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OPINION: The Body Of The Yoruba King

Published

6 months ago

July 21, 2025

By Lasisi Olagunju

Okuku town in present Osun State has a well-recorded history of cultural promotion and preservation. Ulli Beier’s ‘Yoruba Beaded Crowns’ (1982) and Karin Barber’s ‘I Could Speak until Tomorrow: Oriki, Women and the Past in a Yoruba Town’ (1991) are two of the contributions of Okuku to Yoruba cultural history. The late Yoruba playwright and culture icon, Adebayo Faleti, told me in 2004 that he wrote one of his major plays in Okuku in the 1950s.

Oba Moses Oyewole Oyinlola was Olokuku of Okuku from 1938 to 1960. A very deeply religious and cultural man, he died on 20 February, 1960 and was buried two days later. Within those two days, there was a flurry of rites in the town and in the palace. The late oba’s grown-up male children feared that the king’s corpse would be tampered with by some unknown people called traditionalists. And so, they met and plotted to stop it.

One of the boys was embedded in the palace room where the remains were laid in state. Armed with a machete, he kept vigil over their dad’s remains while others lurked around as a back-up. Then, deep in the night, with curfew in place, some elderly persons, in a column, filed into the room. They turned out to be known faces; they were the chiefs that reigned with the now dead king.

The chiefs did not see the hiding young man with a machete. They started the rites while the boy watched every aspect of what the chiefs came to do. To his relief, there was no attempt to tamper with the corpse. “They did not even touch it. All they came with were words and wishes. They communicated with their oba asking him to intercede for them before the ancestors so that their own lives and that of the entire town could be as sweet as that of the departed oba.” They finished their prayers and left. Did the sentry leave too? An eye was kept on the remains until they were buried on February 22, 1960 in the premises of St Michael’s Cathedral, Okuku. The tomb is up to today the most prominent there.

The hiding prince told me all this in 2004 as I was gathering materials for the biography of the late oba, which was published in December 2005. Some people of tradition would ask where the prince is now. He grew to become a man, became successful, earned a PhD, lived well and died a few years ago at almost 90.

The death last Sunday and burial on Monday of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Olukayode Adetona, is the top trending topic. His transition and the controversy of his burial have renewed public interest in who should bury an oba and what really happens to the body of a king in Yorubaland when he dies. Do the bodies get mutilated and the hearts removed for the installation of their successors? Do succeeding obas eat the hearts of their predecessors?

I have cited the Okuku case above. I have also read wide and consulted people who should know. All my sources maintained that cannibalism is not one of Yoruba people’s ‘disorder’ and so, eating the heart of a dead king couldn’t have been one of the ingredients of their royal installation rites. The late Awujale, in an old interview that has also gone viral lately, gave his own experience on the heart-eating myth: “I cannot recall any rite that was done behind the scene. Let them come and tell me. It is all lies. Nothing like that. They even tell you that they give the heart of a deceased oba to the new one to eat!…Nothing like that. Okay, which heart did Orimolusi eat when Adeboye died in Tripoli? Besides, when Gbelegbuwa died, I wasn’t in the country. I was abroad and didn’t return until about a year after his death. So, which heart was given to me? I didn’t eat anything oooo. So, no such thing happened.” I think other obas should come out and tell their story. Doing so may stop friends and foes of the Yoruba from looking at them as man-eaters.

Some tradition-loving Yoruba persons are angry because the Awujale was buried by Muslims. Now, I ask: What is traditional burial? What is Muslim burial? Among other obligatory steps, the Muslim corpse is washed and shrouded in a simple white cloth; prayers are offered. Inside the grave, the body is laid on its right side, facing the East. At what point does a received practice become part of one’s tradition? I asked because just like the Muslims, the Lo Dagaa of northern Ghana, who are not Muslims, also bury their dead people “lying on their right side facing the East so that the rising sun will tell them to prepare for hunt or for the farm…” So, what is ‘Muslim’ to Yoruba traditionalists is ‘traditional’ to that Ghanaian ethnic group. We can read this and more in J. Goody’s ‘Death, Property and the Ancestors: A Study of Mortuary Customs of the Lo Dagaa of West Africa’ published in 1962.

It happened that some bad kings received bad burials in the past. One of such punishments for royal misdeeds could be dismemberment of the cadaver. There were other rewards for good and bad behaviour on the throne. When a wicked oba died, the chiefs stormed the palace and seized all items in there as communal property. When a good oba died, the chiefs delayed the announcement until the family of the departed had moved all they wanted out of the palace to his private residence. The chiefs could achieve that because in theory, the Yoruba king owned nothing as personal property. He reigned in the name of the town, got gifts and favours in their name and on their behalf he kept or used them. It was therefore the law that the palace, the king, and all he owned were property of the kingdom. All these, including the body, could go back to the people and the oba’s family stripped naked if the departed was not a good man.

If it is the Yoruba tradition that the king’s body belongs to the community, then we have to define who approximates that community today. The majority Muslim/Christian groups or the minority who claim ‘tradition’ as their religion? If tradition is a people’s way of life, have Christianity and Islam not become part of the Yoruba ‘way of life’? Indeed, there is a whole Odu in Ifa celebrating Islam and Muslims. It is called Odu Imale. Tradition is a river; it draws its strength from the source but gets stronger and larger as it takes from this stream and that tributary. It would be a dirty, diseased pond if it resists the cleansing ritual of free-flowing.

Tradition is not the earthing of a people in a past that is long gone. What is traditional is not exactly what is archaic.

The West brought Christianity and civilisation to the ‘savage’ tribes of Africa. In 1946, they stopped the suicide of an Olokun Esin in Oyo who was billed to accompany the Alaafin on his journey to the ancestors. Since then, no Oyo king has enjoyed having an entourage to heaven. Dying with the king was hugely celebrated in Oyo as the ultimate expression of love for the empire and high-end duty to the king:

Olókùn-esin İbàdàn

K’ó má ba Olókùn-ęsin Ộyộ je

Ẹni ó bá rójú b`óba kú

L’`a á mò l’Ólókùn-esin.

Eyí ti ò rójú b’óba kú

A á maa pè ‘ón l’Ólókùn-eran ni…

(Adeboye Babalola, 2001:125).

It was also part of the ritual of passage for the Alaafin that his crown prince (Aremo) must die with him. But Alaafin Atiba stopped that practice. He got his Aremo Adelu endorsed as his successor before he died in 1858 at the age of 58. There was a resistance to that change snowballing into a very bad civil war – the Ijaye War of 1860-1862. But the reform was eventually upheld because forced suicide (or murder) was repugnant to decency and a violent assault on the prince’s right to life.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR:[OPINION] Buhari: A Tale Of Two Deaths

Tradition speaks to aspects of a people’s way of life. It is the “inherited beliefs, practices, and values passed down through generations.” But it is not immutable. Traditions are practices in perpetual transition. A tradition isn’t what it is called if it fails to adapt to societal shifts, to advancements in tech, to new cultural influences. Customs and traditions live when they accept modifications, reinterpretations, and even the abandonment of certain practices as societies evolve. Take a glance at the death and burial of King Francis I of France in 1547. I will rely on this quote from Ralph Giesey’s ‘The Royal Funeral Ceremony in Renaissance France’ published in 1960: “With the death of a king, the body was immediately eviscerated, embalmed, and the removed remains subsequently buried apart from the corpse.” Evisceration means to disembowel a person or animal. Would anyone expect the evisceration of a king’s body today in the West? Even French that did it five centuries ago has since abolished the monarchy itself. It did so on 24 February, 1848. Have we paused to ponder the future of Yoruba kingship as democracy digs in?

While we seek to preserve what we call our tradition, have we asked how the various parts came to be? How do traditions get invented? What the French did to the corpse of their king in 1547, the act of disemboweling that took place some 500 years ago, was it for ritual or for medical reasons? W. Arens’ in ‘The Demise of Kings and the Meaning of Kingship’ (1984) from where I got the Giesey quote will serve you if you need more on the sacred and religious contents of that royal burial and the parallel it drew with the burial of kings in a part of Africa.

So, as we bid the iconic Awujale good night, it is time the Yoruba elite and commoners calmed down and got to work on the real issues of development that need urgent tackling. As I told someone at the weekend, the Yoruba have no friend in Nigeria. Onílé owó òtún kò wo niire, ìmòràn ìkà ni t’òsì ngbà, ká lé ni jáde ni tòókán ilé nwí. I will not translate this; rather, I will add that majoring in minor issues degrades the Yoruba advantage of over 200 years of education and of global engagement.

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Edo Targets 2.2 Million Children For Measles, Rubella Vaccination

Published

8 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

The Edo State Government says it is targeting about 2.2 million children aged between 0 and 14 years for measles and rubella vaccination across the state.

The Director of Disease Control and Immunization at the Edo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Eseigbe Efeomon, who disclosed this during stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting in Benin City, said this would be done in collaboration with development partners.

Efeomon, while noting that the vaccination exercise scheduled to hold simultaneously from January 20 to January 30, 2026, across the 18 local government areas of Edo State at designated health facilities and temporary vaccination posts, said the campaign aims to contribute significantly to the reduction of measles and rubella in Nigeria.

He explained that achieving this target requires increased population immunity through sustained vaccination.

Dr. Efeomon stressed that only qualified and certified health workers would be recruited as vaccinators because the vaccines are injectable.

According to him, the vaccination strategy would involve fixed posts and temporary fixed posts, and vaccination cards would be issued to all vaccinated children as proof, which parents and caregivers are advised to keep for future reference.

He added that vaccination teams would visit schools, churches, mosques, markets, motor parks, internally displaced persons’ camps and other public places, while children who receive the vaccine would be finger-marked to prevent double vaccination.

He reiterated that the overarching goal of the campaign is to drastically reduce rubella incidence nationwide and protect children from preventable diseases through effective immunisation coverage.

Also speaking, the World Health Organization Local Government Facilitator, Mr. Ajaero Paul, described measles and rubella as major causes of death and congenital abnormalities among children globally.

He said both diseases are preventable through the measles-rubella vaccine, which he described as safe and effective,

He added that sustained advocacy is critical to reducing child mortality and lifelong disabilities.

On his part, UNICEF Social and Behavioural Change Health Officer, Yakubu Suleiman, emphasised that the measles-rubella vaccine is safe and effective for all children aged nine months to 14 years.

He stated that the government has fully paid for the vaccines, making them available at no cost to all eligible children in government health facilities across the state.

Suleiman explained that vaccination not only protects individual children but also safeguards communities from deadly vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and rubella.

He added that even children who had previously received the measles vaccine should still be given the measles-rubella vaccine and appealed to schools and other key stakeholders to support the campaign to ensure that no child is left behind.

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Togo, Niger, Benin Owe Nigeria Over $17.8m For Supplied Electricity – NERC

Published

13 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

Nigeria’s electricity regulator has disclosed that three neighbouring countries, Togo, Niger and Benin, are indebted to Nigeria to the tune of $17.8 million, equivalent to more than N25 billion at prevailing exchange rates, for power supplied under bilateral electricity agreements.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, made this known in its Third Quarter 2025 report, which reviewed market performance within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI.

According to the report, the international customers were billed a total of $18.69 million by the Market Operator for electricity supplied during the third quarter of 2025. However, only $7.125 million was paid, leaving an unpaid balance of $11.56 million for the period under review.

NERC also revealed that the same international offtakers had outstanding legacy debts amounting to $14.7 million from previous quarters. Of this amount, $7.84 million was settled, leaving a residual balance of $6.23 million.

When combined with the Q3 2025 shortfall, the total outstanding debt stood at $17.8 million, which translates to about N25.36 billion at an exchange rate of N1,425 to one US dollar.

The regulator identified the international electricity customers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin Republic, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger Republic.

NERC stated that the three utilities collectively paid just $7.125 million against the $18.69 million invoice issued for electricity supplied in the third quarter, resulting in a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent.

This meant that more than half of the billed amount remained unpaid at the close of the quarter.

The commission explained that the electricity exported to the three countries was generated by grid-connected Nigerian generation companies and delivered through cross-border bilateral power supply arrangements.

By contrast, NERC reported a stronger payment performance among domestic bilateral customers. According to the report, local customers paid N3.19 billion out of the N3.64 billion invoiced for the same quarter, representing a remittance rate of 87.61 per cent.

The regulator further noted that some bilateral customers, both international and domestic, made additional payments to offset outstanding invoices from earlier quarters.

Specifically, the Market Operator received $7.84 million from international customers and N1.3 billion from domestic customers in settlement of previous obligations.

Beyond bilateral transactions, NERC disclosed that Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies remitted a total of N381.29 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator in the third quarter of 2025. This was out of a cumulative invoice of N400.48 billion, translating to an overall remittance performance of 95.21 per cent.

The commission said the figures were derived from reconciled market settlement data submitted as of December 18, 2025, as part of its statutory evaluation of the commercial health and performance of the electricity market.

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Expert Identify Foods That Increase Hypertension Medication’s Effectiveness

Published

20 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

Hypertension remains one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide, contributing significantly to heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Despite the availability of effective antihypertensive drugs, long-term control of high blood pressure is often challenging because of drug resistance, side effects, and poor adherence.

This has fueled growing scientific interest in complementary strategies that can enhance drug efficacy while minimising toxicity. One promising approach is the combination of conventional antihypertensive medications with herbs and spices in many kitchens.

Recent evidence suggests that augmenting modern antihypertensive drugs with foods rich in p-coumaric acid, a naturally occurring phenolic acid, may offer a novel and effective strategy for blood pressure control.

Phenolic compounds, commonly found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, are known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and blood vessel–protective properties.

In a study, researchers investigated the combined effects of lisinopril, a widely used antihypertensive drugs and p-coumaric acid on hypertension.

They reported in the Comparative Clinical Pathology that p-coumaric acid enhance the antihypertensive action of lisinopril, potentially allowing for improved blood pressure control without increasing drug dosage.

The study used an established animal model in which hypertension was induced in rats through oral administration of L-NAME, a compound known to suppress nitric oxide production and raise blood pressure.

Following the induction of hypertension, the animals were treated for 14 days with p-coumaric acid (at two different doses), lisinopril alone, or a combination of both.

Untreated hypertensive rats showed significantly elevated activities of key enzymes linked to high blood pressure such as ACE, arginase, acetylcholinesterase, and phosphodiesterase-5 along with increased lipid peroxidation, an indicator of oxidative stress. At the same time, levels of nitric oxide, a critical molecule for blood vessel relaxation, were markedly reduced.

By contrast, rats treated with a combination of lisinopril and p-coumaric acid experienced notable improvements. Blood pressure was better controlled; harmful enzyme activities were reduced, oxidative stress declined, and nitric oxide levels increased. These improvements were mirrored in the tissues the heart compared with untreated hypertensive animals.

They said that the findings suggest that p-coumaric acid may enhance the antihypertensive action of lisinopril, potentially allowing for improved blood pressure control without increasing drug dosage.

This drug–food interaction model is particularly important in the circumstance of long-term hypertension management. Many patients rely on lifelong medication, and strategies that can improve treatment outcomes while reducing side effects are highly desirable.

The study also reinforces the growing recognition that diet is not merely supportive but can be biologically active in disease control.

The use of medicinal plants and plant-based therapies in the management of hypertension is deeply rooted in traditional medicine across many cultures. While such practices have often existed outside conventional healthcare systems, modern scientific research is now providing evidence-based explanations for their effectiveness.

While these findings are based on animal studies and cannot yet be directly translated into clinical recommendations for humans, they open the door to future research on dietary strategies that can safely complement antihypertensive drugs.

Further clinical studies are needed to determine appropriate dosages, safety profiles, and real-world effectiveness.

In the fight against hypertension, the future may lie not only in new drugs, but also in smarter combinations, where medicine and nutrition work together to deliver better, safer outcomes for patients.

Such nutrition to help maintain healthy blood pressure includes garlic, potatoes, walnuts,tomato and tomato products, legumes and citrus fruits (grapefruits and oranges).
(TRIBUNE)