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OPINION: KWAM1, KWAM2’ And Their Holy Water
Published
3 weeks agoon
By
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By Suyi Ayodele
If you don’t belong to the upper class in Nigeria, stay off crime. If you are not close to any man-in-power or man-of-power, be law-abiding.
In Nigeria, a man of privilege can take the entire crew and passengers of a plane hostage and get home within the hours. The friend of the powerful can stop a plane from taxiing, and he takes the next available flight home.
In the same Nigeria, if a daughter of Mr. Nobody assaults air hostesses. She gets half-stripped by airport security. Within the hours, the gates of Kirikiri prison are opened to receive her. Our laws here are not blind; they distinguish the privileged from children of commoners! We sink odiously; only that we are not oozing maggots yet!
Know our ways and be guided! Here, a lion kills children of the poor. It gets commendation for cleansing the land; the same lion kills a prince and is accused of genocide! Children of the privileged are always treated preferentially here. It did not start today.
At the funeral of an elderly man about 38 years ago, a young man was detailed to entertain the other elders gathered for the rites of passage for the departed.
Part of his assignment was to serve the elders with palm wine. He did that successfully, filling their calabashes more than twice. Custom also demands that he has a taste of the palm wine. He who feeds a child must not clean his hands on the bare floor (anu omo kò ní fowó nu’lè), goes the saying. But that would be after the sacred elders must have had their fills.
By the time the young man checked the keg of palm wine, what was left could barely fill a cup. So, he turned the remnant of the palm wine into his own calabash and drained it in three gulps. The elders saw him and exchanged glances without saying a word.
He packed the empty calabashes and the keg. One of the initiates stopped him. The old man commanded: “Now, pour the dreg of the palm wine into this calabash (Ò yá, da ìdí emu tó kú sìnú igbá yî)” Stalemate! There was nothing to pour from the empty keg. There was a deep silence.
One of the elders broke the silence by asking who drank the dreg of the palm wine. Before anyone responded, roared: “Has the tradition changed that the dreg of palm wine belongs to the elder?” He shot a fierce glance at the young man. The loudest silence followed, a pin drop! The man who spoke was the oldest and the most senior of the attending initiates.
Glances were exchanged, heads nodded. In the Yoruba worldview, only the oldest man in a gathering drinks the dreg of palm wine. Except he gives it out, nobody dares touch the last drop of the substance. The young man knew the implications. They can be unpalatable, especially when the initiates are gathered! A sacrilege had been committed, everyone waited.
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An uncle to the young man, a senior initiate himself, stepped in. He announced that the young man drank the remnant. The other elders called for the appropriate punishment as prescribed by tradition. The uncle emphatically said that would not be applicable in that circumstance. Almost everyone asked why. He explained.
The boy who drank the dreg is a privileged child, the uncle said. The passage of rites in progress was for the departed father of the young man, he added. The deceased, he reminded them, was not just an initiate, but the lead initiate in the clan -the one we call Àòrò in my Ekiti dialect or Àwòrò in Modern Yoruba (chief priest).
He adumbrated the age-long tradition that the child of a chief priest cannot be treated like the child of a non-initiate. He backed his traditional advocacy with one of the panegyrics of the departed Àòrò thus: When the child of the chief priest stumbles and upturns the sacred water pot, the chief priest turns it to a laughing matter; if the child of a non-initiate does the same, the chief priest collects rat, he collects fish; he asks him to bring several pieces of brass- sacrificial items for appeasement (Omo Àòrò subú d’omi akòkó nù, Àòrò mú s’òrò èrìnrín; kó s’omo olòmúrìn, ha gb’eku, ha gbe’ja; há so’hun wéréwéré bí ude).
The uncle sat down. The meeting went silent. One after the other, the initiates stepped out to the sacred court to perform their last rites. Prayers were offered for the deceased, his family, and particularly, for the young man assigned to see to their welfare. Funeral rites over. Everyone went home. Case closed!
This incident is no fiction. It happened at the final rites of my father, Baba Daniel Falade, in 1987. My family produces the chief priest for our clan deity, Òràngún. The panegyrics above belong to us. The young man in the narration, my elder cousin, is a lawyer today. Every child in our family is an ‘Omo Àòrò’ (child of the chief priest).
That ancestry confers on us some certain privileges. As Omo Àòrò, we get away with the most sacrilegious offence such as tumbling on the sacred water pot (omi akòkó) and spilling the content. Omi akòkó belongs to the deity. Only the chief priest or anyone he delegates can touch it.
Spilling the water or breaking the sacred water pot is too grievous a taboo to commit. The consequences are terrible! Only a member of my family gets away with it because we are privileged children! We don’t answer Òsínbôn (male), and Aríé (female) for fun!
Incidentally, no single Òsínbôn or Aríé has ever stumbled on the sacred water pot. It is part of our training, part of our orientation from the cradle to reverence omi akòkó. Other children can spill it and get severely punished. A typical Omo Àòrò would never do such. The discipline runs in the family. We know we have the privilege. But no child of ours has ever abused it. How our forebears achieved that, only the Cosmic knows!
In Nigeria today, we have so many spoilt brats running around the landscapes. We have so many privileged individuals who get away with the most heinous infractions. Once you know someone in power, or you have access to the corridor of power, you can do anything and get away with it.
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I once saw a complimentary card by an official of Ogun State Government. The designation on the card is: “Office of the Friend of the Governor.” I am serious! The owner, I was told, was a complete nuisance throughout the tour of duty with his governor-friend.
In our contemporary time, we have had the Office of the First Daughter of the Federation. The Privileged abound here. The son of the president attended the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting for weeks until sanity prevailed. The same son is accorded airport receptions whenever he ‘tours’ states! We all saw the videos of such receptions and just moved on. The son of the president is as good as the president himself in Nigeria.
One of General Muhammadu Buhari’s daughters once commandeered a presidential plane and flew to Kano to shoot photographs. Her father, we were told, was our generation’s Bayajidda and epitome of discipline and integrity. Nobody reprimanded the girl, at least not to our knowledge!
As an Omo Àòrò, I could barge in on the esoteric in their meeting without consequences. But I would never do that because from the cradle, we were trained to know that nothing kills a child more than taboos (ohun tó únpa omo bí èèwò kò sí). Taboo or abomination, our elders say, is eaten in small bits like the tip of a needle. That saying holds no water in the Nigeria of today where the father is the president, the mother is the First Lady, and the daughter is the Ìyálójà General of our universe!
Privilege! It is an intoxicant. Only the disciplined and properly well-brought ups can handle it with the care it deserves. Nothing is more fragile than privilege; it breaks without prompting the carrier! If you doubt this, just check what happened to the Official Musician of the President (OMP), King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, popularly known as KWAM1, last Tuesday in Abuja.
Our OMP also holds one of the highest titles in Ijebuland today as the Olórí Omo Oba Akilè Ìjèbú (Head prince of Ijebuland). Ceteris paribus, the man may be the next Awujale of Ijebuland. Do not say God forbid. When you are the official griot or bard and percussionist of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, you can become anything here! But for public outcry, a beautifully decorated ocker would have been made a king in Lagos. Even now, the matter has still not been settled. This is a country of anything goes.
Go to Osun State and see the mess a scallywag has made of one of the most traditional stools in Yorubaland. Any town mentioned in Ifa Corpus is sacred. That is the throne someone powerful people gave to an American fly-by-night. Today, His Royal Rascal (HRR) changes the title of the throne in a manner that makes the chameleon envious. It is only in that same Osun that you get first class kings who divorce their Oloris as if divorce has been listed as a sport in the Olympics! Those ones got enthroned because they were privileged to be close to people-in-power and people-of-power!
Akure Oloyemekun once had a privileged Deji, who pursued his Olori from the palace to the streets and emptied a can of hot ashes on her. Someone high up in the power equation got the wife-battering Kabiyesi to the throne. Thank God for the then Governor Olusegun Mimiko who waded in immediately, dethroned the Deji, banished him to Owo and installed a new Oba for the Akure people.
Enough digression. We go back to the OMP, KWAM1, Omo Anifowose himself. He needs no introduction save to say that he is one of the most popular music talents this nation has ever produced. He crowned his voyage in the nation’s entertainment industry by becoming the number one musician for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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And KWAM1 is more than being the OMP. He is also a spiritualist to the President. Anything President Tinubu needs to go esoteric against his perceived enemies, KWAM1 is readily available with his Àyájó (evocation). Don’t ask me how I know. Search for the videos of Tinubu’s campaign in 2023. You will understand what I am saying. KWAM1 is the only one who holds the trophy of recording and sharing his conversation with the President to the public and got away with it. Privilege!
KWAM1 set the internet buzzing since last week, when, possibly drunk by the privileges he has as an OMP, he held an entire crew and passengers of a commercial plane hostage on the tarmac! He was selective and deliberate. Wasiu Ayinde committed that sacrilege in Abuja, our Federal Capital Territory. And guess what: he did not see it as a big deal. How do I mean?
Four days after his failed hostage-taking incident, he was on stage in Ikorodu, Lagos State, at the gig for the Ayangburen of Ikorodu who marked his 10th years anniversary on the throne. While ‘apologising’ for the infraction, our OMP wondered why such an “ìsèlè kékeré se wá di únlá” (why should a small matter turn to a big issue). Standing before a taxi-bound plane is no big deal here. That’s how we roll!
The issue that led to the Abuja airport incident has been over-flogged. I saw KWAM1 and his golden flask. I wonder why a man who carries a golden flask would have the character of a common street urchin. But I stopped wondering when I remembered the saying that Aso únlá kó ni ènìyán únlá (a big apparel is not an indication of responsibility). Character is like a smoke (èéfín nì’wà), says the adage. Our elders complete the wisecrack: no matter how one covers it, it must exhale (bí a de mólè, rírú ní rú).
I am amused by those who said that KWAM1’s apology should be assuaging enough. What a nation! If Wasiu Ayinde had committed the same crime in a saner clime, would he apologise using a teleprompter the way he did? Would he tender the apology from the comfort of his home or from a detention cell? Only a privileged rogue elephant would hold people hostage in an international airport and would go home the same day to apologise on a teleprompter!
Even his Ikorodu gig for the Ayangburen and the so-called apology was a malarkey, a complete tosh! He sang in Yoruba. Those who understand the language would agree with me that what Wasiu Ayinde did in Ikorodu is nothing but a continuation of his esoteric àyájó (evocation), a double-Dutch, to hypnotise the public. Holy Moses! Am I the only one familiar with these evocative lines: Mo já’wé gbégbé, kó’mí má gbé mi lo/ Mo já’wé tètè, kí’lè má tè mi rì/Mo já’wé akóyoyo, èrò léhìn mi (I pluck gbégbé leaves, let the sea not wash me off/I pluck tètè -sinking-leaves, let the ground not sink me/I pluck akóyoyo – crowd-pulling – leaves, let the crowd follow me).
That is exactly what KWAM1 did in Ikorodu when he sang: ewé oríjì mo já/ewé oríjì mo já o/eni ‘ùnbá sè/eni ‘ùnbá sè kó f’orí jì mî/ewé oríjì mo já/ (I have plucked oríjì -forgiveness- leaves. Whoever I offended must forgive me. I have plucked oríjì leaves). Only the òpè, the ones Gen-Z refers to as ‘Jews’, will consider those evocations as an apology. This is, I daresay, without paying any attention to the arrogance that oozed out of him on stage.
I have asked KWAM1’s fans spreading his ‘apology’ to go and watch the two videos again. I equally asked them what would have been their reactions if the pilot of that plane had been their wives. How many men would take kindly to another man pouring a substance on their wives because the assailant has a bogus entitlement mentality?
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And how are we sure that what our OMP carried in his golden flask was water and not the street monkey tail (mixture of ògógóró and weed), or sùngbalaja (sleep anyhow) gégémú (fermented seed) fònàgáu (cross road anyhow) or jékánmò (let them know), the street stimulants associated mostly with people in KWAM1’s trade – Fuji. If the claim that he sipped the content before the air hostesses and other officials asked him to hand it over, and he claimed that what he had was water were true, may we then ask how intoxicant is the OMP’s holy water?
The excuse that Wasiu Ayinde has a health issue that requires him to sip water by seconds is as funny as it is doltish. Are we saying here that with the numerous hours he has had flying, KWAM1 is ignorant of the fact that on board the plane, he could easily require water, more so that he is on Business Class of the flight? And if truly he is easily dehydrated as he claimed, can we know how many times he took time off the stage in Ikorodu to sip water?
It is noticeable that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, immediately placed him on a no-fly list. But the measures, to me, are like a slap-on-the-wrist given the nature of the crime committed. What KWAM1 did was pure hostage taking, terrorism and false imprisonment, all rolled in one! He practically hijacked the plane for the minutes he prevented it from flying!
If he is an easily dehydrated patient as he claimed, he should know that on board that plane he held hostage for close to 40 minutes were patients who probably had appointments with their doctors. There were businessmen and women who had dates to keep but were held down by an analphabetic bumptious fellow! That he got back to Lagos, hours after the incident, probably aboard another plane (chartered or public) sends dangerous signals to the flying public and undermines discipline in the aviation industry.
Now, another KWAM1 episode played out on Sunday when a female passenger attacked crew members of another plane. If, for instance, the news out there is that KWAM1 had been remanded in prison custody pending the determination of his case, KWAM2’ would not have attempted such an infamy within one week! This is what happens when the right steps are not taken in good and right measures to address indiscipline.
The sane world is appalled that the privilege that covered KWAM1, who committed a more heinous crime of hostage-taking and terrorism, but was only cautioned and released to fly home, is denied a less-privileged ‘KWAM2’, Comfort Emmanson, who assaulted hostesses of an Uyo-Lagos bound Akwa Ibom Air, and within the hours, she was dragged before a court and was railroad to Kirikiri prison!
We have scored yet another low in our preferential treatment of citizens with the way we rushed to prosecute offender number two, without prosecuting offender number one, who is a friend of the president. These actions and inactions will haunt us for a long time.
In closing, I want to say that I deliberately left out the pilot of the Value Jet plane, Captain Oluranti Ogoyi, out of this narrative. Why? I have read comments about how badly the lady behaved or how she should have acted otherwise. I have set a search for what a pilot, who gets clearance to fly, should do when a nyaff stands, like the popular Àgbà Ìnàki (King kung), to hold the plane down.
After the clearance to take off, is it part of the standard practice that the pilot must come down to check who is standing on the tarmac, or if the tyres are well inflated like they do at Okota Motor Park? If it were to be so, there wouldn’t be cases of stowaways. Or, in the alternative, should Captain Ogoyi have called Aso Rock to get President Tinubu to come and move his official bard out of the way? If the pilot was not sure that the tarmac was clear, how come KWAM1 was the only one who had to ducked under the plane when it taxied? Until I get convincing answers, I have no opinion about Captain Ogoyi and her ‘anger management’ as many are claiming.
We are lucky that KWAM1, at 68 years old, still has the dexterity of a typical Ajegunle street boy to duck under the moving plane. The story would have been different today. In his sober moment, when he does not sip from his golden flask, may KWAM1 imbibe the wisdom of our elders that abusing one’s privilege is akin to a child who eats taboos like the tips of needles. Our elders say: Bí orí abéré, bi orí abéré laa je èèwò (one eats taboos like tips of a needle); tó bá ti tó ro’kó ní hun ní (when it is big enough to be smitten to a hoe is when it comes with its consequences). He may not be lucky next time!
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Benin Consultative Forum Mourns Its President, Arase’s Death
Published
44 minutes agoon
September 2, 2025By
Editor
Benin Consultative Forum (BCF) has expressed sadness over the sudden passing of its president, Dr. Solomon Ehigiator Arase.
Arase, who served as the 18th Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police Force,died on Sunday, August 31, 2025 in Abuja hospital.
In a statement signed by the Vice President of the Forum, Dr. Samson Osagie, and Secretary-General, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, the BCF said Arase was widely celebrated for his role in modernizing the Force.
“He introduced innovative policing models, including the establishment of a state-of-the-art technical intelligence platform, and made history as the pioneer Head of the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, where he deployed forensic and non-kinetic strategies to combat complex crimes,” the statement partly reads.
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The BCF, while describing Arase as a towering figure in Nigeria’s security architecture and an acknowledged intelligence cop within the global security network, recalled his contributions to police reforms, intelligence, law enforcement, and scholarship, especially through his writings on internal security and electoral management.
The Forum noted that Arase’s membership of the Body of Benchers was a reflection of his commitment to excellence, integrity, the rule of law, and service to humanity.
“Until his passing, he was the immediate past Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), where he brought fresh, innovative ideas to police management.
“Beyond his public service, Arase would be remembered as a philanthropist who used his influence and professional networks to uplift communities.
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“Through the Solomon Ehigiator Arase Foundation (SEAF), he provided scholarships to indigent students across Nigeria and championed causes that advanced education, security, and social welfare,” the BCF noted.
The BCF also highlighted his passion for his people, which inspired the formation of the Forum in December 2024 at his Benin City residence.
The BCF said his vision was rooted in building an egalitarian society where culture, security, and development went hand in hand.
“The Edo people, the entire nation, and humanity in general are highly appreciative of his humble service which he rendered with uncommon dedication, grit and compassion,” the statement read.
The Forum extended prayers and condolences to his wife, Mrs. Agharese Arase, and their children, describing his death as a monumental loss to Edo State, Nigeria, and the world.

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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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).
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?
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).
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?
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.
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)!

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.
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.
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 –
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.
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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.
“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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