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Ifa Priest, Prof. WANDE ABIMBOLA Explains The Process
Many people do not know that popular Ifa Priest, Professor Wande Abimbola was the one who consulted Ifa and announced the new Alaafin. A former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), Professor Wande Abimbola, was third republic Majority Leader of the Nigerian Senate. The professor of Ifa divination who was installed as the Awise Awo Agbaye in 1981 at Ile Ife, recently spoke to a group of journalists LASISI OLAGUNJU, FESTUS ADEDAYO and SAHEED SALAWU on the role he played in the emergence of the new Alaafin of Oyo. Below are excerpts.
You were involved in the choice of the Alaafin. How did it start?
Well, someone interviewed me yesterday or day before and it has gone viral. I don’t regret what I said, but I don’t want to say too much anymore; only to let you know that for the first time in modern times in Yorubaland, Ifa played a key role in the selection of a prominent oba. I said for the first time because in the past, in the entire Yorubaland, that is how it was always done. Ifa used to be the one who would pick the successor to the king who died. And any time they did that, it was not done with the influence of money or position. The choice of Ifa was always respected. But in recent times, they don’t do that anymore; it is now usually done with the influence of money. So, I was happy and surprised, too, that we could find a governor who says that we should consult Ifa. A year or two ago, we divined and it was so easy to pick someone, anyone — I didn’t want to know the person. That was how Ifa selected a person.
We did it and for a long time, we didn’t hear anything again. Actually, I came home for the marriage of one of my sons in Lagos. When the governor heard that I was around, he said he was just about to send for me again because he was ready, and the kingmakers were fighting among themselves. Some of them were questioned by the EFCC because it was allegations galore; some of them received money, plenty of money. Two days ago, they summoned me again and he said they presented names to me last year so, which one? I said the one Ifa picked remained the choice of Ifa. Fortunately, when they screened him, that number one, they didn’t find anything wrong; he hadn’t committed any crime. They know how they do their own screening. That was the person whose name was announced.
Don’t you see some kind of clash between tradition and modernity in this choice because some people are saying that the chieftaincy law of Oyo State, for instance, does not reckon with Ifa choosing an Alaafin and here we have a governor who wants to go backwards for us to go forward?
Even in modern times, culture demands that they would ask Ifa also. That may not be the primary method of selection, but they would ask Ifa, and that is our own tradition. Now, it is not the case that the kingmakers were bypassed; they were there while we consulted Ifa to choose the best. The Oyo Mesi were there only they had split into two. And one section took the governor to court; that he must take the candidate they presented. There were five kingmakers. They used to be seven. Two of them had died, remaining five. Two of the five went to government to complain that from the bribe that was given to them, what they gave to them was small. So, the EFCC invited all of them and they confessed: “Well, we are very sorry that we are involved in this. This is the money that we got. Please, forgive us.” But the others, instead of that, took the government to court, saying that the candidate that they chose through the influence of money must be installed. The case is still in court. So, the two kingmakers who relented were part of the process. The governor also picked another two as warrant chiefs in the process of selecting the Alaafin. Which is the normal way it is done. If things are like this and the kingmakers split, if they don’t agree among themselves, they would use warrant chiefs; they (government) find other minor kings or chiefs in the town and they make them warrant chiefs to participate. You can’t use somebody who took the government to court anymore. In any case, those ones are adamant on their own choice which the government didn’t want to use. So, it’s not that the choice of Ifa was not acted upon by the kingmakers. They (four of them) were there and they agreed. It’s the kingmakers who chose the person selected by Ifa.
And Ifa did not make a mistake?
Ifa does not make mistakes. It does not.
And you didn’t take money?
I, Ogunwande Ifagbemi Sangodahunsi, did not collect a kobo from anyone.
I turned 92 in December. I am satisfied with where I am. I was Vice Chancellor for eight years without blemish. Some people were saying it was charm that Baba employed. What charm? They knew I was father to them. As senate leader I never took what did not legally belong to me. How did I become senate leader? When we got to the Senate, there was a fight over who would be the leader and I just sat by and watched. One day to our swearing-in, we were asked to meet at our party, SDP secretariat where (former) Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife of Anambra State was made the Chairman. Then they had divided the party into zones with the position that would go to each zone alloted. We would have clinched the position of the Senate President, but because it was clear that Abiola was going to be president, it was considered unfair to give us the President and Senate President. That was the reason why we were given the Senate Majority Leader. Two people fought over the position. The first person that was first nominated was removed. They said they didn’t want him anymore. He was not around when the removal was done. There were appeals that a man’s head should not be shaved in his absence; that he should be allowed to be present for his removal, but all the entreaties were ignored. A day to the swearing in, it was announced that the principal positions had been shared among six zones. “North Central, who is your choice of Senate President?” They mentioned (Iyorchia) Ayu’s name. “South West, who have you chosen as the Senate Majority Leader?” Different names were mentioned and then a disagreement ensued. All the while, I was wondering what I was doing at a place where all they did was fight. After about an hour of stalemate, the chairman, Ezeife, said, “You, West, go into that house over there (the secretariat was a big compound) and resolve your matter.” Governor Segun Osoba (of Ogun State) was made the chairman. SDP had four governors in the South West then, the fifth governor in Lagos was not SDP. (Ekiti State had not been created). At about 12 midnight, they went into a closed-door session with the contending senators where more fighting was done. I was filled with doubt as to the kind of company I was with. People had told me, “Having been Vice Chancellor, what is your business with politics? It is beneath you.” At about 2am, Osoba led the three other governors out of the session as he asked us, “You, South West senators, is this what you will be doing at the Senate? Did you not hear that those people were close to coming to blows? One defeated the other with one vote, but there was no compromise between the two. Is there no other nominee?” Somebody said, “Professor Abimbola!” Then they all raised their hand with shouts of “Yes! Baba.” Then they carried me. After I was made the Senate Majority Leader, I was daily inundated with requests to submit a bill to the Senate proposing how much they were going to be collecting. I told them: “You have been given accommodation in Hilton Hotel. You all have big rooms, and even parlours. We enjoy free meals. Let Abiola be elected president first. Our salary will only be fixed after Abiola gets elected and his salary, the salary of his ministers is fixed.” They said no. You know it’s the Majority Leader that sees to that sort of thing in the Senate. “It’s going to three weeks…it’s almost a month that you have been there. Are we not going to get paid?” Then I invited all of them. It is God that prevented them from beating me. They could have beaten me but for who I am. O si ye, o bo, eegun o gbodo na babalawo (a masquerade must not beat a babalawo).
Really, sir? Eegun to ba na Babalawo nko (what becomes of a masquerade that beats an Ifa priest)?
Beat me? Parara l’ewe koko o ya. Parara (cocoyam leaf gets torn terribly; terribly is cocoyam leaf torn).
Interesting? That what happened in Ife? They said when students went on riot, threatening to beat the Vice Chancellor, the moment you arrived in their midst, they would switch from anger to hailing you.
It was even before I ever arrived in their midst. I never went anywhere without carrying Iroke (his insignia of office as babalawo). I always carried an Iroke that was made of beads. When I was made the Vice Chancellor, I summoned my wives and children and took them to the Vice Chancellor’s quarters. We checked every room. You know the office of the Vice Chancellor is quite the palace on mountaintop from where you enjoy an aerial view of the entire Ile-Ife. Mo ni, “Se e ri ibi ti Ifa gbe wa de ab’eeri (I said you see the height where Ifa has brought us to, don’t you see)? If I ever hear of any of you perverting justice or collecting bribe, I will curse such a person!” If you are altruistic like that, you have the heart of a lion. The altruism will show in your gait, it will show whether you say something or not. I was Vice Chancellor for seven years with an unblemished record. I was never affluent. The English say he that is down needs fear no fall. That was how God helped me with the Ife years. When I held sway as the Vice Chancellor, I was father to all the students then, including students of affiliate institutions like the Institute of Agriculture, Akure; Adeyemi College in Ondo; Moore Plantation in Ibadan. They were 30,000 students in total under me. People who take up academic teaching careers should be praised. It is hardly a path to financial breakthrough. Their choice of career is just borne out of passion for teaching. When I was there, if a student had a First Class in any faculty, science or arts, we begged them to stay and be part of the system. We gave them fellowships and then they did their Masters and Ph.D. It didn’t take the Ife (University of Ife) community of those years too long to realise that I was their father. They had various songs for me whenever I appeared from a distance. They would sing, “Babalawo mo wa bebe…” I would wear shoes of beads and hold Iroke made of beads. It was like the stepping out of an egungun. I spent the seven years in service of the students. Before I became the Vice Chancellor, Ife had collaborations with just two other universities, such that their professors could visit us and our professors could visit them. By the time I spent seven years as Vice Chancellor, we had had collaborations with 23 other universities. I signed agreements with four universities in France, five universities in England, five or six universities in Brazil… The meaning of university is “Universe city.” Any university with no presence of the Japanese, Indians, Germans, English, Americans, o ku die k’aato (is not university enough).
So, that is that about the issue of the Alaafin of Oyo. I did not insist on the choice of the candidate, the kingmakers approved him. It turned out that the candidate is a good man when his file was presented. We did the divination a long time ago and as an academic, I wrote a 21-page report on the divination process. When they called me four or five days ago, I asked for the report. They said maybe it was with the governor, and things like that. They asked if I remembered the name of number one (the first candidate). “But I wrote a 21-page report!” Then I sent for my wife, with whom I carried out the divination process. She is Iyan’Ifa, too; Iya Ajis’ebo. She fished out a copy of the report. I did not choose the Alaafin, the kingmakers did. Ifa chose the person and they approved him. They expressed satisfaction with the choice. Maybe they had been scrutinising him all this while to find out if he had done something wrong in a previous workplace or committed any kind of wrong before. When they eventually brought his file, it became known that he worked in Canada. This was previously unknown to us. I was happy and I thanked Ifa. He is a chartered engineer. If we do things the way they are supposed to be done, the outcome will always be right.
