Ibadan: Child of two worlds , From the perspective of a corps member

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Written by Anoruo Yvonne Chinyere Sunday, 30 October 2011

THE whole environment looked like a scene cut out from a remote rural setting. It was obvious that it was still in the hang-over of a heavy rainfall. Puddles of water in the potholes that seemed to be everywhere on the annoyingly red and muddy landscape, made it an unpleasant experience, especially since I have never been partial towards rainfall. I could immediately tell also that “pure water” business was really thriving in the area because, the many sachets that littered the environment avidly testified to it. “This place is very dirty!” was all I could summon courage to say as my feet touched Ojoo, en route NYSC camp in Iseyin.

I had heard a lot about the niceties of Ibadan that I was not bothered when I discovered that I was to serve in Oyo State. But obviously, this very first impression even, betrayed all the trust I had in the supposed beauty of the place. It was my first time in Ibadan. I was quite disappointed. I guess three months later, my disappointment still persists.  And I say this at the risk of sounding pessimistic. I expected more from a city that houses the first university in Nigeria which even produced the first Nobel laureate in Africa, Soyinka; the first television station in Africa  (I think the station has even managed somehow to retain some of the now old structures that it started off with, obviously no sign of great expansion); a town that houses the first sky scraper in Africa, the nerve centre of the then south-west region; the town were universal basic education (UBE) started; the first stadium, the Ibadan of the great Awolowo. I wonder how Awolowo would have felt if he saw Ibadan in this state. When examined against the backdrop of these laudable feats, I dare say that the present Ibadan lies in the ruins and embittered shadow of its former self.

A view of Ibadan from the Bere “highlands,” calls to mind the concept of “ageing,” as denoted in Shakespeare’s sonnet two where he bemoans the belligerent effects of time and age on human life. The rusty brown roofs, the mud houses, narrow ways that seem to snake endlessly into eternity, are sure sour telling signs of the gruesome effects of time and age, as Shakespeare described, on the once beautiful bride. Time seems to have done a good job of making the buildings look as though they are perching on the supposed foundations instead of being dug in. Certainly, these buildings, with underbelly thus exposed, have stood the test of time. (And to think that I had thought that the rusty roofs were that of a housing estate with uniform roofing sheets!) The rickety commercial vehicles, fetters of iron, which ply the roads cum make-shift markets, carry on as though they are custom-built for them. For one, they never seem to move without first rolling back uncontrollably, as though dragged by some unseen hands. They could make one almost chew his heart in fear.

Nevertheless, the lush virgin forests and scenery of University of Ibadan and the more rural settings like the route to Iseyin, show that nature has not only revealed its angry bitter side to the land. It has shown the warmth and serenity that will hold great romantics like Wordsworth enthralled.

I also think that if all the vehicles that ply the roads in Ibadan were moved to a city like Lagos, there would be no traffic like we have in both cities. I say this because Lagos though smaller in land mass, is big enough to take in all the vehicles which have become so large for Ibadan which is ironically bigger in land mass. Everything seems to happen on the dual lanes in Ibadan with the markets especially now sharing the roads with the motorcycle operators, commercial buses, private vehicle owners, pedestrians and the thousand destitute in Ibadan, even as parking lots for thousand vehicles that line up on the road sides. Ibadan chokes.

Of all the images the thought of Ibadan brings to my mind, the most prominent is that which in the words of Soyinka makes it “a child of two worlds,” telling a tale of two cities. It is for me a child of two worlds, because it has managed to hold firm to its primitive conception of modernization, while also clenching to an extent, the contemporary. When I see the ram- shackled buildings that litter the lot of Ibadan, amid some tastefully furnished buildings; when I consider the indecorum of the majority of her inhabitants amid a decorous few, I dare ask: Ibadan, are you a city or a primitive village? You are neither here nor there. Along what lines do I begin to argue your existence as a city? Is it Bodija, the refined environment of University of Ibadan, Ikolaba, Ring Road, Oluyole Estate amid the few others? They too are not without the streaks of that disposition that rabidly distinguishes you from contemporary civilizations.

I had thought that this perception of Ibadan was only familiar to me, until I spoke to my friends,  Desmond Ogwu and Uche Okoro about it. According to them, “Ibadan is way too backward compared to other states. One wonders what their political leaders are doing about the development of the state. They should do away with sentiments and transform the state to its due status.”  However, according to Samuel Aina and Nwamaka Orji, “Ibadan, is just the place to be. It offers the serenity, warmth and profundity lacking in cities like Lagos. It costs almost next to nothing surviving in this land compared to places like Lagos and Abuja, and so may be regarded as a home for people from all walks of life.” But Nwamaka, like Desmond and Uche, opines also that “the city is still very far from today’s world.”

Whichever way anyone chooses to see it, Ibadan still largely remains for me; a hybrid, trapped between accepting a new order and holding on fervently to its antique past as the ancient city. Hence, finely clothed by an intense pretense of modernization, the city can be said to be basking in the euphoria and aftertaste of its former beauty and splendor. Thus, juxtaposition with modern civilizations, effortlessly buttresses the truth in the old saying; “the child is the father of the man.” This is because, the onetime paragon of ancient civilization is fast receding into the darkest recesses of twilight, thus leaving the prized center for younger cities, while also being re-cultured by them. In consonance with this, another gentleman, Dr E.O Morakinyo, who has lived in Ibadan since 1972, soulfully bemoans the fact “that Ibadan is still trying to grow when it should have grown already”. Other than teaching recent civilizations, she is learning from them”. But even as a child, I boldly say that it is one that has largely overgrown the hold of its mother’s arms.

Ibadan I must say is largely in need of a rigorous transformation. Ibadan!  I advise that you go get exposure because you lack it. You must make up your mind to live matter how many skies have fallen. Your leaders should fully rise to the challenge of transforming you to your ideal status.  Why the preoccupation with a supposed pristine conception of civilization when it barely adds anything significant to the present? You cannot be one leg in and one leg out. Move in accordance with the demands of the time you are in for a continued relevance and significance!

Anoruo is a youth corp member with Tribune newspaper.
http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/features/5419-ibadan-child-of-two-worlds-from-the-perspective-of-a-corps-member

Apt!
The Gov. has not shown any  sign that he's a transformer despite being a breathe of fresh air from Lam to Oyato!. Oyo needs total overhaul of its political system cos I believe it's the main problem.
Ibadan is waiting for the spirits of its ancestors who built it and an Awoist touch to re energize it.
Rent seeking and  crude oil no good no good!

Ufeolorun:

Apt!
The Gov. has not shown any  sign that he's a transformer despite being a breathe of fresh air from Lam to Oyato!. Oyo needs total overhaul of its political system cos I believe it's the main problem.
Ibadan is waiting for the spirits of its ancestors who built it and an Awoist touch to re energize it.
Rent seeking and  crude oil no good no good!

Ibadan is one good evidence that Yorubas are so, so stuck in the past
Another is the reminiscence of Awo at the slightest opportunity.

^^
Your  thread is actually a very good one irrespective of your intention,it's irrelevant to me,really.
American conservatives always talk about Reagan and I think the progressives mouth Fdr. Or pres. Kennedy.
We also have the Chinese talk of Mao,why you got issues about Awo being a reference point even when Ibadan is the topic is not beyond me.