An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, a way of looking at things, common sense and several philosophical tendencies, or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of this society. Encyclopaedia Britannica (1974) defines ideology as ―a form of social or political philosophy in which practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones; it is a system of ideas that aspires both to explain the world and change it‖. The main purpose behind an ideology is to offer change in society, and adherence to a set of ideals where conformity already exists, through a normative thought process. Ideologies are systems of abstract thought applied to public matters and thus make this concept central to politics. Implicitly every political tendency entails an ideology whether or not it is propounded as an explicit system of thought. It is how society sees things.
The term "ideology" was born in the highly controversial, philosophical and political debates/fights of the French Revolution. It has acquired several other meanings from the early days of the First French Empire to the present. The word ideology was coined by Destutt de Tracy in 1796 (Kennedy 1979, Hart 2002), assembling the parts idea (near to the Lockean sense) and -logy. He used it to refer to one aspect of his "science of ideas". He separated three aspects, namely: ideology, general grammar and logic, considering respectively the subject, the means and the reason of this science (De-Trancy, 1801). He argued that, among these aspects, ideology is the most generic term, because the science of ideas also contains the study of their expression and deduction
Many political parties base their political actions and programmes on an ideology. In social studies, a political ideology is a certain ethical set of ideals, principles, doctrines, myths or symbols of a social movement, institution, class, or large group that explains how society should work, and offers some political and cultural blueprints for a certain social order. A political ideology largely concerns itself with how to allocate power and the extent to which it should be used. Some parties follow a certain ideology very closely, while others take broad inspiration from a group of related ideologies without specifically embracing any one of them.
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Political ideologies have two dimensions: goals, which have to do with how society should work (or be arranged); and methods which cover the most appropriate ways to achieve the ideal arrangement.
Power consists of the ability to get your own way, even when others are opposed to your wishes. Power is authority. Politics is an instrument of power.
Webbers identified three different sources of authority as charismatic, traditional and rational. Politics in Yor6bq history is traditional and it could be linked with monarchism (the rule of one) and conservatism (power in defence of established order). In The gods, the monarchical power of King Odewale is characterized by authoritarianism (authority is exercised regardless of popular consent). King Odewale wants an unquestioning obedience from the people of Kutuje. Most decisions are taken by him. The advice of his chiefs is not taken seriously when decisions of paramount importance are reached. Even the Ifa Priest who should have been a check on the excesses of the king is castigated by the king as lying. All these lead to the crisis which should have been averted.
In Kurunmi, the entire Yor6bq state in the 19th century is presented to us. At that time, the Alafin of +y- was the supreme head of the entire Yoruba Empire. The system of government operated then was monarchism based on checks and balances.
The power of the Alafin is checked by the authority of members of the Oyomesi, the highest political council in the empire. According to Ogunsola (1977:29):
The Oyomesi was the highest political council in the old Oyo Empire. Members of the council were Alafin, the Bashorun (Prime Minister), the chief of staff (the Kakanfo), the Oluwo (president of the Ogboni cult), the Ifa chief Priest and the chief Ilari (p.29).
During the period in question, with the size of the whole empire extended beyond the coverage of the entire Yor6bq land, the executive power of the entire empire was in the hand of the Alafin and his representatives. Then, there was the need to protect tradition in order to maintain established customs and institutions. Aare Kurunmi, a conservative leader and the generalissimo of the entire Yoruba warriors at the point in time, was of the opinion that the tradition of the land be protected against the intention of Alafin Atiba. The Alafin wanted his son, prince Adelu, to be crowned
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as the next Alafin at his demise. This led to the crisis presented in the play. In the views of Mba (2007:120):
The conservative belief relied on the accumulated wisdom of the past and institutions and practices that have been tested by time and (the beliefs) that it should be preserved for the benefits of the living and for generations yet unborn.
Other basic tenets of conservation identified by Mba (2007) apart from tradition and religion organization are ―human importation, pagination, hierarchy, authority and property‖.
Also in Our Husband, Ola Rotimi uses proverbs to present political power in the modern-day Yor6bq society. Considering politics in the present-day Nigeria, democracy tends to be the favoured style of government. However, the qualification expected of individuals that aspire to most political offices is not well spelt out. As a result, there are many members of the political class who should have been disqualified from aspiring to political position, for their lack of clear-cut agenda, inadequate education and moral stand, but who are still playing major roles in Nigerian national politics. An example of that is seen in Major Rahman Lejoka-Brown, a retired soldier who aspires to gain political power by all means. In his attempt to gain political advantage over his opponents, he uses miscreants to perpetrate violence. Many politicians take bank loans that they spend lavishly during political campaigns. As soon as they win the election, the emerging power spend public fund lavishly to offset debts, maintain their political thugs and embark on other inordinate ambitions. Some of these socio-political excesses are what Ola Rotimi uses proverbs to address in his texts. Some examples of these proverbs are analyzed below:
Proverbs 4-6
He who pelts another with pebbles asks for rocks in return. 5: It is not changing into the lion that is hard; it is getting the tail of a lion. 6: Kolanut lasts long in the mouths of
‗them‘ who value it! (p. 7 The gods).
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Odewale cites the first proverb in his palace in the presence of the entire Kutuje chiefs, while the second and third proverbs above are cited by the Royal Bard to express the state of mind of the people of Kutuje. The first proverb above performs the illocutionary act of reaping. The three proverbs above show that during the pre-colonial era in the Yor6bq land, conquest at war could be a criterion for choosing a king. Also, spiritual investigation in the form of divination from Ifa is paramount in the process of making a king. The consequence of not taking the right steps in the process of making a king may be disastrous. The speech act performed in the third proverb above is illocutionary behavitive act, commiserating and rejoicing with the king for the victory achieved over Ikolu people and his consequent enthronement.
Odewale has recently liberated the people of Kutuje from the Ikolu warriors. He is crowned as their king without the required processes of divination to confirm whether they have made a right choice. It is traditionally required in Yoruba land that rituals be performed before a king is enthroned. It is compulsory to consult Orunmila for approval. The Ifa priest interprets the message Orunmila gives as a riddle. The consequences of serious mistakes are not felt instantly until after a period of time.
With the support of Odewale, the Ikolu people have been defeated: ―the Ikolu people pelted Kutuje with pebbles and the Kutuje people have paid back to them with rocks‖.
Odewale has changed to a lion (becomes a king). The future will tell, in the opinion of the Royal Bard, whether he, Odewale, gets ‗the tail of a lion‘ (the authority of a king).
It would also be decided whether Kola nut (power) lasts long in the mouth of King Odewale, who values it. The people rejoice that their saviour has become a king.
Proverb 7:
Joy has a slender body that breaks too soon (p. 7 The gods).
Eleven years after the victory that led to the making of King Odewale, the gods become annoyed. Pestilence, diseases and death break out in the land. Efforts are made to restore peace to the land but it is to no avail. They later consult Orunmila and Ifa priest who were initially left out in their choice of a king.
According to tradition, the youngest wife of the immediate past king becomes the first wife of the new king. Queen Ojuola is still young, so she does not reject the
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proposal made to her to be the wife of their new king. She does not know that an abomination is being committed. Within a period of eleven years, Queen Ojuola has given birth to four children for king Odewale. The gods become jealous, since king Adetusa (the dead king) is also a part of the ancestors in Yoruba world view. It is believed that the dead would not rest in peace as a result of the abomination committed. This leads to the calamities that break out later that cut short the joy of the people. In the view of Odewale, ―joy has a slender body that breaks too soon‖. The peace in the land does not last long. The people are infected with sickness and death.
Efforts are made to deliver them through the use of herbal medicine, but all to no avail. The king that was usually praised by the people becomes a subject of mockery and attack. Proverbs are cited to express the new impression of the people about their king during their trial period:
Proverbs: 9 -12
When the head of a household dies, the home becomes an empty shell. 10: When the chameleon brings forth a child is not that child expected to dance? 11: When rain falls on the leopard, does it wash off its spots?
12: How long must feverish birds tremble in silence before their keeper? (p.10 The gods).
These proverbs are cited by different members of Kutuje land (male and female) to express their disappointment at what has newly come upon King Odewale.
This presupposes that the king can no more deliver them as he did in the past. He fights and delivers Kutuje people from Ikolu invaders. However, the king could not deliver them from mere pestilence, diseases and death. King Odewale becomes ―the head of the house‖ in proverb 9; though he is alive, he is declared dead and his house becomes an empty shell. In proverbs 10 and 11, he is the metaphoric ―chameleon‘s child‖ that is brought forth but refuses to dance. He is the ―leopard‖ that has lost its spots as a result of mere rainfall. The same King Odewale is the implied ―keeper of feverish bird‖ in proverb 12, which ―allows his people to tremble in silence‖. The semantic implication of these proverbs is that the people are no more enjoying the reign of Odewale as a king for his inability to protect them. The calamities broke out after eleven years of his peaceful reign. The people have enjoyed themselves for those
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good years. In response to the outcry of the people, King Odewale soberly says:
Proverbs 13-15:
My people… Sickness is like rain. Does the rain fall on one roof alone? No… Whoever the rain sees, on him it rains... 14: I do not know and cannot know the sun‘s hotness that burns and dried up the open land… 15:
Only a madman would go to sleep with his roof on fire (pp.10-11, The gods).
In proverbs 13 and 15 above, King Odewale carefully selects words to reply the allegation his own people levied against him. The speech act performed here is that of convincing the people that they are all affected by the crisis in the society. He compares sickness with rainfall; this is a ―foregrounded‖ element that could not be restricted. According to him, members of his own household too are affected. He accuses the people of trying to underrate his ability to proffer solutions to their problems. He tells them he would not have folded his arms and allowed his subjects to suffer the way they did. He cites the example of some of his own children that are also sick. He explains further that sacrifices have been offered to different gods in the land. Some of them are ―X=p=nn-‖, the god of the poxes, ―$lz‖, the god of deviance, ―Xzng9‖ the god of thunder and rainfall (p.11, The gods). Despite all these attempts, there was no solution to the problem.
The only option that remains to untie the knot is to send message to Orunmila at Ile-Ife to find out the cause of the problem. Afterwards, a message is sent to Baba Fakunle the priest of ―Ifa‖ to interpret the riddle and advise them. The message of Orunmila and Ifa is that the problems happen because a murderer in the land killed the former king and such a murderer is still flourishing in Kutuje. Except the murderer is found out and made to face the wrath of the gods, the situation will remain the same. King Odewale puts in all his efforts to find out the said traitor that is behind this devilish act. This attempt turns King Odewale a dictator. He loses confidence in his chiefs and members of Kutuje society as a whole for being so wicked to have murdered their king. Every effort of his to investigate the crime reveals more of his past. At the end, King Odewale becomes the wanted culprit. Had the people of Kutuje followed normal procedures by consulting Ifa in their choice of a king, such calamity would have been averted.
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During the colonial era, as depicted in Kurunmi, Alafin Atiba too fails to follow tradition in his attempts to choose his son Prince Adelu as a successor to the throne after his demise. Hornby (2005) defines tradition as ―a belief, custom, or way of doing something that has existed for a long time among a group of people‖. In other words, it involves cultural continuity. It is transmitted in the form of social attitudes, beliefs, principles and conventions of behaviour. Kurunmi emphasizes the need to allow traditions that involve the first son of the king dying along with his father at his demise to continue (pp15-16). Ola Rotimi allows the interlocutors in his works to use different proverbs to express the same intention for the purpose of emphasis. Kurunmi alone cites all the nine proverbs below, in support of the need to follow tradition in the choice of a new Alafin. The immediate context is Ijaye where Kurunmi is reporting the meeting that the +y- kingdom chiefs had with Alafin Atiba making his intention known to have Prince Adelu rule after his death. However, the historic and macro setting of this work is the entire Yor6bq Kingdom over whom the Alafin is made a ruler. The kingdom consists of the people of +y- township, the Ibadan people, the Egba, the Ijesha, and so on, who are under the domain of the Alafin over whom Kurunmi is also made the Generalissimo (Zzre-=nz-Kakanf0).
Some of the proverbs that support the need to follow tradition are cited by Kurunmi, as shown below:
Proverbs 72-74:
When the garboon viper dies, its children take up its habits, poison and all (p.15, Kurunmi).73: The plantain dies its saplings take its place, broad leaves and all (P.15, Kurunmi). 74: The fire dies; its ashes bear its memory with a shroud of white fluff.
(P.15, Kurunmi).
Proverbs 72-74 express the need for continuity of tradition. Kurunmi wants tradition to continue the way ―the garbon viper and plantain transfer their strength for survival to their younger ones‖. This reason is also given for fire, whose memory is borne by its ashes. The illocutionary act performed here is expositive act of affirming the need for tradition to continue. For years, in the history of +y- Empire, the tradition is that when a king dies, his first son and some other leading officials die
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At old Oyo, the kingship rotated in different segments of the ruling lineage. When a monarch died, his eldest son and his leading officials who shared office with him died with him. His other children usually returned into exile to seek adventure and await their turn.
Alafin Atiba does not want tradition to take its cause. He wants his first son, Prince Adelu who has been his companion on throne, to rule after his demise.
Kurunmi cites more proverbs to support his views:
Proverbs75 & 77:
The pride of bees is in the honey comb (P.15, Kurunmi).77: The pride of the weaver bird shows in the skilful design of its nest (P.15, Kurunmi).
75: The pride of monkey is in his knowledge of the secret of treetops. (P.16, Kurunmi)
Proverbs 75 and 77 above are all cited to express the need to be proud of tradition. In the views of Kurunmi, tradition makes a people what they are as the pride of bees is in the honeycomb. The pride of the weaverbird shows in his ability to skilfully design its nest, and the pride of monkey is in the knowledge of the secrets on tree tops. Hence, the pragmatic implication of these proverbs is that the pride of a man should be in his tradition. In most Yor6bq societies, there are many royal families in a Kingdom, who always contend for the throne at the demise of a king. The death of a king and those of his major companions at his demise would easily pave the way for other contenders to the throne to take their turn. Hence, Kurunmi sees the intention of king Atiba to have his son reign after him as a slap in the face of tradition. It will not allow the next royal family to present a king or have any say in the issue of the choice of a new king as it is traditionally required. Expressing his concern about the consequence of the loss of tradition, Kurunmi says:
Proverbs 78 &90:
The day the tall Iroko tree loses its roots is the day the baby ant ‗shits‘ on its head (p.16, Kurunmi). 90: The young palm tree grows
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tall rapidly and it is proud, thinking, hoping that one day it will scratch the face of the sky, have its elders before it touched the sky? (pp.35-36, Kurunmi).
The proverbs above explain the consequence of loss of tradition; ―the day the people lose their tradition is the day their death begins‖ (p.16). Kurunmi believes that for life to continue meaningfully in the whole empire, the tradition of the people must be preserved. Failure to do so may cause crisis which will spell doom for the entire empire. Another major cause for concern is that tradition is the pride of the people and it is an instrument of instruction. It is also an instrument of peace and continuity. My people, the pride of man is in his tradition- something to learn from for the peace of his present, something to learn from for the advancement of his tomorrow‖(p.16).
Any attempt to lose tradition according to Kurunmi, will lead to a major setback to peace, instruction and continuity. The speech act that Kurunmi performs with the proverb above is verdictive act recommending tradition to the people as an instrument of social justice. However, in the opinion of Basorun Oluyole, Timi Ede and others who support Alafin Atiba, tradition must die with man (p.20).