USA Africa Dialogue Series - EKIMOGUN… 500 Years Ago …

EKIMOGUN… 500 Years Ago …

SUNDAY, 01 AUGUST 2010 00:00 BY TOLA BADEJO

On Saturday December 6, 2008 at about 9.00 am, dressed exquisitely in a newly acquired Aso Oke outfit with a cap to match, I headed straight to Oba Adesanoye Civic Center in Ondo to attend Ekimogun Day. My sojourn in Ondo Kingdom was barely eight months and I was curious to see what Ekimogun Day meant to Ondo people. Because I got there early, I was opportuned to watch different dancing groups as they were ushered into the arena by traditional drummers. It dawned on me that for a long time, I had not attended traditional events of this magnitude. Not that I was averse to such, but the opportunity did not just arise.
When I opened the brochure of this 21st edition of Ekimogun Day, the first exciting thing I saw was the list of all the Osemawes of Ondo Kingdom from inception to date. It was on page 3. The pedigree of the current Osemawe and every other Osemawe before him was succinctly illustrated on this page in a way that he who does not know the pedigree of his town's kingship will turn green with envy.

As an Ijebu man, another fascinating observation was the FIDIPOTE title in Ondo Kingdom. FIDIPOTE I ruled from 1893 to 1901, while FIDIPOTE II ruled from 1935 to 1942 immediately after JILO II, the immediate predecessor of the current JILO III. JILO Ruling House is one of the remaining three ruling houses in Ondo Kingdom. Before then, I used to think that FIDIPOTE as a name existed only in Ijebuland. There is Fidipote Street in Ijebu-Ode where the indigenes are also referred to as "Omo afidipotemole". My own literary translation of "Fidipote" in English language is: "Someone who is capable of settling intrigues in an ingenious way". For the first time, my consciousness on the cultural link between the Ijebus and Ondos was awakened. This was not unexpected because a more than cursory look at the political map of Western Region will reveal a transition zone between Mefoworade in Osun State, Ijebu-Igbo in Ogun State and the western border of Ondo Kingdom. This zone can be accessed from Benin-Shagamu expressway, after Ore towards Ijebu-Ode. Students of Yoruba History should be able to throw more light on the cultural links between the indigenous peoples living in this zone.

The 22nd Edition of Ekimogun day took place on Saturday 5th December 2009. By this time I had acclimatized completely in Ondo Kingdom. I had mastered the special way of greeting the elderly: "Wa dai gbo o bai" for men: "Wa daigbo o yei" for women. It flew effortlessly from my mouth in such a way that if a cosmetologist had cleverly inscribed the Ondo tribal mark on my face on that day, I would have passed off as an Ondo indigene.

The Osemawe Genealogy Tree, which I hardly noticed in the 21st Edition, was also published in the 22nd Edition and the Pedigree on the next page also indicated that the First Osemawe (OBA PUPUPU) reigned from 1510 to 1530. Even then, it did not occur to me to do a little arithmetic that will confirm that the Osemawe Dynasty would be 500 years old this year.

It eventually dawned on me that I was living in a community where the indigenes have a good sense of their history. A community, where the preservation of their cultural heritage is held sacrosanct. A community, where the mode of dressing at both formal and informal gatherings as well as the smooth rendition of their dialect both within and outside the kingdom both reflect their strict adherence to their custom and cultural norms. This is highly commendable in a country where our diversity and colonial history have paved way albeit subconsciously for the obliteration of the culture of the indigenous peoples in preference for the language, culture and religion of the imperial masters.

The series of events for the celebration of 500 years of Osemawe Dynasty started on Saturday July 3, 2010 with a town parade and ended on Sunday July 18 with an Interdenominational Thanksgiving Service. The most fascinating of the events was the exhibition of Ondo cultural artifacts, traditional wears, drums, drumming etc. which I will not stress in this article because there is no way a description of these displays can be captured in a short article such as this. Moreover, I believe that no newspaper article, however detailed, could describe the display that was on for eight solid days (July 7 to July 15) and capture the essence, which is better viewed live than imagined. I am sure that those who missed seeing these displays will not have to wait for another 500 years because the Ondo Heritage Museum (of Antiquities) was launched at Osemawe Royal Hall on Saturday July 10. I just can wait to see this Museum in full operation.

The main event of Saturday July 10 was the Tree Planting event, which was the proximate stimulus for writing this article. I drew my inspiration from this event, which struck a cord in me as an Environmental Biologist by training. The Osemawe & Paramount Ruler of Ondo Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Oba Dr. Victor Adesimbo Kiladejo Jilo III, a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University Medical School in those days of University of Ife, in his welcome address stated expressly that planting of trees at this point in time was for both aesthetic and biological reasons. He stated further that trees "… beautify our surroundings and provide shade, prevent erosion, minimize gaseous emission and enrich the atmosphere". He drew attention to the ameliorating effects of trees in the environment in combating the current menace of global warming and thanked the management team of the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), who were all in attendance, for their unflinching material and expertise support for the tree planting campaign in Ondo Kingdom.

The most fascinating aspect of this event was the cultural distribution of seedlings to traditional Chiefs by category by the Osemawe through Chief (Engr.) Awosika, the Lijoka of Ondo Kingdom. Never in my life had I witnessed such an orderly cultural display juxtaposed on a modern day realization of taking people back to their past for the advantage of their future. That is exactly what tree planting is all about. Each group of Chiefs, many of them octogenarians, danced to the podium in front of the Osemawe in an impressive way and after a few minutes of dancing, the most senior by rank stepped forward to collect a tree seedling from the Osemawe on behalf of his group. He stepped back while others after him received the Osemawe's horsetail whip on their buttocks in turns as they filed away back to their seats. The High Chiefs (Eghae) took the lead, followed by the Brigade of Guards and many other categories of Chiefs up till the Female High Chiefs and Chiefs. Another fascinating aspect of this cultural event was the uniqueness of the drumbeats for each group of Chiefs. Different tunes ushered in different categories of Chiefs. The leader of the female High Chiefs and Chiefs, The Lisa Lobun (High Chief (Mrs.) Mosekunla Fawehinmi), a nonagenarian led the female High Chiefs and Chiefs to the podium with dancing steps that would beat many girls in their teens and twenties arms down in a traditional dancing competition. This confirms that longevity in Ondo Kingdom is assumed to be a right. It was at this event that I understood fully why the demise of Chief Gani Fawehimi in his early seventies last year and Prof. Oladapo in his late seventies earlier this year was perceived in Ondo Kingdom as early deaths. In Ondo Kingdom, life begins at 80.

The most "embarrassing" aspect of this tree-planting event was the collection of tree seedlings by the representative of the only Private University in Ondo, Wesley University of Science and Technology on behalf of all Educational Institutions in Ondo Kingdom. I had thought that this ritual would be for the traditional Chiefs only until when the Lojojo Jama of Ondo Kingdom, a retired Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Prof. A. A. Aderoba) whispered to my ears that it was my turn. I had to dance to the traditional drumming in front of the Osemawe before a tree seedling was handed over to me. Looking back in retrospect, I thank my stars for being part of the tree-planting event, which has always been my position as an academic. The old notion of "plant a seedling when you cut a tree" is now no longer in vogue. The correct slogan should be "Cut a tree and raise a plantation". Nobody says trees should not be felled they should only be felled when they are mature. When a tree is mature, which may take 50 years or more depending on the species, it can no longer serve as Carbon sink because it grows no more. At this stage, it can be felled. But when it is felled, many other seedlings should be raised because it will take each of these seedlings about 50 years to play the ecological role the felled tree played before it became mature.

I congratulate the people of Ondo Kingdom for having such a forward-looking Osemawe-in-Council. The Osemawe himself, a Medical Doctor, graduated from one of the best universities in Nigeria. Now, I know why the Ifa in Yoruba land has stopped picking unlettered and uninformed people as Kings!!!

Prof. Badejo is Vice-Chancellor,
Wesley University of Science and Technology, Ondo. (WUSTO).