The Cotonou Times: Did he have money on him?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: I guess he had some money on him for transportation. The war had ended.
The Cotonou Times: How long did the war in Cameroon last?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: The war on Cameroonian soil lasted for two years, from 1914 to 1916. Two to three months before the end of the war, my father had already been brought back to Lagos. Seven of them went for the war, but only two came back alive: my father and his friend. So his friend had already gotten back home, while my father was in Lagos taking care of his leg. His friend kept my father’s cap as an evidence to show his family that Ìrókò had died in the war.All my father’s family then came together(when a hunter dies, a special ritual has to be performed) to decide when to do it, that was when my father showed up. It was at that meeting, they saw him crawling, he could not walk anymore. The injured leg had deteriorated, the other leg he was leaping with too had deteriorated. So as soon they they sighted him they all ran away because they had thought he was dead due to his cap that they saw. But his brother Adéyẹ̀mọ, was the only one who did not run. He said this is my younger brother Iroko,what happened to you? Why are you crawling? My father said that he had a bullet injury on his leg and that the Doctors wanted to amputate it because it had deteriorated and the other one he was leaping on for the past month had also deteriorated. So that’s why he could not walk anymore which was the reason he was crawling. The road that passes through Ọ̀yọ́ from our house is nothing more than 200yards,it was from there he crawled home. Adéyẹ̀mọ responded that nothing would happen to my father’s leg and thatthey will take care of him. And there were great people back then,Yorubas had powers in the past with genuine people with great spiritual and healing powers. So they went to a bush somewhere in Ọ̀yọ́.
The Cotonou Times: So you are basically saying that your father was properly taken care of and that he was healed?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: Yes,he was properly taken care of by traditional means and he was perfectly healed and okay.
The Cotonou Times: So he was able to walk properly?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: Yes,he was able to walk properly till he died. But the leg was hurting him once a year due to the bone he had cut off.
The Cotonou Times: Did your father ever told you if he regretted going to this war or he was not bothered about it?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: He regretted going to the war,because everything that was promised to them was never fulfilled.
The Cotonou Times: Did he get a military pension from the British the way the French were doing it with African veterans?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: Nothing was given to him.
The Cotonou Times: Absolutely Nothing ?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá:They brought absolutely nothing. And they were given absolutely nothing.
The Cotonou Times: I think we should thank God,that your father was able to eventually walk again.
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá:Till he died,nothing happened to him. He was 105 . My mother died at the age of 112. She was a Sango worshipper,and she was very intelligent. She used to chant Sango,Ijala,Egun there is absolutely no Orisha my mom could not sing.
The Cotonou Times:We are still talking about age, this is not to disrespect you.Please kindly tell us your age.
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: I turned 90years of age on the 24th of December last year(2022).
The Cotonou Times: Did you remember any incident that happened during your childhood which you will never forget?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: Yes, an incident happened in my neighborhood,it was an outbreak of smallpox. The person who was born right after me, a female child died. I can never forget. So only five of us were left. You see the first child my father and mother gave birth to was a female, she died 2/3years ago. She was 98 years of age, Ògùntoyin was her name. The next person after her is named Ògùndiya , he was the person who took over the Chieftaincy title of my father which is Aṣípa of Ọ̀yọ́ He was also a Native Doctor, and was also given a Chieftaincy title of Ààrẹ Ìṣègùn Ilẹ̀ Ọ̀yọ́ by the Aláàfin of Ọ̀yọ́ and was as well a Head Hunter.
The Cotonou Times: So your family belongs to a clan of Warriors
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: Yes, as well as traditional healers
The Cotonou Times: Why did you choose to study Yoruba language & Literature after you graduated from secondary school?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: When I went to the University then,Nigeria had only one university unlike the numbers of universities we have now.
The Cotonou Times:What was the name of that University then?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: The name of the University then was,University College Ibadan. It was established by London University.
The Cotonou Times: Okay,it was a branch of the University Of London?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá:Yes. I got admission into the university in 1959.I was admitted into the History Department.It used to take 4years to have an Honors Degree. So 3years was spent on learning history. History of Africa,Europe,USA,and the world.
The Cotonou Times: Were your lecturers at the University white people?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá : Two third of them were indeed white people ,there were approximately seven to eight black lecturers in my department, but the rest were white.
The Cotonou Times: So you chose Yoruba language and Yoruba Literature ?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá :No,there were no such courses at the University then.
The Cotonou Times: But you became aSenior Yoruba language and Literature Lecturer. How did this happen?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: It was like six months left before my graduation with a BA Honors in History, then I came across an advert in the Federal Government Gazette, announcing that they were looking for a Junior Research Fellow In Yoruba Studies. I therefore applied and I was chosen even though I had not yet graduated. I still had 5months until my graduation, and I was already provided with a job.The Department would sponsor me in the faculty where I was living while writing my final exams till I graduated. So while I was on the job, I was working as a Junior Research Fellow In Yoruba Studies,where the University taught language courses like English,French,Russian but did have a Yoruba language course. So I though thatYoruba language has to be a course in the University. That was the reason why I wentto America. I attended a university named North Western beside Chicago. That was where I obtained my Masters degree in Linguistics. Then I went back home after my Masters Degree,but I did not go back to Ibadan,because three more Universities were already established. One was Ahmadu Bello,the other one was Nsukka and the third one was the University of Lagos. So I went to the University of LagosSomeone was already there before me like a year before,and he was the Head of the Department. He was the one who started the Program of Yoruba Studies. So they were now looking for someone who had knowledge in Linguistics.The person who started the program, studied Literature for his PhD in London. And his name is Adeboye Babalola.
The Cotonou Times: I think he was the one who produced the Dictionary Of Yoruba Personal Names. Is he the one?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá:Yes,he was the one.
The Cotonou Times: He really did a great job.
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá: I wrote a thesis for University Of Lagos for PhD,so he was my supervisor.
The Cotonou Times:Is Professor Adeboye Babalola still alive?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá:No,he died 15years ago. He was an old man.
The Cotonou Times: So what was the title of your Thesis?
Professor Ògùnwándé Abímbọ́lá:I obtained my PhD in 1971. It was the first PhD degree to ever be obtained at the University of Lagos. The title of the thesis was IFA AND EXPOSITION OF IFA LITERARY PURPOSE. The thesis was published as a book in 1976.
To be continued…
