Preamble
This story is very powerful among the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. People believe in wisdom a lot and most of the time they judge you for your wisdom. In fact, the clan chief of a verse family must be a respectable man of high moral standing and solid wisdom. These people love to communicate with wise sayings, so it may take a lot of wisdom to understand what they actually connote. This story OGBON O LO GBO (meaning the wisdom of others) is an incomplete proverb of the Yorubas and its full version is “OGBON O LO GBON, KII JE KI A PE AGBA NI WERE”. The meaning of this is that the wisdom of others (elders) thus taken would not make a sane person (mostly young) call the elders crazy.
The concepts used are:
OGBON – Wisdom
AGBA – Elderly person
WERE – Crazy person
THE HISTORY
There was a town a long time ago and a very rich man lived in it with great assets, properties, slaves and money. He has many slaves, led by a very strong, dynamic and resourceful man (also a slave). This rich man has only one son. It is customary then that when the father dies, the son inherits everything, until now. This son was very useful to man. He is hardworking, resourceful and his father loves him very much.
Most of the time, we always tell the council of elders that when he dies, all his belongings must be given to the slave master and his son has the right to choose only one thing from all his belongings, which can be radio, television. , a car, a building, a bank account or a shoe. Only one! Others must be delivered to the slave master. Imagine a man with many mansions, many cars, 40+ bank accounts, etc., asking his only son to choose just one!
Not long after this, the man died. The council of elders decided to summon the slave master and son in seven days to a meeting in the King’s palace where the son would choose what to collect and others would give to the slave master. Seven days for the decision! They were doing a lot of merit in the slave master’s house knowing full well that in seven days, he would be the richest man in town. However, with the poor son, he continued to cry as the days passed. wow!
Just one day before D-Day, the son met an old man who advised him what to do that day; adding that he will only choose only one, but most things. The old man added that his father loved him and that’s why he did what he did. He wants to tell his reasoning ability and his power to make sound decisions through consultation. Excellent!
On D-Day, thousands of people gathered from far and wide for the reasons best known to them. While some to celebrate with the master of the slaves, others to ridicule the son. The king sat majestically to pronounce verdict on the decision and approve any outcome. So the son was called to make his choice! Her one and only choice of him!
The son proceeded with great joy. The astonishment on the faces of the people was that why could he be so joyful instead of wailing and wailing as he went along? Well, he went ahead and made the decision for him. He thinks of the slave master anyway! Many happy followers of the slave master broke down and others fled because the shame is unbearable to them. There has been a strong and respected adage in Yoruba land that says, ENI LERU LO LERU, which means THE OWNER OF THE SLAVE, OWNS EVERYTHING THAT BELONGS TO THE SLAVE. Therefore, by choosing the slave, as advised by the elder, he automatically owns everything that the slave owns, that is, everything that the slave has left to own. The slave, by virtue of this choice, became the son’s slave.
This story teaches that the elders are wise and should not be seen as fools. They have great wisdom to solve practically all the typical problems of life because they have gone through them or have seen how some are dealt with over time. Calling or referring to an older person as crazy or treating his advice with contempt could mean digging one’s own grave. In life, your wisdom is not enough. One has to consult others, more importantly elders who are rich in wisdom to give their direction. This is a replica of the white man’s saying, two good heads are better than one.
A TALE OF WISDOM
THE NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE
THE LEGEND OF THE YORUBA PEOPLE
STORY TITLE: OGBON OR LO GBON
MEANING: THE WISDOM OF OTHERS