The age of King David is contentious because 2 Samuel 5:4 has it that he was 30 when he ascended the throne and that he ruled for 40 years, which means that he died at 70. But in 1 Kings 1:4 it is reported that “he was now a very old man that his servants had to cover him with blankets, yet he could not keep warm.” As a result, his officials suggested that he married a young woman to keep him warm. Thus, he wedded Abishag, but did not have intercourse with her. If King David died at 70 was it possible that he would at that age have been unable to cover himself with blankets or make love with a woman?
Adam who lived for 930 years had Seth when he was 130 years old and had other children after him. Seth had Enosh when he was 105 while the latter had Kenan at the age of 90 (Genesis 5: 1 – 9). God called Abraham when he was 75 years old and he left Haran for Canaan at that age travelling many miles or kilometres (Genesis 12: 1 – 20). He had his first child Ishmael when he was 86 years old (Genesis 16: 15 – 16) and had Isaac at 100 (Genesis 21: 1 – 5).
Moses was 80 years and Aaron 83 years when they led the Israelites out of Egypt and moved in the wilderness for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land (Canaan Land) (Exodus 7:7). Aaron died at 123 (Numbers 33: 38 – 39) while Moses who passed on at 120 was said to have been “as strong as ever and his eyesight was still very good,” (Deuteronomy 34:7).
Given the very advanced ages at which Adam, Seth and Enosh had children and at which Abraham, Moses and Aaron were called I believe King David must have died at an age well above 70 years for the Bible to have it that he kicked the bucket when he was a very old man and unable to have sexual intercourse with his wife. But if he truly died at 70 then he might have looked aged and weary because of the many wars he fought. And he was likely to have suffered stroke for him not to have been able to cover himself with blankets or make love.
So, it is necessary to find out from the Heavenly Father the precise age at which King David died and what caused his inability to cover himself with blankets or have sex towards the end of his life. To be continued next Wednesday with the debatable story of how Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ.
Adieu Dele Ojo, juju music titan
In the last 38 years or so, since about 1980, Chief Michael Ademiyan Ojo, better known as Ade – Ojo, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Elizade Motor Company, has been the most famous citizen of Ilara – Mokin, a town about fifteen kilometres from Akure, the Ondo State capital, where his Elizade University is situated.
But the first person who brought the town to national and international attention was Dele Ojo, one of the eight greatest juju music bandleaders of the 1960s a vocalist with a sonorous bass – voice based in Ibadan. He became very popular with his parable – song rendered in the Akure dialect.
It was about a princess who went to the farm with her husband with supernatural powers who was turning into frightful animals. The song was to show that wives must respect their spouses who, on their part, must treat them with love and dignity.
Dele Ojo, who would have been 80 in July, is someone I cannot forget and who deserves being paid tribute by me because of the generous terms, including cancelling a previous booking for his band to perform at the funeral party for my dad in Akure on Saturday, March 11, 1972. He did this out of respect for our family and because of my old man’s philantropism to the people of Akure and Ilara – Mokin, where his grandmother came from.
I got to know of Dele Ojo’s passage on Thursday, last week through Prince Roberts who phoned to know whether the ace music icon was related to Elizade. I told him, I did not think so, because if he was I would have known as the Ade – Ojos and our Elemo Adedipe chieftaincy dynasty of Akure have the same great grandmother who was from Ilara – Mokin.
Continues next week with the story of our mysterious matriarch with awesome prophetic and make – happen powers.
Ebenezer Babatope, the great (2)
As I did with the Bible story last week starting with the questions from readers, I am beginning this piece with posers from two ardent perusers of my column who get in touch with me regularly. If you like, time after time, or time and (time) again instead of time to time as most readers do. I take – off with Colonel P.A. Clark (rtd) who asked: How did Chief Awolowo discover Great Ebino, then 35?
In other words, he wants to know why Pa Awo picked such a young man for the important position of Director of Organization for his newly formed Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), a socialist political group. The second enquiry was from Prince Kolade Roberts who was interested in knowing how Ebino and I met and became close buddies.
When Ebino was an undergraduate at the University of Lagos (1966 – 69), he was the Chairman of the Socialist
Movement of the institution. After graduating with a B.A (Hon) History and Philosophy degree in June 1969, he was first employed by Chief Awolowo’s Nigerian Tribune as a correspondent in its Lagos office. He was with the company for two years, until June 1971, but right from the first year he began writing a column for the newspaper where he propagated socialism.
So, in 1977 when Pa Awolowo and his close associates were setting up the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), he already knew that Ebino was a strong and committed socialist. And that such a brilliant and vibrant young man was the one he needed as the Director of Organization for his new socialist political group.
I met Ebino in 1971 when I went to visit a bosom friend of mine, Mr. Olatunde Gbayisemore at Birch Freeman Secondary School, Surulere, Lagos where they were graduate teachers. I was then a Current Affairs Officer with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Ikoyi, Lagos which I joined in July that year.
More to come next week