Help! Our elders are missing!! — by Dare Babarinsa
When an elder dies in Yorubaland, the tradition of the old country was that his or her worldly wealth would be divided among his known inheritors. This assignment would be handled by the elders of the family or the community. There were certain rules guiding this assignment, including these.
- FULL DISCLOSURE: Aĺl the wealth must be brought to the full knowledge of the elders.
- ONIDI JUDI
All the wealth are divided equally among the wives, notwithstanding the number of children by each wife.
- OLORIJORI
All the wealth are divided equally among each of the children with special provisions for the surviving wives.
Now, in the new dispensation, we are witnessing the total collapse of Yoruba traditional legal and cultural system where the passage of every wealthy person is followed by a slew of litigation.
Today, so many siblings are involved in bitter legal struggles over their collective inheritance while our leaders stand aloof. The pond stands akimbo as if it is not related to the river.
Most of these bitter conflicts, which often result in mysterious deaths, destruction, and wastage, is usually the result of greed and reckless pursuit of unfair advantage. We have so many unresolved issues of inheritance now in the court. The latest is that of Chief Bode Akindele, the late Parakoyi of Ibadan, whose children have dragged themselves before the Lagos High Court. They are joining the queue formed by the families of Chief FRA Williams, Chief Timothy Odutola and many others. Many years ago, l visited Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, then the Baradeen Sokoto, (he later became the Sultan). He told me a Yoruba proverb:
“Agba o si ilu baje, baale ile ku, ile da’horo!”
A city without elders would fall into ruins, and when the father of the house passes, the household becomes desolate!
Our elders are missing. This is both a farce and a tragedy!
