ODE-ETIKAN: THE NEATEST AND MOST COSMOPOLITAN TRADITIONAL HEADQUARTERS IN ILAJELAND
S. OLA AJIMISAN
The location and geographical entity hitherto known and referred to as Ode-Etikan is one of the oldest ancient and traditional headquarters in Ilaje Local Government Area of the littoral parts of Ondo State, Southwestern Nigeria. Ode-Etikan is the headquarters of Etikan Kingdom and the seat of the Kingdom with the Olikan of Etikan, a first class monarch as its ruler. It is located towards the Southwestern axis of Ilajeland with Aheri Kingdom on the westernmost borders. It is located on both sandy and clay soil with Okun-Etikan as its entrepot into the Atlantic Ocean. It has the following resources for economic potentials: silicon/ glass sand, bitumen, palm grooves, woods, raffia, bamboo, clay, oil and gas etc. It has tourism potentials with its rich traditional heritage and boat regatta capable of hosting millions of tourists in clement environment. Afterexodus from Ile-Ife, led by Oronmakenja from Oramfe through Obamakin Osangangan, Oronmakenja established his own kingdom at Ugbo-Akete (Ugbo the cradle) and retained the name with which the Ilaje-Etikan, Ilaje-Ugbo and Ilaje-Aheri were known back then in Ile-Ife, U/Igbo. Erede, his brother of the same father and mother migrated to the “extreme western flank” of the forest, away from his brother, Oronmakenja and established his autonomous kingdom, hitherto known as Etikan Kingdom.
The name (toponymy/ anthroponymy) Etikan as shown and described above, connotes and derived its name from the geographical and topographic feature of the location, “eti ikangun” which means extreme western flank or extreme west end. If you never knew, now you know. The headquarters of Etikan Kingdom was first at Ugbo-Etikan with Ugbo-Eye (forest of the birds) and Ugboroko (hinderlands of the forest), the current seat of the stool of the Osowa of Ugboroko, who derived his right to beaded crown and throne from Erede, through Princess Eti mi gbo ire( my ears have received good news at last); as Olikan’s slave camp. About mid twelfth century, the 8th Olikan, Oba Olu Ajamuagba (Ajamagbalara), the hippopotamus and crocodile hunter, took hunting and fishing expeditions to another level with strong intention to discover new habitations for his seeds in future. His peregrinations saw him travelling through the forest of Abe-Otobo/Abetobo (estuary of hippopotamuses) to the present day Ode-Etikan where he decided to pitch a tent, first as a hunting camp and later tenements good for permanent human habitation. He re-christened the name from Ugbo-Etikan to Ode-Etikan. “Ode”, in this context, meant the centre/nucleus/major part or simply the seat of Etikan. This is why you names of ancient towns like Ode-Remo, Ijebu-Ode, Ode-Aye, Ode-Irele, Ode-Ajagba etc; to differentiate between the catchment communities and the kingdom headquarters. Oba Olu Ajamuagba built the first hut at the present day Idiepe Waterfront Town and subsequently surged onto the hinderlands to the location of the present day Traditional Square (Oju-Ogwa) where he built the first permanent habitations for himself and for storage of his meat till forthnight before returning to the rest of his kindreds at Ugbo-Etikan.
Gradually, people began to follow him to see the new location, which, according to him was better than the first abode and would serve as the permanent heritage and abode of his people in future with myriad of opportunities. After his death, people continued to visit the site until they moved in large kiths and kin to the live at the present day Ode-Etikan, leaving one of the descendants of Eti-mi-gbo-ire (Osowa) as the heir to the land, who constantly gave reckoning to the Olikan. The current Osowa of Ugboroko, HRH (Oba) Kolawole Beefo Arowojolu is from the lineage of Eti-mi-gbo-ire and he got the consent of the then Olikan of Etikan Land, HRM (Oba) Adedoyin Oyetakin to secure government-approved throne under the Justice C.E.T. Ajama-led Commission. Ode-Etikan is reputed for being the home to the oldest quasi-modern cemetery, church and primary school (St. Luke’s Anglican Primary School, then (United Anglican School, Ereke/Agba) founded on January 12,1903. Ode-Etikan is also the home of the first Ilaje monarch to embrace Christianity and be baptized as a Christian; learn how to read Bible; worship with English Missionaries at Ebute-Ero and Badagry; Lagos; Oba Agba Oriretan Kumapayi, the 16th Olikan who reigned for 56 years (August 16, 1866 to March 22, 1922) after living for 98 years. He was baptized as John and his sons baptised as James, Matthew, Lot, Joshua etc.
Ode-Etikan is home to Oba Lawson Okun-omo (the first Ilaje man and monarch to have served in the Imperial Army before being elected to fill Etikan Stool; Late Princess Sophie Bosede Osomo (nee Ajimisan), the first Ilaje woman to have wester education and be employed as a teacher in 1957; Late Patriot Numeri Olorunsola Ajimisan, St Festus Ogbon-Olorun Adegboruwa, the founder of Episcopal Church of Zion, Oke-Mimo, Ode-Etikan; Hon Tunde Ayemo, the first Etikan man to represent Ilaje Constituency 2 in Ondo State House of Assembly; Chief F. Olu Ayemo, retired member of the Nigeria Customs Service; Most Revd Ikuesan, the founder of Prophetic Church of Nigeria (PCN), Ijora Badiah, Lagos; Pa Augustus Modioluwamu Adegboruwa, the first Ilaje man to own a sawmill at Ebute-Meta, Lagos, Hosea Fola Dodo Mebawondu, the first Etikan man to own a bakery; Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN (President, West African Bar Association); Dr Godday Erewa, the first Etikan man to study for a Master’s degree at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom; Professor Kehinde Okun-omo, the first male professor of Etikan extraction; Dr Tomoloju Okun-omo, the first Etikan man to bag a PhD in Business Administration; Oba Gbadebo Adesuyi Okunfeyiwa, who moved Etikan from Grade D to B and also laid the foundation for the eventual upgrade of the stool to first class; Ruth Folakemi Iyabo Ajobiewe (nee Adegboruwa), the first Etikan woman to become a professor of Microbiology; Prince (Hon) Banji Okun-omo, the first Etikan man to bag a first class in Law and the first Etikan man to become the Chairman of Ilaje Local Government Area; Hon Olusegun Odolo, the first Councillor of Etikan Ward; Justice Orimisan James Okorisa, the first Etikan man to be appointed as a justice; Justice Ope Mebawondu, the first Ilaje woman to be appointed a justice of the high court in Lagos State, Dr Tuyi Mebawondu, the first Etikan man to become a medical doctor and own a flourishing world-class hospital in Lagos; S. Ola Ajimisan, the most prolific writer of Literature of Etikan extraction, founder of Royal Paraphernalia Press (the first Publishing Company of Etikan extraction) and the author of Forty Testaments for Our Dearest Drifting Dome; Castle Built with Spittle; Sweltering Labyrinth; Dead End of Crossroads; Where Else Do We Go From Here?; Verdicts of Money-muffled Gods; Akatanigbo and the Atlantic Verses; and Transgressive Rubrics. If you are by any means linked with Etikan, consider yourself lucky. The following are the festivals celebrated in Ode-Etikan: Ijusu (Yam) Festival, Umale Festival, Malokun Festival, Olojo-gbooro Festival and Obele Ajogwa (Boat Regatta). The current Olikan (Etikan monarch) is His Imperial Majesty (Oba) Temidayo Solomon Owoyele, Akintimehin the 2nd and the 23rd Olikan of Etikan Land.
