Ascending the throne of the forefathers, as it is traditionally framed, is hardly ever straightforward among the Yorubas, even back in the day, even where ascendancy is linear and should ordinarily be straightforward.
The process of appointment is sometimes visited by intrigues threatening to torpedo what was hitherto taken as settled.
But it is what it is. I doubt that becoming Igbakeji Orisa was ever meant to be easy-peasy. It appears that there is an in-built friction into the process of transfiguration, man becoming spirit.
There is always that tinge of controversy, which has taken on different forms since colonisation and the post-colonial reconfigurations that have redefined the place of the traditional rulers, and everything about it. Afterall, the position has now been rendered subordinate to the ‘democratic’ system, with traditional rulers’ reporting line running through the local government.
The journey to demystification which started with the colonialists continued into the first Republic, with the institution getting caught up in the spoke of the politics of that era. So was it in the Second Republic. Soon enough, the process had become intricately interwoven with politics, with political leaders now playing outsized roles in who emerges or stays on the throne.
But beyond all that is the rebirth in the traditional process through which the Oba emerges. It became more difficult to tell between Ifa and the Afobajes who was doing what. If we have to defer to Ifa, it had to be that Ifa had started paying attention to other factors beyond what we would think would ordinarily be of interest to deity.
Or could it be that Ifa had begun to pay more attention to the size of the pocket, political connection or social status of aspirants, with a rash of appointments across the land that kept people wondering what must have been on the mind of Ifa, if indeed those choices emanated from the deity.
The truth is that, at some point, communities (The Elite) began to pay more attention to the educational/social/financial status of the aspirants to the throne, looking at having Gbajumos as Obas for reasons of prestige, brand equity and as a means of bringing in ‘development’ to the community.
That might have given birth to a culture of ‘armtwisting’ Ifa to give to the people what they want. After all, the voice of the people who matter is the voice of the gods.
If you pay close(r) attention to the ruckus around the robust interest by the Oluaye Fuji and Olori Omo Oba Akile Ijebu, King Wasiu Olasunkanmi Ayinde Adesanya Marshal in the vacant title of the Awujale, you will realise that what is at stake is beyond what is being let out.
Beyond the genealogical gymnastics and legalese that has attended is the unspoken message evident in the body language of the Elite. Easy to tell that there is steely determination more in the direction of who doesn’t become than who becomes. And that is understandable.
Ifa might have gone liberal, acquiescing to demands to nod on the direction of the Gbajumos, but communities are beginning to look around, asking questions now. They look at Iwo, asking questions. They look at…, asking questions.
How liberal should Ifa bend on these matters? Has Ifa become so liberal to look favourably in the direction of Alagbe when it comes to the throne? Has music been truly accepted in traditional circles as an endeavour befitting of the ‘serious’ minds? The answer is there in the unspoken words.
It is a rules-based order, no doubt.. Rules matter. But rules only matter when it aligns with what ‘people’ truly want, or do not want. Patrilineal or matrilineal, as long as there is precedence and proven connection, the rules can always find a way to accommodate.
There are instances where rules have been rewritten, revised, reinterpreted or outrightly set aside in the past, just to accommodate k-legs.
But in the case at hand, perhaps it is more than k-legs. The matrilineal family tree is struggling in terms of alignment. Perhaps if he was leaning on the patrilineal leg, it just might have been a stronger stand. Dual lineage, even if established is a plus as it is a minus. As they say, if you want to be Osaka, be Osaka, and if it is Osoko, be Osoko. To want to be Osaka-Osoko is quite a tricky proposition.
But who knows for sure how it will end though.
As I argued on Fatai’s page, positions taken on this matter have largely been coloured, for many, not necessarily by facts or rights, but by predispositions and assumptions that might neither be right nor true.
There is the issue of legality, but some men are sworn to their positions on reasons not necessarily legal.
But even if he finds favour with the law, that it is lawful might not necessarily make it expedient.
He has done well, given where he is coming from, to have bootstrapped his way up to the point where he is able to shake up the system as he has done.
He has to be mindful of the fact that he comes with an enormous reputational baggage not that easy to shake off.
The courage he has shown in being able to stand, in the face of massive odds is worthy of commendation.
Standing down now might better serve him. Who knows, it might even serve as a pedestal for him to stand upon in the future.
Who knows though?
Is he not supposed to be Afidipotemole?
Who knows?
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