It is not fitting for a king to have good luck charms. He is already a king, second-in-command to the gods. Does he want to become God?
Generally, especially in the traditional societies of Africa, to be a king is to attain the highest position any mortal can aspire to. Whether the position is hereditary or not, the society treats it as sacred and its occupant as divinely ordained. The power of life and death are in his hands.
In the Yoruba culture of southwest Nigeria, Ifa is consulted by the kingmakers before a king emerges. The teachings of Ifa point to greed as a common factor in attracting burdens and obstacles in life because individuals driven by greed are more inclined to engage in unethical behaviour. An individual’s attachment to the illusions of Earth can burden him and propel him to his doom.
So, when, in these modern times, he descends to the plebeian level of stealing or conducting himself in a manner beneath the dignity of his high standing in society, the same society separates him from his voluminous robes and accoutrements of royal power and consigns him to the basement of the social order where there is guaranteed to be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
King Or Crook?
Several months ago, what started like a rumour ballooned into grim reality when a 62-year-old king, the Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Oloyede, was sentenced to 56 months in prison by US District Judge Christopher A. Boyko. The king was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution. He also forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road, which he had acquired with proceeds of the crime and an additional $96,006.89 in fraud proceeds which investigators had seized.
Before ascending the throne of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oloyede, who had dual citizenship of Nigeria and the US, worked as a tax preparer and operated five businesses and one nonprofit. His co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, owned an additional three business entities.
Both men led a conspiracy to exploit COVID-19 emergency loan programmes created for struggling businesses through the US Small Business Association (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Last April, they both pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax fraud charges linked to a pandemic relief scam that siphoned over $4.2m in federal stimulus funds.
According to the prosecutors, “Both defendants used their businesses to submit loan applications using false information. They obtained approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities.”
I am told that the Oba was on vacation; he had gone to the US with pomp as was befitting of his status as a royal father only to be confronted with ghosts of criminality from his past. Who could ever have predicted that His Royal Highness, the Apetu of Ipetumodu, would, in a matter of months, be exchanging the elaborate paraphernalia of his royal costume for the orange jumper of a US penitentiary? Surely, this wasn’t supposed to happen to any Oba vetted by Ifa divination before ascending the throne — or does modern man fiddle with the verdict of the oracle to install impostors on sacred thrones?
Back home in Nigeria, the development was nothing short of a national embarrassment as people roundly condemned the convicts for further tarnishing the image of the country. As one citizen-journalist put it, “They’re spoiling our bad name!”
Where Was Ifa?
This scandal was happening within months of the installation of the Alaafin of Oyo whose nomination process was initially mired in controversy until Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, stepped in and invited the Awise of Ifa worldwide, Prof Wande Abimbola, to help conduct a fresh, unbiased divination exercise which confirmed the choice of the incumbent king, His Royal Majesty, Alaafin Owoade.
Travelling on the cyber highway, you’d think that Ifa itself was on trial. People wonder if traditional processes have been adulterated to such an extent that men of doubtful character now manage to squeeze themselves through the eye of the needle to get to the throne. Fingers are being pointed at one or two other kings whose conduct should be of concern to Yoruba ancestors and gods.
The general consensus is that society needs to return to the original laid-down processes of installation of kings. There is so much that can be said for modernisation but the oracle cannot be modernised, lest it starts speaking in unknown tongues. The centrality of Ifa divination in the choice, installation and day to day administration of a king within the Yoruba culture has also been highlighted by knowledgeable people who added the voices to the call for soul searching among the people.
There is also the sociological angle of people canvassed mainly by people in academia who have declared that the disgrace of Oba Oloyede was symptomatic of the rot in the society at large. A rotten society begets unscrupulous kingmakers who conduct a fake divination to choose an unfit but monied pretender to ascend an otherwise sacred throne. Society is the worst for it.
They contend, as Lao Tzu does, that, There is no calamity greater than lavish desires; no greater guilt than discontentment And there is no greater disaster than greed.
Already, the scramble for the deserted throne has started. Princes of the town are falling over each other to attract attention and secure the endorsement of the kingmakers without any attempt to interrogate how the recent disaster happened. Perhaps the Osun State government will rise to the occasion and save the traditional institution from itself.
Thank You, Nba
Since the latest announcement by the Inspector General of Police that the military-era ban on vehicle tinted glass was to be reintroduced and enforced nationally, many commenters, including this columnist, have warned that the scheme was seen by the general public as a scam. I am delighted that the Nigerian Bar Association, (NBA) has now risen up to the occasion.
The NBA, through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL), has instituted a public interest action before the Federal High Court, Abuja in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/182/2025 between: The Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association v. The Inspector General of Police & Anor essentially challenging the legality of the tinted glass permit policy.
The NBA-SPIDEL, under the leadership of its Transition Committee Chairman, Prof. Paul Ananaba, SAN and the Section’s Public Interest Litigation Committee, chaired by Mr. Olukunle Ogheneovo Edun, SAN, whose proactive efforts were responsible for the accomplishment of this task, have been directed to pursue this litigation to a logical conclusion.
Thank you, NBA for carrying out a major corporate social responsibility. On this issue, I am with you all the way!
State Police
Having advocated consistently for the creation of state police in the last 10 years, it was sweet music to my ears that President Tinubu is now game. “I am reviewing all the aspects of security. I have to create a state police. We are looking at that holistically. We will defeat insecurity….” Sweet music to my ears, if you ask me. Once we put all the safeguards in place to prevent a possible abuse of the scheme by politicians, please let’s do it.
