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| Egungun Masquerade |
With my cup of tea beside me, I flipped to Page 391 of the History of the Yorubas by Samuel Johnson and discovered fresh facts about one of the historical figures of Yoruba history, Iyalode Efunsetan Aniwura.
I bet the story of Efunsetan that you know is the one I also believed, until this morning. That she was one mean, very powerful Ibadan women leader who lost her only daughter to childbirth complications and consequently became a nightmare Ibadan people could not wait to wake up from. That she killed her slaves, especially the female ones who dared to get pregnant. But this morning, I found out I didn’t know the full story all these years. I just assumed I did.
I first came in contact with Efunsetan’s story around 1977 when I watched the television drama, Efunsetan Aniwura produced by late Ishola Ogunshola (Isho Pepper) . He played the role of Itawuyi, the slave who impregnated Adetutu. The play was based on Professor Akinwumi Ishola’s book.
After watching that play, I hated Iyalode Efunsetan Aniwura passionately. How could a woman be so mean? Though when I lost my daughter in January 1999, I understood the pain of that kind of loss. Holding the still warm body of a child, screaming her name, willing her to smile just one more time, watching the nurses take her away, her eyes closed forever… the pain, 14 years later…
Let’s go back to Ibadan.
At the time Efunsetan Aniwura was Iyalode of Ibadan, Aare Latoosa was the Commander-in-Chief. He fought and won many wars for Ibadan. He was a powerful man. Efunsetan was a powerful woman too, perhaps the most powerful woman during the time. She was reputed to be very wealthy, having 2,000 slaves working on her farms alone, apart from the ones in her home. Her economic ascendancy made not a few men in the town uncomfortable. And she wasn’t a quiet woman either. She confronted the powers that be. She confronted power, in a male dominated Yoruba kingdom in the 19th century. Very daring but Efunsetan wasn’t from the regular assembly line.
Upon his return from the Ado war in December, 1873, Aare Latoosa decided it was time to cut Efunsetan to size and remind her who was in charge. Did I tell you women are called ordinary beings who urinate from the back? Yeah, we don’t have a ‘nozzle’ to hold and pee upfront like men. Anyway, Latoosa came up with a three-count charge as to why Efunsetan must be deposed or be killed or both. Both eventually happened. Count 1: that you, Efunsetan Aniwura, did not accompany me to war. Count 2: that you Efunsetan Aniwura did not send supplies to me. Count 3: that you Efunsetan Aniwura did not come in person to welcome me outside the town walls upon my return from the war front.
Flimsy charges, trumped –up but it held all the same. On May 1 (today’s workers day) 1874, Iyalode Efunsetan Aniwura was deposed and her second-in-command, Iya Ola, was told to step into her shoes. She was reluctant but when she was told she could take the title or leave town with one wrapper and one head tie, she chose the former. To avoid death, Efunsetan Aniwura paid all the fines imposed on her but apparently, what Aare Latoosa wanted was the head of his Iyalode because all pleas on behalf of Efunsetan and her fines were ‘all to no purpose’ according to Samuel Johnson.
However, pretending that all was well after the deposition, on June22, 1874 Efunsetan was publicly disgraced but told she was pardoned. A few nights later, the sound of Agan, the masquerade that killed women, was heard.
Against the laws of the land, Efunsetan Aniwura’s death had been resolved upon. But it wasn’t a death sentence that could be carried out like the ones for criminals. So, Efunsetan’s adopted son, Kumuyilo was paid handsomely to kill his mother. He eventually got assassins through the roof and they smashed the
head of Efunsetan Aniwura. The following morning, the town gave her a public burial befitting her status as an Iyalode, like they were not aware of how she died.
It’s a long story and since you guys are not on vacation and my breakfast just arrived, I’ll leave it here.
Breakfast over. But I read a few Nigerian newspapers online while eating and one of the headlines that hit me in between the eyes is the one about the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation’s likely recommendation in favour of the sack of Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah. The newspaper report said Oduah may be sacked for exceeding the official limit in approving the purchase of two armoured BMW cars by NCAA. After or before the sack, the bullet-proof cars will be returned to Coscharis Motors. The N225m cost of the cars will be retrieved. The transaction with the First Bank will be terminated. And then a member of the panel actually admitted that the cars were not bought in Oduah’s name. Her only offence was attending to a memo and writing PLEASE DO THE NEEDFUL.
And I remember the number of times I wrote, to my deputies and assistants, Please treat. They knew it didn’t mean let the story go. They knew it meant the story had to be processed. It wasn’t a directive to lead the paper with it or use the story at all. On several occasions, such stories were returned to the reporters for further work or dropped entirely. My deputies knew I do not like lawyers, so once they saw half a line of libel, they alerted me. I trusted them and they did their jobs. So, why are we hanging the minister for telling NCAA to do its job? I thought that was what we pay them to do? Or is there another memo that said, please buy two armoured BMWs immediately?
Maybe because the new historical facts on Efunsetan Aniwura is still fresh on my mind, but I see a few parallels. Why kill the Iyalode after she had paid all the fines, for instance? Were women leaders supposed to accompany the Aare to war? But a powerful woman had to be brought to her knees and Aare Latoosa did what he had to do. Has Oduah become too powerful? Has she become too big for her designer shoes? Is she making life difficult for some people who had preyed on the aviation sector for years? The cars are not hers. If we retrieve the money and return the cars, is it still fair to send Kumuyilo to smash her head in the night like they did to Efunsetan for daring to dare the men?
No, Princess Stella Oduah shouldn’t have gone beyond her limit as a minister. My people say ‘eni a n so ko pee mu.’ It is easy to catch a man you are trailing. Was the aviation minister being trailed? Was the whistleblower the one trailing her?
I do not see the need for armoured vehicles, really. They do not prevent ‘anything’. So, I am for let’s return those two bought by NCAA. In fact, we must return all the other armoured cars in every government official’s fleet. We do not need them. It is a waste of tax payers’ money. But to sack Oduah after the fines, is like throwing away the baby and the bath water. Or are we saying the only thing she has done in 29 months is write PLEASE DO THE NEEDFUL? Are we? Are we saying some airports have not been remodelled? International flights resumed on Wednesday at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; true or false? Madam Aviation can certainly do more but are we going to behead those minsters who are only heard of when their photos are taken at every Wednesday FEC meeting?
The Tambuwal-led House of Representatives is the most stable since 1999 and I plead with them to take the cantankerous bullet-proof BMW cars and spare Oduah. Not just because she is beautiful and a woman
like me but she is hardworking. Please don’t bring out the ‘Agan’, the masquerade that kills women.
*Funke Egbemode
(Email: egbemode1@gmail.com
is an author and General Editor, Sun Newspapers, Nigeria