Ademola Adeleke:

By Festus Adedayo

Thirty seven years after, J. F. Odunjo’s poem, Ise l’ogun ise (Work is the antidote for poverty),
came back with a very lacerating whiplash on Ademola’s lazy buttocks. Poor Senator of the Second Republic, Ayoola Adeleke, father of Ademola, must have agonized terribly at how this young lad palpably disregarded the Golden Fleece and fled after the un-enduring life of a man for whom the purpose of life is strictly enjoyment.

Festus Adedayo

A trained nurse who, in 1948, enrolled as one of the earliest members of the pioneer union of Nigerian nurses, the Nigerian Union of Nurses and who rose to the height of becoming a notable politician and labour activist, indeed, Vice President of the United Labour Congress of Nigeria, Adeleke was also elected senator during the Second Republic. Adeleke demonstrated his detribalized nature by marrying an Igbo and his children are said to speak the language very fluently.

During MKO Abiola’s presidential campaign to the east in 1993, Igbo audience were said to have been enthralled when the late Isiaka Adeleke mounted the rostrum and shouted, Ndibanyi, ke k’unu melu? Anam ekene unu o! (My people, how are you? I greet you all!) His fluency in Igbo was said to have enraptured the whole of the South East at that campaign.

To now have a man of educational height as Ayoola’s stature siring a child who demonstrates a fluid wriggling of his buttocks like a sissy, rather than a deft usage of the élan of his brain, must have saddened Adeleke to his grave. Young Ademola excelled in dancing orgies no doubt and could arrest a crowd with his scintillating dance steps; he nevertheless comes across as a very mentally shallow character, the type that is not needed when governance is at issue.

But history is a mocker, capable of throwing ancient debris by the doorstep of those who deride its lessons. Young Ademola, scion of wealth and acclaim of his late father, acclaim of his late Senator brother and the wealth of his multi-billionaire elder brother Deji, must have argued all this while that the life of a sybarite he was used to from youth was enough for him.

Poor Ademola, how could he have known that a day would come when fate would thrust responsibilities far above his mental capability on him? A senatorial ticket on the laps, an almost sure governorship coupon for him to win and a baton to lead a state of the educated and those who hold store by knowledge, are surely not for someone who derides education this recklessly.

Read Ise L’ogun Ise: Classic Yoruba Poem by J.F. Odunjo with English Translation here:

Ise l’ogun ise

(Work is the antidote for poverty)

Mura s’ise ore mi

(Work hard, my friend)

Ise la fi n’deni giga

(Work/Labour is the major tool for elevation)

Bi a ko ba reni feyin ti

(If we do not have anyone to lean on)

Bi ole la’nri

(We appear indolent)

Bi a ko ba reni gbekele

(If we do not have anyone to support us)

A tera mo’se eni

(We simply work harder)

Iya re le lowo lowo

(Your mother might be rich)

Baba re le lesin lekan

(Your father may have a stable full of horses)

Bi o ba gbo’ju lewon

(If you rely on them)

O te tan ni mo so fun o

(You are close to shame and disgrace, I tell you)

Ohun ti a ko ba ji’ya fun

(Whatever one does not work hard to earn)

Se kii le pe lowo

(Usually does not last)

Ohun ti a ba fara sise fun

(Whatever gain one seriously labours for)

Nii pe lowo eni

(Usually lasts with one)

Apa lara

(Your arm is kin)

Egunpa niyekan

(The elbow is a sibling)

B’aye ba n’fe o loni

(If the world loves you today)

Bi o ba lowo lowo

(If you have money)

Aye a ma fe o lola

(The world will still love you tomorrow)

Tabi ki o wa ni’po atata

(Or if you are in a prestigious position)

Aye a ma ye o si terinterin

(The world will celebrate you with smiles)

Je k’o de’ni tin rago

(Wait till you become poor)

Aye a ma yinmu si o

(The world will grimace at you)

Eko si’nso ni d’oga

(Education also elevates one to higher positions)

Mura ki o ko dara dara

(Ensure that you acquire it well)

Bi o si r’opo eniyan

(And if you see a lot of people)

Ti won f’eko s’erin rinrin

(Making mockery of education with laughter)

Dakun ma f’ara we won

(Please do not emulate or keep their company)

Iya n’bo fun’omo ti ko gbon

(Suffering beckons for the unwise child)

Ekun n’be fun’omo to nsa kiri

(Tears are due for the truant child)

Ma f’owuro sere ore mi

(Do not toy with your early years)

Mura si’se ojo’nlo

(Work hard; time waits for no one)

Source: opinions.ng