By Remi Adebayo
The 420-year-old tortoise, foldly called 'Baba,' which was reportedly kept as pet at the ancient palace of Alaafin of Oyo, is dead.
Although Baba died on Monday, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, delayed his burial plans to give the animal the chance to remain for another century.
A statement on Thursday by the Director of Media and Publicity to the foremost monarch, Bode Durojaiye, said the pet was regarded as the oldest indigene in Oyo. "It was the Alaafin's most besotted pet".
Durojaiye explained the dead pet which was inherited by the current Alaafin was nourished by a succession of kings, who inherited him as part of the relics of their ancestors.
"Baba was more than a turtle in status. He represented a part of the oral history of the Yoruba race. Now, the Alaafin has lost an ageless companion," he said.
He noted that in the early 1970s, when Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka wrote his play, 'Death and the King’s Horseman', he embalmed a portion of Yoruba culture which suggests that there is a connection between the world of the living, the world of the dead and the world of the unborn.
Durojaiye noted that based on real events, Soyinka narrated how it was a norm for 'Elesin Oba', known as the king’s horseman, the king’s horse, and the king’s dog to all die in a suicide ritual after the king’s passing. "The trio — Elesin Oba, the horse and the dog — were expected to go on to serve the king in the afterlife".
However, in Oyo, he stressed that outside Soyinka’s play, one king’s tortoise, who connected all three worlds presented by the Nobel laureate, defied these odds to become the oldest animal in Yorubaland of Southwest Nigeria today.
"This animal is none other than the great reptile of Oyo, fondly called Baba (fatherly) — for his length of years.
Citing historical facts, Durojaiye further stated that Baba had outlived many kings.
"While he was alive, Baba was more than a diapsid. He was arguably the oldest living mammal in the world. He was venerated, loved by the people, who turned his abode in the Palace to a tourist point.
"Baba, the turtle, must have drawn its name from the fact that it was the oldest creature. No one could call him by his name, so Baba was adopted, indicating that it was a male. He drew his own crowd. Strong and friendly, Baba was the reason many people trooped to the ancient Palace in its days," he said.
He disclosed that the tortoise fell ill on Monday and could not eat anymore before he died.
The statement emphasised that the animal was more than a turtle in status, stressing that he represented a part of the oral history of the Yoruba race. "Now, the Alaafin has lost an ageless companion".
He noted confirmed oral history which asserted that the turtle was brought from Oyo-Ile (Oyo Empire) to the present Palace in Oyo town with two Palace officials saddled with the responsibility of his well-being.
"Baba was a tourist attraction as many people trooped into the Palace to see and experience Baba due to its age and strength. It was the reason so many people visited Oyo and the Palace.
He recalled the dead loved to eat watermelon, corn pap wrapped in leaves, and the grass.
"He had since been buried," he said.
