SIR: The deceased Alaafin, Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, did extremely well by always accommodating and providing purposeful leadership for the Yorubas, as well as giving them a sense of belonging. Even though, he had his flaws, the late monarch towered in this respect. Now that nature has drawn curtains on his reign, the kingdom must move forward, as nature abhors vacuum.
The crux of this piece is to situate Oyo kingdom in proper perspective. It’s a kingdom with unfathomable historical heritage and traditions of the Yorubas. It’s one kingdom that quite a number of communities within the country and across the world have come to proudly and passionately acknowledge as the root of their existence and they’re always prepared to do anything to connect with her.
Therefore, as we move to enthrone the new monarch, the major stakeholders must be guided accordingly, as all the aforementioned critical perspectives must constitute the basis of their consideration in selecting the new Alaafin.
In particular, the Oyo Mesi, the only constituted authority saddled with the responsibility of selecting the new monarch must recognize and appreciate that millions of Yorubas at home and across the globe expect them to be steadfast, resolute, uncompromising, truthful, patriotic to the cause of the kingdom, fair and just in taking their decision, as their final decision has capacity to influence the fortunes and expand the coast of the race. They must be fully aware that they indeed have a date with history, as posterity will not forgive them if they refuse to tread the path of honour.
It’s also incumbent on all the stakeholders, most especially the contenders to the throne, to cooperate with Oyo Mesi by allowing them to do their work unhindered and undisturbed, with a view to arriving at the decision that will not only be beneficial to all and sundry, but ultimately to the race.
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It’s in the light of this that a spirited attempt by one of the contestants, Bishop Ayo Ladigbolu, to ‘school and educate’ the body of their actions or inactions is viewed as preposterous, very unnecessary, provocative, unwarranted and highly unjustified. As a palace man of more than six decades, the revered Bishop should have known better. He ought to have realized that his action was an unbridled interruption in the work of the body, as this is capable of subjecting the whole exercise to ridicule, scorn and disrepute.
The new Alaafin must be urbane, highly educated, a mixer of repute with tremendous sense of history, traditions and cultures. More importantly, the new monarch must be apolitical. He must be ready to provide purposeful and very responsible leadership for the kingdom, as well as be a father figure to all players in the political space irrespective of their political affiliations and beliefs, instead of being neck deep in partisan politics.
At present, colleges and tertiary institutions are dominant in all the nooks and crannies, but there must be a balance between educational institutions and industrial developments. There is therefore urgent need to overwhelm the kingdom with small and medium scale entrepreneurs as well as host of large scale production plants. The new Alaafin must be in vanguard of this.
Finally, the incoming monarch must be able to command absolute respect, trust and confidence of the surrounding Obas across the state and beyond. That has been the traditions and must be sustained.
The emergence of new Alaafin who will sustain the historical legacy of traditions, culture, as well as continually attracting the respect of the world to the kingdom and also moving her to another level is indeed our collective responsibility through prayers, deeds and positive actions. No resources must be spared to achieve this goal.
- Kola Amzat (FCA, FCIB, ACS, CTP)
Lagos.