In years past, no one could become a king without kingmakers consulting the deity of wisdom (Ifá).
We were being informed that Ifá, on one, two or many occasions, had rejected some heirs to a throne, but chose a stranger to become a king. This had happened in some towns.
Thorough consultations and honesty were the guilding principles to choose kings in bygone years . Yes, divine and spiritual consultations were necessary for the good of the towns and people.
Those days, foreign way of governance and ‘oyinbo’ way of doing things had not crawled into our culture. We had not been brainwashed to abandon our culture and belief. There was no government to choose kings for our forefathers. Our forebears relied substantially on Ifá’s guidance, and things were better off. But is this the case today?
What are really the prerequisites for choosing kings nowadays? Do the kingmakers still consult the deity before kings are enthroned? Why is today’s Ifá is no more interested in common men to become kings. Why only the rich especially when it comes to first class kings?
This, of course, reminds me of my interaction with one of Ilé-ifè’s kingmakers, name and title withheld, few months before the current Oòni of Ifè was chosen. I and some others in the gathering were worried to know whom Ifá would likely choose among the contestants to become Oòni. Would the next king come from humble background?
But the chief jokingly told us that today’s Ifá was no more interested in a poor man to become a king, most especially a king of such high calibre. He told us that the deity nowadays dislikes poverty. We all laughed. And he added, “Eni tí òsùwòn è bá kún ni yíò j’oba”. Meaning – “the highest bidder might likely be enthroned”. And he finally said, “enìkan ó j’oba, àwon kan ó je gbèsè”. We all laughed again.
Sincerely this isn’t a matter to laugh over whatsoever. It’s something that needs to be deliberated on and taken seriously. Have we ever paused to wonder why many kings today are not respected like those kings of old? We had seen many situations where kings were unjustly dethroned and deposed without any repercussion.
Sometime in a town, some youths gathered to destroy a palace; beat and chase a king away. Even if a king of old committed a sin or was involved in any atrocity, it was totally wrong for anyone or any group to singlehandedly punish the king. This was considered to be an abomination. There were traditional ways this could be handled. ‘Oba má nsí’gbáwò ni’ (King did commit suicide in such situation). Anyone who disrespected a king back then would later regret his/her action.
But does this apply in today’s society? How did we expect Ifá to avenge the maltreatment meted out to a king when it’s already known that the process by which the king was enthroned was faulty? How did we expect Ifá to get even with those who dishonoured a king in a situation where the king-to-be had to submit an application, like a job seeker does, to the constituted authority before he could be considered for the throne?
Today, a governor could wake up one day, and sack a king like he normally sacks any of his commissioners. If, in a gathering, a king failed to bow down for a governor, this could be taken as a disrespect to the constituted authority, and that king might be dethroned even before he got to his palace. Why? It wasn’t Ifá that authorized and sanctioned his coronation. He was crowned by the power that be, a governor.
In my view, if we’re really serious to put a stop to the way our present kings are being treated roughly and molested, the system that allowed our culture to play a major role in the installation of kings should be restored. Since it’s believed that the thrones of kings were divinely instituted and established, kingmakers must rely, like before, majorly on the instructions and guidance of the deity(Ifá) rather than looking for a candidate whose pocket or bank account is fat.
Òyó ò ní bàjé o!