OPINION:Politicians Who Sell Their Own Toes
Monday Lines 1 OPINION:Politicians Who Sell Their Own Toes By Lasisi Olagunju (Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 27 July, 2026) Somewhere in present-day Osun State, about a hundred years ago, an oba ordered a manhunt for a troublesome strongman in his domain. The man, Kátákatà, was captured one night, killed and beheaded. His severed head was placed in a pot and brought to the oba. The palace erupted in celebration. At last, the nuisance was gone forever. But at the height of the rejoicing, another celebration broke out outside the palace. It was Kátákatà himself, arriving with his drummers. A stunned oba confronted him. “But they brought your head to me this morning. It is in that room.” “Kabiyesi,” Kátákatà replied, “that was not my head. It was your heir's head they brought.” How? The oba wondered as his visitor danced away. Before noon that same day, Àrèmo (the heir to the throne) was brought home dead. We heard the story many years ago from our fathers ...