The Ìjèsà are on the brink of making a history. It is a great opportunity to make a seismic change for the progress of Ijesa land. It is another fantastic opportunity to set Ijesa land on the path of greatness that she has always desired, and genuinely worked towards. The Ìjèsà have seen how a money-miss-road charlatan has brought disgrace to a reputed and dignified throne. We must not make the same mistake.
This is a golden chance to recalibrate and adjust what has been observed to be our Achilles heels and rectify them. Our forefathers had posited that “Ogbón ológbón kìí jé kí a pe àgbà ní wèrè.” The Ìjèsà have seen in another clime, what an avoidable mistake could cause. The Ìjèsà must avoid at all costs the tragedy of a phony on the stool of Owá Obòkun Àdìmúlà of Ìjèsà Land, as witnessed in other climes.
As the Ìjèsà get ready to choose a new Owá Obòkun Àdìmúlà of Ìjèsà land, there is need for sincerity, and unity of purpose. The Ijesa must be propelled by the shared love and patriotism for their land. The Afobajes and the leaders must avoid any mistake. They must be true to Elédùmarè, their creator, and the future of Ìjèsà people. It is easier to isolate exactly the traits and qualities the Ijesa are in search of so that the next ruling house in line, would know what sort of candidate to present.
The Ìjèsà must avoid a money miss-road. A corrugated character that would be a source of constant anxiety to the people, must be avoided like a plague. The throne of Owá Obòkun Àdìmúlà should not be given to the highest bidder. It should not be for sale. Money, they say, is the root of all evils. But we all know that without money, nothing could be accomplished. However, it could not and should not be the determinant of who becomes the next Owá Obòkun Àdìmúlà. The consequences of such a mistake are better imagined. Rather, the character of the choice must be at the forefront.
The next Owa Obokun Adimula should not be an emergency “Prince,” just discovering himself. Not the one who woke up to discover that the stool is vacant, and he should occupy it. The “prince” candidate must have been part of us and all the developments going on in Ijesa land. He must be well known at least fairly, to cross sections, and strata of Ìjèsà people. Though, this is not a democracy, it is of limitless value to have a monarch that is well received, loved and appreciated by the people. He must have identified with our struggles in Ìjèsà land. A Johny Just Come (JJC) would be disastrous. Simply because anyone is a “Prince” does not mean that the throne is just for the take for him.
The next Owá Obòkun Àdìmúlà must be able to speak our Ìjèsà dialect very fluently. It is very important. It is a variable to show that he is really one of us. That he identifies with us. That he understands us. That he would be more than likely share our dreams, aspirations and would work with us to achieve them. Speaking the dialect has special effects on one’s disposition to Ìjèsà land.
The Ìjèsà do not want an Owá Obòkun Àdìmúlà that has stayed away in London or the USA for so long that he has been emotionally detached from the culture and traditions of Ìjèsà people. There should be no room for a “Tokunbo” king. He would be more or less, a foreign Owá Obòkun, and the Ìjèsà people would not be enamoured by that. Such a “Prince” would bring discord, disunity and crisis to Ijesa land. It would create distrust and stagnate the progress in Ìjèsà land. The choice of such a misnomer would set back Ìjèsà land for another five decades.
The trajectory of a “Prince” candidate must be thoroughly examined. The Ìjèsà do not want an embarrassment. They do not want a conman. The do not want anyone whose means of livelihood is questionable. They do not want someone that is insatiably greedy. They do not want a disgrace. Though, it might be difficult to put a handle on this, the trajectory of such a person would be very instructive. The personality, the carriage, the moral orbit, the dignity and integrity of the choice must have authentic and time proven attestations.
The Ìjèsà do not want an irresponsible, money miss-road Prince, whose integrity the Ìjèsà could not vouch for, who has no self-dignity, who thinks money is the only thing that matters. The Ìjèsà do not want an Owá that would be at ease to subvert the moral values of our milieu and exploit the office for untoward ends that would cause the people of Ìjèsà land a consternation.
What is needed is a “prince” who knows how to be king. Who is very conscious of the expectations of Ìjèsà people. Not the kind of a king that lacks self-respect, arid of dignity, barren of integrity, reckless and feckless, goes to undignifying parties, shakes the hand of every jack and jick, and would not stay in his palace. The new Owá would not be a prisoner but would not frivolously grace jejune occasions.
This is the opportunity to clean the Augean stable of Ìjèsà monarchy, restore the essence of royalty, sustain the dignity of the throne, imbue the stool with needed integrity, and make the Ijesa all over the world a proud people.
©Bobagunwa Remi Oyeyemi.
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