At times, one encounters certain things that must be accepted as aspects of unalterable reality, things that will not change in spite of one's efforts and cannot be wished away in an imaginary reversal of time.
The best one can do is try to engage with those realities, understand them and perhaps influence them, but dismissing them is a waste of time.
We now have traditional or classical Ogboni, composed of Aborigine, Osugbo and later developments such as the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity and non-traditional and post-classical Ogboni, represented by the Universal Ogboni Philosophy and Spirituality created by Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju, a system of ideas and practices, of thought and action, grounded in particular epistemologies and metaphysics, and integrating other central Yoruba institutions and ideas Ifa, Gelede/ Iyami/Aje through the matrix of the forest/tree/bird cosmos symbolism of Osanyin, deity of the spiritual and biological power of plants.
The linked series of texts ''Developing Universal Ogboni Philosophy and Spirituality : My Journey'' and the blog Opa Osanyin Philosophy, Mysticism and Magic demonstrate these aspirations.
Another such initiative of Adepoju's is his Independent Ifa Spirituality and Philosophy, grounded on perhaps the most comprehensive discussion of Ifa by Ifa scholars, covering the visual and verbal arts, philosophy and spirituality and directed at developing a self initiating do-it-yourself Ifa practice.
Akinwumi Ogundiran, the writer of a book arguing that the concept ''Yoruba'' is best understood, not as an ethnic identification, but as a matrix of ideas and practices developed by various peoples as they migrated from an original location,presents, in the post below this one, what he sees as a critical statement on Adepoju's efforts to put into practice an approach related to the idea his book espouses, Adepoju's adapting and reworking Yoruba thought and culture as dynamic systems rather than as bound to the configurations of their originating contexts.
Let us adapt Ogundiran's thesis as a framework for analyzing his claims about Adepoju's work:
Ogundiran's statements are in italics and quotation marks.
''How can an African scholar, who claims to be working on African epistemology concludes, for example, that he is creating a new school of Ogboni without knowing the practical philosophy of the Ogboni and he is not a member of Ogboni?''
Why do you think that Adepoju's writings do not demonstrate knowledge of the practical philosophy of Ogboni?
Why do you think you need to be a member of Ogboni to be able to make a substantive contribution to Ogboni Studies, talk less construct a new form of Ogboni, if that is the direction your response is going?
''There is literature in Ifa. We all know this. However, to declare on this forum that Ifa is just literature is mindboggling.'' '
Why, with reference to Adepoju's writings on Ifa, do you think Adepoju holds this view?
You may reference his essay on Ifa/Odu in the Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought, 2011 (readable through the ''look inside'' feature on its Amazon page) as well as his online essay, "Cosmological Permutations : Joseph Ohomina's Ifa Philosophy and the Quest for the Unity of Being. "
Why do you hold this view-
''And then to claim that he is now creating his own body of Ifa texts is ---. If he understands how Ifa texts are created, he would have known that such remarks are unserious (and I'm generous here). He can manipulate the Ifa texts to create literature for his pleasure and creative writing, but it will not be called Ifa. Many of us in our high school days adapted the Songs of Solomon to write love poems to our girlfriends- Bọsẹ, Kudi, and Ego, etc.-- but we were not writing a new version of Songs of Solomon. Adepoju has the freedom to rewrite Ifa texts, but he does not have the right to call them Ifa texts.''
What is the process of composing Ifa texts and how does it invalidates Adepoju's efforts?
What factors determine if a composition should be known as ese ifa?
In examining this subject, one needs to distinguish between Adepoju's wholly new ese ifa, inspired by classical models but with content not adapted from existing ese ifa, and hybrid ese ifa in which he expands existing ese ifa.
The completely new ese ifa are better compared with Biblical texts generally, in relation to someone claiming to create completely new Biblical texts.
One may see an example of a such completely new Adepoju ese ifa ''Creating Ese Ifa using Classical Models: Esu and the Problem of how to be Everywhere at Once.''
How would such an issue relate to the manner-as far as is known-in which Biblical texts were composed as well as the manner in which they were selected and fixed in an unalterable canon, keeping in mind that different selections of Biblical texts exist, as I understand?
If ese ifa a closed corpus like the Bible?
You, or perhaps other scholar, have argued for the inadequacy of the word ''corpus'' in relation to African oral texts, on account of their constant expansion, as different from the fixed character associated with a corpus, of which the Bible is a strategic example.
How would such views of the fluidity and dynamism of African oral texts relate to this question?
The Songs of Solomon example relates to Adepoju's expansions of hybrid ese ifa, expanding existing ese ifa.
An example is his ''Iya Agba'' series, a publication of
an original ese ifa, with a commentary - ''Classical Ese Ifa: Igbadu : Odu,the Venerable Old Womanbecomes the Calabash; Orisa Cosmological Narrative with Extensive Commentary''
and the construction of an expanded version based on that original-
Creating Hybrid Ese ifa UsingClassical Models: Igbadu: Odu,the Venerable Old Woman, becomes a Calabash
These are extensive texts, as befitting a pivotal ese ifa at the nexus of the strategic Yoruba institutions central to the cosmological conception of the feminine, Ifa, Ogboni, Iyami/Aje/Gelede.
This other example of hybrid ese ifa by myself is easier to read quickly
Themes in Ese Ifa, Ifa Literature : Courting Women 2 : The Exquisite Woman at Iwo
How should such efforts be seen and why, in the light of the question of varying modes of acceptance of canonical texts by spiritual/religious/knowledge communities and questions of the ontology of the sacred text between human construction and spiritual inspiration, as it is often held of these textual identities?
What factors determine if a composition should be known as ese ifa?
Will you respond carefully to this analysis of your comments or insisting on remaining on an academic and ''Yoruba culture custodian'' high horse''?
It should be clear by now that sweeping condemnations of Adepoju as ''frequently [crossing] into the unserious/charlatan zone because he willfully misuses information derived from rigorous research and heritage of African epistemologies, especially of the Yoruba [demonstrating] superficial hodgepodge [as opposed to] originality [and ] depth [indicating] He needs to learn how to read cultural texts rather than just making things up. Sometimes, his efforts to rework other people's ideas show glimmers of brilliance, but he is not consistent. He digresses and does not stay focused'' [ leading] those who take the spirituality of Ifa seriously [having] the right to question Toyin's motive and sanity''
are no more than ungrounded opinions without justifying why such views are held.
As for the description of my imaginative historical essay as capable of misleading people into thinking its factual history, and therefore belittles a scholarly forum such as this one, you missed the implications of the disclaimer placed as the last line in the piece, in which I stated that someone investigating the claim was unable to find the journal where it is supposed to have been published.
That indicates I was presenting myself as delivering second hand information unverified by anyone, using scholarly conventions of verification of information sources as an imaginative tool.
The construction of fictional history, of seemingly plausible but non-existent historical accounts is used as a means of exploring cultural and historical possibilities as well as of creating frameworks dramatizing ideas.
It is an established field of writing and publishing known as counterfactual history and a Google search for this yields very rich results.
Now that Brother Toyin Adepoju has exposed my very token and private financial contribution to his scholarly pursuit (the kind of money we spend at the pepper soup joint), I will make these brief remarks. I don't always agree with Adepoju's style and substance of scholarship, but I admire his tenacity. I have painfully restricted myself from criticizing him publicly or privately, except one time on this forum. I think I have sent him two emails over the past ten years encouraging his comparative approach/interest in the study of epistemologies. I will do something different today. I will be his admiring critic.
Unlike Olóyè Falola, I will not call Adepoju a genius. He is also not Èṣù (in my opinion). Calling him a genius goes too far and will not help Adepoju. In fact, Adepoju frequently crosses into the unserious/charlatan zone because he willfully misuses information derived from rigorous research and heritage of African epistemologies, especially of the Yoruba. How can an African scholar, who claims to be working on African epistemology concludes, for example, that he is creating a new school of Ogboni without knowing the practical philosophy of the Ogboni and he is not a member of Ogboni? That claim makes him look unserious and disrespectful of an institution that has been changing, adapting (and still adapting), and fragmented for more than a thousand years.
Adepoju wants to be brilliant and wants to be recognized for it, but he often violates the basic rules of humanistic and social science engagements. He is certainly well-read, more than some professors, but this does make him a professor. He knows a little of many things and wants to convert that into expertise. Brilliance does not work that way. Brilliance requires originality, depth, not superficial hodgepodge. Superficiality may work in popular culture and other areas, but not in Yoruba Studies that has a history of rigorous scholarship, massive field ethnography, theoretical reflections in philosophy and art, historical research, etc. Yes, maybe everyone else got it wrong, and Adepoju has now discovered the holy grail. But he is not the beginning of African or Yoruba intellectual tradition. He must submit the process of his discovery to scrutiny for him to be taken seriously. He must explain the research or theoretical framework that leads to his discovery?
Adepoju seeks knowledge and wants to disseminate knowledge. He should also seek understanding that comes with patience, attentiveness, focus, and self-reflection. If not, as a Yoruba proverb says, "the stranger is blind; he can only see with the tip of his nose." Why should Adepoju be a perpetual, non-committed stranger in the epistemological community that means so much to him? He does not need a Ph.D. to be a great scholar, but he needs to master certain disciplines to be effective in comparative cultural studies. He needs to learn how to read cultural texts rather than just making things up. Sometimes, his efforts to rework other people's ideas show glimmers of brilliance, but he is not consistent. He digresses and does not stay focused. There is literature in Ifa. We all know this. However, to declare on this forum that Ifa is just literature is mindboggling. And then to claim that he is now creating his own body of Ifa texts is ---. If he understands how Ifa texts are created, he would have known that such remarks are unserious (and I'm generous here). He can manipulate the Ifa texts to create literature for his pleasure and creative writing, but it will not be called Ifa. Many of us in our high school days adapted the Songs of Solomon to write love poems to our girlfriends- Bọsẹ, Kudi, and Ego, etc.-- but we were not writing a new version of Songs of Solomon. Adepoju has the freedom to rewrite Ifa texts, but he does not have the right to call them Ifa texts. Therefore, those who take the spirituality of Ifa seriously have the right to question Toyin's motive and sanity (though they can't stop him). If that is nativism, as Adepoju alleges, what is he doing with that nativist tradition with history and living cultures? Why should he offend others? Is he not practicing Adepoju-centered nativism? Let me emphasize that Adepoju is free to write anything about Ifa. That does not make him a genius. However, others have the right to question the substance, purpose, and rigor of his writings in as much as he put it out there as the work of a genius.
The other day, Adepoju wrote of a purported archaeological discovery on USA-Africa Dialogue that shows the city of Ile-Ife existed as early as 300 BC. I deleted the garbage from my email. A day later, he claimed that it is fiction. Unfortunately, some people will run with the original posting because that's what they want to believe. He should have included at the end of his original fictional writing that this is a work of Adepoju's imagination. I hope the posting will be amended or deleted from USA-Africa Dialogue. It belittles the platform and the sender. African Studies cannot move forward when the boundary between fact and fiction no longer exists, especially on a scholarly forum like this.
The access to social media and listserves is certainly powerful, and Adepoju and others are using that access very well to promote their thoughts. However, the fact that paper is cheap, and some publishers will publish anything does not mean one should write a book. The same thing applies to writing blurbs or blogs. What is written on a page should worth more than the paper it is printed on. Otherwise, it's all for nothing, which can lead to something dangerous. I encourage Adepoju to consider that there is responsibility in scholarship. Are you here to inform or mislead? My brother, if you choose the former, please live up to it.
Akin Ogundiran
UNC Charlotte
--On Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at 6:51:21 AM UTC-5 toyinfalola wrote:Great ones:
Your humble moderator now has to intervene! I think the direction in which the Ifa argument is going is making me uncomfortable, the inability to accept creativity, the failure to see the Esu in Adepoju---no path is straight, nothing should be concluded. Esu is the god that I have also adopted, and I did the longest book on this unique Yoruba god. All attempts to "kill" Esu (to use the concept of "kill" that Wariboko deploys), has failed.
I discovered Toyin Adepoju—Toyin Adepoju did not discover me! It was when I began to read him—the eclectic nature of his writings, his ability to turn the micro into the macro, his extraordinary talent to tap into the Nino and convert it into the mega, that I sought him out. I seek out people. It is a small contribution to the concept of the "informal" and "people" that Dr. Adeshina Afolayan of the University of Ibadan contributed to this forum that led to my knowing him. I contacted him and said we should meet at Ibadan. This is intellectual leadership. You must seek out people.
First, I thought Toyin Adepoju was a woman. As Adepoju began to talk about the vagina, I thought s/he was a lesbian. His writings can be clueless as to his identity. He can be irascible. And so what? The God of Israel was also temperamental. Blasphemy!
Thinking that he was she, an invitation was extended to him by our Art Dept to come and give a lecture. I wrote to them that I don't think he was she! I did not know how that invitation ended. I reinvited him back to Austin to be part of the Nimi Wariboko conference, but that is another story.
I extended a book contract to him to write on Ifa, as I saw new edges and frontiers in what he was doing. He signed the contract, but he did not deliver. What a shame!
I sought to meet him in person. And we met in Lagos, then at Ibadan. I had lunch with him. He interviewed me. I took him to my pepper soup joint—alas! he does not eat animals.
I advised him to register for a Ph.D. I got him a supervisor. I assured that I would fully fund the Ph.D. I nominated myself as the External Examiner. I had a three-way conversation with his would-be supervisor whom I chose for him. He thanked me and said he is not interested.
We are dealing with a genius whose ways of thinking may be beyond our realms. He may be decades ahead of us in his thinking. In the early 80s, when my talents were unfolding, only one person in the entire University—Professor Olabisi Afolayan—was able to discover it! Only one person. A year after my Ph.D., he asked the University to promote me to a Senior Lecturer. Of course, they refused. But he was the only one who saw my talent.
Let us see Adepoju as a genius, cultivate him, promote him, and see where we all land. Where he wants to convert an opportunity into money, we must back off.
For all those who are quick to criticize others, Adepoju is not my friend. The day I told Adeshina that Nimi Wariboko is not my friend; he was in shock. Moses Ochonu is not my friend. I worship talents where I see them. Even if Nimi or Moses abuse me, it is of no effect. I am manifesting my personality to locate extraordinary talents. Should they abuse me, they are displaying their own character flaws.
In the words of the Zulu, "I have spoken!"
Continue with your debates.
Stay well.
TF
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