The Ojora of Lagos, HRM Oba Fatai Aremu Aromire, recently celebrated his 21st year on the throne. He spoke with OLATUNDE ODEBIYI on his enthronement, his achievements so far, marriage, religious life and more.
HOW has the journey been as Oba Ojora of Lagos?
“Well, let’s thank God for the journey. It has not been a smooth journey, going by Ijora’s volatile reputation, but thank God that everything has worked fine since I became king.
Can you tell us of your emergence as Oba of the entire Ijora Community?
I was personal assistant to the former Chief Ojora, who passed on in 1993. He was a good man and he exposed me to all the nitty-gritty of the community. When he passed on, it was the turn of my own ruling house and seven candidates contested. The then head of the family, the late Onitire of Itire-land suggested that the contest be thrown open to all princes. As a youth leader, I drummed support for my elder brother, because I was never interested, especially because of the volatile reputation of Ijora and environ as the most troublesome community in Lagos. In fact, I had already packed by baggage to go abroad and was waiting for the outcome because my brother was in the contest. But along the line, all the princes were told to write an application and I equally did since I noticed that my elder brother was reluctant and I didn’t want the crown to elude our ruling house.
So what happened?
We were all supposed to meet and vote at the Onitire’s palace, but funny enough there was no election. Rather we met a young Ifa Priest, whom they said would carry out the selection. But I objected to this, more especially because as secretary of my ruling family house, I had mobilised people who would vote for my brother. I had also put my brother’s form as number one; so when the Ifa priest asked me to call out the candidates, my brother was the first candidate to come forward. But when he was given the Ifa cowry to commune with, the Ifa priest started screaming, water!! Water!! Later he interpreted that to mean that if my brother became the chief, he would be an armed robber and would die on the throne. Naturally I was disappointed because that was my candidate. The next candidate sat down (Mukhaila Onisemo) and again the Ifa priest told him he will not spend two years before he died. Next was Oyadina. The priest said he was a good candidate, but I was not happy because my brother had been declined. But quite surprisingly Oyadina said he was not interested in the throne. He said he only wanted to be sure that he was of royal blood. Finally it got to my turn. Would you believe that I did not even say anything to the cowry because I was scared of the outcome? But suddenly the Ifa priest shouted (Eji Ogbe) and he said to the entire house: This is your Oba! I was officially installed on June 5, 1994.
Even you have acknowledged that Ijora use to be a somewhat a trouble-some community, what has been the state of affairs since you mounted the throne?
There has been total peace. That was what confirmed my choice as Oba and the fact that my ancestors really wanted me to be king for peace to reign again. Before now, you couldn’t leave your drink or food and step out for a few minutes because my time you come back, there is 80% assurance that it has been poisoned, but now, I thank the almighty that that is no longer the case.
Tell us of your achievements in terms of development since you became king.
You know ethically it is not good to praise oneself; but in all fairness, there was just one road in Ijora when I ascended the throne. Now we can boast of about seven constructed roads, out of which about four of them were personally constructed by me, without any support from state or local government. For, it was more about what my people want.
As king, do you still frolic with those you grew up with?
Of course, most of the friends you see around me are not new faces; they are people I grew up with. On Fridays we all gather together to merry, just like we use to do way back.
Are you duty bound to take advice from your chiefs?
I have two major chiefs, and most times, cases pass through them before getting to me, because whatever decision they take is what I will work on. And if need be, I make some corrections, and I let them see why. I have roughly eight officers and because I listen to other people’s advice, I have won several cases for my family. One of them is the Iganmu case. In total, I have won fourteen cases for my family.
The Iganmu case, what actually happened?
I met the case in 1994 when I became the Ojora and I fought it throughout. I won the case at the High Court. The plaintiffs appealed and I won again at the Appeal Court and even at the Supreme Court. The Landlord Association gathered and took me to court again and I still won the case. I have won several cases for my family. You also need to know that Ijora Kingdom was never like this before I became the king. It was when I became the king that the whole place changed. I am not a lawyer but I can assure you that I know more than many lawyers because I do my homework well when I have a genuine case. The Orile people especially went back to court to appeal and I still won at the end of the day.
Have there been any cases of demolitions since you won the case?
Not at all, I have never demolished any house. I am not from a rich home and I cannot say because I am the Oba, I would begin to add to people’s problem. If I had wanted to use veto power, I would have demolished several houses and built estates, but I never did because God may not forgive me if I do that. Somebody may have laboured and bought a land from a fake seller and built on it without knowing; but rather demolish, the rightful thing to do is sit down and negotiate with the original owners. I went as far as telling members of my family not to be involved in any demolishing despite the fact that we have all the court papers.
Do residents of other affiliates of Ijora like Orile, Okokomaiko amongst others enjoy your leadership and feel your impact?
Yes they do. Let me categorically say here that I have 44 Baales (chiefs) under my domain that span seven local governments and I reach out to every one of them. Each community has their own chiefs who in return feed me with reports and development. For instance if there is a problem in any of the communities, I summon the chiefs there and we talk it through and find a lasting solution to it.
Will it be right to ask how many wives you have?
Of course, it is allowed, I have just one wife, and that is because managing the affairs of the entire community is a whole work on its own, not to talk of having several wives, where you will now have a time-table of where to sleep. One man’s food is another man’s poison. Some Obas have eight to 10 wives, but it is not a taboo to have an Oba with just one wife. Besides, I’m okay with my wife because she is loving and supportive.
What was growing up like for you?
Growing up was fun. I learnt to fend for myself very early in life, with the little support from my parents. Like I said, I was not born with a silver spoon although we were comfortable. I learnt to read through my every day studying of the Daily Time’s newspaper. I went to both primary and secondary school before proceeding for my HND. It might amaze you that I did dirty jobs, as far as clearing faeces parker just to survive and make ends meet.
How do you combine Islam with the tradition and culture?
I am three in one because I go to church alongside my sisters who own churches. We are just three that my mother gave birth to and I was the only male. My father is a strong Muslim while my mother is an Idol worshipper who does not eat ram. So I dance for the masquerade to honour my mother. I also go to mosque, church and I attend to all traditional rites. Every year I send 20 Muslim faithful to hajj.
What is the place of the Ojora palace in Lagos?
This palace is different from other palaces because it’s an ancient palace built by the Brazilians in 1920. You cannot see this type of palace anywhere in Lagos and that is why we cherish it.
Tell us about the major traditional festivals in Ojora Kingdom.
The most important festival is the Elegba festival which we inherited from our forefathers. We celebrate the festival annually to remember the Olofin, one of our forefathers.
Does a community like Ijora still have taboos?
Yes, there are taboos eewo. In our land, you cannot sit on your brother’s bed, where his wife sleeps; otherwise it will mean that you are having an affair with that woman.
How do you love to dress?
You can see me now. I love casuals. I am not the type of Oba who dresses flamboyantly. Your dressing can scare people away from you. I don’t want my old friends to run away from me through my flamboyant dressing. We have been friends before I became the Oba.
