as no one knows what tomorrow has in store for anyone. Besides, the historical condition that called for that custom has changed with the times. The truth is that those who witnessed the seven-year struggle, would like to see this round of succession as the season of atonement.

There is also need for caution on another level. Two vicious tools of traditional and modern political struggles these days are misinformation and money. Competing candidates for the throne and the kingmakers should avoid both. There should be no backbiting or negative campaign by anyone within or outside the royal family. Barring any infirmity that could impede royal duties, every direct male descendant of the royal line is qualified to compete. The ultimate choice is left to the kingmakers and Orunmila’s consent.

We also know that none of the competitors is all that wealthy. My appeal is for Idanre moneybags and local associations to stay away from corrupting the process. At the same time, the kingmakers should remain true to their conscience and to Idanre Makanre values. They should listen to the respective communities they represent and remember that their client is Idanre community. Reverent memories of Aremitan, better known as Olofin, the historical founder of Idanre, and of Agboogun, the founder of the royal dynasty, should lurk in the background throughout the selection process.

Fortunately, this time around, Idanre kingdom is lucky, incredibly lucky, that the selection process is led by a man of “timber and calibre” in the person of High Chief Christopher Oluwole Akindolire, the Lisa of Idanreland and current Regent of Idanre Kingdom. He also is the statutory Chairman of the council of twelve kingmakers. What is more, he too was an active participant in the seven-year struggle. Aba Lisa, as he is fondly known around town, is like the front door of a building, which sees both inside and outside. Idanre is fortunate at this time that he will deploy his superb intellect, administrative acumen, and vast knowledge of Idanre royal dynasty and of Idanre history in leading the selection process.

Godspeed

As the selection process gets underway, I send my best wishes to the royal family and competing candidates for the coveted crown. I also wish High Chief Akindolire and the other kingmakers Godspeed. While wishing Idanre community a most successful outcome at the end of the process, I look forward to the installation and coronation of our new Oba within the next six months.

Let me repeat the central theme of this appeal, by citing the last sentence of my tribute to Oba Adegunle Aroloye, cited at the beginning of this piece: “His embrace of peace, harmony, and love of his people should be rewarded with peaceful succession to the throne he so well dignified.” Rancour and litigation should never be allowed to disrupt the peace and progress he worked so hard to achieve for half a century.

Niyi Akinnaso, chairman of Professorial Associates, contributed this piece from Phoenix, Arizona, USA.