The Legend of the first Oloke-Odan : Oba Joseph Akinlade Odunfa
The emergence of Yoruba towns and villages, Oke-Odan inclusive, started after the death of Oduduwa, the Yoruba divine king who migrated from Mecca to Ile-Ife, which today is unquestionably the primary dispersal centre of the Yoruba race worldwide. However, some historians and researchers of history of the Yorubas say that Oduduwa hailed from Egypt or Israel at a year which archaeology and history are yet to fix.
Aftermath of the death of Oduduwa? His only son (Okanbi who was believed to have died before him) and grandsons started dispersing from Ile-Ife their ancestral home. Different families, groups, quarters and artisans,black-smiths in particular, started migrating from Ile-Ife with definite traditional instructions from the Ifa oracle regarding where would be their final place of abode. One of such towns was Oyo which was founded by Oranyan or Oranmiyan (one of Oduduwa’s grandsons). Other sons of Oduduwa includes; Olowu of Owu, Onisabe of Sabe, Onipopo of Popo, Orangun Ila, Oni of Ife, Oba of Benin and Alaketu of Ketu. However, some authorities have stated that Oduduwa had sixteen children. Another example of such towns is the Awori town of Igbesa, Ogun State, formerly in Iseri-Olofin which was established on the instruction of Ifa oracle that this particular group of the Awori stock should find its home on “awon ile ti o wa l’egbe osa” literarily meaning that that group of Awori stock should find its permanent place of abode “on a large expanse of land by the lagoon”. Thus, “ile ti o wa l’egbe osa” meaning “land beside the lagoon” was what became “Igbesa” meaning “egbe osa” and this was how Igbesa derived its name.
The emergence of Yoruba towns and villages was further master-minded decades later by the fall of the old Oyo empire in 1817 caused by personal ambition of Afonja of Ilorin “the Are-Ona-Kakanfo” the army chief who wanted to establish an independent state in Ilorin outside political and administrative umbrella of Alafin of Oyo. He surreptitiously hired professional warfare services of the Fulanis to fight the war and when the war was eventually won, the Fulanis outsmart him and usurped his military and political power as the Yoruba army general.
As already indicated, when Oduduwa died his son(s) and grandsons started migrating to establish new towns and villages. Unalloyed and unmistakable history and family genealogy expressly indicate that one Famokun was one of the grandchildren of Oduduwa and that by the directive of Ifa oracle when he was of age of maturity migrated from Ile–Ife and settled in Oyo–Igboho and from Oyo-Igboho to (Oke-Agba Quarters) in Iboro present day Yewa North, Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria, and it was in this place that Famokun married two wives and begat children. One of the children of Famokun was Olumokun. Olumokun married two wives and begat a number of children among whom was Dosunmu. Dosunmu married two wives in Iboro and one of the wives was Ladigbolu who begat four children (male) viz: Fabiyi, Ayefimi, Olowoku and Fadeyi. It was Ayefimi that led the third group of people that settled at the foot of Yewa river (Okesa) Oke-Odan keta or Oke-Odan eleketa which survives till date. Oral tradition states that Ayefimi was born around 1750 and that he was around 30 years when he led the third group of people to settle by Yewa River.
Oral accounts indicate that before Ayefimi and his followers arrived by Yewa river he had been provided by Ifa oracle with a sign that would make him know where he was to finally settle as his permanent place of abode. The sign would be that any place the royal beads ileke segi around his wrists break would be his permanent place of abode. Thus, after a period of time, on a particular day, Ayefimi who had completely forgotten about this sign suddenly discovered that the royal beads around his wrists had broken due to unexplained reasons. He, therefore, asked the blacksmiths that were with him to assist mend the broken beads which unfortunately yielded no results.It was at this juncture that Ayefimi opened his mouth and exclaimed in Yoruba apa ina ko ma ka segi ! which literarily means the potency of fire could not mend the broken royal beads which till date remains the praise-name, praise-poetry or panegyric oriki of the Odunfas (Arolagbade royal family and other children of Ayefimi-“Omo apa ina o ka segi”). Again, it was this historic event that gave birth to the first name with which Oke-Odan was known-Ebute-ilabe or Ebute labelabe, that is, the port where the royal beads broke into pieces. Later, during Slave Raid it became Odan-booku meaning any slave that attempts an escape from his captors and dies in the process, dies and receives the blame for it: boo ku, o ku gbe, iwo lo mo ta lo ran e wa and later it became known as Oke-Odan (Oak-hill).
It was Ayefimi who had now moved hinterland (Iga-Ayefimi) that begat Odunfa among other children and he was also the first Balogun of Oke-Odan. Iga-Ayefimi which later became known as Ago-Ilaro was where the people of Ilaro (mostly people from Ona-Ola quarters) were made to live when Egba-Owu or Sodeke war of 1850s displaced them to Oke-Odan to seek refuge and this was how Iga-Ayefimi was renamed Ago-Ilaro because of high population of people from Ilaro residing there. The first set of families that settled in Ago-Ilaro realized that Oke-Odan soil was fertile and good for agriculture and they therefore started inviting their relatives from towns and villages like Saala and Iboro to come and settle down in Oke-Odan and take up farming which was the predominant occupation, then, And this was how the population of Ago-Ilaro began to increase. Iga-Ayefimi was one of the two igas referred to as Oponle Oke-Odan” or “Orise Oke-Odan” in Oke-Odan history just like “Iga baba koko or “Oju-Oranyan” which later became Ago-Eyo because of large number of people from Oyo-Atiba living there having earlier sojourned in several places.
Iga-Ayefimi where Ago-Ilaro started was the old St. James’ Church site which was relinquished to Church Missionary Society (C.M.S) when some members of Andrew Sanu Memorial Anglican Church, Ago-Ilobi, broke away around 1917. It was from this place that the Arolagbade ruling house went to establish the present day Arolagbade compound (Iga Arola) still in Ago-Ilaro.
Well-chronicled and unchallengeable written accounts preserved over the years strongly point out that Ayefimi had two wives namely: Ogunsentan Awele and Sekunola. From Ogunsentan Awele Ayefimi begat David Ogunbunmi Odunfa (deceased-27th day of April, 1923), Matthew Akinyemi (deceased-17th day of February, 1913), Fakeye Ajike (deceased-1944), Talabi O. Asabi (death date not yet available). Caleb Olaleye (deceased-14th day of August, 1914), Fadeyi Ajesutan Olobetirigi (deceased-21st day of May, 1916), Aina Olajide (death date not yet available) and Harriet Sangoyomi-later Oluyomi (last child, deceased-13th day of September,1971).From Sekunola Ayefimi begat Egunleti and Ajibawo. Sekunola from oral account escaped to her people in Dahomey with her children being an indigene to escape from slave raiders and that was the last that was heard of her. Her generations are till date in Republique du Benin.
Ayefimi was succeeded by David Ogunbunmi Odunfa (his first child) as the second Balogun of Oke-Odan and father of the first Oloke-Odan of Oke-Odan, His Majesty, Oba Joseph Akinlade Odunfa Arolagbade1(30th day of April, 1942- 6th day of June, 1945).
THE AYEFIMI DECLARATION.
David Ogunbunmi or Ogubunmi Odunfa was the first child of Ayefimi Dosumu, while Matthew Akinyemi was one of his siblings. Odunfa’s full name at birth was Ogunbunmi or Ogubunmi Odunfa Ayefimi.
Family historians revealed that there was a time their father (Ayefimi) took ill. The sickness was so serious that Ayefimi was taken for treatment at an herbalist home outside Oke-Odan. Akinyemi was then an infant and was too young to recognize Ayefimi as a father. He was the youngest child then. Feeding and other responsibilities naturally fell on their mother, Ogunsentan Awele and Odunfa who was the eldest child and first son. Odunfa, according to oral tradition, was kind, mild and generous, too, but his decisions were always firm and final.
Akinyemi would always want to approach his older brother, Odunfa for additional meals other than what their mother would provide. Odunfa, being a kind and loving brother, would give extra meals and roasted (cocoyam and scented palmoil “epoorun”) to Akinyemi, especially at night during tale-telling.Thus, by the time Akinyemi became mature, he had taken special interest in Odunfa and recognized him as his “personal lord and saviour”. It was difficult for anyone either in the community or in the family to pull them apart. This marked the beginning of the perculiar bound between Odunfa and Akinyemi.
Fortunately, after about five years, Ayefimi returned home in perfect health. Akinyemi and Ayefimi, bizarrely, could not recognize each other. Ayefimi had thought that Akinyemi would have died due to lack of adequate care. After a few days upon his return, Ayefimi inquired from Odunfa why an unknown child was so attached to Odunfa and why this child did not go to his parents, Odunfa laughed at Ayefimi’s question. Ayefimi then asked him to allow omolomo (another person’s child) to go to his parents. Odunfa and Ogunsentan Awele laughed and then opened up to Ayefimi that the child was Akinyemi. Ayefimi was shocked and asked them which Akinyemi was he. It was at this juncture they told him that it was his youngest child, and that he was the one looking after him while he, Ayefimi was away from home for treatments.
Ayefimi who was too excited to hear this went into his room and came back to the passage immediately and pointed the longest finger of his right hand at Odunfa and declared: For what you Odunfa did, of all children that come out my body, no name among the names of your siblings shall overshadow your name. Your name would be known all over the world.You will give birth to kings and queens.Your generation will go to school, eat and dine with the “oyinbos” (whitemen). Indeed, I appoint you Odunfa and your unborn generations as kings over Oke-Odan according to age and birth order-K’egbon s’aju aburo. K’aburo tele egbon e.You will have money and wealth for enthronement (“Waa ri ola gba’de” ”Wa r’owo see)”. This was where the Odunfas earned their royal tiltle, Arolagbade, which took effect after the death of Odunfa.
Years later, Ayefimi became a python at a very old age and slithered away at a year this research cannot fix. It was at this point that the Odunfas garnered their panegyric, “Omo Agbodere” literarily meaning the child of the man that became so old and became a python.
This incident marks the birth of the family tradition that forbids the Odunfas and other children of Ayefimi from eating python till date.