The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, is a traditional ruler who is well at home with the history, culture and tradition of the Yoruba people. A meeting with him promises to be not only enriching but spiritually and philosophically uplifting as BODE DUROJAIYE found out when he had a brief chat with the first class monarch.
After 47 years on the throne, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, has revealed the reasons behind his success.
Speaking with The Nation during a brief encounter recently after the commissioning of some projects he donated to some communities in his domain, the monarch attributed his successful reign to the immortal words of the Scottish-born scientist, Alexander Graham Bell, which serves as the driving force behind his success.
Quoting the inventor of the first telephone, Oba Adeyemi said: “The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion… It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider – and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation -persevering in what he knows to be practical, and concentrating his thought upon it, who is bound to succeed in the greatest degree”.
The first class monarch opined that “a traditional ruler should be seen as the perfect embodiment of the culture of the place, as well as the synthesis of the aspirations and goals of the nation. This is not only in social values of veracity, egalitarianism, justice and democracy; but in actions and deeds”.
He pointed out that it was to his credit that a great number of his colleague Obas across Yorubaland are what they are in status today, having used his position as a highly revered monarch, his robust sense of history, powerful writing skills and consideration for fellow human beings to advance their causes.
‘’Alaafin relies heavily on the will and wishes of his subjects. In politics also, he is concerned about the sanctity of his position, whatever happens and the welfare of his people. Thus, to secure his support, a politician must convince him of offering his exalted position the highest degree of dignity, respect and honour it deserves as well as the care of his people through the usual dividends of democracy”. He said.
A monarch with class, Oba Adeyemi is an enigma by every standard and a chance meeting with him was like an expository adventure through a school of history.
The very urbane monarch, who worked as an insurance officer before heeding the natural call of the gods, through the Oyomesi to ascend the throne of his fore-fathers as the Alaafin of Oyo Kingdom is a man at home with himself at all times, as he exudes confidence in all his dealings.
One enviable highpoint in the life of this great monarch is his deep knowledge and high sense of recalling historic events with facts and figures; and with an accuracy that will beat the imagination of youthful intellectuals.
The foremost traditional ruler is of the conviction that a people without a cultural identity of their own would be lost in the forward march of world history and their contributions to human civilization forgotten very easily.
A prolific writer especially in the area of Yoruba and world history, Oba Adeyemi had been guest speaker at numerous forums organized by professional bodies and groups. Of great importance were two of such articles written as far back as 1968, which have today become fulfilled prophecies. The first was “I Shall Be Great” and the second “I Shall Be The Next Alaafin”.
Barely a week after the second article was written, the young Adeyemi was selected as the Alaafin-elect by six out of the seven members of the Oyo-Mesi in March, 1968. That marked the beginning of his tortuous journey to the exalted throne. And so at a tender age of 32, he became Alaafin Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III.
Oba Adeyemi who had clocked 77 has taken traditional leadership to another level, using his exposure, wealth and power to benefit his people and mankind.
The immediate family of the late Sam Ojebode, a former skipper of defunct IICC Shooting Stars Football Club of Ibadan, will forever be grateful to the Kabiyesi for building and furnishing a house for them in the memory of their late father and husband.
The Alaafin has displayed a great deal of ingenuity in bringing touches of modernity to the ancient Oyo Palace without losing its traditional essence, a development that has turned the place to a tourist centre.
This touch is not only about the infrastructure and architectural design of the Palace, but also about the individuals that have statutory and traditional functions in the Palace.
He has made life more comfortable for his people both with the township and core villages.
In 1979, the Federal Government honoured Oba Adeyemi with the national award of Commander Federal Republic (CFR), and a year later the same government appointed him the pioneer Chancellor of the former University of Sokoto, now Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, a position he
held for a record time of 12 years of three terms.
Alaafin not only uplifted the ivory tower to enviable heights, but requested for a slot of ten candidates to be offered scholarship from his personal purse annually. All together the paramount ruler sponsored 120 students to study courses of their interests at the university before he completed his tenure as the Chancellor.
An intellectual in his own class, Oba Adeyemi does not only impresses the knowledgeable audience, where he had been invited to speak, with his mastery of colonial history, but his captivating speeches usually attract rounds of standing ovations that leave the audience wondering if he is indeed a monarch or a visiting professor of African History.
During festivals, especially Id-el Kabir, indigenes of the ancient Oyo town across the country, including the residents, irrespective of their religious inclinations are eager to come home and witness how their cherished monarch blend religion with tradition.
A paramount ruler with deep compassion and unrivaled generosity, Alaafin uses what God has endowed him with to touch the lives of the people.
No fewer than twenty-two communities, including township and villages had benefitted from his unusual gestures. The benefits include erection of electric poles and transformers, provision of micro-finances free of charge, construction of boreholes, garri processing centres with equipments and construction of blocks of classrooms. All these amenities were solely financed by the Kabiyesi.
Notable among the communities were, Ilora, Akeetan Titun, Molaba, Araromi, Isokun, Olorunda, Sangodeyi, Soku,Ote-Efon and Aba-Aladie.
Also, last week Sunday, three more villages benefitted from the monarch’s largesse. They were Fashola, Aba-Aladie and Sooku. While a transformer was commissioned at Sooku, a well-furnished maternity centre was opened for use of the villagers.
