Word: alafin
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...ALAFIN OF OYO. Second only to the Oni among Nigeria's four supreme Yoruban tribal kings, the Alaf-in, Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, 34, is a thoroughly modern man who believes, as he puts it, that "it is still possible to live by old traditions in modern times." He spearheaded a drive that raised $30,000 for local development, whereupon an impressed regional government chipped in $60,000 for his projects. "I have told my people," he says, "that if they can save substantial sums of money in banks, they will attract loan capital to improve commercial and industrial life...
...stays fit by doing daily exercises in his palace, an old, rambling affair, parts of which are still mud-walled. The Alafin is confident of his relationship with his people: "There are many things we obas [kings] can do better for the people than government functionaries. We are here all the time and know the problems, while they are constantly being shifted around the country...
...Benin's history was once the brightest of all the African kingdoms': its famous bronze sculptures are collector's items across the world. Today, the 450,000 members of this Nigerian tribe are led by Oba Akenzua II, 74. Like the Oni of Ife and the Alafin, he receives a stipend of about $10,000 a year from the Nigerian government; in addition, he has extensive landholdings that produce considerable extra income-just how much, no one will say. His successor is Crown Prince Solomon Akenzua, 48, who retired from the Nigerian civil service in June...
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