Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

Veteran journalist Lekan Alabi pays tribute to the late frontline businessman Aare Azeez Arisekola Alao, who would have been 71 on February14.

February 14 was Valentine’s Day, a day for lovers all over the world and the 71st posthumous birthday of the lovable first Aare Musulumi of Yoruba land, late Vice President – General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Aare of Ibadanland, businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola Alao, to be called by his popular title, Aare, in this tribute.

Aare was a well-connected man in and outside Nigeria, as attested to in a book of tributes titled, “Arisekola In Our Minds”, edited by Professor Rusheed Aderinoye. It was launched by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State at Aare’s Oluwo Kereke Basorun Area home in Ibadan, at the 70th posthumous birthday Fidau of Aare on Valentine’s Day last year. Besides writing the foreword to the book , my tribute forms part of the book.

The life and times of the late successful businessman, best known for his charity, who started out as an apprentice ‘Gammalin’ trader under his late uncle, Alhaji Karimu Olasupo Jenrola, at Ogunpa Business District in Ibadan in the 1960s, were very open and still open vide the said book. In this wise, I shall focus on some public acts of Aare  between  1975 and 2014 when he died as witnessed  by me. In Yoruba, “Awon ise Aare ti won soju mi korokoro” (translated – Some acts of Aare Arisekola Alao before my very eyes) as the title of this piece above indicates. May the kind and noble soul of the witty dapper continue to rest in Aljannah Fridaous. Amen.

 

Act I

 

I started my journalism career in 1973 with the defunct Sketch Publishing Company Limited, Ibadan as a reporter/writer/reader, in addition to writing a column  in the Yoruba language weekly in the Sketch stable – “Gboungboun”. A year later in 1974, a late editor of the popular “Sunday Sketch”, Mr. Phillip Bamidele  Adedeji, did the unprecedented not only in the Sketch Group, but in the Nigerian media history by offering me a column and later a page in the weekly, thus making me Nigeria’s first bilingual (Yoruba & English) columnist (“Mo ri firii” in Gboungboun and “Its what’s happening” in the Sunday Sketch). Old  generation newspapers readers would remember that there were just three weekend (no Saturday papers) newspapers in Nigeria in the 1950s to early 1970s) – (i) the mother of them all, Sunday Times, (ii) Sunday Sketch and the then new arrival, (iii) Punch, which started as a weekly on Sundays. One day in 1975, our News Editor, the late Mr. Abiodun Famojuro, a vibrant wordsmith and tireless journalist, assigned me to go and interview the young, with due respect, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola Alao.

I did my job, but politely turned down the kind offer of Aare – “a token for your transport fare back to Sketch”. The editor of “Sunday Sketch”, had warned us not to receive gifts in any form, with emphasis on pre-publication gifts. That interview in 1975 was my first contact with Aare.

 

Act II

 

Upon my graduation and return from the famous College of Journalism, Fleet Street, London, UK in 1978, I resigned from the Sketch and joined the services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ibadan. I resigned from NTA in 1982 to join the newly-established, Television Service of Oyo State (TSOS) now called BCOS TV. I was a pioneer editorial staff member– the first reporter to appear on the channel on its first day of transmission (October 30, 1982) and the first Chairman of the station’s chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

In February 1983, I was seconded to the then Governor of old Oyo State (present day Oyo and Osun States) the “Cicero of Esa-Oke”, Chief ’Bola Ige, my boss and mentor, as a Press Secretary. God grant his soul repose. Amen.

In the general elections of 1983, the defunct Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) declared Chief Ige of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) a loser in the governorship election to Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo of the also defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Three months later, on December 31, 1983, the military staged a coup detat that toppled President Sheu Shagari – led NPN Federal Government and state governments also. Our incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari became Nigeria’s military head of state, and the then  – Colonel Oladayo Popoola (now a retired Major –General, lawyer and printer) was appointed the Military Governor of old Oyo State.

Governor Popoola, in what I always describe as the  “eighth” wonder of the world, ordered that I resume as his Press Secretary, after my appointment had been terminated earlier in October 1983,  like some others, by Governor Olunloyo’s NPN government. I thus returned to my old desk in the Governor’s Office, Ibadan.

One day in 1984, my friend and colleague, the resident media consultant to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), Folu Olamiti, then a senior editoral staff of the Nigerian Tribune, Ibadan visited me in the office and told me of Aare’s urgent need for an appointment with the  Military Governor. I replied Folu, a close acquaintance of Aare, to give me some time to arrange the visit. It will be recalled that the new military government was wary of civilians. After strategic maneuverings, I succeeded in fixing the appointment for Aare which Governor Popoola graciously approved. Their meeting, at which I was present, took place in a private home (not connected to Aare) on Bodija Estate, Ibadan.

It was about a decade after the 1984 ‘rendezvous’ that Aare got to know that I was the ‘Mr. Fix It’ of his audience  with the military governor. Of course, that further cemented our relationship.

 

Act III

 

Our fourth child was born in August 1987. Aare was one of my invited guests to the new baby boy’s naming ceremony. Although he could not attend, Aare sent a representative with, as usual, his trademark of a cash gift. But, the representative played a smart game with Aare’s gift, unknown to me. He slashed the cash gift, and gave me a third of it! One day, the rip-off became public.

Not long after the naming, I visited the late Managing Director of Sketch Press Limited, Ibadan, Mr. Peter Ajayi, in his office at Dugbe on an official matter. As I was ushered into Uncle Peter’s office, I saw him and Aare (backing the door) discussing. The shouts of “Lekuze, se a se o” (Lekuze, I hope we have not offended o) by Uncle Peter made Aare to look back and say, “Lekan, Onitemi, I have offended you. I didn’t attend your son’s naming ceremony”

I immediately greeted and replied Uncle Peter first that neither he nor the Sketch group had offended anyone. And to Aare, I said his representative had explained the reason for his absence. Moreover, his handsome cash gift of ‘x’ naira was delivered to me. On hearing the ‘x’ figure mentioned as his gift presented to me, by his representative, Aare stood up and shouted “Lahila Ilalahu! Ko seniyan gidi laye mo” (My God! Trustworthy people have become rare in the world). He requested to use the landphone on Uncle Peter’s desk, a request which was granted. Aare called the representative, “Can you please remind me of the sum I sent through you to ’Lekan Alabi on his son’s naming ceremony?”

The receiver answered. Aare, raising his voice, then said, “Lekan is here with me in the office of the MD of Sketch. But you gave him one-third of the gift I sent to him, and that’s unfair. You know the press people, they can publish your misdemeanour. You better see ’Lekan unfailingly tomorrow with the balance”. In compliance with Aare’s order, the representative visited me very early the following morning in my office within the Governor’s Office, and released the two-third balance, pleading that his earlier act “was an oversight”. I called Aare immediately I received the balance, as it were. He appealed to me to forgive the representative. I did, or didn’t I?

 

Act IV

 

On my last day ( March 30, 1989) in office as the Press Secretary to the fourth governor of old Oyo State that I had the good fortune of serving, the late Brigadier–General Sasaenia Oresanya, God bless his kind soul. He asked me, at the end of our long farewell chat, to make a request, any request, with a vow to grant it. I stood up, thanked him, as it was unprecedented in Nigeria, and requested for 1989 Hajj sponsorship. My request was granted on the spot.

I visited Aare on my departure to Saudi Arabia. He prayed for me and my two professional colleagues (Alhaji Mikhail Adeogun and Alhaja Labake Adebiyi, both of the  now defunct Concord Press Nigeria) who I took along to his home on Rotimi Williams Avenue, Bodija Estate, Ibadan.

On my return from Hajj, I paid him a thank you visit accompanied by my wife, Adetokunbo,  at his office in Lister House, Ring Road, Ibadan. He was so delighted to see us, particularly I. We went into a long, lively discussion which suddenly turned sour the moment I answered his question of “Which of your houses did you return to from Makkah?” with a  “Sorry, sir, I have not built a house”. Rising from his seat with the famous frown on his face, he retorted “Lekan, se emi loo maa pa iro fun? Sebi won ni o ko ile si Bodija ati Oluyole? O ko fe soro loju iyawo re? (‘Lekan, why will you lie to me? But, people say you have built houses in Bodija and here in Oluyole Estate. Or you don’t want to disclose the secrets before your wife?)

He sat and requested that ’Tokunbo should please excuse us. I repeated my earlier denial of ownership of any personal house either in Bodija, Oluyole Estate or anywhere in the world. At that point, he called ’Tokunbo back into his office to join us. Facing her, he blamed her for not “pushing” me hard enough into owning  at least a house in the course of sleepless nights of running around for four governors of Oyo State for six years! I added petrol to naked fire when I interjected by saying, “Sir, my former bosses are not to blame. I didn’t ask them for favours”. Aare hissed and said something like this, “From today, ’Tokunbo, you and I have a duty of waking this my aburo up. He needs to open his eyes”, to which ’Tokunbo replied, “Yio dara fun yin, sir. Kii fe gbo otito oro (God bless you, sir. He detests the truth).

 

Act V

 

In 1998, Aare asked me when I would be promoted from Mogaji to the Olubadan Traditional Chieftaincy line and to let him know what the requirements were. I made enquiries and recounted to him my missed chance of  what would have been an instant appointment/promotion by the late Olubadan Yesufu Oloyede Asanke 1 in 1986, who said that he felt honoured and proud of me for acceding to his royal order to forgive two civil offenders, despite the fact that I was the press secretary to the then Military Governor of old Oyo State, Colonel Adetunji Olurin (now a retired Brig-Gen). That one–in–a–million chance was stalled then by a subsisting decree promulgated by the Buhari / Idiagbon Federal Military Government in 1984 banning civil servants / public officers from receiving traditional chieftaincy titles. Those who had been honoured before the decree, were to repudiate them or quit service.

One day in August 2002, after closing from my office at Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Dugbe, Ibadan, where I was the pioneer General Manager Corporate Affairs, I paid a routine visit to Aare at his Oluwo Kekere home.

On getting to the “Red Carpet” sitting room, where I met him reading newspapers amid some visitors, I paid courtesies to Aare and others. He answered with his trademark of a curt “ E kaa” (Welcome) without looking up – a sign that something was amiss. I gave him some minutes before making a statement to measure the depth of his (bad) mood. He only nodded. I immediately knew that someone or something had put the otherwise ever-jolly Aare in a bad mood. I thought to myself that since he was in such a mood, immediate departure was the best answer. This style of exit was known only to the inner caucus of  Aare’s “Oluwo Roundtable.” As if he was reading my mind, before I could say goodbye to him, Aare stood up, collected his bunch of keys on the table and walked out of the sitting room .

I was asking the people in the sitting room what transpired before my entry, when I heard Aare calling my name from the lobby. This was echoed by visitors and bystanders in the lobby and the staircase. I answered and went out to meet Aare. By then he had descended the staircase. When I caught up with him in the car park, he held me by the hand, asking where my car was. I pointed it out to him. He literarily dragged me to the car, ordered me to get into the driver’s seat and open the front passenger’s door for him. I did.

Aare entered my car, and asked me to drive the two of us out of his palatial home. “Turn right, turn left, go straight” were the directives given by him to me till we got to the front of Olubadan Ogundipe’s palace at Oranyan where he asked me to stop and park. By the time I  parked the car, got out and entered the palace, Aare had climbed the staircase to meet with Kabiyesi upstairs.

After spending an hour or so with Kabiyesi, Aare came out and we departed the palace for his Oluwo home together again in my car. His convoy had since got to hear of our unceremonial departure from Oluwo and had found its way to the palace. He did not tell me his mission to Oba Ogundipe, neither did I ask him. On getting home, he said to me, “ I will teach you the secrets of success.” He bade me good night, came out of my car, shut the door and walked into his apartment. I started the engine and left for home. A few weeks after that dash by Aare and I to his palace, Olubadan Ogundipe broke the good news of his intention to promote me from Mogaji to Jagun Olubadan of Ibadanland. And this took place on December 14, 2002.Aare had initiated my promotion on that unscheduled visit to Olubadan Ogundipe.

 

Act VI

 

One night in 2008, Aare called me on the telephone to see him very early the following day before the usual stream of visitors would begin. I reported at Oluwo Kekere at 7.00am. I alerted him of my arrival on telephone, he then summoned me inside his bedroom. After exchanging pleasantries, Aare in a very sober mood told me of his decision to marry an Edo lady who resides with her parents at Apapa – Ajegunle area of  Lagos State. He said three of us – himself, his late uncle (Baale Abidoye Olaniyan) and I would be going for the introduction ceremony the following day. I would be his family’s representative / spokesman at the ceremony. He instructed me to keep the information to myself and  not to tell anybody.

Very early the following morning, the three of us, accompanied by Aare’s usual retinue of bodyguards and escorts departed Oluwo Kekere for Apapa -Ajegunle, Lagos State. We arrived the young, pretty and well – mannered lady’s Ajegunle home where we were warmly received by her Christian parents, a brother and about three other family members. It was a very private family introduction ceremony.

I performed the duties assigned to me with solemnity and brevity after which traditional rites in Edo custom were performed. We were entertained with a modest feast, after which we departed for Ibadan. The fair – skinned lady eventually moved into Aare’s home. But, after a while we did not see her again, and Aare did not tell me about her whereabouts.

 

ACT VII

Aare was a personification of Public Relations and good human relations. One day we attended a social ceremony hosted by a retired general of the Nigerian Army somewhere in Osun State. By the time we arrived the venue, the sermon was on and all the seats had been occupied. Aare, a respecter of all religions, told us , including himself, to perch quietly in a corner because of the on-going service.

Since a gold fish has no hiding place, heads started turning towards our direction. In a jiffy, the Managing Director of the Guardian Press Limited, Mr. Emeka Izeze, who was sitting next to where Aare had perched (stood is the word) got up from his seat and offered it to Aare. He politely declined the kind offer, but Mr. Izeze insisted. Aare, to avoid creating a ‘scene’, reluctantly took the seat. The gentleman sitting next to Mr. Izeze, followed suit by giving up his seat to me. I also declined, but Mr. Izeze again insisted, and I took the seat.

Two weeks after the public honour by Mr. Izeze and his colleague, Aare asked me to write a letter of appreciation which he personally signed to Mr. Izeze. Surprise , surprise , Aare took the letter from me, called out to his aides and drivers and said, “ Lekan, lets go to the Guardian in Lagos and deliver the letter to our friend, Mr. Izeze”. I knew he was not joking, as he was fully dressed for an outing. Our trip to the Guardian Office at Isolo, Lagos State which Aare intended to be a pleasant surprise for Mr. Izeze was aborted some few kilometres to one of the notorious knotty points on the Lagos/ Ibadan Express way, due to a sticky traffic jam which , kept us on a spot for over an hour.

Since it was intended to be a snappy dash in and out of Lagos, the traffic jam took the wind out of Aare’s (surprise) sail. A decision was taken by him to abandon the journey and return to Ibadan. He turned to me in the car and said, ’Lekan, please you have to proceed on this ‘thank you’ visit to Mr. Izeze in Lagos.” After being “ well – kitted” by Aare, I got out of his limousine, entered a spare car in the convoy and followed the traffic tide to deliver Aare’s message to Mr. Izeze who was so delighted to receive me. Till today, Mr. Izeze, our dear friend in Lagos, says he his humbled by Aare’s modesty.

 

ACT VIII

Since the universal path is not an endless straight lane, there would always be twists, turns and corners in every journey. The long, mutual, sweet and beneficial relationship between Aare and I received a jolt which turned our relationship sour in 2009.

Someone received a biting, acrimonious and rude text message intended for Aare on her handset. She forwarded the rude message to Aare. Naturally, as a human being with feelings, Aare was discomfited by the acrimonious text message. He, thereafter, summoned the famous “Aare’s Inner Caucus Cabinet” to his home and read out to us the highly offensive text message wherein the author alluded to Aare as a one-eyed man in a land of the blind. Our comments on the message were invited. I, in my contribution, said even though the sender was anonymous, the registered subscriber (owner) of the gsm no could be traced by the police and the network service providers. Little did I know or could ever imagine that I was suspected by Aare to be the author as I was told some days after the meeting, of the damming text message! A gulf was thus created between us. I maintained my innocence, and stayed off Aare’s company.

As light conquers darkness, and truth defeats lies, I was later vindicated by God, men and women of goodwill. Aare and I put the issue behind us and our relationship resumed with greater gusto, as he practically demonstrated at my 60th birthday party on October 27, 2010, during  which he danced with relish in public for the first time after several decades of “Switch – off” from socials by him.

 

FINAL ACT

Aare travelled to Switzerland and the United Kingdom early in June 2014 with a promise to return early to chair a 60th birthday celebration in Ibadan of one of his younger sisters which I was co-ordinator. His last words to me on his departure for the fateful overseas visit were, ’Lekan, Baba Oloye, go ahead with your aburo’s 60th birthday plans. I shall, Insha Allah, arrive a day to the celebration”. Pitifully, he did not.

Aare died in his sleep in his London, UK home on Wednesday, June 18, 2014, aged 69 years and was buried in his Oluwo Kekere Basorun, Ibadan home on Friday, June 20, 2014. May his kind and noble soul continue to rest in peace in Aljannah Fridaus. Amen.

 

Can we put a price on a man’s life? How much are we really worth? These and other questions resonated at the solo art exhibition: State of the nation by an artist and cultural activist, Ndidi Dike, at the National Museum, Onikan in Lagos. The four-piece installation provoked debates on political and socio-economic issues, such as the energy crisis, the efficacy of power and the 217 abducted Chibok school girls. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.   

Ndidi Dike’s solo art exhibition State of the nation could pass for a critical judgment on the state of the nation. With found objects (expended bullets, rubber slippers, rickety chair, kerosene stove, fuel pump nozzle, and iron bed), she constructed installations that focus mainly on political leadership and energy situation in Nigeria, which shape the existential consciousness of Nigerians.

As guests walked into the two exhibition halls of the museum, they were confronted with the unusual body of works and installations. First was How much am I worth? an empty dormitory-type bunk (iron bed) measuring 78cm by 171 cm. On the floor near the bed were many rubber slippers of various colours and sizes. On the bed was a golden blanket made from expended bullets. The abandoned bed and slippers left a strong image on the viewers who pondered on many questions, such as: who are the occupants of the bed and who are the owners of the slippers?

To the artist, the imagery is to raise questions on the value life in Nigeria and, specifically those of the missing Chibok school girls, who were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents two years ago. The artwork is a fresh voice asking the government óf what value it thinks the Chibok school girls are to the nation. It is also to prick the conscience of Nigerian political leaders while amplifying the role of the artist as the conscience of society. The other three works were National Grid, Untitled 1 and Untitled 2.

Another outstanding of the quartet was National Grid made from a number of carefully selected materials to depict the true state of the nation, especially in relation to the unsteady power supply and the people’s dependent on petroleum products in their day-to-day life.  Dike artfully attached the materials to an underlying wire mesh board. But it also reflects the geographical spread of Nigeria. On this wire mesh board, she attached scraps of metal from what looked like a generating set’s coil.

Other found objects were lanterns, stoves, generator parts, motorcycle fuel tanks and nozzles for refilling fuel tanks of vehicles.

The installation is a confirmation that most Nigerians have become extremely dependent on generating sets to get power supply. But the nozzles, which spread all through the installation, are symbolic of the lack of supply of petroleum products in the midst of plenty.

State of the nation is the first in a series of staggered exhibitions planned by Dike this year to examine aspects of our national life. Unlike many of her peers, Dike is not a stranger to advocacy art. In the last few years, she has focused greater attention on ‘hot button social, economic and political issues around globalisation, migration and consumerism.’

The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi), who was the special guest at the opening, urged Nigerians and government at all levels to appreciate works of art, saying through art the nation’s economy could be enhanced.

He woyds: “The government should come and see the art first! The youths also should come and see the arts too! Then they can begin to talk about our challenges. The government alone cannot solve all the problems in the country; all citizens should begin to work together so that they can begin to solve the problems of the country. Each person, every child, every teacher, has a responsibility to assist the leaders. So I think we should all come together.”

On the messages of the works, the Onitsha monarch said: “It is not fair to say that one (artwork) is more important than the other. They all strike me in different ways, and they meant to strike in different ways. They are all impressive.”

The exhibition was attended by leading art collectors and enthusiasts. They included former Attorney General of  Lagos State Mrs. H. A. Balogun; Frank Okonta; Funke Akinyanju; Director of Drama, National Troupe of Nigeria, Josephine Igberaese;  Toyin Akinosho; Yolande Chirwa; Edo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development  Annena Jemitola; Ms. Iyabode Aboaba; Molara Wood; Peju Alatise and Bisi Silva,  among others.

 

Speaking truth to power

Consulting curator Dr. Smooth Ugochukwu Nzewi described Dike as one of the most visible artists on the Nigerian art scene. According to him, she is also one of the most consistent since her break out exhibition at the Imo Concorde Hotel in 1986.

In his paper Speaking truth to power, Nzewi said: “Over the last thirty odd years, she has evolved as an artist, moving across diverse art forms, employing multiple media, and seeking new directions for her work. It is that endless search for a mode of address that can hold public imagination while retaining the transcendental quality that all great art must command. A self-described cultural activist, Dike has sought to use her work to engage with matters of culture though bearing in mind that culture is a construct shaped by the imperatives of the immediate social environment in previous solo exhibitions such as Totems and Signposts at Goethe Institut in 2002 and Unknown Pleasures and Competing Tendencies at the National Museum, Onikan, in 2012. In the last few years, she has focused greater attention on hot button social, economic, and political issues around globalization, migration, and consumerism. She has also shined critical light on historical events that continue to impact contemporary consciousness such as the legacy of the trans-Atlantic Slave trade which was the subject of the acclaimed exhibition Waka-Into-Bondage: The Last 3/4 Mile at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos in 2008. That Dike’s advocacy is genuine is no longer in doubt. This present exhibition titled State of the Nation further cements it.

According to Dr Nzewi, “it is the first in a series of staggered exhibitions planned by Dike in 2016 to examine aspects of our national life. The others will hold at different junctures this year. State of the Nation explores the theme of power writ large but with a dedicated focus on the abject political leadership and energy (that is to say, electricity and other forms of petroleum-derived energy that is suppose to drive the economy) situation in Nigeria. More than anything else, the two ideas or dimensions of power shape the existential consciousness of Nigerians. Sadly, both have been largely defined by malfeasance, sleaze, and hopelessness as the four works that comprise the exhibition suggest. Using a rickety wheel chair, painted gold and surrounded by a blanket of expended bullets stitched together in Untitled 1, Dike presents the tacky and imperious brand of political power in Nigeria in which the winner takes all. In addition to interrogating the absence of any real understanding of statesmanship on the part of Nigeria’s political class, she draws attention to unbridled vanity, venality, irresponsibility, and intellectual poverty that have trailed the political landscape especially since the fourth republic. As such, it is hardly surprising that 219 Chibok Secondary School girls remain missing nearly two years since they were kidnapped.”

He went on:“What nation, except Nigeria, would display such callous lack of compassion and wanton irresponsibility to its young folk? Dike addresses this sorry state of affairs in the deeply emotive installation How Much Am I Worth.

“Like Untitled 1, Untitled 2 examines the perplexing dynamics of political power in the country. Dike uses the cooking stove as a visual trope but also as a metaphor in addressing how the political class (both men and women) is a tightly-knit group with a common agenda to appropriate the nation’s commonwealth for itself, party-affiliations notwithstanding. The back story for this particular piece is the 9.2 billion Naira earmarked by the last administration for the purpose of buying kerosene stoves for indigent women. Dike treats the stove as a symbol of corruption, misappropriation, and misplacement of priorities. Finally she addresses the unsteady power supply in spite of the insane amount of money that has been sunk in that sector by successive administrations since 1999 in the installation titled National Grid. This installation draws our attention to a dream deferred, what Nigeria can become given its industrious and highly-driven population; an economic giant in the true sense of the word. With these works, Dike addresses the main issues that majority of Nigerians contend with, and amplifies the role of the artist as conscience of society in trying times.”

 

 

Ibadan traditional title is unique. It must be respected. But it must however be reviewed.” These was the view of the prominent indigenes of Ibadan at the symposium-lecture organised by the Oyo State government to discuss the life and contributions of the late Olubadan, Oba Odulana Odugade I, to the development of Ibadan and Nigeria at large, as part of a week-long activities for the funeral of the late Olubadan.

The symposium-lecture, however, turned out to be a deliberation on how to reform the chieftaincy system.

Like other Yoruba towns, the traditional system in Ibadanland is monarchical in nature but with a unique hierarchical structure as in the military; at the head of which is the king, the Olubadan of Ibadan land.

While other Yoruba (even none Yoruba) towns and cities operate the hereditary system of government which makes rulership the exclusive preserve for certain families or family, Ibadan operates a quasi-republican succession system of traditional administration. This makes it mandatory for a potential monarch or aspirant to the Olubadan stool to climb a 22-step ladder from Jagun Olubadan or 23-steps ladder from Jagun Balogun to the Olubadan throne because there are two alternating lines (Otun and Balogun) to the Olubadan stool.

Notable Ibadan indigenes were present at the Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan to discuss the topic; Issues in Ibadan Traditional Chieftaincy System. Scholars at the event urged leaders in Ibadanland to find a way to encourage younger, educated and influential men to ascend the exalted throne of the Olubadan of Ibadanland.

A former Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Ismail Olalekan Alli, who represented Governor Abiola Ajimobi, at the event, said the symposium was put together to celebrate the late Olubadan.

The personal physician to the late Olubadan and the chairman on the occasion, Emeritus Prof Olu Akinkugbe, described the monarch as a rare gem who excelled in all facets of life before he ascended the throne of his forefathers in 2007. Akinkugbe described the late monarch as someone who has played remarkable roles in the development of the Ibadan and the nation in general. He noted that Ibadan city remains the only city as a republic in the whole Nigeria adding that the late Olubadan had left unmatched legacies behind.

The special guest of honour and former Oyo State Governor  Victor Omololu Olunloyo who described the Ibadan Chieftaincy succession as unique, called on sons and daughters of the ancient city to reduce the number of steps in each of the two lines to ensure quick ascension to the throne.

 

The former governor said that the Olubadan chieftaincy tradition, Chiefs Law and Subsidiary Laws are replete with contradictions and obstacles that needed urgent review in order to make ascension to the Olubadan throne problem-free.

Olunloyo insisted that the Olubadan chieftaincy promotion is not without rancour as widely believed, given the contention by the Seriki and Iyalode chieftaincy lines to be accorded due recognition.

He said, “No government can legislate on the issue of traditional chieftaincy because of the principle of separation of powers. There are six obstacles in the way of an Olubadan until the laws are reviewed. Some of these obstacles are in the Chiefs Laws and some are in the Subsidiary Laws.

“The system is semi-promotional. There was this Akinyo crisis when the late Oba Akinyele wanted to become Olubadan. In fact what the law says is that the Olubadan-in-council can choose from the four most senior chiefs in any line, not necessarily the most senior.

“Something must be done to reduce the lines and the rung of the ladder. We also need to remove all obstacles in the Chiefs Laws. The current Olubadan-designate is qualified to ascend the throne. The Supreme Court judgment on the Seriki line is relying upon to stop him is an unenforceable law, as Chief Afe Babalola will say.”

Professor Bolanle Awe who was described as an oracle of Yoruba history at the even in her speech said Olubadan was a  distinguished man and good example of what Ibadan man but however called for total reformation of the system to meet up with the present day challenges.

Despite its touted uniqueness, Awe said that the Olubadan traditional chieftaincy needs to be rejigged to encourage younger men to become Olubadan.

She said, “But I want to say that reform should take into cognizance the Iyalode line in order to take care of women. Women should not be relegated.”

In his lecture, a veteran journalist and former Editor Daily Times Chief Areoye Oyebola, titled: “Ibadan’ Chieftaincy Tradition Imperatives for Reform”, Oyebola emphasised the need for nominating young, educated and successful people to ascend to the Olubadan line to replace the present gerontocratic nature of the Olubadan throne.

Oyebola, who said he had close relationship with four Olubadans, noted that the Olubadan chieftaincy system was fraught with complexities that has made it impossible for any Olubadan to reign for too long.

He said it was not in the best interest of modern Ibadan city for a prospective Olubadan to wait for more than 35 years after becoming a Mogaji before becoming an Olubadan, since they must climb the 23 promotional steps on the rung.

He said, “A situation where you have more than 200 Mogajis waiting in line to become Olubadan and to make the matter worse majority of these Mogajis are not educated and competent enough to rule over a big city like Ibadan calls for a review.

“Some don’t have the means and knowledge. I want to call for a review that will make it impossible for such people to become Olubadan. What I can advise the Olubadan-in-council to do is to assess the current Mogajis and separate those who are not competent to become Olubadan

“Make them advisers to the Olubadan and remove them from the chieftaincy lines. Baales should henceforth nominate young, educated and successful men of between 35 and 40 years to become Mogaji. To wait for 35 years before becoming Olubadan and reign for few years is not in our best interest.”

“We have to be realistic, we must have a new idea of who becomes Mogaji, there are over 200 Mogajis presently, the Olubadan in Council can find a way of reducing them, by compensating some of them as advisers to the Olubadan.

One of the discussants, Prof. Adedotun Ogundeji spoke on the life and times of the late monarch. An Ibadan Senior Chief, Lekan Alabi, also spoke on the topic of the day.

Lekan Alabi noted that the late Olubadan has fulfilled his destiny before his demise urging people to emulate his good attributes.

“Our system otherwise perceived as “long and winding,” ensures that Ibadan traditional chiefs from Mogaji position to whatever their individual destiny ship discharges them become matured with time, steeped in our rich culture administration, law, civil and social rules. In other places, a new king learns the royal ropes, as it were, within a month or two.

“Nevertheless, Ibadan Mogajis are equal in status to Obas in some other climes, if you take into view the land mass, population, economy etc that Ibadan Mogaji presides over,” Alabi noted.