The feudal lords in Kwara State are insatiable. That couldn’t have been in doubt. It’s neither today nor yesterday. And they won’t be satiated tomorrow. Not even in the farthest future.
It’s one long, odd story we are contending with. Embedded in our ugly history. Disgusting! It’s part of the Fulani hegemony. The dastardly handiwork of the weird northern oligarchs.
They detest wearing the prestigious age-long Yoruba crown. It nauseates them. They throw up uncontrollably when they see crown-wearing Yoruba Obas. We wonder why they feel insecure.
But not with their turban. They are perfectly at home with it. No qualms. Let it stop at that. Forcing it on the head of an Oduduwa Oba is sickening. Repulsive. It must not be allowed to continue.
To the Yoruba, the crown is the ultimate. And the stool is sacred, never to be desecrated. No Yoruba son or daughter jokes with it. No matter their status, no matter where they are.
Whenever they see one. They’re convinced a kabiyesi (king) is in sight. And are ready to accord the wearer the homage he deserves. The instinct is there. Any other is completely alien to them.
And the very reason the oligarchs detest Yoruba crowns with great passion. It’s appalling to their queer psyche and irritating to their warped senses.
They opt not to see the richness we cherish in our culture. Different strokes! We do not share the same societal values. We are poles apart.
But we, the proud owners of this rich heritage, don’t care a hoot. Whatever they choose to embrace is never our responsibility. They’re at liberty to walk the gospel truth on its head. We stick to our guns. We remain closely knitted to our values. We stand on our “Omoluabi” mantra.
These feudal lords want none of that. They are in their weird world of fantasy, delusion and illusion. They pretend a great lot. They struggle to stick to their deadly guns. What a subjugation mantra.
The animosity is deep-rooted, deep-seated. It is age-long. There’s no pretence and no make-believe. Stories, long tales about the enmity were passed down to generations.
In the 70s and 80s, two main characters dominated Kwara State politics. The faces: Chief Josiah Sunday Olawoyin and Dr. Olusola Saraki. They vividly represented two opposing camps.
They never hid their inclinations. Feudalism was the contending issue. And still the matter. Olawoyin vehemently stood up to it. He confronted it headlong. Giving it close marking. Saraki stoutly queued behind it. Fuelling it. Thwarting every step to dismantle feudalism.
The duo stuck to their varied guns until death did them part. Olawoyin died at 75, Tuesday, October 10, 200. Saraki refused to follow suit until after 12 years. He did it at 79, Wednesday, November 2012.
Effectively and efficiently. Olawoyin led the resistance against Fulani hegemony. And we’re proud of the manner he executed the battle. It was the fight of his life. He was always there for us.
He didn’t feign his intentions. He fought the northern oligarchs with all his might. He took the war to their enclave in Kaduna. And was a regular variously detained in Sokoto, Jos, etc.
Olawoyin was an untainted Awoist. He was cajoled, lured, lobbied. But they never broke him. Not even for once. He stood in for us on the platform of the Action Group (AG) in 50s and 60s. He was member, defunct Northern House of Assembly, Kaduna, 1956 to 1961.
He did same without wavering with the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). The off shoot of AG; 1979 to 1983 in the Second Republic. He was UPN governorship flag bearer in 1979.
He showed the feudalists the hard stuff he was made of. He was tough on them. He never spared them in his electioneering. He had unkind words for them. We knew it was the very reason he lost the election. The feudal lords supervised and ensured he lost.
Olusola Saraki prized himself to be the arrowhead of the feudalists. He was a latecomer. We, perhaps, began to notice him in the mid-70s. During the build-up to the 1979 general elections.
He was the focus of Ilorin politics in the 1976 non-party local government election. He used the LG polls to position himself for future onslaught.
After that election, he became the undisputed face of the feudal lords. And he carried that to the general elections of 1979. A staunch member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). And got the post of Senate Leader to the bargain.
He was the arrowhead of the feudal lords. He, too, did not fail to play his part as he deemed fit. He led the opposing camp, to the greatest delight of his cohorts.
He claimed Fulani blood in him. He impressed on whoever cared to hear him out. That his fathers travelled down from Mali. Always on the forefront. Striving to promote Fulani hegemony.
This pompous domineering mentality has not stopped. The war mongering blood still flows in their veins ceaselessly. That’s what is playing out in Jebba.
Jebba is almost a stone throw away from Oyo-Ile, the headquarters of the Old Oyo Empire. It speaks volumes. That explains its deep Yoruba roots. It isn’t a make-up. It’s real. It’s original. Take it or drop it.
It must not be lost on us. These funny species don’t give up. That’s their strength: resilience. And they are at work again. Theirs is a world of bondage and slavery.
Now. Let’s remind them. Slave trade officially ended in 1807. A few centuries ago. Africa had its last dose of it in 1900.
This is what greedy feudal lords are reincarnating in Jebba. They are striving hard to bring it back. It must not be allowed to go away. They reason in their awkward minds.
Jebba is north of Kwara State. It’s unique and uncommon in some interesting ways. It is divided into near equal two by River Niger. The northern section is Niger State.
Its southern part is below the Niger in Kwara State. It is predominantly Yoruba. The reason the Oba wears his coveted crown with great joy and pride. He is not perturbed by the irritations from the rampaging feudal lords.
And that is what exasperates the oligarchs in the state. They detest it with deep passion and pent-up anger. They are forever in excruciating pain over it.
They will continue to flex muscles and play God. It’s their deadly stock in trade since 2003. Twenty-one solid years ago! Jebba is their target, the ultimate. And they are deploying all the strength they can muster.
It is Jebba or nothing. It’s a task they insist must be achieved. By hook or crook. The end justifies the means. That is the dangerous singsong they’re mouthing with all recklessness.
You would be dazed and dazzled, why this is coming up now. Their intention is never in doubt: Domination! They are still living in times past. They won’t let go their old mentality.
Their picking on Jebba is strategic. They cannot tolerate a Yoruba Oba. At their boundary with their dear North! That’s unacceptable to them. Their domineering mind-set can’t accommodate that.
That made Oba Abdulkadir Alabi Adebara, the Oba of Jebba, latest prey. It sums up his on going plight. For being daring, fearless carries a price. He’s denied his 21 years’ salaries and emoluments.
The feudal lords are really out to devour him. Because; he picked a crown. Not a turban. His tale is classical and tragic. This injustice forced Oba Adebara out of his comfort zone. He refused to be cajoled. He won’t be subdued either.
He didn’t need to do this himself. The lot fell on the Eesa of Jebba, High Chief, Jaiyeola Omotoso. Reliable and trusted. He too damned the consequences. He was very much aware of the raging wolves. He didn’t care a hoot. He merely lay the naked facts bare:
“Oba Adebara was appointed Oba of Jebba, of Third Class status, on May 16, 2003, by the late Governor Muhammed Alabi Lawal.
“In 1983, Oba of Jebba was graded third class by the late Governor Adamu Attah. The grading was, however, withdrawn in 1984 by the military regime of the late Group Captain Salawu Latinwo, ostensibly to please the feudal lords.
“Again in 2002, the late Governor Muhammed Alabi Lawal restored the grading of the Oba of Jebba and subsequently appointed the incumbent monarch when the stool became vacant, only for Dr. Bukola Saraki to withdraw it again upon his assumption of office as governor to appease the feudal lords.”
He delivered an urgent message to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq. He should interrogate the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; “by questioning the commissioner over his role in this subterfuge.”
Reason: “Even the reminder written by Oba of Jebba, dated December 18, 2023, on the subject matter has had no effect.”
The Jebba community is furious. It implores Abdulrazaq to implement the two previous court judgments. One: “Immediate constitution of a separate traditional council for Moro LG.”
Two: “Immediate upgrading of the stool of Oba of Jebba to First class status in line with his contemporaries of 1983, e.g. Elese of Igbaja, Olosi of Osi, Olupako of Share, Etsu Tsaragi, etc.”
Where’s fairness here? Obviously, it is deep in slumber. Nowhere to be found: “Even stools that were not graded by 1983 are now First Class, e.g. Emir of Okuta, Emir of Yashikira, Emir of Ilesha Baruba, etc., in the interest of justice, equity and fairness.”
All of them are now emirs. They never existed before. They’re latter-day stools. Created at the whims and caprices of the feudal lords. Tin gods in their small minds.
They beat their fleshy chest. And in arrogance called into being what had never been. It’s sacrilegious! They keep expanding the Fulani “empire.” What abomination! What crude audacity!
This shouldn’t be. It must not be made to stand a second further. Kwara is not Fulani state in any sensible sense. It’s primary ethnic group is Yoruba.
And we’re bold to say this loud and clear. It accommodates significant Bupe, Bariba and Fulani minorities in that order.
It is demeaning enough. To impose Emir of Ilorin on Kwara State Traditional Rulers Council. And insist he must be its permanent chairman. It’s baffling and puzzling.
It can’t be reasonably explained. Yet. They want to hold on to that and expand their emirate. That expansionist policy is still boiling in them.
A quick reminder: The state was originally and appropriately christened West Central State. That was at its creation in 1967. The agents of feudalism couldn’t stomach it.
They protested to the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon. And got it re-christened Kwara State. “Kwara” is Nupe name for big river, referring to River Niger.
This must sink, and sink deep. They must let Kwara State be. Yes. The state must progress in peace and unity. Where no one will be oppressed. Their wishful thinking must remain a nightmare to them. It’s still our increasing yearnings for restructuring, reset.
In essence. Jebba is historically a Yoruba community. And Oba is its traditional ruler. That is its definite link with its root: Ile-Ife.
It refuses to change its proud identity under any guise. And not for the biblical pot of porridge.
Jebba is it! Yesterday, today and tomorrow.