Baba, a tortoise thought to be around 420 years old by the Alaafin’s Palace in Oyo, has passed away and been buried.According to a statement released in Ibadan on Thursday by Bode Durojaiye, Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin, Baba reportedly became unwell on Monday, stopped eating, and eventually passed away.One of the noteworthy artifacts connected to the old Oyo Kingdom, the tortoise was reportedly cared for by successive Alaafins while residing at the palace for years.
“Baba was more than a turtle in status. He represented a part of the oral history of the Yoruba race. Now, the Alaafin has lost an ageless companion,” Durojaiye said.
The palace claims that before the animal was transported to the current palace in Oyo town, oral tradition linked Baba’s origin to Oyo-Ile, the old capital of the Oyo Empire.Baba became a popular tourist destination, with people reportedly traveling to see the animal due to its size, age, and lengthy history with the castle.The tortoise, which was fed watermelon, corn pap wrapped in leaves, and grass, was under the care of two palace officials.The palace claimed that Baba was a long-standing symbol of its oral history and that the animal had been passed down to succeeding monarchs as part of the artifacts connected to their forebears.
Referencing Wole Soyinka’s play Death and the King’s Horseman, the remark further connected Baba’s position in Oyo’s cultural past to Yoruba beliefs regarding the relationship between the living, the dead, and the unborn.According to the palace, Baba was well-known to generations of tourists and was considered by many in Oyo to be its oldest resident.
“Baba fell ill on Monday, just a little sickness and couldn’t eat anymore. Then he died. Just like that.
“He had since been buried. Good night, Baba,” the statement said.
While the palace described Baba as an ancient creature and attached an estimated age of 420 years to it, the age claim was presented as part of the palace’s oral history rather than a scientifically verified lifespan.
