The Autobiography of Oba Sikiru Adetona

 

Awùjalè:

Why I Championed The Rights Of Obas To Be Buried According To Their Faith.

"No matter is too small or large or sacred that we can not discuss and reach a decision upon. A clear example is the burial of Obas. 

In years past, when an Oba died, the Eketa Odi, his closest servant, was sacrificed. 

The Eketa Odi served the Oba in his private chambers, and his loyalty had to be absolute. 

To safeguard the Oba, if the Oba died, the Eketa Odi also had to go. 

This death tie made it suicidal for the Eketa Odi to be disloyal. 

The Odis, who were servants, were slaves. When an Oba died, they took charge of the corpse; they vented their anger and bitterness on the carcass and mutilated the body. It became the custom. 

I thought deeply about this. Although this treatment of an Oba might have held in the past, I thought it was barbaric to retain it. 

It is people who create traditions. 

It is in the interest of the community that traditions that do not fit into the modern age should be jettisoned. 

This is made very clear in our Constitution. Tradition has to be dynamic.

 

Murder in any form is unacceptable. If we want decent people in the position of Obas, we have to preserve that institution and make it decent and more meaningful for good people to 

be part of it.

It is not uncommon for some good people to run away from taking office when there is a vacancy because of  their perceived views of some aspects as being highly offensive, particularly at the death of  an Ọba.

Furthermore, slavery is long gone, and it is unconstitutional to kill, yet the notion still remains as a myth that people are sacrificed following the death of a modern Oba. 

I took the matter for an open discussion to the Ijebu Traditional Council in 1980. On 28 May 1980, it was resolved that henceforth, Obas in Ijebuland should be buried according to their religious beliefs, but without prejudice to the rights of any Chief, groups, and associations that may be entitled to any customary gifts.

Even after this resolution, the perception of the anachronistic disposal of the corpse of an Oba still remained. 

And so 17 years afterward, the Ijebu Traditional Council convened a larger meeting comprising, this time, not only the Obas, but the Otunbas, the Chiefs, the Bishops, the Imams, the Òṣùgbós, the Pámpas, Ìlámùréns, the academics, representatives of various Ijebu communities and various interest groups. 

They all numbered over two thousand that turned up for a meeting at the Aafin on 31 March 1997 to openly discuss the burial of their Obas. 

This open meeting was widely reported by The Guardian of 5 April 1997, and we resolved as follows: 

a. That henceforth and without prejudice to traditional gifts to those who may be traditionally entitled to such gifts, Obas should be buried according to their religious belief, wish or as may be decided by their families.

b. That the children of Obas be allowed to perform memorial services or other social ceremonies after the demise of an Oba. 

By passing this resolution, I think we have moved on and modernised our traditional system, although there are still instances where some families are harassed when the Oba dies.

It is more a matter of extortion than a desire to revert to the past.

There are also cases where the family of the Obas, through lack of funds, abandon the body to the community. 

My view on this is that the Local Government or the State Government should statutorily make specified funds available for the burial of an Oba. We must not go back to the past. 

I have attempted to galvanise Ijebuland through our Obas.

An Oba is a symbol of unity and continuity. 

They have all become rallying points of our people."

Culled from Awujale: The autobiography of Oba SK Adetona, GCON at pages 212-214