Ìyá àgbà, like she is fondly called by
small children in the vicinity was a woman that took special interest in me.
She would always buy me àkàrà
whenever I returned from ilé kéwú.
Whenever, my mother or father wanted to scold me, I would quickly take shelter
under her roof as I know that such punishment would be mitigated once it came
to the knowledge of Ìyá àgbà.
On one occasion, father was angry with me
over spilling the gourd of palm wine that he brought from the farm. Out of
anger, he called me a bastard. Just then Ìyá àgbà was passing through the front
of our house. She overheard what father said and what she said remained with me
till now. “Àlàmú”, she said, “you must be very stupid
for talking to her that way. Even if she annoyed you, there are ways of
rebuking her without necessarily saying hurtful words. B'abá f’owó òsì bá’mo wí, a maa fí t’òsì faa móra.”
She
would always tell me that men should be respected but not equated with the gods
because they are just mere mortals. She inspired me with her words and
attitude. Once, Ìyá àgbà heard me insulting some children across the street
with English words which were just learnt from an American movie. She allowed
me please myself and to insult the children to my satisfaction. When I was
done, I met her gaze and stood transfixed.
She beckoned on me to cross the road and
come to her. I soberly obeyed, not wanting to incur her wrath. She made me sit
down and offered me an orange which I dared not refuse. She kept quiet and
stared into space. I was shifting on my seat, hoping she would make my misery
come to an end quickly. She was not going to oblige my wish as she kept quiet
for a long time.
When she finally spoke, she said, “Tólá, mu osàn náà!” I quietly obeyed and
started eating the oranges. When she had finished chewing the bitter kola in
her hands to her satisfaction, she adjusted her wrapper in a manner
characteristic of her whenever she wants to start a serious discussion. I
became uneasy.
She began the discussion with my oríkì. This was characteristic of her
whenever she wanted to discuss with my father but not with me. I became more
scared. She started by telling me her experience when she was a student in
Ìbàdàn. She told me how she worked very hard to acquire the western education.
She did not forget to mention that she and Bàbá Sóyinká were classmates and how
the struggle of the then nationalists began. I was thrilled when she started
talking about the aluta days and days of demonstration against the then
government. She called it the good old days of Nigeria.
No matter how far Ìyá àgbà deviates from a
topic or question, she finds a way of tying the knot somewhere and somehow. She
later came round to tell me how the development and growth of the country was
hampered because we like to do like the Òyìnbó.
We enjoyed mimicking the way they talk and how they dressed. Their mannerisms
became our way of life even when we knew too well that some of the things that
they did were not in accordance with the values that the African society had
relied and thrived on for years.
She scolded me for how I insulted the children
using words that they could not comprehend. She said it was not in the habit of
omolúàbí. She made me recite the
entire poem she taught me on omolúàbí.
She made me promise that I would go and apologise to them. I knelt to thank
her.
As I was leaving Ìyá àgbà, I realised that many of things she said was right. Not
only has our indigenous languages been referred to as vernacular in our school,
they have also been reduced to the level where if you speak it, you will be
punished severely. Whoever was seen speaking the Yòrùbá language was considered ‘bush’
and uncivilised.
Àsà wa, Èdè wa,
ko s’oun tó da tó.
These were the words that rang in my head continuously. On my way back from the
children’s house I met Ìyá àgbà
settling a rift between two market women and I smiled at Ìyá àgbà, knowing fully well that they would be schooled on the
appropriate way of omolúàbí.
© Omotosho Oluwadamilola 2017
Glossary
Ìyálòjà – Female market leader
Ìyá àgbà – Grandmother
Àkàrà – Bean cakes
ilé kéwú – Quranic school
B'abá f’owó òsì bá’mo wí, a maa fí t’òsì faa móra. – When
you discipline a child, make them feel loved
Tólá, mu osàn náà – Tola, eat the orange
Oríkì - Appelation
Òyìnbó – White man
Omolúàbí – A person of integrity
Àsà wa, Èdè wa,
ko s’oun tó da tó – There’s nothing as good as our culture and language
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Omotosho
Oluwadamilola is a 400 level student of the Faculty of Law, University of
Ibadan, who hails from Oyo State but grew up in Lagos State, Nigeria. A budding
writer and a passionate believer in social change and development, she loves to
put her thoughts to paper.
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