The Oyomesi invoked the ultimate power (of checks and balances) by inviting the Alaafin to commit suicide. Before submitting to regicide, Aole pronounced the infamous curse against his people-the Yoruba. He condemned them to eternal perdition; enslavement to alien aggressors and the unrelieved tragedy of internal insurrection; social misanthropy and the boiling cauldron of the everlasting lake of hell fire. May God save us from the sadism of evil ancestors. The curse seemingly took effect as the Oyo Empire and other outlying Yoruba districts plunged into a century long quagmire of internal strife and self-immolation; social dislocation; mutual destruction and attrition. The vulnerable imperial capital at Kaltunga (old Oyo) was sacked and destroyed by invaders and prompted relocation to the better secured and more defensible location of Oyo-ile.

Further up North, similar tragedy befell the Ilorin-based Afonja. He was consumed in classical betrayal fashion by his Fulani spiritual consultant, Alimi, who connived with the forces of the Sokoto caliphate led by his brother, Abdusalam, to defeat and kill him. The enduring and far-reaching consequence of this defeat was the incorporation of Ilorin into the Fulani feudal emirate system. The loss of Ilorin has left a permanent scar in the psyche of the Yoruba and predisposed them to the paranoia of holding in suspicion any political figure who sees virtue in alliance with the Hausa Fulani (until now).

It is striking to note that this peculiar tradition and history of rebellion has resonated in the contemporary politics of the Ilorin writ large Kwara State. The late Waziri of Ilorin, Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki, was one of the unique discoveries of the post military politics of the Second Republic. He was the quintessential godfather. He made a very good run at becoming the President of Nigeria in 1979 and subsequently settled for the weighty office of the Leader of the Senate. All high political office holders from Kwara State got appointed or elected as his proxy, particularly the governors. And one after the other they rebelled against him. As it was with Adamu Attah in the Second Republic, so was it with Shaba Lafiagi in the Third Republic and so it became with Commodore Alabi Lawal at the onset of the Fourth Republic. Tired and frustrated with these unending insurrections, he personally appropriated the office by foisting his son, Dr Bukola Saraki, as governor.

What subsequently transpired was the stuff of a drama plot horribly gone haywire. I have been trying to think of similar occurrences in the annals of the modern history of Nigeria and I have always come up short. The nearest I could find was the instance of Alvan Ikoku and his son Sam Ikoku. The Ikokus contested against each other in different political parties which resulted in the son defeating the father. In the case of the Sarakis, it was crystal clear that the son owed everything to the father and short of becoming governor himself it is hard to figure a better option. But man proposes and God disposes.



http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/the-rebellion-of-the-godsons/159407/

My fascination with this theme partly stems from my personal history. My dad, Chief Oduola Osuntokun, was a Cabinet Minister of the Western Region from 1955 to 1966 straddling the Premiership of both Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Ladoke Akintola. In the bitter factional feud of the Action Group, within the then ruling party in the Western Region in 1962, my dad took sides with Akintola. My full name is Akintola suggesting I was named after the Premier on account of which I was given an early lesson in the politics of demonisation. Adjudged guilty in the popular imagination, the name Akintola became a byword for Yoruba-wide malicious derision. The lollypop candy we loved to suck was baptised with a new name derived from a member of Akintola’s private part.

A stubborn grass species was similarly rechristened there were innumerable folk songs adapted to invoke Awolowo as a hero and his sparring partner a villain. I was made the butt of jokes and was frequently brought to tears. I pleaded with my parents that I wanted to change my name to Akinjide. They were heedless and dismissive and my dad took to lecturing me on the virtues of the late Premier and how history was being distorted to cast him as a quisling and an archetypal villain. In the event I took the unilateral decision to effect the change of name-something akin to a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI). At the age of six years, I must be the youngest guy to resort to this degree of autonomy. I have only now realised that this youthful assertiveness tantamount to rebellion not only against my parents but also against my godfather, Ladoke Akintola.

One abiding critique of history is that it is little more than a rendition of events as selectively recollected by the victorious party and its ideologues. It is no less the case with the memory of Akintola, whose foibles were grossly exaggerated and his accomplishments severally diminished and misappropriated. If he had survived well beyond 1966, the propaganda against him would not have gone unchallenged and unrestrained. My uncle, Akinjide Osuntokun, Professor of History (whose name I once appropriated) was old and proximate enough to have a clear and objective understanding of this bit of history and he restored a measure of balance to the hitherto one sided account in the biography he authored on the late Premier-The Life and Times of S L Akintola.

The demonisation of Akintola also derived from a traumatic strand of Yoruba history encapsulated in the implosion of the Oyo Empire resulting from internal contradictions and external pressure. The epoch was set in motion by the highly consequential duel and reciprocal duplicity of two important Yoruba historical figures. The ill-fated actors were the newly crowned Alaafin, Aole Arogangan (the godfather) and his field marshal, the Are Ona Kankanfo, Afonja (the godson). The former was a paranoid, insecure and sadistic Prince who duly proved himself with the first step he took on his succession to the throne.

By tradition, the newly crowned king was required to initiate his reign with a declaration of war on any victim community he fancies and instruct the Are Ona Kakanfo accordingly-a battle the field marshal is sworn to win on the pain of being put to death if he failed. Aole then practically sentenced Afonja to death by choosing a target (town) that is reified and forbidden to any external violation-it was sacrilegious for any entity to engage the sacred community in war. On the other hand, defying the orders of the Alaafin was tantamount to a declaration of hostilities. For Afonja, it was a moment of damned if you do and damned if you don’t. He resolved to take the battle back to the Monarch and enlisted the collaboration of the Oyomesi - the all-powerful kingmakers. The hunter then became the hunted.







http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/the-rebellion-of-the-godsons/159407/

Ishilove:

Bros I don tell them but they say they prefer oyibo juju

damiloladuke:
.......I happend to be one of these highly motivated students that
after reading ROBERT KIYOSAKI'S books, we believe other students
are just wasting their time. We believe they will all end up working
for us. The motivation is so strong, that you already imagined
yourself controlling businesses and employing people. Not even
realising its a different environment that we are in here in Africa.


Things are not the way they are in Europe and America. Over there,
there are proper structural plans to make you develop as an
entrepreneur. .............

The excuse by Paul Orhii, the Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control that exporters caused the problem by not complying with regulatory requirements for semi-processed and processed commodities is untenable. NAFDAC has not conducted its regulatory oversight properly and needs to put stringent measures in place to monitor our products and guarantee them as safe for export before the next EU review in 2016. The Ministry of Agriculture did not pay sufficient attention to the problem either.

LarrySun:
The Semicolon

frosbel:


You are talking about two different things here.

If you presented the stuff you wrote in your nairaland diary as fact and we started to find a few lies, this will no doubt lead to a questioning of your integrity.

mbulela:

for a minute i thought you were discussing dildos.

AjanleKoko:
The girls seem to have taken over the Boys Night Out Discussions

ilobasama:
Well the cause of it all is our over dependence on oil. The falling prices of our major product forced all these actions. Its well

OLAADEGBU:
[b]"What is the cause of church splits? /b]

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/church-splits.html#ixzz3fmgiETiy

How can healing occur after a church split?"

ilobasama:
Seriously emefiele shouldn't have devalued naira. We are not an exporting nation nau......but what do I know

nurexfutmx:
When my sister finished her masters from prestigious Queen's mary University.....she got a 30k job, took the offer....after working for less than a year or two, she finally got a very good offer now earning around 400-500k a month on one of these big investment banks.

So, my advice for anybodg in this situation is to manage the salary and bank on the experience, afterall the friend is from a rich home so he shouldnt be worried about the salary but experienxe for now pending till he gets something bigger.

My advice though

AjanleKoko:
Well, the dude should shine his eyes. Na so UK-born masters grads dey find work for the same UK.
No be only Nigeria e dey happen. See some lovely articles below:

Don't bother applying for job without 2:1 degree, say bosses as 80% admit they turn down all graduates without qualification

Got a good degree? Great – now go and work in a shop

All UK oh. Our guy should hang in there, he has a good degree, and he just needs to stay in the game, take the 50k job for experience even. Quitting isn't an option.

OLAADEGBU:


You are playing with fire my friend!

"Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned"? (Proverbs 6:28).

Remember that father Abraham repented and made his way right before the God. (Genesis 17:1).

OLAADEGBU:

Can I still play with the dog, who can play with fire and not be burnt?

Have you forgotten that the world is still suffering from Abraham's decision to go into his maid today?

OLAADEGBU:


If the guy no spend would love still kontiniu?

Are you sure Jesus in Matthew 6:1-4 did not condemn it? :-

Remember the double minded man that James spoke about.

MuttleyLaff:
[size=4pt]I hear you too, heard you loud and clear

If we're trying to turn the cube a little bit to see what else we can see, let's even try push the boat out, a bit further, bit in the deep end

Now not trying stir up a hornet's nest here but when I hear people say so-and-so has humility or such-and-such is so humble,
am like well, hmm but "Humility isn't actually humility unless there's something you're good enough at to be humble about."
That was a God quote from the "Joan of Arcadia" series, it used to be shown a few years back on the CBS Network
When I heard that line in the series, the penny about Numbers 12:3 dropped for me

Numbers 12:3
(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

Hmm, imagine leading a nation out of Egypt,
lead half a million Israelites or say more than 2 million people, if women and children are included, to the promised land
now if that isnt something to be humble about, I dont know what else is.
That, right there, is humility. That is a feat.
No wonder the Bible recorded he was very humble, more than any of the men who are on the face of the ground

If the word humility, as we know it to be, is also associated with meekness, lowliness or submissiveness,
then it will wear thin and fail miserably, in the face for anyone subscribing to or endorsing one, any or all of the following:
1. KNEELING before them while addressing them with your head bowed
2. Calling them my lord
3. Ministers DEMANDING on 'honor' such as being addressed as daddy, mum....and publicly rebuking those who don't
4. Literally kissing their feet/shoes
5. Removing shoes in their presence
6. Washing their feet
7. Defining honor as agreeing with their EVERY word, doctrine

I dont recall ever, reading Moses, a man exceedingly humble above all men that dwelt upon earth,
allowing any of the Israelites according him, at any time, one, any or all of vooks' listings

[/size]

MuttleyLaff:

vooks:

When I said cultural disposition is abused, I meant it is abused by those who readily ascribe the practices I described to culture.
You opined that some of these practices are borrowed from culture. I countered that by asking where else they are found outside Christianity. If they are found nowhere else outside Christianity, then it is wrong to 'blame' culture for these. They would be nothing but internal practices

OLAADEGBU:

There are two types of rewards, from men and from God. Which one do you think we should be aiming for?

vooks:

'Cultural disposition' is often abused.
Here is what I would look for; is any of these practiced anywhere outside Churchianity by the same community? And is the same an accepted norm?

vooks:
Good post Gombs.
Can you give examples of WRONGLY honoring God's ministers?

Or, could you tell me if any of these is right;
1. KNEELING before them while addressing them with your head bowed
2. Calling them my lord
3. Ministers DEMANDING on 'honor' such as being addressed as daddy,mum....and publicly rebuking those who don't
4. Literally kissing their feet/shoes
5. Removing shoes in their presence
6. Washing their feet
7. Defining honor as agreeing with their EVERY word, doctrine


Cc Winsomex,ayoku777,esere826,Image123,MarkMiwerds

Defining honor as agreeing with their EVERY word, doctrine

OLAADEGBU:
Does the Lord change or not?

[size=5pt] Malachi 3:6; and Genesis 6:6, 7; Exodus 32:14; Jonah 3:10

God does not change:

"For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob, are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6).

God does change:

"And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repents me that I have made them" (Genesis 6:6,7).

"And the LORD repented of the evil which He thought to do to His people" (Exodus 32:14).

"When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it" (Jonah 3:10) [/size].

Months after the 2015 elections ended, Nigerian youths are still hung up on those elections. Nowhere is this more obvious than on social media which our youths have turned to a battle ground divided into pro People Democratic Party (PDP) and pro All Progressives Congress (APC) youths. So ingrained is this animosity that each group targets elected officials and party chieftains of the opposing parties and go after them just on the basis of their party affiliation. Things reached a comical stage when a youth attacked me for a tweet on Twitter and hours later was praising a popular youth for his tweet. Unbeknownst to him was the fact that the youth had merely tweeted my exact words but had not credited me with the quote!


These shenanigans makes me concerned for our youth. Where they should be getting closer and breaking down barriers, they are holding a candle for politicians who in reality are not as divided as they lead these youths to believe.


For instance, Senator Bukola Saraki is the Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly today. He could not have been elevated to that exalted seat were it not for the votes of senators of the PDP. What does that teach us? It teaches us that all politicians are divided by a common interest which united them when the conditions are right and temporarily divides them when they are wrong.

I advise youths not to look at Nigeria from a pro PDP or APC perspective. They should see the country from a pro youth outlook. Their future is greater than a party. Nigerian youths should not believe and act as if the only options available to them are either the PDP or the APC. There is a third alternative.


This third alternative is patriotism.
I am reminded of the wise words of Mark Twain who defined patriotism as “loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it”. Our youths have to imbibe this wisdom from Mark Twain and refrain from saying and tweeting nasty stuff about each other and their religions, regions, tribes and ethnicities.

Those who engage in this do not understand that foreigners follow Twitter trends and when our youths are disrespecting each other’s ethnicities and religions, they must realise that foreigners do not see us as Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. They just see us as Nigerians. I therefore advise our youths and indeed all Nigerians to speak of Nigeria in a way that shows the world that we value her. If we put a small price on Nigeria, we should be rest assured that the world will not raise that price.
We should not come on social media to abuse one another on partisan grounds. That to me is an abuse of the platform.


I am sure Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, who founded Twitter, did not found it as a platform where we come to outdo each other in raining insults on those on the opposite political divide from us. Speaking for myself, I am on Twitter to release my ideas for scrutiny and receive ideas of other Twitter users for contemplation, because none of us is as smart as all of us.

Our youths need to understand that we are living in an idea age not an insult age. It takes interdependence and interconnection to create the atmosphere that inspires brilliant ideas. Our youths are short circuiting this interconnection when they alienate each other.


And I am aghast as to what to say to those elders who come on Twitter and fan the embers of division amongst our youths by retweeting them when they retweet insults and destructive criticism against their political opponents. Even worse is when they praise them by calling them intelligent for engaging in this behaviour.

We really need to watch it. Nigerian youths are beginning to define intelligence as the ability to come up with the most sophisticated insult and criticism. We urgently need to redefine intelligence in Nigeria. Mudslinging, cynicism and criticism are not acts of intelligence. Ideas and creativity are. If you are truly intelligent, you won’t be on Twitter lobbing insults on political opponents. Instead you will be tweeting ideas that inspire solutions to Nigeria’s challenges!


I want to urge these elders, who I have come to be aware are called Twitter overlords, to remember that true elders plant trees of peace even though they know they may never benefit from the shades of those trees.


President Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton are some of the most criticised political figures in the world, but they do not use social media to react to the criticism they receive. Instead, conscious of the fact that their role is to set good moral standards for the youths, they constantly tweet uplifting and inspiring tweets which have the capacity to unite people. That is what we should do as elders in Nigeria. If we do not do this, we should consider that a time may come when those attack dogs have savaged all our enemies, and having nothing else to savage they may turn on us.

OLAADEGBU:


So, what you are saying is that we should show our good works, right?