•The Inside Story Revealed!
The incidental revival of the ancient Ijebu Regbe-Regbe age groups was solely an idea of a brilliant, modern, soundly educated royalist; a former permanent secretary in the Nigerian government civil service, in the person of Otunba Olatunji Agoro Adesoye of blessed memory. Though a graduate of Economics from the London School of Economics University of London in 1954. Otunba Adesoye retained his cultural and other Ijebu traditional distinctions as a thoroughbred ‘son of the soil. In May 1985 when the 25th coronation anniversary of the current Awujale Oba S.K. Adetona, was being organized, Otunba Agoro Adesoye was in the forefront of the planners and executioners of the successful anniversary. There, he called me aside and said that the revival of the “Regberegbe” age group that the Ijebus used to practice could be re-introduced along with a special “Ojude Obar” carnival which traditionally held on the 3rd day of lleya, the Muslim Eld-el-Kabir at Ijebu-Ode. Otunba Agoro and I decided to take the idea of the RegbeRegbe revival to the Awujale for his consideration.
Without the knowledge of other members of the Coronation Anniversary Committee, I took the new idea to Kabiyesi who after an emotional pause, but with measured equanimity responded by expressing his doubt and awareness that his subjects are not his friends, but enemies but he would not stop Otunba Agoro and I from trying to attempt the resurgence of the Ijebu age group ‘Regbe-Regbe’.
We quickly formed a committee of 3 people and late Chief A.G.B Lekuti was the Awujale’s representative in our deliberation. In a jiffy, the Committee recommended the revival of the RegbeRegbe and the probable age groups were written out by my humble self Bankole Okuwa. The report of the committee was thereby presented to the Awujale who approved it without any alteration. The entire package was aired by OGTV and OGBC with me as the Announcer, personally calling on all Ijebu sons and daughters to return home and join their age groups in a new attempt to rebuild and reconstruct the present and future of Ijebu society. The only major difference between the old age group setting and the revived one is the concentrated centralization of the new.
The old practice was decentralized by which Iwade, Ijasi and Porogun had their groups in their sectional forms but would come together for uniformity when due. After the special Ojude-Oba organized to mark the 25th Coronation Anniversary of the current Awujale on May 10, 1985, the subsequent Ileya Festival of the same year saw the first age group of 3 people born between 1938 and 1941 namely Bankole Okuwa, late Tajudeen Agbomabiwon and Chief Bisi Rodipe came together to pay homage to the Awujale.
This group of 3 had an original name which was later changed to Bobayo, consequent upon a change of name made by Bisi Rodipe to the Awujale. The new name of Bobayo has since been adopted. The original group of three did not die but Rodipe was responsible for the new name Bobayo after inviting more people to join the fold.
On the adoption of the name Bobayo as suggested and ratified by the Awujale Chief Bisi Rodipe assumed the leadership of the group as its Giwa. He had to be made the Giwa because the enlarged group used to hold its meetings at Rodipe’s house. He later approached Otunba M.O. Balogun, the Olori-Omo Oba Akile Ijebu and the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians as the group’s patron. Since then, some misconception had arisen among all of us that the revival of the RegbeRegbe was initiated by someone other than Otunba Agoro Adesoye. The issue is better retained as a misconception because this write-up by my humble self, Professor Bankole Okuwa represents the whole truth and facts of the revival of the RegbeRegbe and no one can honestly claim an idea which was Otunba Agoro Adesoye’s alone in 1985 when the 25th coronation anniversary of the current Awujale was celebrated. Let us learn how to give honour to whoever is due. Otunba Agoro Adesoye, an avowed and astute traditionalist, a committed royalist and a sound and well-educated intellectual who reached the position of a permanent secretary at the Federal Civil Service has left his positive footprints on the sand of time. He passed on a few years back and may the Almighty Allah forgive him his transgressions on earth.
-Prof. Bankole Okuwa,
First Published in Obanta Newsday
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