Ìwà òní, ẹjọ́ ọ̀la.
Character formed and deformed
Original
Ìwà òní, ẹjọ́ ọ̀la.
Word-for-word gloss
- Ìwà òní today's conduct, ẹjọ́ ọ̀la tomorrow's court case.
Idiomatic English
"Today's behavior causes tomorrow's problem."
Di source no name any translator.
Wetin e mean
Present conduct is future litigation.
When dem dey use am
Owomoyela: "The foolish behavior of the present sows the seeds of difficulties for the future"
Notes on di translation
Four words, no verb. Ẹjọ́ is specifically a legal case or dispute brought before a court or an elder, not a vague problem, so the Yorùbá names the exact future institution in which today's conduct will be examined. Owomoyela's "problem" loses that.