Prince Justice Faloye
“Teach us how to number our days for us to gain a heart of wisdom”. Unfortunately, Yorubas are living in blissful ignorance that these are precarious times, and if care is not taken ‘for the lack of knowledge a people might perish’. Once again, we are facing Bashorun troubles that started the beginning of the end of Oyo empire, and the Kiriji Yoruba Civil War that led to millions of deaths and displacements, as the ramifications impacted the wider Yoruba sphere for 250 years.
We should be alarmed if we knew that the same spiritual and philosophical essences that prompted Bashorun Gaa and his challenge by Alaafin Abiodun, which ultimately led to fall of Oyo to Fulani, are the same essences inspiring the current Bashorun Akinade accused of being bribed by the North to enthrone a Northern Islamist friendly Alaafin that will complete the Fulani takeover agenda. Just as Alaafin Abiodun that challenged Bashorun Gaa also had some issues from his own family that posioned his initiative and led to the fall of Oyo, the neocolonist government that is challenging Bashorun is accused of also plotting to enthrone a professional Christian practicioner. In all these power tussles by foreign civilizational imperialists, the true Yoruba collective agenda of cultural renaissance is once again at stake. The Isese traditionalists and Yoruba’s at large don’t seem to be on the negotiations table because we can’t see the once in a 250 years chance.
Due to colonial epistemicide, the killing of our traditional knowledge systems that also included Aworawos, our timekeepers, we have lost the collective intelligence to decipher trends, which our ancestors tied to Orisa essences. Instead of African Spiritual sciences that enables socially productive precision sciences in our collective existence, we focus on African Spiritual Arts of dancing, artwork, festivals that is about consumption and panhandling. Timing, trend identification and analysis have been important building blocks of ancient knowledge systems, especially that of the Original African civilization information retrieval system known as Ifa-Afa-Iha-Fa-Efa.
From observation, the easiest and earliest trends identified were those of Earth’s revolving in 24 hours that made us distinguish night and day for sleeping and action. Then we identified the revolution of the moon (Yemoja) in 28 days that we labelled as months, tied to women’s fertility. The revolution of Earth around the Sun (Orunmila) in 365 days became the year calendar, measured in moons (months) which brought the understand of seasons for planting and harvesting. These are basic understandings of trends visible to the naked eye and the untrained, for stomach infrastructure societies. However bonafide civilizations have experts that studied trends not visible to the naked eye, known as Aworawo in Yorubaland, and tied to every important aspect of our existence.
The spiritual essence of different trends were named Orisas. The 29 year orbit of Saturn is tied to Obaluaye in charge of physical structures and personal lifecycles. That of education, philosophy and law is tied to the 12yr orbit of Jupiter tied to Obatala. For nations and empires, we have the 84 year orbit of Uranus tied to Shango trend of Justice and judicious use of Information, followed by the 165yr orbit of Neptune tied to Olokun essences tied to Obas, leadership and Collective conscience, while the 250yr orbit of Pluto emitting revolutionary change leads to the formation and destruction of empires and nations.
As a collective we have experienced the 84 year Shango cycle that brought this 2023 election, the 1939 pro independence movement and the 1850s Oyo-Ibadan-Ekiti Parapo wars. We have also experienced the 165 Olokun trend with the current crowning of Ojaja II and death of Alaafin Adeyemi, which follows the previous 165 year cycle of 1849 Ibadan invasion of Ife, crowning of Ojaja the first and start of the colonized Atiba dynasty. The previous 165 year cycle was the 1690 spread of Oyo Empire to the coast and defeat of Dahomey, before which was the beginning of Oyo as a slave empire in early 1500s.
250 years ago, around 1774, the beginning of the end of Oyo Empire started when Alaafin Abiodun challenged Bashorun Gaa and the military class that pushed arms for slaves trade by banning slavery at economic foundations of the empire. In the previous 250 years trend, early to mid 1500s, we had the beginning of the change from Oyo kingdom to Oyo Empire, like the French and British war-making constitutional monarchs, who broke away from the Catholic Church, Oyo and Benin were to move away from Ife Ifa-Afa-Iha-Fa-Efa civilizationism. The previous 250 years Oya cycle, late 1200s to early 1300s, we had the Oduduwa monarchial dynasty spread to Edo and Benin by Oranmiyan. We can go back further every 250 year cycles to see the evolution and devolution of state structures, until we reach the eighth 250 cycle making two thousand years, when we have a complete change of civilizational essences. This outgoing 2000 year civilizational essence of Olokun/Pisces is one of religious and political dogma, Ifa Olokun Asorodayo, Christianity, racist capitalism etc, which was preceded by the 2000 year civilizational essence of Ogun/Aries based on war, Ajagungbade, conqueror kings. The incoming Age of Shango is based on cultural justice, digital economy and judicious use of Information.
Though the essences are from different sources with different cycles they sometime coincide, as two 84yr Shango cycles roughly make one Olokun 165yr cycle, while 3 Shango cycles make one 250yr cycles. Three 165yr Olokun cycles make two 250yr Oya cycles, while eight 250yr Oya cycles make a civilzational change. When all coincide as they do currently, we have monumental changes that could be make or break of a people or nation.
This why we have to be alerted that the current Oyo imbroglio has the propensity to shape Oyo and the larger Yoruba sphere for the next 250yrs if not 2000yrs. We must rise and fight for the soul of Oyo and Yorubas. Some might say that the Original African civilization of Ifa-Afa-Iha-Fa-Efa was colonially cut down into Yoruba tribal identification and amalgamation over the last 165 years Olokun cycle, and this might be the end of Yoruba as a united group if an Islamic imperialist candidate is allowed to take Oyo, as the non Islamic Yorubas of Ilesa kingdom and, Ekiti and Ondo states will definitely differentiate and realign with the Edo sphere they belonged before colonization. Culturally conscious Yorubas must rise and oppose any further foreign cultural imperialism of Oyo by demanding the next Alaafin should be a traditionalist that can work with the likes of Ooni of Ife to unite and uplift Yorubas, instead of an Islamist that will work with the self defined Empire of Iwo, Oba Akanbi to subjugate Yorubas indigenous African civilization to the Northern Afro-Arabic civilization.
If we don’t rise to the occasion future generations will blame us for the cultural annihilation down the line. Already there is tension between both Abrahamic sects in Oyo, as the Bashorun is being threatened, and Oyo might go up in flames of religious strife. Some Onisese have said traditionalists should step aside and let the Islamists and Christians mutually destroy each other over what isn’t theirs, only after which Onisese will retrieve their throne.
Some observers ponder whether the government and stakeholders plan to use a Christian to serve as a check and balance against Afro-Arabic civilizational imperialism since Onisese don’t have strong enough institutions to counter and stalemate further Abrahamic civilizational hegemony. Omo Ina Abraham lan ran si Ina Abraham? Fighting Abrahamic fire with Abrahamic fire? Something we did in previous cycles with devastating consequences leading to British colonization and Neocolonization. Hmmm Yoruba Ronu oo
