News

Alaafin Owoade: Thy Bata Drum Is Sounding Too Loudly (2)

Published

2 months ago

May 16, 2025

Editor

Tunde Odesola

With three horizontal lines on each side of his mulatto cheeks complementing the three vertical lines on his forehead, the abaja tribal marks beautifying the face of Adejuyigbe Adefunmi were not sculpted in the heart of Yorubaland, they were incised in the United States of America, when the prince was eight days old.

His father, Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I, who founded Oyotunji, an African village near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina, joined his ancestors on February 11, 2005, after living for seven decades and six years.

Oba Adefunmi I embarked on the journey to the great beyond after decades on the throne, bestowing a legacy of Yoruba cultural reawakening. His son and successor, Oba Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II, was the 19th among 23 children, all of whom were born to Efuntola in the polygamous family he ran in the US.

Tragically, the successor Oba Adefunmi II succumbed to multiple knife injuries inflicted by his elder sister, Akiba Kasale Meredith, 53, on Monday, July 29, 2024, after the village celebrated Sango festival the previous Saturday and Sunday.

But, in a viral video recorded years before his death, the 47-year-old Oba Adefunmi II, spoke with pride about the vision and enduring relevance of Oyotunji, saying, “Oyotunji African Village is one of its kind in North America today. It’s the only African village with a king, king’s wives, with chiefs, a school, a library and all of those good things. Oyotunji was configured to be a monastery of sorts for the reconfiguration, restoration, and, of course, researching our traditional African culture. We’re descendants of West Africa. Of course, as we know, people without a culture are lost.”

He continued, “The future of Oyotunji remains relevant in that we continue to educate, we continue to cater to all of those who are soul-searching, looking for their ancestors and who they are. By coming to Oyotunji, you can get a snapshot of how our ancestors lived before. You are going to get a splash of Africa in one day, from the cuisine to the dancing, the drumming, the atmosphere, and the heat from the sun is really reminiscent of Africa.

“Our gates are always open to people to come and we offer them spiritual services. We do not practice a religion, we practice a culture, and that’s why we want people to know about Oyotunji, and you can be a part of this culture.”

In an interview published in The PUNCH, on April 15, 2017, the young ruler of the village, which sits on 27 acres, said Oyotunji, over the years, had been sustained by God and the selfless commitment of villagers.

His words, “Our forefathers and mothers were the ones who pulled their small resources together to get the land and the rest was up to Eledumare. We had the men in the village who were the builders and the women in the village were the protectors of the village and the children were the future. There was no funding from the government, Africa or Europe. We utilised our African culture to create income, so Oyotunji became a tourist destination.”

On the origin of tribal marks in the community, the king explained, “The tribal marks began in Oyotunji in 1975. Each person in Oyotunji began to receive tribal marks. I received my ila oju (tribal marks) when I was eight days old, just before the isomo loruko (naming ceremony). Men and women receive them. However, today, it is not mandatory as it was. Now it is up to the parents and children if they want to receive them. Today, many adults are coming to us to receive tribal marks but I tell them we don’t do it when you are old because it is very painful.

“As a child, it is just like circumcision. It is the child’s first cut in the community. When you bleed, they put ewé (leaves) and àsè (traditional powder). When those things are put, they make you powerful. We chose to bear marks similar to the Oyo people because my father was so mystified by the Oyo Empire. I don’t think there has been an empire like that since and that is why he named the village after Oyo. As we know, Oyo was the political capital of the Yoruba people while Ile-Ife is the spiritual capital of the Yoruba race.”

Oba Adefunmi II also spoke about how his father became king. The title was not self-proclaimed, he emphasised, recalling that the people of Oyotunji made his father king in 1972 when they felt the village needed a leader.

“Some of our descendants were stolen and taken to America but my father always knew that he had royal blood. It was not until 1972 when the people of Oyotunji after 20 years of Yoruba culture development, realised that my father should become a king. My father did not make himself a king, he was just the builder and constructor. One day, the people woke up and decided to make him king…They told him to sit down and said that from that day, there was no more work for him and he would become the ruler of the village,” he said.

Explaining how Oyotunji drew its spiritual legitimacy from Ile-Ife, Oba Adefunmi II recalled his father’s visit to Nigeria in 1981 for the Orisa World Conference, and how Ooni Okunade Sijuwade made his father king.

Adefunmi said, “My father visited Ile-Ife on November 16, 1981 for the Orisa world conference held at the University of Ife. Meanwhile, Oyotunji had been in existence for about 11 years while the Yoruba culture movement had been in existence in North-America for about 20 years. Baba came to the conference and Oba Sijuwade was there.”

According to Adefunmi, Oba Sijuwade was impressed when his father showed pictures and slides of Oyotunji on a projector, saying this prompted the paramount ruler to invite his father, along with all the dignitaries that attended the conference, to a reception inside the palace.

“During the reception, he (Ooni) surprised my father by singling him out and he told his kingmakers to take him to the back (of the palace). (There,) my father said they sacrificed a goat to the Ada Oba Akogun (the sword), and the Ooni consecrated it by saying that from that day forward, he (Efuntola) would be the king of all the Yoruba in North America. This was the second coronation for my father. He then received his official status from the Source of the Yoruba kingdom. Baba came back to the United States with that and began to expand the royal family, the crowns, royal insignia, and the Yoruba culture, but this time with the spiritual backing of the source,” he said.

For any Yoruba king to fight over the control of Oyotunji is tantamount to the parable of ‘Eni ri n kan e’ – ‘someone who finds a prized jewel and is dying out of excitement over his find; what should the one that lost the jewel do?’

Oyotunji means ‘Oyo has risen again’. Its conception was the sole work of African-Americans inspired to retrace their ancestry. No Ooni or Alaafin supplied manpower nor contributed a dime to the creation of Oyotunji, thereby making any claim to the community by any traditional ruler an attempt to reap where they did not sow.

“Ko si gbe ru mi laafin” is an ancient proverb which validates the palace as a silo, where the poor drop choice foods and ware. But some Yoruba monarchs are changing this narrative. One such example is the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, who built a school for indigent students. Another example is the new Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adesuyi Haastrup, who has deployed his funds to the construction of roads within his domain and the sponsoring of 50 Ilesa youths to Nasarawa State for an agric empowerment programme.

Retired broadcaster and cousin to the kabiyesi, Folasade Odunlade, nee Haastrup, also said the Owa Obokun has given 1,000 indigent students in the community bursary awards.

“Baba o gbodo so wipe o di owo omo ohun lorun,” a father shall never seek help in the hands of his children in heaven. No matter how successful the child is, he’s the son of his father.

There’s no gainsaying the fact that Oyo played a prominent role in the protection of Yorubaland hundreds of years ago, but the place of Ile-Ife as ‘The Source’ is evergreen. When scholars speak about the Old Oyo Empire, they refer to it in the past, using the verb ‘was’ because it no longer exists. But Ile-Ife is past, present and continuous because it is the source of Yoruba.

After the fall of the Oyo Empire, Ibadan warriors also protected Yorubaland. Is it, therefore, right for the Olubadan to claim equality or supremacy over the Ooni? NO!

After Nigeria’s independence, Ibadan rose to become the political capital of the Western Region, while Lagos rose to become the commercial capital of the entire country, and later became more politically powerful than Ibadan from 1999. But, won’t it be childish for Ibadan and Lagos to bicker over who is greater when there are many issues confronting the Yoruba race?

In the Ogbori Elemoso epic by Lere Paimo, the antagonist, Elemoso, warns Soun Ogunlola, the protagonist, “O ma je ki awon ara Oyo o tan e?” – Don’t let Oyo people deceive you. This is a piece of advice for Alaafin. The Alaafin shouldn’t allow bad counsel to mislead him. He started well, he should not derail now. The Ooni too will find this counsel and the ‘agba ni n gba’ counsel invaluable because, truly, tolerance is the forte of the elderly.

The Awise Agbaye, Prof Wande Abimbola, said plans were afoot to settle the alleged bickering between the two prominent rulers, saying it was unnecessary.

In an interview with me, Abimbola said, “Yoruba elders shall look into it. We shall settle it. The Yoruba do not need such a quarrel. Ife is the source of Yoruba, and Oyo played a crucial role in the history of the Yoruba. So, both rulers should show respect to each other. We must find a middle ground for both respected kings to stand upon – a middle ground of honour and solidarity for us all.”

No Ooni in history ever wore tribal marks, though the ‘pele’ tribal marks are the commonest in Ife. ‘Abaja’ is the most common tribal mark among Oyo people. Therefore, if ‘onipele’ – the ‘pele’ tribal mark wearer – is angry, let the ‘alabaja’ hug him: The Alaafin and the Ooni should unite.

Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com

Facebook: @Tunde Odesola

X: @Tunde_Odesola

News

Congress Newspaper @4: X-Raying The Evolution Of Media In Ijaw Nation

Published

9 hours ago

July 11, 2025

Editor

By Joseph Kanjo

When Congress Newspaper/Online TV was launched four years ago, profit wasn’t the priority. “We weren’t looking at making money,” said Comrade Austin Ozobo, Managing Director of Congress Newspaper and a notable rights activist.

“I was in government as a Senior Special Assistant (SSA), and the salary wasn’t much. But I needed a platform where my voice—and the voices of like-minded individuals, especially my people—could be heard. So, I floated it. But today, things have changed. The profits are coming naturally,” he added.

These remarks came during my phone conversation with Comrade Ozobo, just days ahead of Congress Newspaper’s fourth anniversary celebration on July 10, 2025.

A well-known advocate for the rights of the Ijaw people and president of the Ijaw People’s Development Initiative (IPDI), Ozobo emphasized that his primary motivation was to amplify marginalized voices—especially those of his people. He reflected a sentiment similar to that of British musician and activist Peter Gabriel, who once said, “Those of us who have the eyes and ears of the media have a responsibility to amplify the voices of the voiceless.”

Fifteen years ago, it would have been difficult to count more than a handful of media outlets—whether big or small—owned or managed by individuals Ijaw from the Ijaw extraction.

Despite the many challenges faced by the Ijaw people, particularly due to the complex terrain they inhabit, their voices were largely absent from national conversations.

But today, that narrative has changed—thanks in part to the rise of online media. Now, there are numerous media outlets owned and managed by Ijaw sons and daughters, both in digital and print formats.

These platforms—each with its own mission and vision—nonetheless share a common thread: they give a voice to the people of the creeks, from whose experiences they often draw inspiration.

Some notable Ijaw-owned indigenous media platforms include:
GbaramatuVoice, Ijaw Voice, Ijaw Heritage TV, Arogbe Ibe Reporters, Iduwini Voice, Ogulagha Vanguards, and Egbema Voice.

In addition, several media outlets with broader or foreign-sounding names are also run by Ijaw professionals, including:
Info Daily, The Liberator, Coastal Times, Penglobal, Focal Point Reports, Dailynews Report, Waffi TV, Niger Delta Mirror, Niger Delta Herald, Daily Watch, and Mangrovepen.

Congress Newspaper/TV, though relatively new, has firmly established itself among these platforms as a consistent voice advocating for the Ijaw cause and broader Niger Delta interests.

Some may argue that media organizations should be neutral and unbiased. While this principle remains fundamental to ethical journalism, one cannot ignore the impact of ownership. Around the world, media ownership often shapes editorial direction, intentionally or not.

During his welcome address at the fourth anniversary celebration, Comrade Ozobo reiterated the newspaper’s founding vision: to provide not just information, but empowerment for Niger Delta communities.

“Our mission has always been to champion the voices that often go unheard and to shine a light on the issues that matter most to our people,” he said.

“We believe in the power of ethical journalism, and we remain committed to being a steadfast voice for justice, equity, and truth.”

Ozobo’s words speak to a broader truth: in media, ownership matters. And when that ownership is rooted in community-driven passion and purpose—as it is with Congress Newspaper—it becomes a powerful vehicle for social change.

As Congress Newspaper marks its fourth year, it stands not just as a media outlet, but as a movement—one that continues to reshape the media landscape in the Ijaw nation and beyond.

Joseph Ebi Kanjo is a practising journalist and Managing Editor of INFO DAILY.
editor@infodailyng.com

News

Supreme Court: Jubilant Supporters Stunned, Locked Out Of Edo Govt House [PHOTOS]

Published

14 hours ago

July 11, 2025

Editor

Jubilant supporters of Governor Monday Okpebholo Edo State, were on Friday disappointed as they were locked out from the Edo State Government House, Benin City.

The order not to allow anyone to access the government house was reportedly from an order from above.

The supporters, which included market women and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had gathered at the Benin Airport about 7am, to give the governor a rousing welcome.

The gathering followed Okpebholo’s triumph at the 2024 governorship election legal dispute at the Supreme Court in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

Okpebholo, whose aircraft touched down at the Benin Airport at about 12.40pm was welcomed by the supporters amid jubilation.

The supporters, many of whom were not mobile, proceeded on foot in a road procession with governor Okpebholo’s motorcades- chanting solidarity songs.

The procession, which lasted for about an hour, terminated at the Edo State Government House where the supporters were informed by security operatives that only Very Important Personalities (VIPs) would be allowed into the government house for refreshments.

The bewildered supporters took turns to lament the development, with many raining insults on the authorities.

One of the supporters who identified herself as Mrs. Ebosele Omogiate said: “In the worst moments of ex-governor Godwin Obaseki, supporters and members were not shabbily treated like this.

“They have won now and have decided to build a wall around themselves,” she added.

“I left my house before 7am for the airport and stood under the sun for hours before the arrival of the governor.

“We engaged on a road show with him to the government house, only for us to be shut out. This treatment melted on us is unfair,” another supporter added.

Earlier, addressing the crowd, Governor Okpebholo thanked God for his victory at the Supreme Court.

He promised that in the next two years, Edo people will know that they have a governor.

News

OPINION: BAT Rejects Trump’s Amazing Offer

Published

20 hours ago

July 11, 2025

Editor

Tunde Odesola

The presidential convoy spread out on the Third Mainland Bridge like a cloud of bats on seasonal migration. Sirens screamed. Lights flashed. The convoy of vehicles unfolds like the hail of light produced when the welder’s electrode kisses a metal, shraaaah! shraaaah! E plenty like iná wédà to fóká síbè.

As an insect enthusiast with particular love for beekeeping (cockroaches and bedbugs not included, please), I know that bees, ants and wasps have no kings, but queens, who guard-bees protect with their lives. However, termites have kings and queens, both of whom soldier termites protect with their last blood.

Be they bees, ants, wasps or termites, I love watching the life of cooperation, protection, order and hard work among insects. I love their guards’ provision of security for all and sundry, unlike the guards in this presidential convoy, whose only duty is the protection of the President, his family and bootlickers.

Measuring 11.8 kilometres, the Third Mainland Bridge, a massive masterpiece of concrete and steel work stretching over the Lagos Lagoon, was started in 1975 by the General Yakubu Gowon military administration, and continued by General Murtala Mohammed’s six-month government, before President Shehu Shagari stepped into the picture and did his bit. However, it was General Ibrahim Babangida who took credit for the bridge construction because he ensured its completion in 1990.

If the charismatic Babangida didn’t annul the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief MKO Abiola, he almost certainly would have been preferred by Nigerians to shed his military khaki for the agbada of politics, instead of the less gifted and dour General Muhammadu Buhari, who later got the presidency on fake promises.

Regrettably, Babangida apparently lost political goodwill, honour, peace of mind and two terms of civilian presidency to the June 12 annulment. Little did Nigerians know that the official name of the Third Mainland Bridge is Ibrahim Babangida Bridge, but nobody remembers that; people only remember the abortion of June 12. The things men do, live with them.

It was on this Ibrahim Babangida Bridge that the presidential convoy set out en route to the airport. Jesu! Not even the president of the richest and most powerful nation on earth, Donald Trump, has such a long motorcade. From my vantage point, I counted the number of vehicles in the convoy. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40…Ha! Kilode? Is the president japaing? Probably to make counting difficult, the outriders zigzagged and crisscrossed. So, I stopped at 40-something.

But in the middle of the armoured pack, I saw three Rolls-Royce Phantoms, three Cadillac Escalades, three Mercedes-Benzes, three Cybertrucks and three state-of-the-art buses. None of the cars in the convoy was assembled in Nigeria, despite the government’s avowed propaganda about patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods; not even the wash towels used for cleaning the vehicles were made in Nigeria, nor the foot mats.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: The Owner Of Èkó And His Dogs

Everywhere was on lockdown: air, land and sea – forcing the sun to hide behind the clouds, and birds vacated the air while the poor man’s movement was put on hold by those he voted for. Only the convoy moved. I yawned inside a Lagos BRT vehicle, wondering why the big men’s movement should stop the movement of citizens on the opposite side of the bridge.

This was when the window of one of the three buses opened, and I glimpsed Nigeria’s most recognisable cap, with its trademark chain symbol, the chain of oppression.

“Haa! Bàba Bàbá ni o! Olowo Eko ni ooo!” a youngster hawking alcoholic drinks and bottled water in traffic shrieked. “It’s the BAT, King BAT, the Lord of Lagos!” a hawker of plantain chips screamed, jumping, “I saw him! I saw him! Baba smiled and waved at me! Baba waved at me! The Asiwaju of the Universe waved at me!” A cripple, who begs in traffic, hissed and shook his head, “Una dey praise those who chain una? Ok o, make una kontiniu, una never see anything.”

The heat in the BRT was stifling, and sweat poured from skin pores. Thoughts of Nigeria flooded my mind. Since I was born and now that I am getting old, I have never seen Nigeria changeth (for good).

Inside the armoured bus, seated at the feet of the Lord of Lagos were members of his innermost circle – Noisome Winke, IdanFemi Gbabiamila, Baba Chief AdeBC, Jide-Olu, and Natasha coveter, Chief Dogswill Akpabi.

In the fleeting moment when the Lord of Lagos let down his window, I saw his gaze travel beyond the hailing roadside traders, resting on the 13-storey Senate Building of the University of Lagos, across the lagoon. I saw desire lit up in his eyes. “My name will suit the university more than its current name. What is UNILAG? Why not UNIBAT?

Winke, the ultimate bootlicker and mind reader, will not miss the opportunity to massage the ego of the Lord of Lagos. Though he cleared his throat, the frog in it would not keep silent. “Jide-Olu, don’t you think you should name UNILAG and this world’s best bridge after our personal Lord and Saviour?” Jide-Olu smiled, “No, Winke. UNILAG and the Third Mainland Bridge do not belong to the state. They belong to the centre, which is headed by our Lord and Saviour.”

Sounding more like a masquerader battling stomach upset during a market show, Winke said, “Uhmm, it doesn’t matter, you can start the call from your end – that our leader deserves the university to be renamed after him. Or does he not?” Jide-Olu, “Why not, if not? In fact, I suggest we should call on the National Assembly to name all federal universities and polytechnics after our leader. That way, the nation will save money.”

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Lord of Lagos: What do you think about these suggestions, Natasha, oh sorry, I mean, Akpabi?

Akpabi: (Smiles like a child eating ice cream, his special Ibibio accent booming loud and clear) Ha, you are our òká o. And, as our òká, iris not too much if we name Nigeria after you, I swear. Nigerians cannot reyect it. On Monday, the yoint session will rook at how we are going to do it, so that the opposition and Nigeria Rabour Congress will not begin their wahala.”

Lord of Lagos: Baba AdeBC, what do you think?

Baba AdeBC: Well, it’s not a bad idea for Nigeria to show gratefulness to her messiah and defender. I think it’s a good idea. (Baba AdeBC beams his trademark smile, which is as lifeless as the beach foam left behind on the shore by the roaring ocean)

Idanfemi: Your Excellency, you have a phone call from the US President, sir.

Lord of Lagos: Oh, connect me, Idanfemi.

Trump: How’re you doing, BAT?

Lord of Lagos: I’m doing great, Donald. Thank you. How’re you and your wonderful family?

Trump: We’re fine, and thanks for asking. Hey BAT, can I pick your brain real quick?

Lord of Lagos: Ha! No oooo; leave my brain alone o. Please, don’t pick it. My brain is old already. Ma se erekere iwo arakunrin yi. When you know you need Nigerian brains, why did you restrict your visa to three-month single entry? If you want millions of Nigerian brains, you open your borders for 24 hours and see.

Trump: No, you’re getting me wrong. I don’t mean to pick your brain literally, I mean to ask for your knowledge and advice on some issues.

Lord of Lagos: Oh, I see. Fear don catch me. I don’t want anything to touch this my political brain o.

Trump: Exactly what I’m saying! That your political brain is what I want to pick. I just saw your convoy on CNN! How do you afford such a large convoy and retinue of sycophants?

Lord of Lagos: That’s not for me to worry. The state takes care of that.

Trump: OMG! You mean the state bears the brunt of all that drain on taxpayers’ money? Are you kidding me!? I think it’s better to be president of your shithole than be president of America, seriously.

Lord of Lagos: You have come with this shithole thing again, Donald? You’re not serious.

Trump: Can you believe that as president, I pay for the food my family and I eat, I pay for drinks and clothes. I pay for private parties when I host them, I pay for gifts when I buy them for foreign dignitaries, I cover my vacation accommodations, and I pay for private events hosted outside the White House. Additionally, I pay for general household items like toilet paper, toothpaste, and garbage bags. Do you know that Bill Clinton incurred $16 million in debt for legal and personal investigation fees, which he paid over time?

Lord of Lagos: (Bursts into laughter) And you say you’re prezdent? Hahahahah! You’re prezdent indeed. Hahahaha! Yes, you’re the most powerful prezdent on earth, but are you the most indulged? Certainly, no! You’re just an administrative paper prezdent, I’m the ultimate ruler.

Trump: I wish we could trade places.

Lord of Lagos: Ha, trade places ke? No ooo! Let me be prezdent of this shithole, you continue to be prezdent of your superpower country. Stay with your democracy. I’ll stay with my empire. I don’t want to be Prezdent of America. I don’t wan die in prison, please.

Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com

Facebook: @Tunde Odesola

X: @Tunde_Odesolap