Author: The Nation

His Royal Majesty, Oba Dr. Michael Odunayo Ajayi JP, the Elerinmo of Erinmo in Osun State, has called for renewed focus on human dignity and social recognition among government, traditional, and religious leaders. 

He emphasised the important role traditional rulers play in upholding social and human dignity, ensuring everyone feels included.

Oba Arowotawaya II attended the 11th Annual Conference on Law and Religion in Africa (ACLARS) as a royal guest, held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from May 19 to 21, 2024. He was also a special guest in the Eswatini Kingdom for a religious peace prayer programme.

The ACLARS conference gathered high-level diplomats, professors, academics, and religious leaders, with over 130 participants from more than 40 countries, including the USA, UK, Greece, and various African nations. Oba Elerinmo was the only royal father among the dignitaries present.

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The Osun monarch representing the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies at the conference delivered a thought-provoking lecture with the theme: “Heroes or Villains? Law, Religion, and the Role of Traditional Leaders in the Struggle for Human Dignity in Pre-Colonial and Colonial Africa.” 

Oba Elerinmo in his lecture, spoke about the significant roles African kings and queens played as royal adjudicators in enforcing human dignity, peace and order in their domain and among their subjects before the incursion of colonialists.

He laid emphasis on how these African royalties fought against colonial oppression and imposition of obnoxious laws that affected their existing traditional constitutions.

Shedding light on historical figures like Queen Nzinga of Ndongo-Matamba, the Ashanti King of Ghana, the Fon resistance of Dahomey, and King Lobengula of Ndebele, Oba Elerinmo explored how their roles at that time  may have impacted society and their present status of alienation and exclusion from the Constitutions of most African countries with few exceptions of South Africa and Burkina Faso.

He said: “There seems to us in our vantage point as traditional rulers that there is a fresh contemplation of what roles, if any, the traditional leaders, and institutions could play in the economic, social, and kingdoms cultural development of Africa’s nascent states.”

Elerinmo’s speech mirrored into the arrival of Portuguese colonizers in the Kingdom of Kongo in 1488, highlighting Queen Nzinga’s unwavering resistance. He also explored the rise of the Ashanti Kingdom in the 17th century under King Tutu and advisor Okamfo Anokye, the Fon resistance against French rule in Dahomey, and the lasting legacy of King Lobengula’s Ndebele Kingdom in Zimbabwe.

He also noted that African Kingdoms and political systems had fully developed sophisticated governance structures suitable to their economic and social needs, that it was the advent of colonial rule that interrupted this trajectory.

“Whether it was British, French, or Portuguese colonialism, the impact on traditional rulership and the fortunes of their people varied. So too did the reactions of traditional kings and chiefs vary in levels of acceptance, compromise, or resistance. 

“Our thesis in this presentation is that African traditional rulers, for the most part, conducted themselves by their sacred duties as leaders and protectors of their peoples against the overwhelming odds of a race bent on conquest and subjugation of other races,” Elerinmo said.

Oba Elerinmo further mentioned that African Kings and Queens were leading their people to achieve their local goals, unmindful that racist European governments had divided African lands and resources amongst themselves. 

“With the benefit of hindsight, the fate of African Countries was sealed at the Berlin Conference in 1885. With this understanding among the White Powers, each colonialist was given a blank check to take that which had been allocated to it at the conference. 

“It is not a mere coincidence that many of Africa’s heroic Kings and Queens exhibited their resistance to that tidal wave of European political and military power in the late 19th century,” concludes Oba Ajayi.

Meanwhile, Elerinmo on the same Southern Africa trip, proceeded to Eswatini kingdom (former Swaziland) on an invitation by his majesty, King Mswati III, to participate on a peace prayer programme hosted by the Nazareth Baptist Church. He was also received by the Zulu king, Misuzulu KaZwelithini.

The epoch visits which was hinged on cultural exchange and understanding was Elerinmo’s far reaching effort to connect Africans monarch and kingdoms culturally.

The two monarchs who has exhbited uncommon affinity and enthusiasm with Elerinmo’s brotherly gesture have been invited to grace Elerinmo’s 10th Coronation anniversary coming up in August this year.

Oba Ajayi was also received by Nigerians and other West African communities resident in Eswatini, including representatives from Cameroon, Congo, Nigeria, and Ghana. 

He was also welcomed at his hotel by the Eswatini Minister of Foreign Affairs, while bilateral discussions with King Mswati III focused on cultural exchange and cooperation between their kingdoms.

Throughout his tour, Oba Ajayi consistently emphasised the critical role of law and religion in upholding human dignity. His participation in the annual conference exemplified the collaborative efforts of traditional leaders, academics, and religious figures in tackling contemporary issues with roots in the past.