Why it’s an abomination in Yorubaland to hold wakes for dead traditional rulers — Oba Adisa

In this interview with AKIN ADEWAKUN, the Onimeiran of Meiran kingdom, Oba (Dr) Samuel Awoyemi Adisa, believes traditional rulers still have bigger roles to play, in addition to being custodians of their people’s traditional beliefs and cultures. 

Where exactly did this community derive the name ‘Meiran’?

About 400 years ago, our forefather, Adeduola Oloja Adarakere, left Ile Ife. He and his followers had a stop-over at Iseyin and later moved to Ota, in Ogun State.  When they were in Iseyin, they gave multiplied and settled there until they again moved. You know they were herbalists, traditionalists and hunters. When they came to Ota, in Aworiland, from Iseyin, it was Isele Compound they settled at. The compound still exists.  But, while in Ota, they were coming to this place (Meiran), which was a forest then, to hunt. They would come, spend one or two weeks here and go back home (Ota) with plenty of food and meat for their families.

History also had it that when Adeduola was leaving Ile Ife, he brought this crown from the ancient town. Meanwhile, coming to Meiran, to hunt, our forebears had neighbours that gave some portion of the land to them. Some of those neighbours were given areas of jurisdiction. Interestingly, on market days, the people always realised that their farm produce and meat were always bigger than those brought to the market by those they gave other portions of land to.

So, with time they began to describe this place as ‘a place where bush-meat abounds.’ That was how the community came across the name Meiran. It is from the word bush-meat or game, because they had plenty of such here then.

How many ruling houses are there in Meiran?

We have two. This is because our forefather, Oroja, had two wives; Fafunmi was the first wife while Aina Ajayi was the second. Someone had been on this throne before me, even though centuries ago, around 1910, our fore-fathers had been meeting with the obas and other traditional rulers in Lagos. Though they were not kings but they had already attained that baale status, a level that portrayed them as obas in waiting. Then it was Ikeja District, nothing like Alimosho, Ifako Ijaye or Agbado Oke Odo.

And what year was the first king appointed?

The first king was elected in 2003 in the community; though he didn’t spend more than three years before he passed on. So, automatically it became the turn of the second ruling house to present a candidate. After due consultations with the oracle, as it’s usually the norm in this part of the country, I was picked from a list of candidates, shortlisted for the office. That was how I became the second of the town.

How long have you been on the throne?

About three years. From 2006 to 2013, there was no oba here. We only had a regent. And, even though I was appointed in 2011, I was only given the staff of office in 2014.

But why did it take the family that long to present a candidate for the vacant stool?

There was no issue. We are one indivisible family. We all belong to the same Oroja family, and we all bear the same name, Oroja. We actually felt bad that the king that we installed there did not last for more than three years. We just decided to let the issue of filling the stool rest for a while. But there is no way you will have a community without a head, and meanwhile the way these things work with government is that once you allow such things to drag, one would have to start from scratch.

Do you remember where you were when they came for you?

Oh it was a great day. I still remember vividly. I was around Joju, in Ota, in the midst of friends, when I was called by the head of the family, in Meiran here, asking me to report at Meiran immediately. I actually thought he was calling me for something else. The next day, the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs in Alausa called to congratulate me, and to inform me they would be around to give me the staff of office on December 31, 2014. You know, I had never been interested. The first oba was very close to me. He was my brother.

Even while on the throne, he tried to give me a traditional title, but I refused. I’m an herbalist. That was the work our forebears had been doing right from the word go. That was what I had been doing since the 70s. Though I went to school, it was when I wanted to further my studies that they insisted that traditional herbal practice should be my profession. So when they were talking of the next person to the stool, I was busy with the practice in Ota. While they were busy sending names for consultations, I never put my mind there. And in 2007 when my name was announced, I took to my heels. I relocated from where I was staying then. I was simply not interested since I felt it was going to be a hindrance to my profession. I even felt it was going to affect my social life too, because I just didn’t want to be encumbered by any traditional title. My parents too were opposed to the idea. They felt their child could be killed. Later traditional leaders started coming from Meiran to Ota to allay my fears. They were able to convince my mother first. I later gave in after some time.

How would you describe the first three years of your reign?

We should just thank God. We should also thank the state government. You know if a community is without a head, there are some things such community would be missing out on. There was a time you couldn’t come to Meiran; no water, no light, the roads were not just there. But I thank God that since I got here, things have improved tremendously.

Besides we’ve been able to establish a very strong bond among the different ethnic and religious groups here. And, this has gone a long way in engendering peace in the community.

The 2019 general election is around the corner. What role do you think traditional rulers should play in all this?

It should be a key role. Whenever we go to Alausa to meet with the governor, I always mention this. For instance, nothing stops a government from making an oba, Special Adviser on Security or even traditional matters. We don’t need an office in Alausa, all these can be done from the palace, except sometimes when there is the need to see the governor. The issue of security should not be an all-comer affair. When you involve everybody, there is no way you achieve results because you are not even sure of the backgrounds of those attending those meetings. In the olden days, communities were being secured without firing a shot. There were traditional means of doing this then.

Also, there is nothing wrong in giving a traditional ruler some contract within his community. If an oba is given a contract in his community, he would do everything, humanly possible, to ensure that such projects are successfully carried out since he lives within the community and he is also the number one citizen of that community.

It is a general belief, especially among people in this part of the country, that it is almost mandatory for an oba to marry another wife on ascending the throne. Have you done that?

Well it happens, but remember, every action comes from the mind. That is why they won’t make a bachelor an oba in Yorubaland. Even if he is, once he is appointed, he has to look for who to marry so as not to suffer such fate. I also experienced it. I had not spent six months on the throne before I started getting overtures from people regarding this. But I already had two wives before becoming an oba.

But in all, one still has to be very careful. While it may have its own positive side, the negative sides are also very glaring.

What is your relationship with the various religious organisations in  your domain?

If you notice, in my names I have Samuel, I have Ifayemi Awoyemi, I have Ismaeel. I combine the three: Christianity, Islam and traditional religion. In my family, we always invite the three religions while doing the christening of a new born child. That is why you see me bearing the three different names, depicting the three main religions that we have in this part of the globe.

One of the requests of traditionalists in the state to the government, during the last Isese Day, is that August 20, every year, be declared a public holiday. Any response from the government?

Well no official response yet, but we are of the strong belief that the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, will definitely accede to our request. We are really begging him on this, because we know once he accepts this here, all other states, including the Federal Government, will fall in line. We believe we are not asking for too much. It is just one day in a year.  Christianity and Islam get close to six days in a year, each, as holidays, so why should traditional religion be different?  It is meant to uphold the country in prayers.

There is this argument by some obas in the South West that when an oba passes on, he should be buried according to his religious belief and not necessarily in a traditional way. What is your take on this?

Well, I beg to differ from this line of argument. We’ve seen some obas that disappeared. We’ve seen some whose wives turned into rivers. Odo Oba and Odo Oshun used to be first and second wives of a very great man. It is quite untraditional to say we are organising a wake for an oba. It is also an abomination to put him in a coffin for burial. This is because it is a taboo for an oba to see a coffin while alive. People must not see his own coffin too. I know such a thing will never happen in Ile Ife, it will never happen in Oyo and other core traditional areas in the South West.

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