By Dotun Oyeniyi
This week, an event of epic historical importance played out within the Orangun’s palace in Ila. The newly installed Onipopo of Grand Popo in Republique du Benin, Sa Majeste Oba Adeshina Fagbemi Alahoussan Hélékétché entered Ìpèbí right within the palace of the Orangun of Ila.
The new Onipopo by this act has wrestled back the direction of history, re-emphasised and re-asserted his root and blood, earlier disrupted by the Europeans who haphazardly deliniated and parcelled out Africa, an act that emptied out a significant space in a people’s history and robbed people of their true identity and self consciousness.
The most credible Yoruba history has it that Oduduwa had seven grandchildren who were in order of their ages, Olowu, Alaketu, Oba of Benin, Orangun, Onisabe, Olupopo and Oranyan (Alaafin).
The Olowu kingdom no longer exists in its original single, organic monarchical evolution but now has several metastatic kingdoms of which the Owu in Egba, Orile Owu and Owu Kuta in Osun are offspring. The Alaketu is now in Benin Republic and the Oba of Benin now identifies as Edo, leaving the Orangun as the eldest sibling to be the most appropriate host for the new Onisabe.
The new Ipebi has a touch of artistic elegance and is enveloped in total sobriety and sacrosanctity. That is commendable given that Ipebi is where a man communes with his ancestors,transits to a king, disrobed of his past identity and immersed in a new power, second only to that of the gods’. All thanks to Oba Wahab Kayode Oyedotun, the Orangun of Ila who led the effort to bring the new Ipebi about within a very short time.
Once out of Ipebi after tomorrow, the new Onipopo plans to visit the the Ooni at the cradle of Yoruba race and a few other Obas before returning to Benin Republic. Long may he reign.
