Long before he was crowned as a monarch, Oba Abeeb Adetoyese Agbaje, the Olu of Ile-Ogbo, knew he would one day rule over his people. He recalled that while growing up in his native community in Osun State, he was told by some unknown persons in his dreams that he would one day be crowned as a king in the town.
He said: “Right from childhood, I always dreamt that I would one day become a king. I would see people showing me respect. At the beginning, I was usually scared because I never believed that I would become a king. I thought it was deceit because I didn’t see how it would be possible.”
Oba Agbaje knew that it would take more than his royal blood for his dreams to come true. According to him, the realities of life had shown him that a successful leader must have the wherewithal to lead his people. So, shortly after he graduated from the college of education and worked briefly as a teacher, he left his community and headed for Lagos with his brother to become a newspaper vendor.
At the beginning, he recalled, his trips to Lagos were made on a weekly basis. He soon realised that he was better off selling newspapers on the streets of Lagos than teaching.
He said: “While I was in secondary school, I would travel to Lagos with my brother to sell newspapers. It was something like a holiday job for me at the time. After I graduated from the College of Education, Ila-Orangun, Osun State, where I studied Guidance and Counselling, I took up a teaching appointment. But I later moved to Lagos to start newspaper business.
“What really motivated me to head for Lagos was that I was sure that I would make more money selling newspapers than teaching in a classroom.”
According to him, the newspaper business turned out to be more lucrative than life as a teacher. But he actually got his breakthrough when the now-rested National Concord newspaper appointed him a distributor for its newspapers in parts of Lagos, comprising the airport, Oshodi, Ikeja and other strategic areas.
He said: “I sold newspapers on the streets at the time. But it got to a point when National Concord needed distributors. I put in an application, and I was lucky to be appointed a distributor.
“I became the first distributor for Ikeja and its environs. I was responsible for supplying the paper to Lagos Airport, Ikeja and Oshodi, among other lucrative areas in Lagos. I later got the distributorship of The Guardian newspaper as well”
He later crowned his status as a newspaper agent with his emergence as the chairman of the National Association of Newspaper Distributors, Ikeja Branch. For a man who started as a vendor, this was no doubt a huge success.
With both feet strongly rooted in newspaper business, the young Agbaje began to see more business opportunities in other ventures. He tried his hands on petroleum and cement businesses, and within a short period, he became successful in both. With this began a conglomerate that later put him in good stead to become the popular choice of his kinsmen when the time came to appoint a monarch for his town.
His success in life, he says, has surpassed his expectations. “If I must confess, I would say I have been very lucky. God has really been kind to me in all my ways. I think my success has really gone beyond my imagination.”
A little over one year after assuming the leadership of his community, Oba Adetoyese has learnt to balance his private life with his new status as a king. And like most monarchs, he is not in short supply of ‘gifts’ from his subjects who want their daughters to be the king’s wives. But he has also learnt to politely reject such ‘gifts’, insisting that he would make the move to take a second wife when the time is ripe.
“It is normal for royal fathers to have many wives. It is also normal for the people to present their daughters as ‘gifts’ to the king. Many fathers have approached me, asking me to take their daughters as wives. I told them that I would take a wife when I am ready. And that was exactly what I did. I took a wife when I was ready.”
Aside from this, he has also learnt to balance the running of his businesses in Lagos with playing the role of a traditional ruler and father to his people. “You really need to exercise patience as a king. With your businesses, you can sack any erring staff and do away with his or her service. But as a king, you cannot say because a subject had done something, that such subject should leave town. So you must devise a way to deal with your people and make sure that they are all happy.”
Though a Christian, Oba Adetoyese says his new role as the leader of his people has ensured that he attends to the needs of the religions in his kingdom without prejudice. “I am a Christian. But my role as the king has put on my shoulders another responsibility that I must attend to the needs of everybody. For me, it no longer matters whether you are a Christian, Muslim or a traditional religion believer. If there is need for me to attend a programme at the mosque, I would be there. The same for the traditional people. The palace is open for them to come and see me any time.”
On his dream for his people, the monarch said he wishes to see his kingdom develop and assume the status of a city during his reign. Towards this end, he has taken the bull by the horns by constructing a new ultra-modern palace, which he said will mark the beginning of new things in the town.
The monarch also hailed the performance of the governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, in bringing development to the people in the grassroots. “The governor is doing a great job all over the state. He has really done well with all the projects he embarked on since he became the governor. Look at the number of roads he has constructed, look at the education sector. The truth is that the man has done very well.”
Asked what his daily prayers are since becoming a traditional ruler, Oba Adetoyese smiled and said: “What better prayer would a king say to God if not long life and wisdom to lead his people? Sincerely, these are the things that I ask for every day.”
The king is no doubt enjoying his new status as a traditional ruler. But he is also missing some aspects of his old life. “There were several things I could do those days without anybody raising an eyebrow. But my life is no longer the same. For instance, I can no longer wear non-native attires in the public. I can no longer drink or eat in public. In fact, there were many things I could those days, which have become taboos for me today.”
