Yoruba nation: Constitutional Road Map 1 - Baasegun interview with OmoboriowoMedia 19-01-22

What is the ‘Constitutional Ọba’?
·      A system of government in which there was a monarch, whose position was sanctioned by history, culture, and tradition, but whose power was curtailed by institutional means.
·      That institutional means was the Council of Oloye, membership of which was predetermined by clans, households, guilds, professions, religion etc
·      The Yoruba constitution, although unwritten, set out the rules on how power was to be exercised, by whom and its limits
 
Which had the more power, Ọba or Council of Oloye?
·      The clue is in the word Ijọ́bá - or government
·      Ijọ́bá is a compound word of 2 parts: Ijọ́ + bá
·      Ijọ́ = Council; bá = to meet
·      In other words, governance in Yorubaland was by the Council meeting
 
The Yoruba constitution set out the functions of the Ọba
·      To lend traditional legitimacy and symbolism to the government
·      To embody and emphasise the identity of his people
·      To provide continuity and stability
·      To act as custodian of the culture, customs, history, traditions, and rule of law
 
The Yoruba constitution set out the functions of the Council
·      To make and unmake laws and policies
·      To link the Ọba with his people
·      To limit the power of the Ọba and ultimately to determine the Ọba’s tenure
 
How did the Yoruba come up with the ‘Constitutional Ọba’ system of government?
Not by accident but by design
 
1.     The ‘Constitutional Ọba’ system was universal in Yorubaland.
·      The system was replicated almost exactly everywhere in Yorubaland
·      Small or big settlement; village, town, or city, all practiced the exact same system
 
2.     Every Yoruba person alive today knows about the system.
·      They may not know the fine details, but they know the basics
·      They know that the Ọba is the monarch and that the Oloye (Chiefs) were involved in the governance
 
3.     Indeed, the Yoruba constitution has remained essentially the same.
·      Despite 40 years of colonialism and 60 years of independence
·      Despite imposition of western style governments
·      Despite downgrading of our traditional institutions
 
Two things were sacred to the ancient Yoruba - family and home
·      When a person misbehaves, the Yoruba would ask: ‘Nibo loti jawa, to lokun lọ́run?’ meaning ‘Where did you stray from without a leash?’
·      The leash was what tied the Yoruba person to the land
·      The leash was the family and the home
 
To the ancient Yoruba, family meant lineage (Idile)
·      ‘Idile’ was not ‘nuclear family’ of father-mother-child, it was much more
·      ‘Idile’ was not ‘extended family’ of relatives (Ẹ́bi), it was much more
 
In the ancient times, persons of the same lineage lived together in one courtyard (Agbo).
·      The ancient Yoruba called the arrangement ‘Agboile’
·      A sort of ‘courtyard family’. A family cooperative
·      The typical ‘Agboile’ contained more than one ‘nuclear family’ and more than one generation
·      There was a hierarchy of ages, a hierarchy of responsibilities, and a hierarchy of power
·      The progenitor was the family’s judicial officer, negotiator, and representative
·      Each ‘Agboile’ was autonomous from another, but similarly governed
 
To the ancient Yoruba, home (Ile) was a dwelling place not a working place
·      Home was where you lived life
·      Where you communed with family
·      Where you brought up children
·      Where you worshiped your God
 
To the ancient Yoruba, ‘ile labọ́ simi oko’ meaning ‘home is the place you come to rest’
·      So, the ancient Yoruba separated their place of work from their place of dwelling.
·      ‘Oko’ did not mean just the farm, it also meant the marketplace (Ọja), the place of exchange, where you bought and sold goods and services
·      ‘Oko’ was thus another place for the Yoruba to regulate
 
To this end, the marketplace was organised into ‘commodity’ (Ẹ́ru) districts
·      Each ‘Ẹ́ru’ district had its own conventions, rules, and elected or selected leadership
·      The leader of an ‘Ẹ́ru’ district was the judicial officer, negotiator, and representative
·      The farmers too had their own union or cooperative with their own leadership structure
·      All these leaders - whether home or workplace - were the Oloye
 
The inbuilt democratisation of the ‘Constitutional Oba’ is obvious
·      Governance was bottom up with mass participation through the Council of Oloye
·      There was a general expression of the sovereign will of the people
·      It was not possible for the Ọba to become an autocrat or even a ruler
 
In British Policy in Nigeria (1937), Lord Lugard wrote: ‘The Yorubas, who number over three million, and are among the most intelligent of African peoples, form a distinct group. They are keen traders travelling widely throughout West Africa, and are unique in the extent of their urbanization…The Yorubas have preserved their democratic institutions practically intact, and have known what to select from foreign models. Miss Perham predicts for them a great future.’
 
Constitution = ‘eda ara’ meaning something that you have created for own yourself. The Yoruba created the ‘Constitutional Oba’ system of government for themselves. The Yoruba do not need the constitution of somebody else.

It is interesting that the 'Constitutional Oba' system of the Yoruba did not create a single demonic leader in Yoruba history. Whereas the European systems foisted on Nigeria since 1960 daily churns out demonic leaders.

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