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OPINION: Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, The North And Our Votes

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By Suyi Ayodele

“We have released Northern Nigeria from the leading strings of the treasury. The promising and well conducted youth is now on allowance on his own and is about to effect an alliance with a southern lady of means. I have issued the special licence, and Sir Frederick Lugard will perform the ceremony. May the union be fruitful and the couple constant.” That was Lord Lewis Harcourt, British Secretary of State for the Colonies on the decision to amalgamate Northern and Southern Nigeria on January 1, 1914.

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Those who created Nigeria clearly made the North the husband and the South, the wife. In Africa, the husband is the head and driver of the home. We see and feel this each time the North has to deal with the South on matters of power and resources.

The latest is the movement towards the 2027 election. Northern leaders are no longer hiding their opposition to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government. They say he has not been fair to them. The poor husband is threatening the resourceful wife with sanctions.

A former Tinubu aide, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, spoke very loud at the weekend. He said nobody would be president in 2027 without the support of the North. He was right. But I will also be right if I say that no one outside the South will be president tomorrow or next year and forever without the support of the South. The poor husband and the rich wife need each other to have a functional home.

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What all these means is that the Gídígbo gídígbó!/Hey! (battle cry) for the 2027 presidential election has started. The war drums up North have been rolled out with a full folk ensemble.

The percussion for President Tinubu up North is not melodious! The 2027 election is two long years away, yet there is cause for alarm for Tinubu and his political dynasty. Nobody should feign ignorance; nobody should ignore the pulsating sounds!

There is a counter battle cry that Tinubu needs at this moment. It has smooth, melodious, danceable and assuring lyrics. Tinubu mi má mikàn, a p’agbo yí o ká(2ice)/Gbogbo ènìyàn ún be léhìn re/Tinubu mi má mikàn, a p’agbo yí o ká/ – Tinubu don’t be troubled, we have formed a ring of protection around you/All the people are behind you/Tinubu don’t be troubled, we have formed a ring of protection around you.

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But can any man of good conscience join the Tinubu orchestra to sing this song? The unfortunate answer is a resounding NO! When one’s masquerade dances very well at the village square, one is usually proud. But are Tinubu, our masquerade’s steps in accord with the beats from our musical instruments? How I wish the absentee President Tinubu gives one the confidence to approach the village square with our band in support of the man, the North of Baba-Ahmed is preparing for supper in 2027. Pity!

The lead drummer for the North in the impending battle for the soul of Nigeria in 2027 is a known figure, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, an ex-this and ex-that and a ‘familiar spirit’ in the political configuration of Nigeria and the North in particular. He is a man who thinks his North is the oxygen Nigeria breathes! Who is Hakeem Baba-Ahmed to arrogate to himself the position of the mouthpiece of the North?

When the wrapping leave stays too long with the soap, it becomes soap itself. Those are the words of our elders. They utter the eternal wisdom whenever our sages see a butterfly which thinks itself a bird.

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Baba-Ahmed, the son of a cattle merchant migrant from Mauritania is more northerner than an aboriginal northerner. He thinks more for the North than the North thinks for itself. Whenever the levers of power are not in the hands of his supposed kith and kin across the River Niger, the only thing Hakeem sees is the ‘marginalisation’ of the North! He is at it again, singing his song of discord over the weekend.

Speaking in a video interview that went viral over the weekend, Baba-Ahmed intoned that no part of the country could win the 2027 election without the North. “One thing is clear: nobody can become president of Nigeria without northern support”, is the way he put it. He went ahead to announce that “In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands.” Then he warned: “If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way.”

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Hakeem will not hang it there. He must threaten us: “If they plan to rig the election, they should be careful. It won’t be good for Nigeria. The North is watching. Elders, masses, and interest groups will soon say ‘enough is enough.’ The injustice and sidelining must stop.” What are his grouses with the present arrangement? Baba-Ahmed said that the North needed “a government that understands our problems and can address them. After Buhari’s eight years, we became wiser. Now, we are in another government, and we are still crying. Is crying all we know how to do?”

Let us do the arithmetic. Nigeria gained independence in 1960. That was 65 years ago. Of the number, Baba-Ahmed’s North has ruled the country for 48 years. The entire South has just 17 years. By the time Tinubu completes his first term in 2027, the South would have been in the saddle for 19 years out of 67 years of the Nigerian nationhood.

Now tell me, what did the North do with its 48 years in power such that the region is ‘marginalised’ to warrant the colic from Baba-Ahmed? Who should have ‘marginalised’ who between those who have ruled for 48 years and those who have been in power for 19 years? If, in 2027, Baba-Ahmed’s craving is, “We just want a right leader; let him fall from heaven, we just want someone who will solve our problems,”, can we ask him what the leaders from the North did in 48 years to “solve” the North’s “problems”?

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We would not argue with the North that every part of the nation needs it to win the presidency. Baba-Ahmed is absolutely correct with that assertion. But it should also not be lost on the northern irredentist that no one from the North can be president of Nigeria without the votes of the people down South. The electoral law says to be elected president, a candidate needs 25 percent of the votes cast in two-third of the states of the Federation (Section 134 (2), 1999 constitution as amended).

There are 36 states in Nigeria. The entire North has 19 states, and the South, 17. Two-third of 36, my Mathematics teachers say is 24. Good! If the entire northern states voted for a northern candidate in 2027, Baba-Ahmed’s candidate would still need five states from the South to win the presidency! If his candidate fails to get that, assuming the South followed Hakeem’s analogy of the North taking its destiny in its hands, what happens? This brings us back to Baba-Ahmed’s threat of “It won’t be good for Nigeria.” Should that happen, what gives?

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There are messages for the Hakeem Baba-Ahmeds of this epoch who think the North can end Nigeria in 2027. Nigeria belongs to all of us. That should sink in, deeply too! Nobody is afraid of what happens to Nigeria again. We have gone beyond that era when the refrain: ‘To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done’, was our unofficial anthem.

Àgunlá, àguntètè means who cares! That is the stage where all the ethnic nationalities that make up the country are now. No ethnic group is happy with our present configuration. Nigeria, to many, is an ‘expired’ entity; a nation that has long passed its nationhood! We are only enduring because our elders counsel that if the hands refuse swinging, we fold them on our heads. So be it with the Nigeria of Baba-Ahmed and his the-country-will-break-up slogan!

In fact, those of us down South will celebrate should the North re-enact its Araba (secession) cry of 1953, when the late nationalist, Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro, moved the motion for independence. Baba-Ahmed should be told that a deer with an inguinal hernia is a gain to the hunter (Àgbòrín tó so ìpá, ìfà olóde). Nobody needs the marriage of inconvenience that Nigeria has turned into. Someone should help us tell Baba-Ahmed that whenever the town experiences turmoil, the diviner gains something. We no dey fear again!

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Baba-Ahmed said that the North would do it alone in 2027 if the rest of us down South were not ready. Really? So, we should shiver at that? Let us register this, here, again: We (Southerners) shall surely clap for Baba-Ahmed and his ilk if the North can walk the talk and “do it alone in 2027. Like they say in the street: we asked the slave for acrobatic displays, he says the ground is too hard; who wishes him to land and survive in the first instance? Let Hakeem and those he represents give us from the pockets of their sòkòtò (trousers) what we are going to Sokoto to look for. The jollification down South will drown him!

I hate to sound this way. But we need to tell ourselves some painful truths! Who does Baba-Ahmed think is afraid of 2027? Who needs a united Nigeria more, between the North and the South? What gives him this irritating sense of arrogance that the North is the soul of Nigeria? Has Baba-Ahmed ever released the dog and the red monkey to the boxing ring to discover who is covered with blood? If 2027 breaks up Nigeria as he threatened, to whose disadvantage(s) will the polarisation be?

It is okay for Baba-Ahmed’s woodpecker to boast that it would carve stone as a coffin for his father-in-law. The only caution here is that the woodpecker should also not forget the possibility of developing a boil on its beak before its father-in-law’s funeral! 2027 is still far away. Who told Baba-Ahmed what would have been the fate of the nation before then? When a man buys a calabash and identifies it with marks, and the calabash gets lost, our elders say that it is when the owner sees the calabash that he can identify his marks on it? Does Baba-Ahmed understand that?

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It is rather unfortunate that Baba-Ahmed is becoming a bad recurrent decimal anytime the issue of the North and South dichotomy is discussed. At his age and clout, he should not be the signpost of everything that is bad from the North. Ordinarily, with all the positions he has occupied in governments at different levels, the old folk should be concerned that he has not been able to change the fortune of the North and its large number of Almajiris on the streets. His blame game is no longer working; nobody fancies that anymore.

Whatever happens to Nigeria either now, before or in 2027, we all shall have our fair share of it. Nobody should threaten anyone! While on the character of Baba-Ahmed on this page on September 28, 2021, in a piece titled: “Between Shehu Sani and Hakeem Baba-Ahmed”, I submitted that Nigeria is like a calabash that is turned face downward. If we have difficulties in opening it, we have the capacity to break it! Baba-Ahmed and his gang don’t have the monopoly of threat. If they throw pebbles at us, we will hurl stones at them!

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Thomas Abiodun Friday: A Lord’s General @ 60

There are a few pastors I closely identify with. Pastor Thomas Abiodun Friday is one of them. On Wednesday, April 16, 2022, the man we all call Daddy PICP (Pastor in Charge of Province), turned 60 years old.

Pastor Friday was posted to Edo Province 4 of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Benin City, as the PICP in 2019. His arrival changed a lot of things in the province.

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His predecessor, Pastor Tunde Okunlola, did a wonderful job as the pioneer PICP for the province. So, it can be said that the new PICP, Pastor Friday, had a solid foundation laid by his predecessor. Taking off was never a problem and he went straight for the job, throwing his being at propagating the Gospel of the Lord. He introduced some innovations to the administration of the church and allowed every department to flourish while he provided leadership and ensured that all stayed focused on the doctrine of RCCG.

Without any fear of contradiction, I say boldly here that Pastor Friday is a Man of God (MoG) in deeds and indeed! His consummate leadership acumen, friendly dispositions, charming smiles and his listening ears are too obvious to be ignored. Having worked closely with him for over four years, I conclude here that he is a good manager of men and resources, a thorough administrator and one who allows subordinates to expand their horizons!

That Pastor Friday is a wonderful soul, loving brother, dependable ally and top-notch mentor, is not in doubt. He left Edo Province 4, indelible prints in the minds of people. He remained very unassuming, but always on top of his calling as a Shepherd! His transfer to Niger State by the Church authority was something one could not resist.

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image.pngGetting to the Diamond age of 60 is a gift and grace from the Almighty, especially in this clime. Today, I join my voice with thousands of others to wish this impactful personality the very best God can offer! Happy birthday SIR!

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OPINION: Crowns Of Crime And Shame

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By Suyi Ayodele

When a man says, ‘Here is where my friend was disgraced yesterday,’ our elders ask us to remind him that the disgrace has become a communal one. No sensible man derives joy from the shameful conduct of his kinsman. Does that philosophy still hold water in Yorubaland today?

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A big Yoruba king was jailed in the faraway United States of America last week. He was arraigned, tried and found guilty of blood profiteering. The Apetu of Ipetumodu, Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, was sentenced to four-and-a-half-year imprisonment by Justice Christopher Boyko of the North District of Ohio, US, for stealing COVID-19 relief funds running into millions of dollars.

Oba Oloyede was portrayed as a blood-sucking demon who took delight in the blood of the victims of the pandemic, COVID-19. He stole $4.2 million meant for the relief programme for the victims. In addition to the jail term, the monarch will also refund the sum of $4,408,543.38 to the US Government.

He will add his home on Foote Road, Medina, Ohio, to the restitution. Oba Oloyede’s bank account with a balance of $96,006.89 will be taken over by the government. The troubled monarch is not entitled to a Cent of the money in the account. The court said the money therein was the proceeds of fraud! That is not the end of his troubles.

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When eventually released, the jailed Ipetumodu monarch will be on the watch-list for three good years. The devil helps him if he misbehaves during his suspended release. He goes back to jail, summarily!

The saddest aspect of the tragedy is that while the trial lasted, Oba Oloyede did not put up any defence, no alibi. He admitted committing the crime. When the charges were read to him, Oba Oloyede simply pleaded guilty to the crimes he committed between April 2020 and February 2022. Kabiyesi was arrested on May 4, 2024, when he travelled to the US. He was sentenced on August 26, 2025!

This is a sad development for the entire Yoruba Race. It is a sad development that we would not want to tell our children. But not the Yoruba of our time. If we were to be the true products of the Omoluabi ethos handed over to us by our forebears, Yorubaland would have been in mourning over the Apetumodu shameful outing in the US. But what do we have now?

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Instead of showing remorse, the elders and elites of the land are busy exchanging words over inanities. Hot exchanges are being traded over unimportant matters. Words that, like the proverbial egg which breaks when thrown on the floor, have been uttered. When the storm calms, the scars will be visible for us to see. Outsiders alike will also see the relics of this current useless war over a non-issue. We left leprosy to treat ringworms!

We are in ruins in this land. The entire Yoruba race is dancing naked in the market square. Those who have no ancestry have come to the open to deride a race that is acknowledged worldwide as the most civilised and most cosmopolitan. The entire Kaaro Oojire is in shambles, dressed in garments of shame because our monarchs are behaving badly!

I sighed in sadness after reading the Apetumodu’s ordeals, I tried to reflect on how Yorubaland arrived at this turning point. Whom did we offend? Has what happened to the children of Oduduwa had anything to do with the curse placed on the race by Alaafin Aole Arogangan? Why are most Yoruba thrones occupied by the dregs of humanity nowadays? Why do we have charlatans and other undesirable elements occupying Yoruba palaces? At the point of my confusion, history beckoned. Yoruba thrones and nitwits, history says, predates this era. How?

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Years ago, when the ant could carry the tortoise on its head, a rich man died. Though the man had two sons, he bequeathed his estate to the extended family members. He left nothing for his sons! Nobody knew why he did that. But the two boys were not stupid. They knew where their father kept his most valuable possession, a giant box of precious stones. The boys, at the cover of the night, stole the box. When the time came for the family to share the rich man’s estate, the box was discovered missing.

From time to time, the boys were selling the gold and other precious stones in the box. They had a mutual understanding until one day, the older boy got greedy. He wondered why his younger one would share the proceeds of their heist with him equally. He decided to have the entire stuff to himself. The older brother stole the remaining items and told his younger one that they had been robbed of them.

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Stealing the king’s flute is not the problem; where to blow it is the issue. The younger brother, suspecting that his older brother was up to something, decided to keep him under close monitoring. With no moment of respite, the older brother used the only available opportunity he had to be alone and carried the box to the palace for their king to keep for him.

Our elders say the third generation of greed will be a burglar (ipele keta okanjuwa, ile lo unko). The king saw the gold and decided to keep it to himself. He called his sorcerer and got the deadliest poison from him. He planned to kill the one who asked him to keep the precious stones. While at it, an incident occurred that required the attention of the king’s diviner.

The diviner, Àsèsèdà Ifá (The one who is new at divination), cast his Opele. But rather than address the issue that brought him to the palace, he told the king that he (the king) was about to do something that would bring eternal shame to him and the throne. He asked the king not to mix gold with poison because the hereafter would spell doom for the king’s lineage. The Oracle, Àsèsèdà Ifá said, directed that the king should return what was kept in his custody to the owner.

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Àsèsèdà Ifá was still on the divination mat when a commotion was heard within the palace precincts. Who had the audacity to fight before Kabiyesi? The parties were brought before the king, and lo, they were the two brothers. The younger one, who suspected that the older brother wanted to cheat him, resorted to violence. When the combatants became inseparable, their family members dragged them before the king.

The king asked what the matter was. The two brothers reported how they stole the box containing their father’s precious stones and how they sold some of the items, and the remaining items went missing. Everyone present was shocked that the boys could steal what their father gave to the entire extended family. But the king had a better understanding of what happened.

The king sent for the box he kept in his room. When brought, he removed the poison on top and emptied the contents on the floor. There were the missing pieces of gold. The king went ahead to share the items between the two brothers and ordered that all the other property the family had taken over be returned to the boys.

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Diviners of old who narrated this story said it is from Ifa Corpus (Odu Ifa) known as Ogunda Ofun, named after the king (Ogunda), who wanted to appropriate what Ofun (name of the older brother) kept in his care. To date, in Yorubaland, one of the divinations done for a would-be oba is Ogunda Ofun with the admonition that he, the would-be oba, must never covet that which belongs to another man- Ogunda Ofun, ogbe mohun folohun (Ogunda Ofun, let the king return that which belongs to another to the owner). Did the Ipetumodu people take Oba Oloyede through this Ifa divination?

Yet another story to buttress that Yoruba thrones have been under siege for a long time.

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A group of alájàpá (itinerant traders) market women set out early in the morning. The destination was Ibadan, Gbagi Market to be precise. They were cramped at the back of the Bedford vehicle, sitting on the wooden benches that were rammed to the floor, and holding on to the wooden body of the vehicle for stability.

Their monies were tied around their waists inside their yèrì and òpóò (long cloth purses). Those purses would not be untied until they got to Gbagi Market, where they would buy the wares they traded in.

The Bedford vehicle, on top speed, suddenly ran into a pothole. The passengers were thrown at one another, knocking heads. The vehicle came to a sudden halt. The driver cursed! He was familiar with the road. It had no pothole on that spot. He could swear to that; the driver knew where the potholes were. And those were not as deep as the one that halted the vehicle.

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His instincts instantly came alive. Danger! This must be the handiwork of some adigunjalè (armed robbers), he muttered to himself. But nobody emerged from the bush to attack them. Shocked! What could have happened then? He asked no one in particular.

A woman asked what happened. The driver remained silent. He manoeuvred the vehicle out of the pothole. He dared not check if he had lost a tyre. Experience taught him never to do that on that spot. Yes, he must move a distance before he can check the state of the vehicle. Then he remembered. The pothole could have been dug to slow the vehicle down. “Òràn dé” (danger looms), he whispered loudly. The tension in the vehicle became intense.

He steadied the vehicle back on the road. Moved a distance, engaged the gear for acceleration. His headlamp picked up the objects ahead. Logs of wood, they were. Someone had barricaded the road. Nobody needed anyone to say who did that. Armed robbers were at work!

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The driver applied the brake and jumped off before the vehicle came to a complete halt. His motor boy did the same. The duo dashed into the bush. Only the women were trapped. It was a case of olórí d’orí è mú (everyone for himself).

Running was useless for the women. Before the first of them could jump out of the vehicle, the armed robbers were already on them. They were ordered out of the vehicle. One after the other, their attackers dispossessed them of their money. Then the unthinkable happened.

One of the women recognised a figure among the armed robbers. She could not be mistaken. It was a figure she would identify among a million men! Sure of her vision, the woman saluted: “Alayé (owner of the world), Kábíyèsí (he who no one can question) Àdìmúlà” (the one you hold to survive).

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Two other women turned to look at the man. They recognised him to be the Kábíyèsí (king) of one of the biggest towns in that axis. Ah! What was Orí Adé (the head that wears the crown) doing among armed robbers? They wondered as they made to pay obeisance as tradition demands. What they got shocked them.

Kábíyèsí raised his cutlass and dealt the first matchet blow on the head of the first woman who identified him. A chilling cry, and she went down. Alayé moved to hit the next woman. She ducked, but not before she got a bow to her arm. The other women took to flight. The party scattered. Àdìmúlà and his gang also took off. They did not forget their loot, anyway!

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The next vehicle carrying another set of traders came to the scene. The driver and the passengers began a rescue operation. The first woman was stone dead. They simply packed her corpse by the roadside; attention focused on the wounded but living. Those who ran away were attracted by the accompanying wailing and came out of hiding.

The day broke with the news of the armed robbery incident. The two women who identified kábíyèsí could only tell their husbands. They were sternly cautioned not to tell any other person. Their husbands then volunteered the information to the elders of the town, who, in turn, also maintained the oath of secrecy.

Later in the day, Kábíyèsí summoned a meeting of his chiefs. He called neighbouring kings too. A company of the esoteric was dispatched to the robbery incident to go and do what tradition stipulates. Curses were laid, and the gods of the land were asked to avenge the sacrilege instantly. Then everyone went home. Did the curses work?

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Yes, they did. Days later, it was discovered that all the trees around the spot withered; they all shed their leaves in the rainy season! What happened? It was gathered that after the esoteric team had performed their rites and left, Kábíyèsí led another team of traditional experts to the spot. Being the king, nobody could question him for the second traditional journey. He was not just Kábíyèsí for fun.

According to the story, on the second trip, kábíyèsí asked that a pig (elédè) be sacrificed. He alone did the ìwúre (royal pronouncement) on that occasion. He simply told the party that he wanted to commune with his ancestors in silence. They responded: Kábíyèsí! Nobody heard what he said. They only noticed that his lips moved. The pig was slaughtered, its blood sprinkled on both sides of the road, and the party headed home. End of ritual! The result was the withering of the trees.

Any adult from Ayebode Ekiti up to the then Arigidi Ekiti (now Ayedogbon Ekiti) in the mid-70s would remember this ugly incident. The Ekiti-ethno-music icon, the late Elemure Ogunyemi, later in one of his albums, alluded to the incident when he sang: Ha ti m’òrí elédè rúbo (we have sacrificed the head of a pig)/ùgbàyí á dèrò kooko (this season will be peaceful).

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But that incident did not go without repercussions for the erring Kábíyèsí. Conscious of the shame that an open reprimand would bring to the town, the elders came together and confronted their king. Of course, when in ìgbàlè (traditional coven) with the elders, Àdìmúlà owned up to the crime.

The elders did what they needed to do and sealed it with a traditional pronouncement. No blood descendant of the kábíyèsí would ever ascend the throne again! They sealed that with Olugbohun. Whoever attempted it would pay with his entire sires. Kábíyèsí was asked to pass the message to his children for onward transmission to the generations to come. He also paid a heavy fine couched as etutu (appeasement items).

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Àdìmúlà thereafter lived and died at an old age. His remaining days on the throne witnessed a lot of crises, though. Other members of his gang died miserable deaths. Another kábíyèsí is on the throne in that town. The people await whether that secret seal will be broken! This story was told in hushed tones, as I tell you today!

Before the above ugly incident, another Yoruba king was once executed for murder. The king was hanged in 1949. He was said to have used a 15-month-old baby girl, Adediwura, for rituals.

The trial of the oba was a huge sensation. The advocacy in the court was the best anyone could imagine. But that could not save him and his accomplices. The trio were executed by hanging. What did the people, his subjects, do to the family of the executed king? Would they ever allow any of his offspring to ascend the throne of the rocky town? But more importantly, what was the Ifa prediction before the oba was enthroned?

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This is where we are missing it in Yorubaland. A lot of misfits are today wearing crowns in the land because they were chosen by other external forces apart from Ifa. The modern-day civilisation has robbed us of our heritage. No would-be oba who spent an average of three weeks in Ipebi (seclusion) would misbehave on the throne.

But that is no more. A would-be oba was once asked to go into seclusion for seven days. He got to the door of Ipebi and put one of his legs inside seven times. He told the people that each step into the Ipebi represented a day. Guess what? He was still crowned king. It happened because the influential members of the community were behind him; he was their candidate! With good money and connections in high places, anyone can become an oba today. Ifa, Yoruba religion, has been shifted and shoved to the background.

Today’s Yoruba foremost kings are at loggerheads. Others are queuing behind them, forming camps. While the fire rages, the farmlands their ancestors left for them are in ruins. The subjects Edumare put under their care are daily killed, kidnapped, maimed and rendered homeless! Obas are going to jail, some fight in public, and many are facing trial for rape and other misdemeanours.

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The Daily Mail of UK on May 19, 2024, ran a story about another king who was “twice deported from America with a lengthy criminal record and a distinct murky past. The paper described the oba as “a conman”, stating that he tried to “cash stolen £247k cheque.” Interestingly, the king has not contested the report as he pontificates on virtually every issue of Yoruba ancestry! The circle of shame has gone round!

Ascending the thrones of Oduduwa is no child’s play. It comes with responsibilities; it comes with self-worth and dignity. If we cannot question these kings’ misbehaving because they are kábíyèsí, they should know that Alálé (progenitors) will ask them; Èsìdá (owners of the land) will judge them on our behalf. Enough should be enough. Our Yoruba obas should allow us to walk the streets with our heads raised. Ìtìjú yi ti ún pò jù (This shame is becoming too much)!

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Nestle Sacks CEO Over Office Romance

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Swiss food giant, Nestle, on Monday dismissed Laurent Freixe as chief executive with immediate effect over an “undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate.”

The multinational behind Nespresso coffee capsules and KitKat chocolate bars said Freixe’s dismissal followed an investigation.

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In a swift move, Nespresso CEO, Philipp Navratil, was appointed to take over by his fellow board members.

The departure of Laurent Freixe follows an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate which breached Nestle’s code of business conduct,” a statement said.

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The board said it had ordered an investigation overseen by chairman Paul Bulcke and lead independent director Pablo Isla, with the support of outside counsel.

This was a necessary decision. Nestle’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service,” Bulcke said in a statement.

A company veteran, Freixe joined Nestle in France in 1986. He ran the firm’s European operations until 2014, steering them through the subprime and euro crises that began in 2008.

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He headed the Latin America division before his promotion as CEO.

Freixe had only been in the top spot since a surprise switch in September 2024, entrusted with reversing soft spending by consumers for the company’s food and household goods.

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Nestle’s share price slumped by nearly a quarter last year, raising concerns in Switzerland, where pension funds invest heavily in the company, whose brands also include Purina dog food, Maggi bouillon cubes, Gerber baby food and Nesquik chocolate-flavoured drinks.

Nestle shares closed up 0.13 percent at 75.49 Swiss francs on the Swiss stock exchange.

– Net profits –

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In late July, Nestle reported a 10.3-percent drop in first half profits as it struggled to turn around its fortunes amid sluggish consumer spending in China, even as it passed on higher cocoa and coffee prices to consumers.

New chief executive Navratil had been an executive vice-president at Nestle, which is headquartered in Vevey on Lake Geneva.

READ ALSO:Nigerian Grandmother Sacked By UK Varsity Over Misplaced Bracelet

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The board is confident that he will drive our growth plans forward and accelerate efficiency efforts. We are not changing course on strategy and we will not lose pace on performance,” insisted chairman Bulcke.

Navratil started his career with Nestle in 2001 and took on various roles in Central America, leading the coffee and beverage business in Mexico from 2013 to 2020, when he took over responsibility for global strategy and innovation for the Nescafe and Starbucks brands.

He became chief executive of the Nespresso brand in July last year and joined the company board in January 2025.

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I fully embrace the company’s strategic direction, as well as the action plan in place to drive Nestle’s performance,” said Navratil, pledging to “drive the value creation plan with intensity.”

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VIDEO: Motorists Stranded As Bridge Fails On Lagos-Benin Expressway

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Motorists and passengers were stranded for hours after a truck fell near a failed portion of a bridge along the Isoko axis of the Lagos-Benin Expressway, exposing the river beneath and rendering the route impassable.

A viral video from the scene showed queues of trapped vehicles as frustrated road users called on the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to urgently repair the dilapidated sections of the highway.

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One stranded passenger, who was filmed in the video, lamented that the incident left commuters stuck for over two hours, halting both vehicular movement and the flow of goods.

He said, “I’m currently standing on the Benin-Lagos Expressway, and where we are now is Isoko Camp. This is a bridge, a very short bridge, and this message is to the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, the one who is building a road from Lagos-Calabar Highway, the road to nowhere. This place is currently shut down.

READ ALSO:Polytechnic Students Declare Nationwide Protest Over Truck Accidents

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This truck fell here, and there’s no way. Look at this place. Vehicles are blocked. Look this way, everywhere packed up.”

The visibly frustrated commuter revealed the deteriorating state of the bridge, pointing to exposed sections above the river, which he described as a threat to lives and businesses.

He criticised the Federal Government’s focus on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, accusing Umahi of neglecting critical economic routes such as the Lagos-Benin Expressway.

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This is an expressway, and we have a minister. This is the Lagos-Benin Expressway yet, our minister, dey do Lagos – Calabar Highway,” he said.

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This is what we have. Do you know how many people pass here? As I’m speaking to you now, if you look up, trailer. If you know the number of trailers that are here and are trapped, it means the economy of Nigeria is affected. Because the number of goods and services has been shut down. Everywhere is shut down.

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“This road now, everywhere is at standstill. This vehicle is even lucky that it didn’t fall into the water. And we have a Minister of Works wasting money, saying Calabar Expressway.”

He further argued that the Lagos-Benin Expressway carries more economic importance than the Lagos-Calabar Highway, urging the minister to prioritise repairs.

READ ALSO:Early Morning Accident Claims Eight Lives, Injures Eight Others In Lagos

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He said, “Mr. Minister, let me educate you. If you have a small economic sense, you will know that this road alone is affecting Nigeria’s economy. But that Calabar Expressway, it’s not affecting anybody. If you go there now, you won’t see vehicles parked lined up there. The only place where you will see vehicles lined up is on this road. So if the Minister has more direction, he will go and fix this road.

“I see when they say they need more money, they are borrowing more money to put in the road we don’t use. Then the one we use is abandoned. So please, those who are close to the Minister, talk to him. We are stranded here now. We have been here for over two hours now, and nothing is moving.”

The video has gained the attention of concerned citizens on social media, some of whom describe the road as a “death trap” and joined in calling for quick intervention on the road.

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Watch video below:

https://x.com/MobilePunch/status/1962577345832714466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1962577345832714466%7Ctwgr%5Edf307ccd0eb71fe84e2d24b726307513398112b3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpunchng.com%2Fvideo-motorists-stranded-as-bridge-fails-on-lagos-benin-expressway%2F

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