This is my portrait of Moremi Ajasora, a legendary Ayaba (Queen) of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife in what is now southwestern Nigeria. Her husband, Oranmiyan, would have been the second king in Ife’s history. When an enemy people called the Ugbo besieged Ife, Moremi offered herself as a captive to them. Her time among the Ugbo, combined with the aid of the spirit of the Esmirin River, allowed her to learn how to defeat their armies, which she relayed to her own people after escaping back to Ife.
Unfortunately, in exchange for the help the river spirit had given her earlier, Moremi had to sacrifice her only son, Oluorogbo. To console her for her loss, the people of Ife offered to be her eternal children, honoring her legacy more than any other woman in Yoruba history. A statue erected to her in 2017 is now the tallest sculpture in all Nigeria.