Behold the grave of Ogedengbe Agbogungboro!

The grave site of the Yoruba Generalissimo, Ogedengbe Agbogungboro is an eyesore.

He was a great warrior and known for his war exploits. When he was beheaded in the war front ,  he acted fast and  beheaded a woman , put her head on his neck  then searched for his own head, found it and  replaced it , then returned the woman’s head on her neck and the war continued!. It was  not a fiction, it was real. His war jacket was very, very heavy that two hefty men  cannot lift it up but surprisingly it was always hung on the spider’s web [ faran owu].

Imagine this scenario : When his  foot soldiers were weak and tired in the war front and the battle was hot   he   touched  the trees with his bare hands and the trees turned  to soldiers and the  fight continued . He appeared and disappeared at will  with his  magical power . He was very powerful as he shot arrows  from his house attacking enemies in the battle field without getting there. He was feared by the natives and non natives.He was honoured and respected. His eyes, hands,legs,  infact all parts of his body were instruments of war. This is ORISARAIBI OGEDENGBE AGBOGUNGBORO of Ilesha!

He was a chain smoker and was extra ordinarily  careful as he  always avoided being poisoned, he  used to  send  his wild dog to buy tobacco  from the market and  the dog must be greeted by all and sundry .And whoever  did not salute the dog will attract fine or punishment from the Generalissimo .According to stories , the dog was not seen again after Ogedengbe’s demise.

                                     Ogedengbe

According to High Chief Oyekanmi Ogedengbe Obanla  IV who presently  holds the tittle, he    said ” In Ogedengbe’s compound were  cell rooms where he used to punish his erred slaves in his courtyard.Not only this, he had some rooms where he kept his charms , juju , arms and ammunition , daggers, swords and other war materials . He  had specialized  heavy saucers he used to eat  from”.

He added ”The warrior had a big shrine where he worshiped before embarking on his war.He fought the Kiriji War allegedly caused by a woman”.

The High Chief took this reporter round the compound and some rooms , he said ”Some of the jujus and ammunition are still in some  rooms till this day, infact there are some objects you must not touch  and rooms forbidden to enter! .Some rooms have no windows.”, adding that  there are about four courtyards in the compound .However, one needs a torch light or a candlelight to go into these dark rooms, and some of the rooms look secretive and fearsome., but inspite all these , most of the iron and woods used for the building which could be about a century old are still strong .

  The High Chief put on the Warrior’s charmed ‘war clothes’ and said ” this is the war cloth and attached with all types of juju gourds.But the High Chief says he is not happy for the grave of the great Yoruba Generalissimo is not befitting.Asked whether he contacted the Government , he said ” the Osun State government promised to turn this place into a monument  while we are still waiting” .

        Ogedengbe Agbogungboro house in Ilesha     

    Ogedengbe’s Grave in the compound

A  visit to his grave site  in the compound  could make one cry as one would be surprised that inspite the fame, power and exploits of this  man called O SOKO EKITI, SOKO AKOKO (Husband of Ekiti and Akoko) his grave site is unmarked.

The heavy eating saucers he used

When he was being taken into exile by Captain Bower, one of Bower’s aides who came with him struck Ogedengbe’s second in command, Alimoro’s   head but the sword cut into pieces and Alimoro cut the aides’s hand .As Ogedengbe saw the hand  on the ground he picked it up , blew air on it and glued it back to the stump!

”We offered sacrifice every week here in the compound and worship Ogun , the god of iron called Iwude.

Asked where Ogedengbe’s charmed war cloth is , the man looked up and said ” sadly enough they took it away , however some untrustworthy fellows must have conspired for without that they couldn’t have taken it away.

His war jacket was very, very heavy that two people cannot lift it up but surprisingly it was always hung on the spider’s web [ faran owu]

High Chief Oyekanmi Ogedengbe Obanla  IV

The High Chief   said  ”War is a  profession that  runs in  our   family, many of  Ogedengbe’s grandchildren  are in the Military, Police among others”.

The late Chief Ogedengbe was born in Atorin , which is about 20kilometeres to Ilesha  in the present Atakomosa East Local Government area.His father’ s village was Oke Orisa Village.

He always floored his mates in wrestling competition thus he was given the nickname of Ogedengbe  while his  real names are Orisaraibi Apasanforijiwa.He was once captured and taken to Ibadan and that was where Basorun Ogunmola  they gave him facial marks in order to humiliate him .

On the walls of the living room are some old pictures of the great generalissimo with gourds ( ado and strings ) tied on them evidencing his  power, and also a photograph of some of his warriors. But the most painful aspect  of this story  is that of his grave  which is unmarked .

Is it fair for such a powerful man of high caliber, a Yoruba generalissimo to be forgotten despite all his exploits?