ỌMỌ IBADAN TI O JALE, OJU LORỌ
People often say ‘Ọmọ Ibadan ti o jale, Oju lo rọ’ to put down our personality whenever they can. However, we are unshakeable.
Tonight, I’ll tell you the story behind ‘Ọmọ Ibadan ti o jale, Oju lo rọ’ as I was told a not-too-long time ago.
Once upon a time, In the time of our forefathers, two men were travelling a far distance. One of them was from Ibadan. They got very hungry as they journeyed.
As they nearly reached a village, they saw something to eat (I have forgotten what exactly the food was but for the sake of my narration let’s use bananas) by the roadside. The other man suggested they take them since they were so hungry, but the Ibadan man refused. He said it would be stealing, and he wouldn’t do it.
The Ibadan man suggested they wait for the owner or keep walking to the village to ask for food. The other man didn’t listen and started eating the bananas anyway.
Then, the owner and others met them there. It became a big issue. They condemned the man for stealing and praised the Ibadan man’s honesty.
Turning to the thief one of them retorted, “Why can’t you be like this Ibadan man? Instead of stealing he persevered.” “Ọmọ Ibadan ti o jale, Oju lo rọ?” (Ibadan man persevered rather than stealing)
And so, “Ọmọ Ibadan ti o jale, Oju lo rọ” was born as a tribute to the Ibadan man’s integrity.
But when people use it now, they’re implying that most Ibadan people steal, which isn’t true. Every tribe has its flaws, but stealing isn’t one of ours in Ibadan.
If you say ‘Ija igboro larun Ibadan now’, I’ll proudly accept it because our ancestors were brave warriors. Now that there’s no war, how else should their descendants exhibit their traits?
I hope you understand better now. Share and let more people be aware. Ki eku ile gbo ko sọ fun toko pe awa ọmọ Ibadan o kin fe’wọ oo. Akinkanju ni wa, we would rather persevere than steal.