Bí o l’áyà o ṣ’èkà – Yoruba Wisdom on Power, Cruelty, and Consequence

Last updated: December 29, 2025

Yoruba Wisdom

Bí o l’áyà k’o ṣ’èkà, bí k’o rántí ikú Gáà k’o ṣ’òótọ́

Literal Translation

If you think you are brave, then be cruel; but if you remember the death of Gáà, then live upright.

Interpretation

This proverb is deliberately provocative. The opening line is not advice, it is a dare. It challenges anyone who believes themselves fearless, powerful, or untouchable to follow the path of cruelty exemplified by Basọrun Gáà, whose reign of terror once dominated Ọ̀yọ́.

But the second line immediately collapses that bravado. By invoking Gáà’s violent and humiliating end, the proverb forces a reckoning: courage that expresses itself through cruelty is not strength; it is a countdown.

Yoruba wisdom here operates through historical irony. It allows arrogance to speak first, then answers it with memory. The proverb teaches that the past is not distant; it is a moral witness. To remember Gáà is to understand that unchecked power always meets consequence.

In essence:
If you wish to imitate tyranny, do so knowingly — but if you remember how tyrants end, choose uprightness instead.

Application

This proverb speaks directly to those who wield power — formally or informally.

It applies when:

• individuals feel insulated by status, force, or influence
• cruelty is mistaken for fearlessness
• authority assumes permanence

In leadership and governance, it challenges those who rule harshly to remember that history does not forget. In professional and social spaces, it warns against bullying justified as confidence or boldness.

The proverb does not beg for goodness; it confronts arrogance with precedent. It reminds us that living upright is not naïveté — it is informed self-preservation.

Broad Theme

Power Confronted by Historical Consequence

Supporting Themes

Cruelty and false bravery, tyranny and downfall, historical memory as warning, abuse of power, moral consequence, leadership ethics, fear versus wisdom, and African political philosophy.