Don warns against leaving Yoruba history in hands of politicians,monarchs


 

 


…Says Yoruba history bigger than any royal fathers’ ego, says don

 


A Nigerian-American historian, Prof. Akin Ogundiran, has warned against leaving Yoruba history in the hands of politicians or monarchs, insisting that history is too important to be subjected to personal interests.

Speaking at the Faculty of Arts Distinguished Alumnus Lecture of the University of Ibadan the Cardiss Collins Professor of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University cautioned against leaving history in the hands of politicians or monarchs.

The lecture, which was held at Lecture Room 32 of the faculty, was attended by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, represented by Prof. Solomon Oyetade; senior academics, students, and others.

Ogundiran argued that Ile-Ife, long celebrated as the cradle of Yoruba kingship, did not create divine kingship but only consolidated it.He explained that while Ile-Ife is sacred and historically important, the origins of divine kingship can be traced elsewhere.

The scholar said:“The same way it is wrong to trust the president to be the custodian of history is the same way it is wrong to leave history in the hands of kings. Yoruba history is bigger than the ego of royal fathers. We should not be tolerant of royal rascality.

 “Ile-Ife is not the cradle for divine kingship but the consolidator of the Yoruba divine kingship system of governance. Ile-Ife is not the first place to have divine kingship. If you want to know the origin of divine kingship, I advise you to go to the Igbomina and the old Ekiti kingdom. Ile-Ife was the last but the one who turned it into something else.”

The respected historian explained that the Yoruba identity itself is broad and could not be reduced to a single city.

“The name Yoruba is not only for one group of people but for all Yoruba speakers and Orisha worshipers. We cannot take Yoruba history seriously if we do not study the Orisha.”

He further gave insight into the philosophy of kingship, stressing that Yoruba rulers were regarded as having conquered death.

“People who are kings claim that they already died but are still living. They conquered death. That is why we don’t say Oba ku (the king is dead), but Oba waja (the king has transitioned). The king dies the day he is formatted and becomes king. This is the origin of divine kingship,” he said

On burial rites, he added, “So if a king says he should be buried according to a rite, the question is: is that the rite that made him king?Only then can we say the king is truly dead.”

The historian also defended the Ogboni, dismissing long-held fears about the institution.

“The Ogboni institution is not evil; the reason they are considered evil is because we do not know them,” he said.

Ogundiran proposed the establishment of a Council of Yoruba Historians to safeguard historical truth.

In his remarks, the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Rasheed Olaniyi, lauded the guest lecturer’s scholarship and longstanding commitment to research.

The dean described Ogundiran as an inspiring scholar, recalling their first collaboration in 2005 in honour of Prof. Toyin Falola. 

Olaniyi said: “Prof. Ogundiran has always been an inspiring scholar. We first collaborated 20 years ago in 2005 in honour of Prof. Toyin Falola. Since then, we have been in contact. I am very glad that he accepted our invitation.”

“We are proud of your research methodology, especially the one that takes research findings to the local community. It has promoted community dialogue and archaeological findings’’.

 He added that the Faculty was pleased to present him with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, praising his research methodology that connects findings with local communities and promotes dialogue and archaeological knowledge.

 

 

 

END 

 

 

 

 


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