The recent burial of Oba Sikiru Adetona, the revered Awujale of Ijebuland, presents a powerful case study. A monarch who symbolized centuries of Yoruba history and tradition was interred entirely according to Islamic rites. While it is not uncommon for Yoruba individuals to blend religious and cultural identities, the complete omission of traditional rites during his burial raises serious questions: Can a custodian of tradition fully abandon that tradition at death? And more urgently, what does this mean for the future of cultural continuity?
We must begin by drawing a crucial distinction because the office of an Oba is not a religious appointment. It is a traditional institution rooted in indigenous African governance, cultural stewardship, and historical legitimacy. Obas are expected to embody and preserve the heritage of the people they lead. Therefore, anyone aspiring to such a position must embrace, not reject the customs, beliefs, and practices that define the role.
To selectively discard traditional values in the name of religion or modernity is to undermine the very foundation of the throne. Worse still, it creates a dangerous precedent where future traditional rulers may feel emboldened to redefine these ancient institutions to suit personal or external ideologies. This erosion of authenticity compromises the integrity of our cultural institutions and by extension, our developmental narrative.
It is often claimed that abandoning indigenous practices is a sign of progress. But what is “civilization,” really? Is it the uniform adoption of Western norms, or is it the ability of a people to develop within the context of their own values and worldview? The answer is not abstract. During the funeral of the Pope in Rome, an event attended by leaders from across the so-called civilized world, no one questioned the deep religious and traditional rites observed. That burial was steeped in ritual, symbolism, and sacred ceremony, many aspects of which remain private. Yet, such practices are not seen as backward. Why then are African traditions often dismissed as primitive or irrelevant?
This double standard reveals a deeper problem. When African traditions are judged by foreign standards, we are set up to fail by default. Worse still, our cultural elites sometimes become complicit in this erasure by choosing personal beliefs over collective heritage while still occupying positions that are meant to uphold that very heritage.
To protect the future of Yoruba culture and African traditions more broadly we must be clear that anyone who intends to renounce traditional rites, whether for religious or ideological reasons, should not aspire to occupy traditional offices such as that of an Oba. This is not a call for exclusion or fanaticism, but for coherence and integrity. One cannot be a custodian of culture while rejecting the very essence of that culture.
Policy and law must reflect this principle. The time has come to draw boundaries around our cultural institutions to prevent their hollowing out. Traditional rulers must be held to the same standards they claim to uphold. To do otherwise is to betray the trust of the people and dilute the cultural fabric that holds us together.
The burial of Oba Sikiru Adetona may go down in history as a turning point, not only for Ijebuland but for all of Yorubaland. It exposed the growing tension between modern religion and ancestral tradition, and it challenged us to re-evaluate what we want our legacy to be. If we fail to act, we risk becoming strangers to our own heritage, always developing, never developed.
By Bola Babarinde
