THE JOURNEY TO KNOWLEDGE

Hmmmmmmmn…

This man right here was the angel who accompanied me throughout this research, particularly on my journeys into the interiors. How would I have navigated those hours-long journeys on unmotorable roads? How would I have communicated the genuine intent in my heart with my imperfect command of the local language? How would I have kept returning to the community despite the terrible roads?

He initially signed up as a guide and rider, but he soon became much more than that. Before long, he had assumed the role of a knowledge holder and research assistant. His mastery of the motorcycle and his dedication to a stranger’s research passion made an enormous contribution to this research.

I remember the several times we almost fell, only for him to put his expertise into motion and save the situation. On one occasion, he said to me, “Aunty, these roads were last constructed during the time of Awolowo. The paint has completely washed off, and the government does not care about these people.”

The first time we arrived in the community, we were unaware that there was an ongoing land dispute. The community was expecting some people who had allegedly bought land illegally, and it was in the middle of this tense situation that we arrived. We almost became victims of mistaken identity, but we made it through because of the professionalism and composure exhibited by Mr Ojelade.

During our subsequent visits to the community, it became difficult to convince the people that he was not my husband and that I was not related to him. He was simply another person who had come along, this time, not as an AFRIAK fellow, but as someone who saw the vision and supported it with every fibre of his being.

Looking back, I often wonder how this research would have unfolded without him. Some people enter your research as guides and leave as part of the story. Mr Ojelade is one of those people.

It is true that the quest for knowledge can take you to unexpected places, but it is even more true that the search for Indigenous Knowledge can take you to places you never imagined you would find yourself. This was my trajectory as a young researcher navigating the world of Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

This community was unlike anywhere I had ever been. There was no electricity and no running water, just a people with hearts full of love, comfortable in their own community and capable of finding solutions to their own problems without relying on help or assistance from outside.

I was definitely exhausted here and could not help but pant. The journey had been long, and the task ahead seemed even longer. But I persevered and kept going because this meant more to me than just a research project. It was an opportunity to project a truer and more nuanced image of Africa. One that moves beyond the stereotypes and assumptions that so often define how the continent is seen. For that, I was willing to spend more hours on motorcycles, travel along unmotorable roads, absorb the dust, and endure the stress. And my resolve is this, some journeys are difficult because of where they take you but others are worth enduring because of what they allow you to discover.

This is Baba, Chief Igbayewa. He was my first point of entry into the community and, in many ways, my most important gatekeeper. Baba interrogated me like a detective questioning a suspect. He later explained that this was his way of protecting his people from scavengers: people who come into communities with no intention other than extracting knowledge from them.

After I obtained the most important ethical clearance from him, he volunteered to take me around the entire community. It was during one of those trips that this picture was taken. Baba soon became so fond of me that he began introducing me to some community members as his relative.

Did I forget to mention that while Baba was taking me around, he had an injury on his left foot? Yet he refused to delegate the responsibility to anyone else. When he noticed how concerned I was about his injury, he said, “I could have assigned someone else to take you around, but the men, women, and elders would not listen to that person the way they would listen to me.”

That statement has stayed with me. It reminded me that research is not only about gaining access to a community; it is also about understanding the relationships, trust, and responsibilities that make that access possible.

Baba and I have since built a relationship that allows us to speak on the phone every week. This relationship is particularly important to me because it reflects one of the central aims of my work: to establish sustainable relationships with Indigenous communities. The end of a fellowship should not mean the end of a relationship. Even after the fellowship, future research and future researchers can benefit from the trust and connection that have been built.

This is Iya Afin Adewunmi Toluwalase and me after a refreshing conversation about Indigenous maternal healthcare. She is one of the kindest people I have encountered in a long time. She received me into her home and generously shared her wealth of experience as a traditional birth attendant. She did not care who I was or what I had; the moment she understood that the research was for a greater good, she was willing to share her knowledge.
Was she sceptical at first? Yes, she was. Over the years, people like me had come to her to extract knowledge, and I understood why she was cautious. But before long, she affirmed that my approach was different. I was on a mission to uncover Indigenous Knowledge Systems, but this time, in a different way. I was conscious of the fact that every person I met in the field was a knowledge holder in their own right and, as such, deserved to be treated with respect. When the community chief took me to Mama’s house, I expected to meet an old woman. That was not the case. She was not an old woman, but she possessed the experience and knowledge accumulated over many years of practice.
I am especially grateful to her for the warmth with which she received me and for the seriousness with which she approached the research process. She contributed significantly to this research; almost 50 per cent of the knowledge that shaped it and became one of the key knowledge holders through whom I was able to triangulate information from other sources. Iya Afin Adewunmi Toluwalase was more than a knowledge holder, she became an important guide through the knowledge system I was trying to understand.