A foremost traditionalist and the Araba of Osogboland, Chief Yemi Elebuibon, has declared that the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Adams, who is being installed today, will have a successful tenure because he submitted himself to performing all the rituals required of his new office.
He made the declaration while speaking with Saturday Tribune in a telephone interview, describing Gani Adams as a traditionalist who has utmost respect for values and cultures, irrespective of all religious biases.
“The newly-installed Aare Ona Kakanfo, Gani Adams, is a core traditionalist. He has respect for Yoruba culture and values. He also respects all religions, whether Christianity, Islam or traditional religion.
“Our new Aare Ona Kakanfo submitted himself for all the ritual ceremonies expected of his new office. By so doing, he has avoided the mistake made by his immediate predecessor, Kakanfo MKO Abiola. The late Abiola said he was a Muslim and, as such, could not perform the rituals.
“This was a grave mistake by the late Aare Ona Kakanfo and it was the cause of the problems he encountered immediately after his installation. Any person who wants to be an oba or holder of any other title of such a magnitude must be prepared and be ready to undergo some rituals in line with our culture and tradition.
“I am very glad to tell you that Gani Adams would succeed as the Aare Kakanfo because of the steps he has taken so far. He is going to perform very well and he will unite the entire Yoruba race, our culture, our people and the entire country,” he said.
The rituals
Rituals associated with the office of Kakanfo include wearing an ancestral leopard’s skin, a special cap called ojijiko and, very importantly, shaving his head completely for 201 incisions to be made on his head. The rituals are to radically transform him into a bold, courageous, fearless and fearful warrior.
“The installation of the Aare Ona Kakanfo involves a physical and ritualistic process which is intended to empower the new Aare Ona Kakanfo and make him tower above other eso. Traditionally, the installation process requires the new Kakanfo to accept incisions and medicinal concoctions on his head. Specifically, within the premises of the Alaafin in Oyo City, any Eso selected for the title would have the hair on his head shaved, have 201 sharp and deep incisions made on his head, and 201 medicinal concoctions rubbed into the incisions – one medicine for one cut! This process is considered as rituals or a rite of passage for the new Aare Ona Kakanfo to be fearless,” wrote a culture scholar, Bayo Omolola in a 2013 piece in which he quoted Johnson (1969).
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