IYALODE AND IYALOJA: EGBE AS POLITICAL RALLYING POINTS By Samsideen Adesiyan Esq -

Let us dive a bit into history.

I will begin from recent history. Politics for power or empire has always been built on the back of popularism and goodwill.

Women have always played a major part in this.

The names Efunroye Tinubu, Efunsetan Aniwura and more recently Funmilayo Kuti are well known not in only in traditional history but very well in political history.

What is the significance of these woman to our socio/cultural and political history?

They all at different times played the roles of power brokers and rallying points for women with the end being not only to champion women and social rights but to give support to the men who held political powers and who happens to be favoured by them.

Efunroye Tinubu was a Lagos kingmaker who stood with and supplied arms for the wars the Egbas and later the Akitoye faction fought against the British and her kinsman- The exiled Oba Kosoko

Efunsetan Aniwura stood with and supplied arms to Ibadan under Are Latoosa until they later fell out because Latoosa became uncomfortable with her growing influence.

Funmilayo Kuti rallied Egba women against the Alake Oba Ademola in protest against high handedness and taxation.

She would later parley with Awolowo in the course of time for the political fortune of the Western region.

Many years down the line, Abibatu Mogaji, the adopted mother of the current President will later play this same role of championing the cause of women and the interest of the Yoruba.

As at the time Abibatu Mogaji was holding sway in Lagos as the Iyaloja of Lagos, others like Alhaja Humuani Alaga who was the Iyalode of Ibadan was a rallying point for cultural, traditional and political powers.

These women who had no western education will later team up with others to form the National Council of Women Society.

The end goal had always been political influence using their natural base- women.

Women being their bargaining power in order to influence not only policies but also to determine where political power will sway.

Political leaders across time and history understand this and hence, those who could, have always taken the opportunity presented by those regarded as the arrow heads of women associations and unions.

While we may argue and rightly so too, that power or influence should not be concentrated in any single bloc or unit, we should dispassionately examine why this is so in certain instances.

The answer can be found in the wit saying that ‘failure is an orphan and success is everybody’s child’. The deeper meaning to this is that one way or the other, we are all opportunists.

We seek relevance by aligning with those who will benefit us either in the immediate or some time in the future. This, unfortunately, is the game of politics and political benefits.

Tinubu’s daughter did not make herself the Iyaloja of Lagos or the Iyaloja general, some people did.

The reason is simple, they got together to band behind her because they know the season will favour either their individual or collective aspirations. It all comes down to the power and influence her grandmother whielded for nearly 60 years, the same power and influence with which she blessed the political journey of her adopted son.

There’s no Iyalode in Lagos, the equivalent of that title is the Iyaloja who acts as the rallying point for women in Lagos, most significantly, the ordinary market women and ‘men’ who are the actual political players in the grand scheme of things.

This is an incontrovertible fact and those you regard as illiterates and naive have known it since the days of Alaafin Atiba and throughout history.

No ruler or empire builder including the colonialists has ever lost sight of the significant role that women play or can play in power and politics.

Should we then crucify Iyabo-Ojo? I think not.

Her grandmother was not known to have been an Iyaloja General, she was simply the Iyaloja of Lagos.

At what point did the Iyaloja of Lagos transformed into the Iyaloja General of Nigeria? Upon the death of Alhaja Habibatu Mogaji

We will be naive to think the idea was muted or served up by Tinubu’s daughter herself.

Anyone who understands the political landscape, its interplay of favouritism, sycophancy, hypocrisy and self interest should know that this was a collusion of legions who sought and still seek to ride on the Tinubu political bandwagon for benefits and relevance.

If Iyabo-Ojo goes around installing women as Iyalojas, who nominated these women? Who pushed the agenda? Who prepared the grounds? Surely, Iyabo-Ojo cannot know every market or market women as to be able to determine who is suitable for the ultimate purpose- power and political consolidation/relevance.

We might say that she should not have allowed herself to be used as a pawn in advancing personal or collective agendas. I hold that we will be gullible to have this mindset because at the very base of our natural instincts is selfishness and survival.

Regardless of the social construct, this is also true of all leaders that have been so deified as to see themselves as gods beyond reproach and whose dispositions, performances and goodness is subject only to their consciences.

We lie to ourselves and wallow in deceit if we deny birthing and grooming the monsters some of our leaders become in the course of time.

This is not limited to political leaders but every man of means or power who is positioned to oversee the affairs of others through donated, delegated or surrendered liberty.

Every ‘Iyalojas’ were made by a conscious decision and willing participation in the surrender of conscience for benefits and gains.

Without looking at how we make our leaders in every sphere of life, we are merely howling after the fact and putting the blame where it should not be.