The King’s Friend and the Legend by Steve Oliyide

There is a popular Legend that suggests the existence of a very popular and extremely prosperous King who reigned in royal splendor in a near-magical town called Abeokuta. The king was described as a man of means with a large retinue of aides and friends. But most importantly, he was quite accessible to his friends, old, young, and new, as well as to his subjects.

Legend also preserved it that the king had a close friend with whom he spent his childhood. The particular friend was not so lucky to have made it on the ladder of success and prosperity. On a fortuitous day, griots recorded that this friend accosted the king to complain about his own fate and not too impressive fortune. The wise King then offered to perform a ritual that could impact his fate for good.

The king requested his friend to find any financial means of hosting a lavish party in his house, he should invite both old and young, rich and poor, men and women in the magical town and from all adjoining towns, villages, and cities; and they both agreed on a set Friday when he, the King, would visit to come propitiate and libate for the ritual on his behalf.

Kings in those times sits and towers above everything and every religion, “Oba ba l’ori ohun gbogbo. They worship God, the Divine, and also sacrifice to the gods without a definite religion. And so it happened that on the appointed date, the King was returning from the Mosque with all his large retinue of aides and branched out at his friend’s house as agreed. But he only excused the friend to the bedroom to tender an excuse that the sacrifice he planned to make for him on that day he may not be able to fulfill and that he will choose another day for that.

The friend was quite disappointed, but who is he to query the King, a Kabiyesi (no one dares to ask them); kings are Igba ‘keji Orisa (next in line to the deities). He was particularly troubled about the debts he has incurred by hosting a lavish party, which he has to repeat on any new date.

A month later, no new date had been fixed, and both the king and his friend had no reason to cross paths. But two months later, the friend had a genuine reason to visit the palace and pay courtesy to his friend, the King. He appeared regal and radiant. He was obviously rich. As soon as the king saw him, he tried to make up an excuse to say his schedule had been busy, hence the inability to fix a new date for the ritual, but the friend said, “Kabiyesi, I don’t think I will need any new ritual anymore, the sacrifice has been answered by the gods”.

It was at this point that Kabiyesi Ademola told his friend that coming to his house on the last visit was the ritual he wanted to perform.

Kings may not be as powerful as the time of Iwase, but Presidents in a democracy are. If a President in Nigeria calls you his friend, you can go to sleep, there is no ritual more potent in governance. It is a simple ritual that could get you a personal friend appointed as a Minister; it could get you a former Commissioner elevated to the highest pedestal of the Executive Council. You don’t need to struggle for anything; all those who want to seek the face of the “King” (the President) will look for you. You don’t need new rituals to knock on doors; they open at your command.

[media-credit id=10 width=225 align=”none”][/media-credit] A rare photo of President Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, GCFR, sharing a cordial moment with his close friend, His Excellency, The Senator Otunba Engr. Gbenga Daniel, FNSE FAEng.

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