Oba Adetona And The Hypocrisy Of Religionists,By Bolanle BOLAWOLE
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Whereas my resolution was not to comment on the controversy surrounding the burial of the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, pressure from readers caused me to rethink. “Are you afraid?”, one of them asked me. “Is it that you have nothing to say?”, another bellowed. Neither! I just felt it was much ado about nothing! There are more serious matters to discuss than the inanities of how a corpse is buried! Distractions! What does it matter if a corpse is buried in the traditional, Christian or Islamic way? Does it have anything to do with where the soul of the person in question ends up – Hell or Heaven, if these really exist?
In “Awujale and the funeral rites” by Abdu Rafiu (the pen name, I suppose, of Mr. Lade Bonuola, former Managing Director of The Guardian newspapers and my respected senior colleague), he recalled an interview granted by the oba on the occasion of his 86th birthday and 60th anniversary on the throne, in which he reportedly stated emphatically that “he was looking forward to meeting his Maker”. In other words, the main reason Adetona elected to be buried according to Islamic rites is that he considered burial according to traditional rites as idolatrous, which could debar him from “meeting his Maker”. Being a practising Muslim, Oba Adetona believed that the tenets of his religion compel how he should be buried; and that these stand him in pole position of “meeting his Maker” than if he is buried otherwise.
Thus, the argument as to whether or not Adetona observed traditional rites during his installation as oba and whether or not such rites mandate him to also be buried accordingly need not detain us here. Should Christians and Muslims not ready to go the whole hog of conforming to traditional rites dabble in chieftaincy matters? Are there such rites in the first place? If there are, what are they? Or should they not be disclosed to the uninitiated? Adetona not only contested that there were such rites, he also cast aspersion on those who said there were and who insisted they must be observed. Those questions, intriguing as they are, should be left for the kingmakers to answer. It should also lie within their powers to fashion out the modalities of ensuring compliance, if they consider such absolutely necessary.
Do funeral rites avail anything?
Now, does burial according to Islamic, Christian, traditional or whatever rites guarantee that the dead will meet his Maker? I do not think so! In my own view, the criterion that dictates whether or not the dead will meet his or her Maker is not the type of burial rites – or their absence – that the body of the deceased is subjected to. Hebrews 9:27 says it is appointed unto man to die but once, and after that is judgement – not burial! Christians believe that there is no repentance after death, which is why Christians do not pray or make supplications for the dead, but Muslims do. While we are still here on earth, it is difficult, in my own opinion, to emphatically say what is right and what is wrong in many respects as it pertains to religious dogmas and doctrines. Like the apostle Paul posits in 1 Corinthians 13: 9-12, we know in part and prophesy in part. Not until we get to heaven – and behold God face-to-face – do we have full knowledge of many of the things that we gallivant about here.
Should we still intercede for the dead?
Should we pray for the dead or not? Revelation 14:13 says: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them” Does this passage refer only to those who die in the Lord? What of those who do not? This passage is often interpreted to mean that once a person dies, his record is sealed; nothing can be added and nothing can be subtracted.
When a person dies, we may deposit the body in the morgue while we begin to shop for money to give a so-called “befitting burial.” We may give the children and other relatives who had JAPA enough time to JAPADA for the burial as preparations for an elaborate funeral are in top gear. Usually, Muslim burials are not as elaborate as those of Christians and traditionalists. But Heaven will have none of that! According to Hebrews 9:27 quoted above, once a person dies, Heaven immediately triggers the judgment mode, ever before the person is buried. The funeral rites following after death are none of their concerns in Heaven. So, if you like, bury; if you like, don’t bury. That is your own cup of tea, not theirs in Heaven!
Now, the story is told of the spiritual leader of a prominent Pentecostal church in Nigeria who died and while emissaries were still going round summoning church leaders, Baba woke up again and began to agitatedly demand: “Please, help me look for them!” Who are the “them”? The story is also told that Baba came across a Christian tract whose message was so impactful that he thought the whole world must hear it. So he ordered a massive reproduction of the same tract. He did not alter the authorship. While his members were distributing these tracts, the copyright owners chanced upon them and accused Baba, who was anything but lettered, of plagiarism.
Baba pleaded and turned over all the tracts to them to go and distribute. For him, all that mattered was for the message to reach the perishing souls, not who took credit. To his chagrin and utter consternation, the other party collected the pile of tracts printed by Baba and set everything ablaze! Baba screamed and stormed out of the venue in anger. That was the incident that nearly cost him his place in Heaven – but he was sent back at the gate to go and restitute. Now, in the light of Hebrews 9: 27, how do we explain what happened to Baba?
Will cadavers also make Heaven?
I am persuaded that what will make a man meet his Maker is certainly not the type of burial his dead body is subjected to. What of those who skip burial altogether by donating their dead bodies to teaching hospitals as cadavers? What of those who perish in air and such other crashes whose bodies are never found? Now, what kind of burial rites did Moses enjoy? What of Enoch and John the Baptist? All the disciples of Jesus, except John the Beloved, died cruel deaths. What burial rites did they enjoy? Did they – or did they not – meet their Maker?
From time immemorial, religion has been employed to manipulate the people, leading Karl Marx to describe it as the opium of the people. In recent times, not only has poverty been weaponized against the poor and hapless, religion no less!
People who despise their own traditions and customs travel to foreign lands at great costs and personal discomfort to observe and tremble before the traditions and customs of foreigners who, justifiably, look down on them and treat them as objects lesser than human worth!
Yet, before our very eyes we saw the English observe and uphold their own customs and traditions during the burial of their late monarch, Queen Elizabeth 11! We dare not describe such rites as idolatrous! We were also too shell-shocked to rage at the Ku Klux Klan-like parade that attended the burial of Pope Francis in April this year!
At no time than this does the need to decolonize our minds become more imperative!
Tell KWAM 1 to watch it!
Ogho (Owo) elders have a saying: When a mistake or mishap happens for the first time, they call it “the yam”. When it repeats itself, they describe it as “the peels of the yam”. But when it reoccurs the third time, they say it is “the point of no return”! Tell Wasiu Ayinde Adewale Olasunkanmi Omogbolahan Anifowoshe aka KWAM 1, to watch it, lest it becomes his every time, and all the time, as they say! Like the Tortoise!
How long ago was a private call to him by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made to go viral, wherein he used first person singular tense to address the country’s Number One citizen! In age, position, wealth – everything – is Tinubu his mate? The fact that he is regarded by many as the President’s official (?) musician does not mean he should take liberty for licence. He must note that the Oyinbo that made pencils also made erazer!
What kind of audacity would make a man think he could detain an aircraft or prevent it from flying? Because he knows the President? Because of his fame as a crooner? Or because of his wealth? Like we heard someone taunt him in the video that has now gone viral, why did Wasiu duck in the nick of time? Why not maintain his “I-will-not-yield” stance and let the wing of the aircraft do its worst?
The explanations of those trying to explain away Wasiu’s action did not wash; even as the preliminary decision of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) appears ludicrous. One explanation said what Wasiu had in his flask was his doctor’s prescription; another said it was nothing but water. Whichever, why not hand it over to the officials on demand? For goodness sake, why spill something on somebody? Because you are a “big man”? Remember how a National Assembly member shamelessly treated an Uber driver in the same Abuja sometime ago? Assuming you even have a grouse, there are more appropriate ways of lodging a protest.
In case Wasiu did not know, the scenes created have serious implications. One: It demarkets the KWAM 1 brand. Two: it must have embarrassed his teeming fans. Three: it would be a source of anguish for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu if his association with Wasiu is factored into this. Four: Imagine if the aircraft had run Wasiu over? What a great loss it would have been to Wasiu himself, his family, fans, and the country as a whole! Five: The incident has caused the airline – for no fault of its own – great financial loss and reputational damage. Six: The pilot’s own shortcomings notwithstanding, an incident that shouldn’t have arisen at all has now been allowed to jeopardise someone else’s professional career. Seven: The lives of other passengers were needlessly put at risk; not to talk of time lost and denial of comfort and peace of mind. Eight: Man-hours and resources will now be expended by aviation agencies and personnel to try and handle this infraction on air safety.
For example, the NCAA has placed a six-month “no-fly” ban on Wasiu as well as suspended the pilot of the aircraft while also vowing that “everybody involved… will be brought to book” and that it “will do everything we can to get to the root of it. Everybody who needs to be punished or sanctioned will receive justice”! Haa! If you haven’t got to the “root” of the matter, where, then, did the punishment already meted out to Wasiu and the pilot come from – from the “leaves”, “branches” or “stem” of the matter? What kind of “justice” will Wasiu and the pilot again get? Does this speak volumes about the quality of the personnel that superintend our affairs?
NB: Wasiu has apologised! That is good. Maybe it will mitigate his full punishment in the final analysis. .
Former editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/Editor-in-chief of The Westerner news magazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.
