SOME AXIOMATIC SAYINGS IN YORUBA LAND AND HOW THEY METAMORPHOSED

‘’ORI E GIGUN BI POSI ADELABU’’

This vituperative saying is applied to people with long head, they are said to have a similar facet to Adelabu.

I could remember when I was growing up in my Lafayette, when this particular saying was used as a caricature and cognomen to people with long head. Why are some people fond of this ridiculous saying? and how does this saying metamorphosed?. In 1958, sir Adegoke gbadamosi adelabu penkelemesi who was referred to as lion of the west gave up the ghost in an accident after he encounters some political upheavals in the western region of Nigeria[Ibadan precisely]. during his burial, sir mbadiwe of the NCNC presented the family of sir adelabu a unique long expensive coffin.

This coffin was long to the extent that the people present were surprised and begin to spread the news after they left the burial. Thus, giving birth to the description of long head as Posi Adelabu. He was also known for other thing like the Penkelemesi textile introduced by his Yunnan friend that later became the cynosure of all eye in all the western region of Nigeria. Pluribus Unum, this belong to the axiomatic saying that people think it is rootless.

‘’GUDU GUDU MEJE YAYA MEFA’’

A group of Yoruba chiefs went en masse from Ibadan to give an account of their governance to a British district commissioner. In the course of giving the account to the white man, he was impressed and he showed this by nodding and said ‘good’ seven times and ‘yeah’ six times simultaneously. When this emissary got home they told their people that ‘’oyibo se gudu gudu meje yaya mefa’’ i. e the Whiteman did seven ‘good’ and six ‘yeah’.

‘’ALAJO SOMOLU’’

Singers, comedians among others always make use of this name anytime they perform. ‘’Alajo somolu’’ means somolu thrift collector. Before the advent of fintechs and banks, people entrusted their savings with thrift collectors.