Bòdá Ràúfù -By Kehinde Oluwatosin Babatunde

Ràúfù is a code name deployed in Yoruba’s lingo dominated culture to describe a supposed elder who have refused to adhere to the spirit of omolúwàbí hence the axiom “òdàgbà jé Ràúfù.”

The Yoruba omolúwàbí culture imposes the imperative of self respect on any elder, the omolúwàbí culture assumes an elder should confer on himself by discretion a marker of self respect given his advanced age.

However in the spirit of omolúwàbí, the Yoruba culture hardly insult the elder when he chooses to soil the omoluwabi ethos in the mud by not respecting himself.

Kehinde Oluwatosin Babatunde

Rather than insult him directly, she bestows on the elder the title Ràúfù for the elder to interpret as he chooses.

One of the twisting ironies of the Ràúfù mental universe is his inability to come to terms with her Ràúfùhood, for instance bòdá Ràúfù may turn 58 in October, but his electioneering is still mired by intense vote rigging and vote buying.

When bòdá Ràúfù turns 58 in October he will celebrate his atrophied existence with funfair amidst paparazzi, do not blame him, it’s an attribute of Ràúfùs to act without discretion but who is going to tell this elder?

Email: kehindeobabatunde@gmail.com