The royal bell, by Akeem Lasisi |

For the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, Ajimoko III

The ship has traversed a thousand rivers

Through the Lagoon, across the Nile 

And the Columbian spheres

After the diligent ride through  the waters of life

Culture asserts its essence

Heritage rings the royal bell

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The sailor is back on destiny’s bed:

The crown has found a potent head.

Prolific were your strides through the walls of knowledge, Kabiyesi

From the Eko Boys base to Howard tower

Pharmacy is  the habitat

But in the spirit of your versatile lineage

From pharmacy to governance the switch was smooth

Now after a fruitful race in the business field

Heritage rings the royal bell

The crown has found a potent head.

In the world of Omo Alade continuity is king

Where the past, the present are Siamese twins

Now for the sake of your glorious crown, Kabiyesi

Oduduwa again descends in a convoy of gods

Ogedengbe Agbogungboro glides back to his industrious land

Orunmila on the right, Obatala on the left in immaculate white

In honour of this paramount day

A compelling parade of our living gods

But beyond their sacred awe

There is a sobering tune from their talking drums

The deities are asking why their children are yelling of hunger

Amidst our idle forests and sleeping gold

Why the children are wallowing in thirst amid the ocean

Ajaka is curious and Awo is piqued:

As our race of enviable firsts

Becomes a famished unit in the federal trap

But the world applauds your unfolding dream, Kabiyesi

The muse is moved by your maiden moves

Because you know the earth is all we share

You are putting a smile on the city’s roads

Healing the market pulse

You empower the women from the royal purse

Because you are conscious of the ides of idle youths

Because you know the type of children that hunger breeds

You preach a sustainable reunion with our abandoned soils

Connecting the youth with our eager soils

In your anointed epoch, Kabiyesi

Rain will not abandon her romance with our lovely farms

The sun will be generous with chlorophyll and punctual with cryptochrome

Woe onto the raven that pretends as a pigeon securing our hope

Woe, the cattle that trample on our costly sweat

As you step into the sacred shoes of your fathers great

A hail of blessings for the green and grey

Rats will cry as nothing but rats

Birds will retain their trademark songs on healthy trees

Weddings at night, namings at dawn: 

The people shall cry as a people of infectious joy.

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