By Wale Ojo Lanre
The Ado Ekiti Ewi – In – Council has made a wise decision, a very deep one which only the deep can understand. It confirmed the age long saying that it is only in Ado that an Ewi can be enthroned. It is because of the Solomonic wisdom which thrives in the palace of Ewi . I am happy that I am alive to learn from this rare act of one of the living legends of the traditional institution. May the Lord bless Kabiyesi and the Council. May he live longer than his forefathers. Agba ko ni tan Lori ile . Ado gbon . Ado ni oye . Ado ni imo (Ado people are full of wisdom. Ado people are people of vision).
I remember a story told me by my late grandfather, the Late Eshinmo of Usi Ekiti, Chief John Fowowe, (alias kokoro aye ko se si), while accompanying him to ajo agba (elders’ meeting). I was small. He told me of a king who ruled some years ago in a town. Just some few weeks into his reign, there were cases of stealing and street fight. The Oba called the Council in a meeting’ and asked whether there is any suspected godfather of the ‘boys ‘ in the town. And a name cropped up. He told the Council that the man would be made the Chief Security Officer of the town.
And within a week, the man was installed as Dagunro of the town. And from that day, the town was peaceful, stable and socially vibrant with no cases of stealing, pilfering, street brawls and tension.
Apesin Apagunpote title is a challenge to the bearer in many ways. A challenge to him to change from his quarrelsome, warmongering, bellicosity, confrontational attitude, aggressive ways, trouble making, conflict stoking, lousy manners, controversial attitudes, and other notorious ways to a rather positive minded form. It is an aroko (symbolic message) to change from jogunomi, gbogungboro, to jogunosimi (from trouble maker to trouble shooter). It is a call for the bearer to deploy all the paraphernalia within his capacity to arrest conflicts and restore order. It is an appeal to his conscience and sense of responsibility to use his position to attract more banks to Ado Ekiti instead of chasing them away, to employ the aura of the title to ‘kill the ogun (war) of hunger which his refusal to pay the workers their salaries despite huge Federal allocation collected, to use the reflection of the title to ‘ pa ote’ (discord) which his aggressive mannerism has scared away investors from Ekiti .
The title is also to spur him to seek peace with the Federal Government of Nigeria and able to lure it in giving back to Ekiti those goodies which other states have got but which his black and unnecessary childish antagonism to PMB has denied the state. It is a title which entails him to be a peace messiah, a trouble shooter, a mender of peace, an arbiter, a peace builder and a bridge builder. I hope our Governor will not disappoint the Ewi -in Council and all the good people of the Ado Ekiti . I applaud and appreciate the Ewi – In – Council for this rare and wise title bestowed on a person who earnestly fits. It is one thing to earn a title and another to live up to the expectation…
–FB