- Day clergy, Kegites Club members ‘clashed’
By Pade OLAPOJU
I came into contact physically with the Palmwine Drinkards Club sometime in 1983 in Oyo while doing my A Level at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo.
My contact was not through that Baptist school, no. I had visited my mum at home on Ilora Road, Akeetan for the weekend when the club’s Ilya Lacoed, headed by my senior brother, Chief Sanya Adeyi (Mariwo) leading other members decided to branch at our house on their way back to Lagos from Kaduna, via Ilorin where they had gone for a gyrations. Among the members was Chief Bambo (fondly called Eletu Odibo).
It was the day the late Chief Amuda Olorunosebi, the late Asipa of Oyo triumphantly came back to Oyo after being exiled. He was later killed in mysterious circumstances.
While having their bath and lunch, my brother called me aside, gave me some money to get the best palmwine in that environment for them. The obvious choice was Iya Moyi’s Palmwine in Ilora of which they also testified to. In appreciation to my mum’s hospitality, Chief Adeyi and his comrads (as members are called) decided to entertain my mum with the best of their ‘mini tapping’ at our house. This drew the attention of the whole community to our quiet house. Later, the group went to the Asipa’s palace in Isale Oyo where they also entertained the chief before they continued their journey back to Lagos.
Saying that I fell in love with that club that day is a gross understatement. That was the day I made up my mind that whenever I gained admission into any higher institution, the first thing I would do was to join the club. My love for journalism, which started at Olivet Baptist, where I was chosen as the president of the school’s press club (OPC) eventually took me to Ilya de Pen, sorry, the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos where I became a karid songito and eventually a chief of the Ilya.
Fast forward to January 1987 when I decided to take a wife, the club decided to show appreciation to a woked chief. Members of the club came from all over; Lagos, Abeokuta, Ijebu Ode, Ilaro, Ilorin, Benin, Warri, Ibadan, Oyo etc. and converged on Sagamu very early on Saturday, January 24th, 1987. It didn’t matter whether it was an environmental sanitation day, they got to St Paul’s Cathedral even before the groom!
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Let me digress a bit. I’m gratefully married to the daughter of the then Bishop of Remo Diocese, late Bishop E.O.I. Ogundana. And while we were drawing the wedding programme for the wedding reception months earlier, Baba (may God bless his soul) asked me if I would want my club to participate in the programme. I responded that they’ll be fully on ground at the reception. He then asked for the name of the club of which I stammered “the Kegites Club sir”. It would be a sacrilege (or so I thought) mentioning the Palmwine Drinkards Club at the Bishop’s Court. Baba was about writing the name down when he paused and asked me: “I hope it’s not those Palmwine Drunkards o? If it’s them, tell them they are not welcome here. Don’t you know Bishops will be here? Chief Awolowo and other dignitaries will be there. No. They are not welcome.” I kept quiet, praying that the distance would deter many of our members from making it to Sagamu.
But I was proved wrong! You can now imagine my feeling at seeing ‘my people massively gathered at the church premises that early morning. It was a mixed feeling. One, I was happy seeing them come to honour me from far and near. Two, I was apprehensive of how the Bishop would take their massive presence in spite of his warning and how he would react.
Members started the gyration outside the church premises as soon as we were pronounced husband and wife. You could see from the countenance of my in-laws that they did not like it one bit. In my mind I was thinking; afterall, I won’t come back another day to ask for another wife. Let me enjoy my day 🤣
The Kegites Club took over the affairs right from the church to the reception and you could see the displeasure on my in-laws’ faces.
Chairman of the occasion, late Prof Olubi Shodipo, the then VC of Ogun State University, in his opening speech, told the audience to change their impression of members of the Kegites Club, adding that the club and the Rotaract club were the two clubs he would vouch for their members any day. Hearing this, the Bishop then relaxed a bit.
But the icing on the cake for that day was when Chief Awolowo, on his way from Unife convocation, branched at the reception. Remo Diocese (Anglican Communion) was his diocese and it was his Bishop’s daughter getting married.
I’m sure the sage did not reckon for the reception awaiting him as he did not know one of the members of the club in which he was the Grand Patron was the one getting married to ‘his daughter.’
Awo was welcomed into the reception by excited kutas with an emblem full of ‘Holy Water’ which he gracefully accepted and gave them the cherished one finger salute.
When Baba Awolowo eventually got to the high table, he reassured the visibly flustered Bishop: “They are my boys. I am their patron.” It was then that my father-in-law relaxed completely, especially when I also collected my one finger salute from our Grand Patron.
I never knew clergymen also love palmwine until we saw the wedding video where some priests were asking members of the club for some. This is not to deride them, because even now, that I have given my life totally to Jesus, I cannot confess that I hate palmwine.
Over the years, and today which marks 39 years after, my in-laws’ fears that Bolade was getting married to a perceived bad boy have been assuaged as Bishop and Mama witnessed Bolade and I being entrenched in the Work of the Ministry before they passed.
As the two of us look set for the next forty years (if the Lord tarries), we pray for the grace to complete the task ahead of winning souls (especially Comradic souls) into the Kingdom of God.
May God help and empower us.
Amen
