For the well-respected monarch, the Orangun of Oke Ila in Osun State, Oba Dokun Abolarin, what philosophers mean by the concept of brevity of human existence walked into his embrace, in its full throttle, last Monday. Around 5pm on that day, a major pillar of his monarchy, his Olori, his wife, Mrs. Solape Abolarin, breathed her last in an Ibadan hospital. I literally heard Kowéè, one of the species of smallish/mid-sized songbirds Yoruba attribute traditional bad omen or symbol of death, danger and calamity to. It chirped in its ghoulish voice as I walked into this hospital. It was a few hours before the Olori’s departure.
The chirps of Kowéè were very audible for me to hear. Right inside the hospital were Kabiyesi’s family members. They wore long faces. Because Yoruba consider it as wrong to sidestep one who wants to pronounce a particular numerical figure (S’aju eleede pe’ede) to demand what figure they wanted to pronounce, I resisted the urge to demand the identity of the particular person Kabiyesi’s family members brought to the hospital. As they sat on edge, and Kowéè crying loudly for me to hear, I knew the Abolarin family was in pains. How was I to know that Olori Solape was the patient who was about that time going through throes of pain and waiting to be in an embrace with her Maker?
Kowéè’s chirping cry of death eventually left the realm of guesswork. A few hours after, Oba Abolarin announced the departure of his adorable wife who hailed from Igbeti, Oyo State. As a stream of guests trooped into Kabiyesi’s place to commiserate with him the second day, though he shrouded his grief the way great Yoruba Obas demonstrate masculinity, it was obvious a great blow had hit Kabiyesi in his most vulnerable body part. He tried to smile but only a veneer of acrid grin came out. I looked at his eyes intently. I doubted whether those bloodshot eyes slept overnight. It was obvious to all that this foremost Yoruba king had lost a major pillar of his monarchy.
Olori was KábÃyèsÃ’s mountain stronghold. She stood by him through thick and thin. When Nigerians pour encomium on a pan-Nigerian Yoruba Oba whose school, Abolarin College, is home to all Nigerian kids, regardless of ethnicity or religion, Olori was the architect and the Rock of Gilbatrar behind it. She opened her home to the children to drink from the brook of knowledge. As her husband the king, lawyer and political scientist walked to the front of the classroom to teach these students, Olori Solape provided a matriarchal support for him and her motherly bosom for the students’ comfort. Now, this helper of the throne has left the royal father without announcing her exit.
I mourn the departure of Olori Solape, a great modern version of ancient Queens who stood behind and fortified their husbands. It is obvious no one can console Oba Abolarin except God. May God, who alone knew why Olori had to leave at this time, comfort Oba Abolarin, a great Yoruba monarch, in whom Yorubaland is well pleased.
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