ktravula – a travelogue!

Going Way Back

I stumbled on a pack of seven albums of a legend called Odolaye Aremu a few weeks ago and my life has never been the same again. The famous exponent of a brand of poetry/music/chant called Dadakuada recorded more than two dozen albums of his brand of art between 1977 and 1990 in Ibadan. He himself is a product of the town of Ilorin. His art spanned decades of politics, religion, social issues, love, lust, feud and music itself, and my first intimations of it must even be earlier than I can even pinpoint, way back to pre-youth, when music was played only on record plates. The reproduction of the albums by the original production company (ORC) in Ibadan for mass distribution in today’s world there is a very welcome development. I’ve particularly had a very pleasant time reconnecting with the curious mix of musical styles hidden within the vein of this particular peculiar art form never since reproduced on this scale by any other indigenous artist before and since the death of Odolaye.

Dadakuada stands in equal stead with Apala, Awurebe, Ijala, amongst many other distinct indigenous styles of musical poetry from the sixties that have all but died off in their original forms. Thanks to digital technology, we still have enough of them now to remind us of the richness of Yoruba poetry, especially of the performance kind that, though commercialized, retained much of their original distinctness.

Ilorin, in Pictures

Here are shots taken around Ilorin last week that I wasn’t able to share due to internet connection issues.

South to North Notes

The railway track from Lagos reaches Ibadan, Abeokuta and then head up north towards Zaria, Jos and Maiduguri, and the very first proposals on this trip was to have gone via railway. How nice that could have been, except that it would have taken days if not weeks to commute between even almost neighbouring towns. At least, it could have been a good chance to see more of the countryside as one ascends up the country.

So here I am in Ilorin, a sorta border town between the North and the South. But don’t take my word for it. Most residents of this town know for sure that politically and geographically, Ilorin belongs to the North. There is a very long and bloody history behind this conclusion. Don’t ask me. One thing for sure is that everyone here speaks Yoruba, and perhaps Hausa as well, among other languages. The state’s motto is “The Land of Harmony”, perhaps a play on the diversity it embodies.

The towns of Ekiti that lay in-between the journey from Ile-Ife to Ilorin are interspersed between rocks and hills. It is also a land of diverse tongues. The Akoko area of Ondo and Ekiti States is one of the most linguistically diverse places in Nigeria. Many of the languages there are endangered or under some sort of threat from globalization, and the influence of Yoruba, thus the influx of linguists from all over the world to study and document those languages. I have worked with at least three of such linguists, doing fieldworks in villages in the Akoko Area, some from the School of Oriental and African Studies, in the UK, and a few from SIUE itself. Has anyone heard of a language called Ayere or Uwu?

So, Kaduna is the ideal next stop, and it is six hours away from here by car. That is not the problem however. The problem is where I intend to sleep when I get there. This, of course, could also be the most exciting part of the trip. Now imagine me in jeans and a ktravula t-shirt, with a backpack and dark specs walking up to the gate of the government house and requesting to meet with the Governor in person. “Yes sir. I am a Nigerian Fulbrighter from the United States on a short trip around my country. I need a place to lay my head just for a few days while I check out your state and I have come to you, being the chief executive of the state. I’m all yours. What say you?”

Now, that would be an adventure.

Ilorin National Museum

I was at the Ilorin National Museum over the weekend in company of a few friends one of whom had just happened to be in the town by chance.

One peculiar characteristics of this museum is that it is housed in the same compound as a bar, eating joint, and a hairdressing salon. The signboard at the junction close to the museum itself had the name of the museum written in equally small letters as the other services offered in the premises.

It’s not altogether a bad thing. On the one hand, the presence of a bar might actually be a better attraction to the building than the content of the museum itself. From the patronage of the bar, it was clear that there is some complementarity at work there. The museum was closed because it was a Saturday and we couldn’t get to see the contents.

Ilorin

I’m in the University town of Ilorin, having the time of my life in the midst of old friends that I last saw in Ibadan years ago. Right now, we are watching the Uruguay-Germany game at a bar. Paul the German Octopus has predicted that Germany would win, but right now, Uruguay is leading with two goals to one. I wonder how this would end. Something tells me that we might see an Octopus peppersoup dish by this time tomorrow.

I have been to the University of Ilorin. I went there today for the very first time. We tried to see the dam which was not far from the gate but we were turned back by the security folks who said they were acting on instructions of the Vice-Chancellor. Why five young men might be a threat to a University dam is still beyond my comprehension, but I was able to at least get some shots. The University is a nice place. Far more beautiful than the Adekunle Ajasin University at Akungba Akoko. But I had a very nice time in the house of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of the AAU. He has a nice family too.

I have left the German and Taiwanese linguists from SOAS behind in Ikare where we last parted. They will be proceeding to a village called Ikakumo, and later Ayere later in the week. I on the other hand will move on towards Kaduna, and wherever else until I get broke, bored or disinterested. Right now, everything is going well. I’ve had moin-moin, ponmo and some drinks. And right as I’m typing this, Germany has equalized, and the scores is 2-2.

I’d better get back to watching the game before I miss all the action. Of course, there are many photos to share. Greetings from the Nigerian countryside. How have you been?

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