OLOGBON: WISDOM, BRILLIANCE, INTELLIGENCE
Wisdom is Ọgbọ́n in Yoruba.Brilliance is Orí pípé. Intelligence is làákàyè. You could be wise, but…
Wisdom is Ọgbọ́n in Yoruba.Brilliance is Orí pípé. Intelligence is làákàyè. You could be wise, but…
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This birthday gift came well after my birthday. It has my name emblazoned on it. As I wore it, I recalled the conversation with Iya Oyo and Baba Oyo that evening they explained the meaning of my name, Moyo, which literally means “I rejoice.” It is part of a longer name Moyòsọ́rẹtíolúwápèsèfúnmi.
Stage One
I have divided the canvas into 256 rectangles.
Next stage? To insert the alphabets of Ifa in each of the rectangles.
Would Olabisi Silva still be alive if she did not choose to live and die for Nigeria?
I asked the same question when my friend, Moyo Ogundipe, died of a cardiac arrest two years ago.
Nigeria lacks basic healthcare facilities for talented, boundary-pushing professionals.
The roads are deathtraps.
YES YOU CAN FLY
Butterflies and birds have no airports
Yet they take off and fly with
no navigation maps.
Fireflies rise and glide around
without pilot gears
ÈNÌYÀN—We Have the Power to Choose
Ènìyàn in Yoruba means a person.
Ènìyàn is from the verb yàn (to choose).
Ènìyàn means ẹni tí ó yàn—the one who chose.
Your Mother is My mother is Your Mother is My Mother.
“Iya Oyo, does your name mean the mother of Oyo, or the mother in Oyo?” I asked Iya Oyo one day.
“It means both,” she responded. “To my entire community of Oyo, I am the mother of all, young and old. If anyone is hungry and comes to me, it is my responsibility to feed them. Anybody who needs a place to sleep and comes to me, I will roll out my mats to them. I am their mother, and that is why I am Iya Oyo. At the same time, I live in Oyo, therefore if I travel anywhere, I am the mother who lives in Oyo.”