- Says I owe my success stories to Efon people
In a few days, the people of Efon Alaaye in Ekiti State will roll out the drums to celebrate this year’s Efon Alaye Day in grand style. In this interview with RASAQ IBRAHIM, the Alaaye of Efon Alaye, Oba Emmanuel Adesanya Aladejare, speaks on the significance of Efon Alaaye Day and his community’s grouse with former Governor Kayode Fayemi, among other issues.
Preparations are in top gear to celebrate this year’s Efon Alaye Day. What is its significance?
Well, Efon-Alaye Kingdom has been one of the biggest community celebration days which started as far back as 1983. We have it as a way of thanking God, because that year, there was political crisis in the country. The people came to campaign here and there were altercations that resulted in numerous gunshots to the extent that the whole community was covered with thick cloud. Then the police were sent to settle what happened on that day. And despite all that happened, there were no casualties. So, in order to commemorate the safety that God bestowed on us on that day, we all come together to celebrate on the 24th of November every year. It is also an occasion to improve the development and social activities of the town. Although there are times the celebration does not come up due to one reason or the other, this year’s own has been properly planned to meet the enthusiasm of our people.
It is a known fact that the development of a town requires the collaboration of indigenes. How much support did you get from the sons and daughters of Efon Kingdom at home and abroad towards the development of Efon-Alaaye?
I want to say I thank God for the lives of our great sons and daughters around the world. Given the telecommunications age, it has become very easy for our sons and daughters all around the world to participate in the celebration, and it is a collective effort to get our people together. And our sons and daughters in the US, the UK or wherever have been very active and helpful in contributing money towards the development of the ancient community.
In this year’s celebration, there will be the launch of Efon Development Funds to which all indigenes will contribute. In fact, the first launch will be N250 million while the total will be N1 billion. Indigenes of Efon all over the world have been motivated to take active part in the celebration. So, it is the collective decision of all our people both at home and in the Diaspora because the development of Efon cannot be left only in the hands of government alone. The community must as well take part in it, and that is why we are having this particular launch.
For us to ask for this huge amount of money, it means everybody is involved. So, it is a collective desire to develop this noble community and people are eager to assist us. Let me use this opportunity to appreciate Efon sons and daughters for what they have done. Our successes so far have been a collective one and not from single individuals. I thank you for your efforts and we will appreciate more when we meet.
You would be clocking 32 years on the throne this year. What do you find remarkable since your ascension in terms of the development of the town?
We thank God for everything, because what we have been able to do was not my making alone. I only serve as a rallying point for the development of the town. If we are to count the number of federal unity schools in Nigeria today and the ones at Efon are being left out, then it is not complete. In terms of infrastructure, Efon-Iwaraja Road has been neglected for 40 years, but with relentless efforts, our pleas have been heard by the federal government and the construction has been done. It has been one of the best roads in Ekiti State, which is also part of the development of Efon.
Going by the demography of Efon, erosion has been an endemic problem that it had even divided the town into two. We have approached the federal government to assist us because the state government might not be able to handle this alone, and we have been able to get N1 billion from the federal government for the construction of drainages and gullies in Efon Alaaye. We have been trying to do so many things but we thank God that since my ascension, we have brought development to the town and the work is ongoing. Whatever we have achieved, we sincerely appreciate the unwavering commitment and patriotism of our people in doing this with me. We still have a long way to go, but in all, we should thank God for going this far. There are many other things that we are still working on which will materialise in no distance time.
Efon Kingdom has grown in leaps and bounds but there still remain certain infrastructural facilities that the community is yearning for. What are they?
Yes, we have several infrastructural needs which have not been put in place; like the untarred road in the town. Some of the road need to be patched going by Efon topography. If a road is being constructed without being tarred, erosion will wash it off and make the roads absolutely impassable. Also, we are working towards having tertiary institution in Efon Kingdom as well as telecommunications.
Despite the level of development in the community, we are still facing some problems in terms of erosion and other things. So, we are calling for more help from the federal and state governments. Also, we are in need of a community radio station which we are working on. We want to be heard from here to other parts of the country, and we are working on all this and will continue soliciting support for our projects to be done.
Efon community must have been jolted by the decision of Gov. Kayode Fayemi-led administration to grant autonomy to Ahun, an entity under Efon. How did you receive that?
We were really surprised, disappointed and even bitter for such a thing to happen, because there have been two previous chieftaincy review commissions which successive governments had set up for the development, and they said they wanted to grant autonomy. They listed the criteria, which are market, schools, identifiable boundary, banks, and so on. We presented many memos to Oyewole-led Commissions of inquiry and we presented the case there. As a result of that, the commission said those agitations lacked merit. So, the white paper on that is available with us.
Then during Fayemi’s first coming, what really happened was that there was agitation for Ahun. It is a single family community that was granted autonomy. So, this agitation was turned over to Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, which sat on the matter for nearly a year. The Obas visited the place, which they found to be inadequate. But, it is a surprise that this really happened, because the report of the Council of Obas was written and sent to the government and they sat on it and came up with report that the place lacked merit in its entirety.
So, when Fayemi came for second term, he set up another panel which was a complete reversal of the same facilities which were there before and that had been assessed by successive commissions of enquiry. But they went out of their way.
In fact when the panel came, I presented the reports of previous panels with relevant documents, but because of what they wanted to do, it was done out of malice. Because when they came, I said the previous panel also went to the places they said they wanted autonomy for, but on this third leg they didn’t come to the palace. So, it was after they had concluded their invitation that they now came to me to say, if I didn’t increase the salary of this and that, they would split the town, which I objected to. I told them that the money was being equitably distributed all the time but because of the hidden agenda of Fayemi. He now went ahead to say that he was going to split the town. He didn’t tell me, and when that happened, we now decided to take the matter to Court.
The matter was in court when Fayemi now came three or four days to the end of his tenure and went ahead to create Ahun-Ekiti, and that has been the bone of contention.
In fact, it is an affront on the Supreme Court because the case is still there. Fayemi split Efon Alaaye out of malice. Fayemi’s second coming was not a blessing to us. He did not do anything in Efon-Alaye. He just came to divide the town instead of developing it. That is what happened across Ekiti State. He is just cruel to grant autonomy to an enclave of the six quarters with about four or five houses. The person they purportedly made the king was a priest of Oduduwa, a priest around the Alaaye, and in their lineage they are not appointable rulers. They are priests of different deities in Efon Alaaye.
The boy that was made the king now decided to start appointing chiefs across the six quarters in Efon Alaaye, and there is so much confusion in the town now as a result of Fayemi’s action. We are not going to accept the situation and we are already in court. We are going to follow the case to a logical conclusion.
With the growing tension in Efon Kingdom over the alleged inactions of the traditional ruler of Ahun, what would be your appeal to Governor Biodun Oyebanji?
I take this great opportunity to appeal to Governor Oyebanji to take a second look at what Fayemi has done; who on the eve of his departure decided to cause chaos and for the governor to appoint a panel to go and see where he called a town. So we are calling on the state government under Governor Oyebanji to have a fresh look at the autonomy. Fayemi, instead of developing Ekiti State, just came to divide Ekiti, and that will not bring development and peace. Because it is when there is peace that development will take place. And with what he has done now, the peace is far up and government will need to take a second look at what he did. There have been two previous panels saying that this place has no merit, but for their hidden agenda, they decided to cause this commotion.
What is the place of Efon-Alaaye in Ekiti and Yoruba land?
Efon-Alaaye is an ancient town. Its history in Ekiti and Yoruba land is a unique one. Actually, the founder of this place was father of the sitting Ooni of Ife, Obalufon Alayemoore. When Oduduwa passed on, one of his sons, Obalufon Ogbogboderin, became the second Ooni of Ife. And when he passed on, the third Ooni of Ife was Oranyan who was in Oyo at that time. So, that afforded Obalufon Alayemoore, the son of the Obalufon Ogbogboderin, to become the Ooni. But on hearing that his brother had passed on from the throne of Ife, Oranyan decided to come home, and to avoid confusion, the Obalufon Alayemoore voluntarily left the throne and came to found Efon-Alaaye.
So, Efon was founded by Obalufon Alayemoore, the third Ooni. Oranyan now became the fourth Ooni, and when he passed on, the great people of Ife came to look for Obalufon Alayemoore to come back to the throne, and he was found at Efon where they persuaded him to come back to Ife and become the fifth Ooni of Ife. So, he has the uniqueness of being the third and fifth Ooni. If you get to the Ooni’s Palace today, you will see the names of the past Oonis listed on the wall by the incumbent Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. But Obalufon Alayemoore was the first Alaaye of Efon Alaye and the name was taken after him because it was from the combination of his name that we derive the name of Efon and other communities started to join Efon. That is why the community has improved and growing in leaps and bounds since 1400 AD that Efon was founded.
Ekiti State will clock 27 years in October this year. As one of the founding fathers, would you say the state has fared well?
I will say the first set of rulers have not fared very well, though they have tried. But the present governor, Biodun Oyebanji, who was part of the struggle that culminated in the creation of the state, has revved up the pedal of growth and development to the admiration of all Ekiti people within the 10 months he assumed office. So, under Oyebanji, Ekiti is living up to the founders’ vision.
