‘Baba’ of Oyo Palace dies at 420 years

By Adejayan Gbenga

The ancient tortoise of the Oyo Kingdom, popularly known as Baba, has died at the reported age of 420 and has been buried after living for generations at the palace of the Alaafin.

The Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin, Bode Durojaiye, disclosed the development, describing Baba as more than an ordinary tortoise because of its connection to Yoruba history and oral traditions.

According to Durojaiye, the current Alaafin, His Imperial Majesty, Iku Baba Yeye, Oba Engineer Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, met Baba at the Palace, where successive Alaafins had cared for and inherited it as part of the relics associated with their ancestors.

Durojaiye said, “In Oyo, Baba was regarded as the oldest indigene. It was the Alaafin’s most besotted pet. The incumbent paramount ruler met it in the palace, as Baba was nourished by a succession of Kings, who inherited him as part of the relics of their ancestors,” adding that Baba represented “a part of the oral history of the Yoruba race.”

The palace account holds that Baba was brought from Oyo-Ile, the former capital of the Oyo Empire, to the present palace in Oyo town, where it later became a tourist attraction for residents and visitors.

Baba was said to have fed mainly on watermelon, corn pap wrapped in leaves and grass, while its reported longevity and name, meaning “father,” reflected the special status accorded to it.

The tortoise reportedly fell ill on Monday and stopped eating before it died, ending the life of an animal that, according to the Palace’s historical account, survived several generations of Alaafins.

Baba has since been buried, with the palace expected to preserve the memory of the tortoise, which had become a symbol of Oyo’s enduring past for residents and visitors.