When ‘Sango Olukoso’ came, calling at Ojude-Oba — by Tinuade Ogunlesi

Discourse around special features at the Ojúde-Ọba, the famous Ìjẹ̀bú cultural festival, featured the near nudist abroadarian last year. This year, a cigar-smoking woman was frequently spoken about. Most likely a Grandma. Perhaps, somebody’s wife. May be a chieftaincy title holder somewhere too.

Her pictures and videos dominated the internet. She demonstrated her smoking skills like a Pro. Dressed in traditional iro and buba attire, with gèlè to match. That dress sense definitely aligned with Yoruba and Ìjẹ̀bú fashion culture. Then, she wore some perhaps six-inch artificial nails and added a cigar. We can ignore the artificial nails. But one wonders where the cigar smoking part came from.

She opted to represent “Sango, Olúkòso Àyárá Iná Àkàtà yẹrì” at the festival. It was King Sango, the god of thunder, in Yoruba history that was known to possess the mystical powers to exude fire and smoke from his mouth. So, metaphorically, a smoker is described in Yoruba context as Sango. With that long cigar hanging between her lips, Madam represented Sango well. She puffed hard, like an expert.

At Ojúde-Ọba where she had gone to pay homage to Òrìsà Ìjẹ̀bú, the paramount ruler of Ìjẹ̀bú land, clad in her best, along with other members of her “egbe” age group. She added cigar-smoking. Did that not say something about her background and lifestyle? If she was Gen Z, the story would definitely have been different.

On one hand, it was disrespectful. On the other hand, it added absolutely no value to the celebration. It was not part of the entertainment. Or, was it?

In addition, that was a public space and the Nigerian law disallows smoking in public spaces.

On a lighter note, I pitied the caramel-skinned woman in dark sun shades, who sat next to her as she had to involuntarily drag some of the smokes too. She made a good use of the hand fan, blowing the smokes away.

Well, social media gave madam what she wanted. Attention. Perhaps she wanted to compete with or actually dwarf Mr Steeze, Farooq Oreagba. Unfortunately, she still could not obliterate Farooq.

The question is, how did she represent Ìjẹ̀bú culture with that cigar smoking?

There is no historical evidence that Ìjẹ̀bú women in Nigeria traditionally smoked cigars. While cigar smoking among women has been documented in other cultures (such as Aztec, Peruvian, Spanish aristocrats, and Cuban women), it was not part of the social or cultural practices of Ìjẹ̀bú women.

In Yoruba society, including Ìjẹ̀bú, tobacco use was more commonly associated with men, and women’s roles in rituals, trade, and domestic life did not include cigar smoking. Even the affluent did not smoke. Not publicly.

So it was an abberation for a woman, to smoke cigar publicly. A woman of that age socially expected to be nurturing some younger ones. To put it mildly, her conducts at that festival only showed an uncultured person. Culture always expect compliance with a prescribed way of life and anything outside that prescription, is condemnable.

While she shone in the eyes of the online admirers, she might have recorded a negative impression for that “egbe” age group she belonged to. Every other member will now be regarded as a likely publicly cigar-smoking Grandma.

As usual, plenty defenders showed up online, including those who, by the construct of their names, are not even Yoruba and have no understanding of Yoruba culture. There were also the sexists who felt, if Farooq, a man, could do it, the woman should also be allowed to smoke in public.

Others argued, cigar smoking by a woman is not strange. They argued our greatgrandmothers chewed tobacco. They sniffed. Yes, they did. But they did not smoke pipe publicly. They did not smoke cigar publicly. Not in Ìjẹ̀bú culture.

Perhaps the woman achieved her aims. Social media tractions made her trend. Heavily. Of the myraids of comments on her, one caught my attention: “just imagine this person as your mother-in-law, your own don finish be dat”. I will not analyse that further.

Simple question: in the midst of all the admiration and condemnation, if Kabiyesi Adetona was alive and seated at that pavilion, would she dare? Would she approach the throne to pay homage with cigar between her lips? She would not dare!

–Ogunlesi is a Professor of Medicine at the OOUTH