Redeeming the Yoruba identity (4)
Editor’s Note: Some people say  Yoruba are cowards, but Chief Olanipekun strongly disagrees  , citing various acts of bravery by a number of Yoruba. He also discusses  traits that make the Yoruba  distinct: 

The identity of a people is perhaps their most prized quality and this is more so, in a multi-ethnic federation. Identity is essentially about who we are and who we are not. It is about our uniqueness, distinctness and dissimilarity from every other person or group of persons.

In a ‘potpourri of people’ termed a ‘federation’, the beauty of such a contraption is not in the sameness of its constituents, neither is it in the extinction of their distinctness; it is in the ability to harmonise dissimilarities to create one similar structure, by exploring their strengths and making up for their weaknesses, that ultimately maximize the potentials of a heterogeneous union.

National unity must never be mistakenly construed as a uniformity of identity. The Yoruba identity is rooted in its common history, language, norms, beliefs and dispositions. We cannot talk about Identity without exploring the concept of culture. Social scientists have noted that certain parameters help to define individual or group identity. These parameters include religion, nationalism, ethnicity and

language. Culture, is perhaps the most profound expressions of the identity of a people. Culture has been defined as the way, life, norms and beliefs of a people. My emphasis here does not pertain to artificial expressions of our distinctness like the way we look, talk, dress or eat; I speak of deeper

qualities that stand us out amongst the over 250 ethnic groups in this country. I speak of our non-negotiable exaltation of the bibiire/omoluabi orientation, our love for education, our insistence on diligence and hard work, and our preference for peace over war, cordiality over animosity and

togetherness over schism. While I will speak shortly on each of these, it is worthy of note that some of our peculiarities as a people have been misinterpreted by some, and we have been stereotyped thereby. For example, I have heard it said that Yoruba people are cowards. Persons who hold this view often point to our predilection towards exploring non-violent ways of resolving conflicts as one of the proofs of this stereotype.

But, history proves this assertion as false. King Dosunmu’s  stand against the superior fire power of the Britons in 1861 consigns this assertion as mere fabrication. The Awujale’s stand against the British in the battle of Imagbon in 1892 proves this assertion as false. The principled stance of nationalists of Yoruba extraction from Sapara Williams to Obafemi Awolowo, even when it cost them their liberty and even in certain cases, their lives, proves this assertion as false. The death of Lt. Col. Fajuyi when he could have saved himself proves this assertion as false. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Professor Wole Soyinka, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and their courageous stand against the military, proves this assertion as false. Do we need a better testimonial to further prove this assertion as false, than the life of today’s celebrant, Chief Olusegun Osoba? His bravery as one of Nigeria’s foremost investigative journalists, his

courageous management of three major national dailies, Herald, Sketch and Daily Times, at different times, even at the thick of the military rule, his active participation in NADECO even in the face of Abacha’s despotism and his firm stance against the third term agenda. With this false assertion out of the way, permit me to now expatiate briefly on the constituents of Yoruba’s innate identity which I had earlier identified.

The Bibiire/Omoluabi Orientation

5.3 Chief Olusegun Osoba, in his characteristic articulate and  philosophical manner has been reported to have posited that “Yoruba’s core philosophy is Omoluabi, self-esteem. If we are brought up to respect self-esteem, rule of law and the core  values of the Yoruba and we now went and broke those core  values, we would have been destroying our own Yoruba … and the rest of the country”,”! cannot state it better than Chief Osoba has done. The bibiire/omoluabi concept is the very heartbeat of the entire gamut of the Yoruba value system.

Hence, anyone who fails to imbibe the bibiire/ornoluabi attribute is said to be an ‘omo ale’ (bastard). There are different sides to these dual concepts, which are actually two sides of the same sword. The expressions of this orientation is multi-dimensional – it is found in the way we talk, the way we walk, the way we eat, the way we relate with one another and the way we handle various affairs of life. To an extent, this is the equivalence of the concept of the ‘gentleman’ in the Victorian context. The omoluabi is open to rebuke, amenable to correction and regards his name as his most prized

possession. To the omoluabi, ‘oruko rere san ju wura ati fadaka 10’,18 rendered in the bibiire context, it is said “bibire ko  se f’o wo ra”.” Shakespeare stated this thought in the most profound words – “good name in man and woman … is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing; ’twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands; but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me

poor indeed”.2°An omoluabi’s word is his bond. Dishonesty is far from an Omoluabi and to the Omoluabi, the pulsating Yoruba ditty “ki ni mo fi ole se laye ti mo wa, kaka ki’n

jale m’a kuku s’e ru,” keeps his hands from larceny. It is the bibiire/omoluabi concept that makes a 40year old highly successful CEO prostrate to a 70 year old farmer, whom he regards as his elder; it is what makes us insist that your wealth is not enough to buy you respect amongst us. The bibiire/ornoluabi concept should be the singsong, mantra and anthem of the Yoruba nation.

5.4  Ornole”, while enthusing on the omoluabi philosophy  averred that it: “gives us a good picture of Omoluabi in Yoruba culture wherein a person is given a deep knowledge, wisdom, and therefore be trained to be self-disciplined and to develop a sense of  responsibility that shows in private and public actions which earns individuals social integrity, and personality in Yoruba society. And in contrast with eniyan-keyan or eniyan la-san, which means ‘caricature person’, and omokomo (a worthless child), an Omoluabi can also be defined as a ‘good and cultured person’. Hence, it is common among the Yoruba to use the adjectival eniyan-gidi meaning ‘an ideal person’ as a synonym to Omoluwabi, a ‘good  person’. In the Yoruba Aesthetic Concept of IWA”, Rowland Abiodun (1983) describes “an Omoluwabi as someone who has been well brought up or a person who is highly cultured” Thus, Iwapele via Abimbola tells us is “good or gentle character” and it is ultimately the basis of moral conduct in Yoruba culture and a core defining attribute of Omoluwabi, set as a conglomeration of principles of moral conduct  demonstrated by an Omoluwabi with the most fundamental of these principles include: oro siso, (spoken word), iteriba (respect), inu rere (having good mind to others), otito (truth), iwa (character), akinkanju (bravery), ise (hard work) and opolopipe (intelligence). In unity with the above, the spoken word is highly respected among the Yoruba hence, to be categorized as an Omoluwabi, one must be capable  of intelligent use of language”.

5.5 What we then find is that by putting hand to plough, through  intentional and calculated effort, our forefathers took the olden days by the scruff of the neck and dedicatedly fashioned out a purposeful identity not just for themselves, but for the future of the tribe. This identity attained uniformity amongst the clans to wide acclaim, and every member aspired to the exalted and eminent pedestal of being an Omoluabi. The aforementioned aspiration, although difficult to achieve,

engineered and launched the progressivism and its attendant ideals the Yorubas were known for.

5.6 A professor of Theology at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar, E. Akinade, in his piece, ‘The Heart and Soul of Being Human in Yoruba Land’ propounds that the concept of Omoluwabi may be the necessary ameliorative Nigeria requires in the face of its numerous and mounting problems. Hear him: “by reclaiming some of the virtues of omoluabi, many ills of our broken world can be ameliorated.

I argue that  human beings who act out of compassion, altruism, empathy, and love are contributors to the moral good of humanity and community. In the study of religion and culture, there is a universal affirmation of the cultivation and practice of good character. It is the crimson thread that runs through world religions. This is an enduring theme that straddles the boundaries of being and non-being … We don’t want the story of the Yoruba race to be analogous to the proverbial case of  Omoye who shamelessly ran naked into the market square; alas, it was too late to put any clothing on her!

The Yoruba principle of omoluabi valorizes virtues such as honesty, sound character, diligence, loyalty, decorum, wisdom, and self-restraint. Baba Adebajo

Faleti described an omoluabi as a gentleman.”

5.7  As well as concurring with Professor Akinade, it is my humble view that unless the Yorubas consciously re-subscribe to the ideals of Omoluabi, then in no time, our collective identity may, like a singular kite flying over the sea, become susceptible to be blown away at the slightest whiff of the wind.

Education

OLUSEGUN OSOBA

5.8 It is not by happenstance that the South West has about the  highest number of professors qua academics in this country. It is also not a surprise that the literacy level amongst Yorubas

is one of the highest in the country. In fact, it is popularly believed that \\’hile the Hausas are lovers of politics and power and the Igbos are lovers of business and entrepreneurship, the Yorubas are the ‘librarians of the nation’. Is it then  shocking that we pride ourselves in having the first primary

school in Niqeria,” the first secondary school in Nigeria/Sthe first University in Niqeria,” and the first Polytechnic in Niqeria?” Not done, covering the fields of philosophy,

linguistic, library and information science, education, tests and measurement, law, agriculture, animal science, forestry, medicine, nursing, psychiatry, paediatrics, physics, geology, computer science, chemistry, architecture, accounting, chemical, civil, petroleum, mining and public health

engineering, and geography, to mention but a few, we have the first professors; and of course you know that the first  lawyer, first senior advocate of Nigeria and first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria were all Yorubas. Will it then be too presumptuous to claim that the Yorubas are the brains that propel this country? A safe presumption to make is that a majority of Yorubas would answer in the affirmative.

Whatever the case, this must not be taken for granted. If there is any comparative advantage the Yoruba Nation should have over the rest of the country it is being its knowledge bank, its citadel of research, discoveries and development. It is not enough to have many firsts in the academia. We must also ask ourselves, has this been translated to scientific discoveries and socio-economic postulations? Should the solutions to the plenteous challenges of this country not flow from the ideas germinated in our classrooms? Should we not have a deliberate policy in Yoruba land to convert this capacity from its potential state to a kinetic force? Permit me to address another aspect of this issue which I deem as important as the remaining part – that is the content of what is being taught in our classrooms, particularly in the South West geo-political zone today. We are migrating towards a very dangerous situation in this country today through the hydra-headed unitary system of government imposed on us by the military, and which has been successively sustained and nourished by successive governments, including the present APC-Ied Federal Government. At this stage, let us concentrate on one area which, from time immemorial, has sustained the Yoruba nation, and catapulted it above several other nationalities globally, that is, education.