Of Awujale Adetona’s religious beliefs and monarchical heresy

The recently demised Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona Ogbagba II is assumably resting in the bosom of his creator, far from the hustle and bustle of telluric vanities. While alive, he lived life to the hilt. Was crowned an Oba as a young man in his twenties who was brought back from England where he was studying after the death of his predecessor in 1959.

Ostensibly, he was as at death, the longest reigning traditional ruler of his time having reigned for sixty-five years, dying at age 91.

In all ramifications, Awujale Adetona achieved a lot, earning the respect of high and mighty including the hoi polloi amongst his people. But for his later years anti-culture/tradition activism, he did well for himself.

At death, he was one of the most respected monarchs in the political entity called Nigeria, hailing from the Yoruba ethnic group. He was a traditional ruler with socio-political influence; largely known for being courageous, principled and with perceived integrity as attested to by the applause heaped on him by notable people, including incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

Doubtful if the people of Ijebu Ode will be blessed with such an influential monarch as successor to the man within the nearest future. Time shall tell.

Whatever accolades Adetona might have garnered, such were diminished by his failure to protect, to his last days on earth, his primary responsibility of being the repository of his people and communities’ customs and traditional heritage.

He lived a kingship life but was unfortunately unroyally buried. Adetona was a jolly good fellow king who in the late seventies was too steep in dangerous political maneuvering akin to traditional rulers of that era. This nearly cost him his throne during the second republic. But for the Buhari/Idiagbon coup of December 31st, 1983, he would have said goodbye to the throne over forty years ago.

The twilight of Awujale Adetona’s life as traditional ruler was marred with culture-traditional chaos—akin to being wise after the fact. His mind became colonially colonised. He lost touch with socio-cultural and traditional realities.

Otherwise, how can one describe his vehement insistence before death that his burial rites must be devoid of long entrenched royally cultural/traditional rites by the Odis of Ijebu-Ode in tandem with ancient Ijebuland and Yoruba kingship history.

Being a Muslim from birth that embraced Yoruba Kingship tradition early in life, he dithered by jettisoning culture/tradition that he was meant to protect leading to his being buried not royally but in line with Islamic rites.

And being an Oba while alive, this has set a bad precedent for trado-cultural kingship reverence in Yoruba land. Yes, Adetona as an individual had the preferential legal rights on how he should be buried at death but as an Oba with customary obligations, he had abdicated such wishful rights that ran contrary to established customary traditional rites. If he had wished any contrary to the latter like he had done, he should have long relinquished the throne of his forefathers he occupied in trust before his death.

Like it is said in law, Awujale met the condition precedent of his Yoruba traditional contractual obligations for becoming an Oba in 1960 but jettisoned the condition subsequent at death in 2025 by insisting his dead body’s insulation from traditional processes. Even in contemporary times, most Christian Obas including their Muslim counterparts, are relegating traditional rites because of their religious beliefs. The question is: Why take up traditional rulership mantle with modus/rites that contradicts their supposed foreign religious beliefs?

More posers: Can religious beliefs override traditional engagements/duties of traditional rulers freely entered into? Is it right for traditional rulers to be more catholic than the Pope on issues of religious beliefs that are against traditional teachings? As traditional rulers, are they not supposed to be worshippers of, and custodians of all their existing ethnic ancient religions? These rhetorical questions become necessary because even in England where Christianity is well entrenched, the world has witnessed traditional rites unknown to Christian doctrines routinely performed before and after the coronation of their king/queen and even at their death.

The entire world saw the Britons bring an ancient ‘stone’ and sacrificial ‘goat’ into the church while performing royal rites for outgoing and incoming queen/king respectively.

To the foreign religion hypnotised black traditional rulers of Nigeria and Africa, that British culture/tradition symbolises satanism. But to the Britons that symbolises Christianity, that is their own culture/tradition to be showcased to global audience with glee, irrespective of their religious beliefs.

The religious hypocrisy of kings like late Awujale Adetona and other living cohorts against Yoruba culture/tradition lack principled historical antecedents. Awujale Adetona should have abdicated his throne at the point he considered Islam to be more important than the culture and tradition of his people. An historical precedent on the honourable path to toe when as an King there is a clash between personal convictions and culture/tradition was laid at the epochal December 1936 moment when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne of England in preservation of the age-long Anglicanism view on divorce; particularly as it affects remarriage by incumbent English monarch that also doubles as the customary head of the Church of England.

Background check by yours sincerely shows that King Edward VIII of England had fallen in love with one Wallis Simpson, a two-time America divorcee. The widespread unwillingness to accept Wallis Simpson as the King’s consort and the King’s insistence on marrying her led to his honourable consequential decision to abdicate the throne to go with the love of his life, and preserve the age-long culture/tradition integrity/reverence of the throne of his forefathers.

This kind of principled honourable decision is what Awujale Adetona shied away from while alive. The current Oluwo of Iwo and needlessly controversial king, Oba AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi, who relishes being more Islamic than the Arabs is denigrating the culture/tradition of his forefathers and Yoruba land when he should have honourably abdicated the throne to pursue the tenets of his beloved faith.

Even more recently, during the funeral obsequies of demised Pope Francis in Rome, we all watched masquerade-like figures inside the Vatican church conducting their rites devoid of any hullabaloo. To the original Catholics in the Vatican, that is their culture and tradition that no external influence can take away from them. But to the Catholic black man, that to them is erroneously satanic.

However, it is curious and laughable to see some of our Obas including late Awujale Adetona trying to hypocritically annihilate our traditional rulership culture and traditions simply because of their foreign religions that promised them ‘heaven’ through scriptural teachings. Yours sincerely believes that only good conscience manifesting in fair and humane dealings with fellow humans are the surest bet to sliding through the gate(s) of heaven. Praying five times a day or sleeping in churches are obviously no sure guarantees of making heaven.

What late Adetona and other living Obas with this culturally destructive mindsets have forgotten is that cultural values and traditions are the core principles and ideals upon which an entire community exists. Without these cultures and traditions, they can’t, in the first place, be an Oba and still enjoy the reverence/courtesies being extended to them. Put differently, kingship is a creation of tradition. Jettisoning tradition for foreign religions by monarchs invalidates the basis for the throne on which they sit.

Collectively, it is undeniable that these localised values have shaped our behavior, identity and worldview, passed through generations and playing crucial role in maintaining societal cohesion and stability, including sustenance of the kingship institutions.

To all culturally abhorrent traditional rulers under the guise of affirming any imported religions, let it be known that our culture and traditions should forever live in our hearts, souls and conduct. It is somewhat regrettable that this traditional rulership infiltrations by foreign minded religious Obas is gradually killing the traditional values upon which our Yoruba ethnic group is predicated today.

To all foreign religions’ influenced Obas in Ijebu-Ode extending to Iwo, Ogbomoso and other parts of Yoruba land that are misbehaving as if preserving our traditional cultures and traditions is satanic and antithetical to showing respect for their adopted religions, time to have a rethink or abdicate their traditional thrones is now.

Now globally proven that local cultures, traditions and religions of a people have nothing against their mental and scientific abilities and development. Unequivocal examples against our colonised kings’ minds are Japan, Korea, Singapore, Israel, China and others with local religions, cultures and traditions that have propelled them to technological advancement and economic prosperity. Despite Christianity and Islam addictions by our Obas, most criminalities and pilfering of nation’s natural resource endowments happen in their backyards while they look the other way. Our Obas can maintain religious diversity without compromising our own cultural identity and value chains.

All culturally aberrant traditional rulers must also know that from time immemorial, our cultures and traditions, when effectively practiced, have prevented our societies from sliding into anomie. They have helped in preserving discipline among the Yoruba households.

Our foreign religions indoctrinated Obas should realise that cultural values, passed down through generations, are known to play a crucial role in maintaining social cohesion and stability. Awujale betrayed the cultural trust reposed in him by Ijebu people and by extension Yoruba people-at-large.

Henceforth, any prince from ruling households in Yoruba land that feels that foreign religions are superior to our culture and traditions should not be considered for traditional stools and those Obas with such contradictory beliefs should honourably abdicate the thrones of their ancestors or be deposed without hesitation if they fail to do so.

•Sanusi, former MD/CEO of LASAA is managing partner of Lagos State based AMS RELIABLE SOLICITORS