As we mourn the passing of the late 41st Olubadan, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, aged 93 years, and ruled from March 6, 2016 to January 2,, we prepare to joyfully welcome the enthronement of his successor-in-waiting and now approved by the Olubadan-in-Council and Governor Seyi Makinde, the Otun Olubadan, High Chief Lekan Balogun, 75 years as the 42nd Olubadan of Ibadanland. We have prayed for the peaceful transition to the installation of the next Olubadan. We pray for a long reign with peace and economic growth of the citizens and Ibadanland comprising, the huge City of Ibadan and environs, a city yearning for full transition to the 21st Century with an upgraded infrastructure.
We are grateful to the Ibadanland ancestors who institutionalised the 23 steps, and especially the last 10 steps, to pass through before becoming an Olubadan. We are grateful to the ancestors and some governors who took the pains to bring Ibadanland to where it is today.
No matter how good a city is, and no matter how dedicated the traditional and political authorities are, there is always room for improvement and new legacy projects. Ibadan has amazing historical legacy projects already, including the Olubadan palace which used to move with the Baale since the 16th Century but static now, Bower’s Tower [1936], Mapo Hall [1925], Taffy Highway [around 1936], and a raft of relatively new legacy projects like The Secretariat, the great University of Ibadan[1948], the University College Hospital [1957], Olubadan Stadium [1957] where the Ibadan Indigenes Amateur Football Association, IIAFA, held sway, the Polytechnic [1970] formerly the Ibadan Campus of University of Ife, Liberty Stadium [1960]- now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture[1967], Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria [1964], Institute of Agricultural Research & Training – part of University of Ife[1969], Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria[1954], Cocoa House[1965],The National Museum, Adamasingba Stadium [1988] thankfully just shiny and Makinde-refurbished and Agbowo Shopping Complex[1983], the Agodi Gardens and the Technical University just outside Ibadan.
Please add your other favourites, not the Secretariat and Mokola flyovers, please. Many of these legacy projects need a makeover, complete with history plaques. To have legacy projects of one’s own, a true leader must look after the legacy projects of those who went before and be seen to prevent their decay and destruction.
What an amazing kingdom to traditionally rule over! Note the relative youthfulness of the elected/appointed/expected Olubadan-elect on the throne of his revered ancestors. Note his intellect demonstrated by his multipronged CV including higher educational achievements in administration and economics, a wide private and public sector management skills exposure and participation in short-, medium- and long-term development plans and his authorship of a biography and other relevant papers, quite apart from his political exposure to the ethos of the great Aminu Kano, who I admired tremendously and the Olubadan-elect’s current political choices. All this is a lifetime of preparation for Kabiyesi-ship and will make him a formidable progressive especially for the youth of Ibadanland. Advisors beware. Kabiyesi’s eye ‘de shine’ as he must already be bubbling with legacy projects. A New Olubadan’s Palace is slowly ongoing at N4.3b??. No doubt the Olubadan-elect will carry this forward.
‘Beyond Buildings’ every city requires more ‘Brains than Brawn’. Violence reduces visitors who spend money. A 1–5-year Youth Brain Development Strategy diverting them from street crime. Parents will need to be involved. Perhaps the Olubadan-elect‘s reign will execute a youth legacy project to save youth falling out of school into the land of touts, ‘area boy-girl’, drugs and thugs around the palace area frightening visitors and citizens from visiting Mapo/ palace area. Imagine changing the youth psyche by initiating programmes which provide gainful ‘Tourist Guide’ and other youth employment.
We know that the Olubadan, a past senator and high political kingpin, will set aside ingrained political prejudices and welcome and pray for all, ‘support none’ and become father of all. Sadly, political disagreements and election debates often degenerate into violence, mayhem, murder and arson. This must be suppressed as the Olubadan-elect requires peace to champion investment.
We are truly grateful for the past leadership and followership in Ibadanland. Projects must convert the violent youth energy towards development by involving youth in development meetings and measures. Our Olubadan-elect leads as Nigeria faces another potential cycle of political adversity 2022-2023, He will promote peace, not violence, to make life worth living for the youth beyond profits of crime and political violence.
Sadly ‘town and gown’ rarely meet in Ibadan. Retired teachers need to be recruited to identify the needy youth in the area they live and be paid to uplift as many as will agree and put them back in the education system or confident enough to work honestly. There are few properly educated youth who are happy remaining thugs and beggars in traffic. Deprived of ‘brain-power’ they turn to ‘brawn power’ – violence. We have a whole of 365 days, one year to convert a violence-prone youth into a voting prone youth. No one died violently on election day in the USA the land of 393million guns where 159million voted. But in Nigeria in which 26 or so million voted we used fire, guns, sticks and machetes to kill 626 Fellow Nigerians. The difference is clear. ‘VOTER VIOLENCE, ELECTION VIOLENCE MUST BE STOPPED’ – A YEAR LONG LEGACY PROJECT THAT PREVENTS SUCH VIOLENCE SUPPORTED by parents and grandparents and traditional rulers.
Kabiyesi-electooooo!! Ade pe lori, Bata pe lese