FOUR leading Nigerians died within three months, each leading to one national debate or the other. Dr Victor Omololu Olunloyo, noted mathematician and former Governor of Oyo State, passed away on April 14, 2025 and the nation mourned him. However, when the iconic Polytechnic, Ibadan was renamed in his honour, it ignited the old debate: must Nigeria tertiary institutions be renamed in honour of the dead?
But then, matters seemed to speed up: within one week from July 7, 2025, three other prominent Nigerians died, each raising subsisting debates.
A people without their customs, language, mores and culture are nothing. Africa will be nothing if all our leaders do is strive to promote the culture of the Europeans and Arabs; religion does not mean the acceptance of the cultures of which ever part of the world it originates.
The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, passed on July 7, 2025. Immediately, there were jubilations. Not in mocking the dead, but celebrating the emergence of his successor, former Oyo State Governor Rasheed Ladoja. In fact, the first indication that Olakulehin had died was the relocation of the traditional palace drummers to Ladoja’s home. Some thought it was insensitive; that, at least, some thought should have been spared for the dead. I am not sure that is how the Ibadan people see it. First, given the long succession route of an Olubadan, only the aged can become one. Olakulehin was 90, and Ladoja is 80. So, the death of an old Olubadan is not only expected but also celebrated for a life long lived.
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Then on Sunday, July 13, 2025, former President Muhammadu Buhari and the revered Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, took their exit, and a flood of controversy swept through the land.
Essentially, in the case of Adetona, it was that he was buried in the tradition of Islam, not in that of the people he had been their traditional ruler for 65 years. To further inflate passions, the group traditionally empowered to carry out the burial ceremony were not only excluded, but were reportedly threatened at gun point not to perform their traditional duties.
A clash of beliefs and traditions was not inevitable. After all, several traditional rulers have passed on since the introduction of Christianity and Islam and, in almost all cases, the wise ways of the people have been allowed to hold sway. But in this case, it was in the face of the peoples’ tradition. It was not only about the burial. The traditional period of announcing the demise of a traditional ruler and, period of mourning, were discarded. Also, where the corpse of a traditional ruler in Yorubaland was treated specially and kept in a special place before burial, that of Adetona was openly paraded. Where the chants at the burial of an Awujale should be in Ijebu language, the chants at the Adetona burial was in Arabic.
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Some argued that he had the fundamental human right to decide how he was to be buried. This is not really correct because after aspiring to be the traditional ruler of the people, and swore to uphold their values and traditions, such decisions have become collective. It was no longer about him, but the people. More so when he was not conscripted to be the Awujale, and for the 65 years he ruled, he was aware of the traditional values of the people. If he knew he could not abide by these, the honourable thing would have been to resign. I am not saying a people’s tradition cannot be reformed, no! What I stand by is that it must not be scrapped in favour of foreign traditions.
The Yorubas, an ever-wise people, have a saying that religion does not mean they would no longer abide by their own traditions.
Christian and Islamic clerics and other religious fanatics who are struggling to become traditional rulers should do well to stay on their lane and not cross to that of traditional leadership. They cannot promise to be good traditional rulers, undergo traditional initiations, collect Local Government allocations, and enjoy the perks of office, and then turn round to desecrate the very traditions of the people.
Hitler’s rise was Germany’s response to the repressive 1919 Treaty of Versailles imposed by its European first cousins. Hitler’s place in history is principally because his axis lost the war and the victorious allies wrote the history. It was not a war for freedom, otherwise the Europeans would still not have held Africans, Asians, Latin Americans, Arabs and other peoples as colonised people decades after World War II. Hitler’s elected government built a solid German economy and provided unprecedented social services for the people.
There is, in fact, this traditional ruler in Western Nigeria who is always making noise about banning traditional beliefs and practices in his ‘domain’. While some put this as fanaticism bordering on lunacy, I think he is merely promoting the religion for pecuniary gains more so when there are governments outside Africa funding the imposition of their brand of religion.
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Our problem in Nigeria is not religion. Traditionally, the African people are not only tolerant of themselves, but also other people. We tend to accommodate all and believe fundamentally that there is no superiority in religion. So, like we say in Nigeria, we must borrow ourselves some sense.
A people without their customs, language, mores and culture are nothing. Africa will be nothing if all our leaders do is strive to promote the culture of the Europeans and Arabs; religion does not mean the acceptance of the cultures of which ever part of the world it originates.
Another controversy that has trailed the Awujale’s demise is his claims that the Ijebu people migrated from Waddai in Sudan. He made this claim as far back as 1983 and whoever has a contrary opinion or fact has had the last 42 years to challenge him or present contrary facts. So, his insistence that the Ijebu people are not necessarily Yorubas is not an issue. Until 130 years ago, the Yoruba nation, as we know it today, did not exist. All nations evolve and it is to the credit of the Yoruba people that they have rapidly evolved in such a short period. So, the attacks on Oba Adetona’s position are unwise.
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Before I forget, please let me raise a major issue about the late President Buhari. There are those who praise him to the high heavens, and those who have a contrary view. There is nothing wrong in people holding contrary views. What I oppose are those who think people should only praise the dead and be silent about whatever shortcomings they perceive. This is crass moralism. Yet, this same class of people still vilify Adolf Hitler 80 years after his death. In truth, the two World Wars were about Europeans fighting to dominate the world, share and exploit colonies.
Hitler’s rise was Germany’s response to the repressive 1919 Treaty of Versailles imposed by its European first cousins. Hitler’s place in history is principally because his axis lost the war and the victorious allies wrote the history. It was not a war for freedom, otherwise the Europeans would still not have held Africans, Asians, Latin Americans, Arabs and other peoples as colonised people decades after World War II. Hitler’s elected government built a solid German economy and provided unprecedented social services for the people.
Therefore, people can acknowledge the successes and failures of the dead. So, let it be with Buhari.
