Women of Note Series (1)..... Queen Amina

Hello All,

New year, new resolution to revive my moribund blog with a theme that I am actually really passionate about. Its about the story of the old Nigeria stating with heroines that I learnt about in primary school and have heard about in stories. Queen Amina kicks off this series and I hope you like it...

This is the woman whom female halls in UNILAG, UI, ABU Zaria and maybe some other universities in Nigeria were named for and there is a life-sized equestrian statue of her, sword and all on the grounds of the National Theatre in Lagos

Queen Aminatu (Amina) of Zazzau (Zaria) led the Hausa empire in the sixteenth century. There are no actual timing in history of Amina's reign over the hausa empire as there are varying stories of when she actually was a ruler. Some stories put her reign at the time period of 1563 until 1573 and there is another story which puts her reign at around 1576, after her elder brother Karama died. There is yet another story which states that she was never crowned a queen that she remained just a princess.

The collective theme of all the stories was that Amina was a warrior and she conquered states which she annexed to the Hausa empire.

She features a lot in folklores as a warrior queen and there were lively but undocumented tales about her growing up years. She was said to have been celebrated in songs for her military prowess "Amina, daughter of Nikatau, a woman as capable as a man"

One of the tales recounted that she forged trades routes through the Sahara to North Africa and was responsible for the introduction of kola nut into local cultivation. She was also credited with building strong earthen walls around the city which was the prototype of fortifications used in all Hausa states.

Once upon a rock

"For in the day of trouble; He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a ROCK" Psa 27:5

There are not so many notable tourist attractions in the South West region of Nigeria but one that easily comes to mind is the OLUMO ROCK.

OLUMO (the literal translation of which i believe is "the Lord moulded it") rock is in the capital city of Ogun State, Abeokuta and rises above the ground you can't help but notice it once you are in the ancient city of Abeokuta.

This crowd pulling site sucked me into its vacuum last year when I went to Abeokuta. Kudos to the present State Government, The tourist site had been renovated and an elevator installed for the lazy bones who want to get to the top of the rock without climbing (just kidding).

I got a tour guide who told me the story of Olumo rock which I am about to relay just now. So here goes:

Olumo rock came into significance in the 19th century durinng the intertribal wars. the people of the old Egba kingdom took refuge in the caves beneath the rock and from there they carried on their normal daily activities. it also proved to be a vantage point to be a vantage point for the Egba warriors who come out in the dark of the night to fight the enemies.

Now the story gets a bit hazy here, I am not so sure of the number of years the Egba spents in the caves but history has it that it was quite a long time. When they came out, they set up residence in the environs of the Olumo rock and the city of Abeokuta came into creation. Abeoukuta derived its name from Olumo and can be translated literally to mean "Under the rock".

Fastforward into the 21st century, remove the wars and add curiosity. Olumo rock has turned into a place where people throng to in their hundreds to confirm the myths and take in the beautiful views you get from the top of the rock. From the base of the rock, there are man-made steps carved out of the stone to make the climb up somewhat easy. At the top of the rock, there is a particular point that you stand where you can view the 1st TV station in Abeokuta (of course that's NTA); Baptist Boys High School?? (where Mr. President schooled); and one other place which i have forgotten. My appologies.

The environment of the Olumo rock is a great site for picnicking and and with the renovation, the State Government has put in place, a musuem, where you can get more news about the town and the rock.

On the way to the top of the rock. I wasn't planning to model Eva Table Water but there you go.

At the top of Olumo overlooking the town

African Shakespeare

A Poem Written by an African Shakespeare

Dear white fella Couple things you should know When I born, I black When I grow up, I black When I go in sun, I black When I cold, I black When I scared, I black \ When I sick, I black And when I die, I still black.

You white fella When you born, you pink When you grow up, you white When you go in sun, you red When you cold, you blue When you scared, you yellow When you sick, you green And when you die, you grey. And you have the cheek to call me colored?????

A Day in Lagos

Yesterday in Lagos

- Yesterday in Lagos, I woke up 10 minutes later than I normally do and I got to the office an hour later because of the traffic

- Yesterday in Lagos, I saw 2 corpses along the road on my way to work and one on my way back. They said one was a robber that was lynched and burnt alive a la tyre style, one was a victim of a hit & run accident and the last is believed to be a mad man that had been dead for about two weeks

- Yesterday in Lagos, I saw a group of hoodlums robbing a guy whose car was broken down on the road; and everybody drove past like they didn’t see it.

- Yesterday in Lagos, while in a traffic jam, we heard random shootings in front and everyone fled leaving cars strewn all over the highway

- Yesterday in Lagos, I saw grown men having their baths by the roadside, some other men were in various stages of answering the call of nature

- Yesterday in Lagos, i saw a molue take off and the conductor while running to jump in, tripped and fell down. He rolled away just in time not to be crushed by his molue. While everyone screamed in horror, the boy got up and laughing loudly jumped into the vehicle which subsequently sped away.

- Yesterday, I saw a friend of mine, Taiwo and after exchanging pleasantries asked after his twin, Kehinde. He said “oh I have not seen Kenny in about 2 months”. They both work and live on the Island.

- Yesterday, there were road blocks on a section of the Agege motor road (the Mushin area) because someone was having a party.

- Yesterday, I was looking for where to eat for only #100. I got a meal with a plate full of meat from that woman who sets up a tent by the town dumpsite

- Yesterday I was also looking for a place to eat in the evening. I got a meal at this fancy place for #5000, I tipped the waiters and I didn’t even get to keep the plates!!!

Now to think of all you can do in Lagos in one day you begin to wonder if there really isn’t more than 24 hours in a day.

A Little Cultural Story

Hi all! I promised to keep this updated didn’t I? I’m trying to make up for lost days. What you are about to read is the 1st of several series of historical stories as told by me. They would relate myths, legends about ancient kingdoms, era and people known for their extraordinary feat.

My 1st story is about Ile-Ife. Why Ife? Well because it’s the “cradle of the Yorubas” (I’m Yoruba…like you didn’t know), its where I come from and where my Alma Mata is located. Let me pose a caveat, I tried to reference some writers as much as possible, but for the better part, they are things I read up somewhere and I can’t remember where I read it up or stories I heard from my grandma and my Yoruba teacher in secondary school but please don’t quote me. The idea is just so you get a feel of story behind the ancient Ife town & some of the people feature.

Name of Place: Ile-Ife (means “Place of Expansion”)

Location: Osun. (SW Nigeria)

Language: Yoruba

Oduduwa is the legendary founder of Ile-Ife and the progenitor of the Yoruba. There are two variants of the story of how he achieved this feat. The first is cosmogonic, the second, political.

1. The cosmogonic version concedes that Obatala was given the task of creating a solid ground where primal water existed on the earth and to mould the physical bodies of human beings to occupy the earth. It avers that Obatala got drunk even before he got to the earth and he was unable to do the job. Olodumare got worried when he did not return on time, and he had to send Oduduwa to find out what was going on. When Oduduwa found Obatala drunk, he simply took over the task and completed it. He created land using sand that he poured from snail shell, and then he got the hen to scatter the sand and the chameleon to test the firmness the ground formed (which according to the story is why the chameleon walks that way). The spot on which he landed from heaven and which he redeemed from water to become land is called Ile-Ife and is now considered the sacred and spiritual home of the Yoruba. Obatala was embarrassed when he woke up and, due to this experience; he made it a taboo for any of his devotees to drink palm wine. Olodumare forgave him and gave him the responsibility of moulding the physical bodies of human beings. The making of land is a symbolic reference to the founding of the Yoruba kingdoms, and this is why Oduduwa is credited with that achievement.

2. According to the second version of the myth, there was a pre-existing civilization at Ile-Ife prior to its invasion by a group led by Oduduwa. This group came from the east, where Oduduwa and his group had been persecuted on the basis of religious differences. They came to Ile-Ife and fought and conquered the pre-existing Igbo (unrelated to the present Igbo) inhabitants led by Oreluere (Obatala).

Obviously, there is a connection between the two versions of the story. I think the political one may be the authentic story of the founding of Ife kingdom. The claim that Obatala got drunk and the task of creation had to be performed by Oduduwa already has some political coloration which is now explicit in the political version of the tradition. The name Yoruba itself, according to historians Smith, Atanda and others, was fixed on us by our northern neighbors and later popularized by colonial publications. Before then, the "Anago" to which some Yoruba in the present Benin Republic and others in the new world still use to refer to themselves, was used to refer to most of the people called Yoruba today.

Some notable names in the history of Ile-Ife are:

· Moremi: Upon the death of Oduduwa, there was a dispersal of his children from Ife to found other kingdoms. These original founders of the Yoruba nation included Olowu of Owu (son of Oduduwa's daughter), Alaketu of Ketu (son of a princess), Oba of Benin, Oragun of Ila, Onisabe of Sabe, Olupopo of Popo, and Oranyan of Oyo. After the dispersal, the aborigines, the Igbo, became difficult, and constituted a serious threat to the survival of Ife. Thought to be survivors of the old occupants of the land before the arrival of Oduduwa, these people now turned themselves into marauders. They would come to town in costumes made of raffia with terrible and fearsome appearances, and the Ife people would flee. Then the Igbo would burn down houses and loot the markets. Then came Moremi (a dowager queen) on the scene-like Deborah of the Old Testament. When no man could dare the Igbos, Moremi asked the Esinminrin River for help and promised to give offerings if she could save her people. The Orisa told her to allow herself to be captured and to understudy the Igbo people. She got captured, married their ruler and discovered that these were not spirits; only people with raffia for dress. She escaped, and taught her people the trick. The next time that Igbo people came, they were roundly defeated. Moremi then had to go back to Esinminrin to thank the gods. Every offering she offered was refused. On divination, she was told she had to give Oluorogbo, her only son. She did. To Ife indigenes, Moremi’s story is one of patriotism and selflessness. She passed on and became a member of the Yoruba pantheon. The Edi festival celebrates the defeat of the Igbo and the sacrifice of Oluorogbo till today.

· Oranmiyan: (Also called Oranyan), Oranmiyan was the last of the Oduduwa offspring. But he was the most adventurous and the founder of Oyo Kingdom. When Okanbi died, he was called in from Oyo Kingdom to be the Ooni. He was known to be a warrior in is time. Now the story gets kinda hazy here to me but some accounts said he went underground on his own free will. Before leaving however, he instructed that whenever there was trouble in the land, the warriors can pull on a rope at the site where he went underground and he would come out to assist them in fighting the war. But some warriors got drunk and pulled the rope accidentally,Oranmiyan came out through the anthill and had massacred a lot of Ife indigenes before he realized his folly. He then vowed never to come out again to fight in any war that may avail Ife town. It is being said that his staff (see picture below) marks where he went underground.

To this day Yoruba kings trace ancestry to Oduduwa. Of all the centres of African art, there is none as remarkable for extraordinary accomplishments in many fields of art as the ancient town of Ife, the ritual centre of the great Yoruba tribe of western Nigeria.

Ife art includes terra-cotta and bronze heads and busts, stone sculpture, stools and religious pieces carved in quartz, monumental granite monoliths, statues of humans and animals.

Need I say this; Ife is home to OAU, Obafemi Awolowo University (Africa Most Beautiful campus).

This is one of the statues made around 900 AD. It depicts Oduduwa

this is Opa Oranmiyan (Oranmiyan's staff)

A statue of Moremi

Great Ife

Ps: I didn't take any of this pictures

References: The wikipedia; www.ileife.info; egbe omo yoruba website

Its been a while

I know I shouldn't be saying this but Happy New Year!!! Yeah! I know. It's been a while, I have not been consistent, Asake! Do you really call this a blog, it's so scanty my little niece will do a better job at blogging. Why don't you try keeping a diary first? Yeah! I'm guilty as charged (Now let the name calling stop!). I have not been consistent but you can't blame me y'all. I'm trying to learn this thing. This is a new year so I make a solemn promise to get better at keeping this up to date. I promise. So new year, new resolutions, new plans & a new determination to see everything through. So let's see where have I been to since the last time? Sure you wanna know? Nowhere! Actually I was planning to go to Ghana but my plans fell through at the last minute so here we are, with no pictures or stories about Ghana but Christmas celebrations in Lagos was not half as bad. No thanks to the fuel scarcity, I stayed indoors through most of it and I had to plan my visit before going anywhere. Believe me that wasn't fun but what can a girl do? Especially when you don't have a car! I'm still in love with beaches I can't just get enough of them. So, during the hols, I went to Alpha Beach, Lekki Beach & Takwa bay. Of the three, I loved Takwa bay the most. Cleaner air, cleaner atmosphere & the boat ride is quite exhilarating. Actually, the boat ride is the whole trips for me. I made the rounds of the cinemas & shopping malls - out of boredom. The thing about these places (I mean the shopping malls) is that once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Maybe, they might look different in other countries but here in motherland, they all have the same concept. I made plans to see some shows (the Gospel Jams was on my priority list), but of course the fuel situation in the country then was not working in my favour. Here's a picture of Lekki beach(sorry y'all, I took a picture of just the water) Here's Takwa bay, the water is calmer, the environment is saner & this would be an ideal place for all those who are into meditation (& some other "me-stuff") That is if you don't mind the boat ride to the bay. (see below) I loved the boat ride. Okay folks! I'll be back! Very soon. So much for writing a piece. But I hope what I have just written now will make you wanna check out these beaches. Not too bad I reckon?huh? Happy Val's day y'all. PS: I got a question? If you wanna start a small scale business what would it be?

Tourism in Nigeria

Thess are pictures of some places i went to in Nigeria. i tell you we have got tourism in this country. The top pictures are those of a "new improved" Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, Ogun State. History has it that during the war circa 17th or 18th century, this was where the indigenes hid and lived. Hence the name Abeokuta (literally: "under the rock"). The botom pictures are those of Gurara falls in Niger State (pardon me i have forgotten the name of the town /village) you need to see this while you are in town i tell you it is totally breathtaking. There are a thousand and one places to see while in Nigeria. This country is blessed