The Golden Wrapper: Late Princess Jolaade Osho’s story
By Mary Oso-Omotoso
You all still remember mama Jolaade, Erelu Bisi Fayemi’s late adopted mother from Ikere right ?
There is no way I would talk about Erelu Bisi Fayemi as a wrapper and not give late Princess Jolaade Osho’s story a mention. No way.
Mama Jolaade’s encounter with Erelu Fayemi is such a long but interesting story to share. The most interesting part for me was mama’s talk of the town burial . In the world of many wrappers, Erelu Fayemi became the golden wrapper that covered mama’s nakedness.
That popular family television series “Super Story”, produced by Wale Adenuga ,usually ends with a pay off “We are nothing but pencils in the hand of our creator”. Mama Jolaade Osho’s life story has ascertained this saying.
First thing first, it is pertinent for people to note that , Erelu Bisi Fayemi has a lot of adopted mothers and children who she takes care of the way she took care of mama Osho.
Mama Osho’s story was put in the public in order to eliminate the long time stigma and shame that mama may have gone through. Who knows if mama’s only prayer -having being treated like a destitute and tagged ‘witch’ for losing all her children ,was for God to abolish her shame before she dies? And indeed God granted her prayer and made her path cross with Erelu’s through her “Ounje Arugbo” initiative(Monthly food packs for the aged).
The day mama passed on ,Her Excellency was making her way out of her office and already stepped into the elevator when she got the message. Upon hearing the news, she jumped out of the elevator and screamed to the hearing of those around, “mama mi tiku oo”(my mother is dead oo).
Instantly, she began to make calls . This was on Monday, 27th January ,2020.
On Tuesday, 28th January 2020, Erelu had mobilized women across Ekiti and stormed mama Osho’s residence in Ikere Ekiti for the commencement of the burial rites which I heard people call “gbaramogbo” ( Instant I heard).
While at Ikere ,I over heard mama Osho’s contemporaries within the neighbourhood unsing mama as a point of contact in their prayers. In this climes ,how burial outings are handled signal a lot of message.
Some had said mama’s corpse would have been handled like that of a chicken’s had she not encountered Erelu. Instead ,mama’s corpse became what family members from different sides are claiming to own.
Canopies were erected at two different locations; one in her native home and the other in her residence where she lived before she passed on.
You see, children and family of a deceased dancing round the town is a symbol that he /she has died happy. As soon as Erelu Fayemi got to mama’s residence, she signed the condolence register and made her way to the beans cake(akara) frying spot where she fried akara. She then danced round the town carrying mama’s picture frame and holding a horse tail(irukere) which,in Yoruba land, stands one out as a child /relative of the deceased .
Afterwards, she held meetings with the two sides of mama’s family members and entertained her guests with akara from which she also ate.
People in the neighbourhood were awed seeing mama Osho being honoured to this level by the First lady. Perhaps they had thought that because of Erelu’s status and tight schedule, she would only send some money and probably few representatives to the family and that would be it.
Erelu did not only show up ,she also performed all the necessary burial rites.
Mama Osho became a celebrity princess in her lifetime and in death .
This Wrapper is golden.
Mary Oso-Omotoso
Special Assistant on Media to the Governor