THERE was a dramatic replay of Ibadan’s checkered history of malappropriation of objects and events on Wednesday, as
a local fish seller, a woman named Ramota Salawu and her children were mobbed and almost lynched because, according to police sources, “an octopus” mistaken for a mermaid was found in her retailing stock.
The sizeable population of Ibadan, the traditional chief city of the Yorubas in southwest Nigeria, are undereducated and barely literate. Events, words and objects such as ‘peculiar mess’ often expressed by the revered late politician, Adegoke Adelabu, was always reported as ‘penkelemesi’ by illiterate followers. Superimposed pictures of Obafemi Awolowo and Samuel Ladoke Akintola would be merchandized with mischievous slant of the two politicians appearing in the moon.
The same old mischievous crowd found cause to accuse Ms. Salawu and her children of bringing a sea mermaid to town and went ahead to destroy her business on Wednesday.
Sharpedgenews.com learned that the timely intervention of the state police commissioner, Mohammed Ndabawa, was the saving grace as the woman was said to have repeatedly begged that she had nothing that bore the least resemblance to a mermaid which the locals, led by thugs who singing battle songs, called ‘mammywater’.
Sharpedgenews gathered from police sources that what the locals called a mermaid was actually an octopus but it was difficult for them to know because many of Ibadan residents have never lived near the coast of the country or in any riverside area.
Worshippers of the Osun River goddess were also said to have stormed Salawu’s shop and fraudulently demanded money from her in order to appease the gods. The woman allegedly refused and the Osun worshippers, miscreants and their accomplice mob descended on her until police came.
Police Commissioner Mohammed Ndabawa, who appealed for calm confirmed that the sea creature was indeed an octopus. The state’s commissioner of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Bunmi Babalola also corroborated the words of the police boss.