In what may be another bombshell in the ever unfolding attempts by various stakeholders at setting history ‘aright,’ Oba Fredrick Enitiolorunda Akinruntan, the Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom lets reporters, including Adeyinka Aderibigbe of The Nation into some notable contents of his coming book, including revelations that his Ugbo (Ilaje) people own Ile-Ife, the ancestral home of the Yorubas; the Moremi myth and why Ugbo people are forbidden from marrying fair women.
For the Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Fredrick Enitiolorunda Akinruntan, the place of Ugboland in the narratives of the Yoruba nation must not be lost. His fathers, owned Ile-Ife, and evidences, he stated, abounds that Oduduwa met his forefathers in the ancient town when he came from Mecca. His mission is simple: Clear the fog over Ugbo history before it is lost in the mist of time and without attempting to rewrite it, use history to re-navigate the place of Ugboland in the Yoruba cosmogony.
When he spoke with The Nation in his Lagos home, Oba Akinruntan was very effusive with facts, claiming that his supremacy to the Ooni stool and that of many Obas in Yorubaland is not in doubt. Many paramount rulers, including the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who’s place and stature as a foremost custodian of Yoruba history was not in doubt, have attested to this, making him confident that his agitation to right the wrongs of history regarding Ugboland is not in vain.
For him, it is not about war. It is about the sanctity and sacredness of facts. “Let anyone who has contrary facts come and table them and let the facts contest,” and where facts contend, fictions fade. Oba Akinruntan told his amused listeners. He has the backing of over 2,000 historical authorities; he claimed and challenged anyone who is an authority on Yoruba history, including traditional rulers to challenge him.
Oba Akinruntan’s ancestors were no myths in the Yoruba cosmos. They actually lived and were valiant men, warriors, traders and owners of the fertile lands of Ile-Ife, reputed for its massive palm trees and its bubbling sweet juice palm wine. They even own two of the major markets Oja Ife and Oja Ayegbaju, which belonged to Oramfe, and his son Osangangan Obamakin, who received the itinerant Oduduwa, who was on his way from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, into his Ile Ero home in Ife.
“Yoruba history is very interesting,” he said. “But the truth is that the Ugbos are the owners of Ile-Ife, and we are the precursor of the Yoruba race. We got to Ile-Ife before Oduduwa and our seven quarters are still there till date. Ife might be the ancestral home of our Yoruba brothers, but it is an Ugbo settlement. Yoruba history has it that Oduduwa met my great, great grandfather called Obamakin Osangagan, son of Oramfe in Ile-Ife and even Ife sons have written lots of books testifying to this. A historian Dr Moses Ajetunmobi, in a recently researched book laid credence to this in his latest book on Ile Ife, the forward of which was written by the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; and no one has faulted his claims. In that book published four years ago, he said when Oduduwa came from Mecca; he met 13 communities in Ile-Ife.
“Secondly, the late Omo N’oba Uku Akpolokpolo Erediuawa, the Oba of Benin, whom I tremendously respected in his book ‘I Remain Your Obedient Servant,’ said the only Oba he respected in the entire Southwest is the Olugbo of Ugbo, which is in Ilaje, the owner of Ife.
“Third, three years ago, I was in Oyo on a visit to the Alaafin Oba Lamidi Adeyemi to commiserate with him over his palace razed by an early morning inferno, when while receiving me, the revered Oba said among other things, Olugbo you are a true Yoruba son, your fathers were the owners of Ile-Ife.
“Fourth is the Moremi narrative in the history of Yoruba, or the story of Ile-Ife. We are the Ugbos that regularly raided Ile-Ife time without number. Our warriors were so powerful that young men and women were usually captured during these raids and taken to Ugbobokun as slaves to work on our farms. Ife before then had thought my people came from heaven because of the raffia clothing which was our war dress. The oracle told them to put a beautiful lady at the market square, so that the Ugbos who usually raided during market days would capture her.
She was captured, taken to Ugbo and married to one of my ancestors. It was from there that she got the information she needed and plotted her escape back to Ile-Ife. That is why up till tomorrow, Ugbo would never celebrate Moremi and our men can never marry a fair lady, either you are naturally fair or you bleached. We regarded Moremi as a betrayer. I have more than 2,000 authorities. I travelled far and wide, went to Portugal, Germany, to London and anywhere the history of Yorubaland and my people are documented, to read and I make copious extracts from all that validated my position as the original owners of Ile-Ife, the ancestral home of the Yoruba.
The Olugbo said though his people owned Ife, they were defeated and displaced by Oduduwa and his men, who were suspicious of his people because of the language barrier as he did not understand Ilaje language spoken by the Ugbos.
“History had it that it took Oduduwa 16 years to understand the Ilaje language. When Oduduwa arrived in Ife, history had it that he met Obamakin Osangagan as King in Ile Ero, presently in Iremo quarters of Ile-Ife. He was the one that received Oduduwa to Ile-Ife. The first Yoruba history written by Samuel Johnson in 1889 had it that when Oduduwa arrived, he was wandering in the forests for three months and when he came out, he was taken to Ile-Ero where Obamakin welcomed him to live with his people. Soon after, Oduduwa clashed with Obatala, one of the foremost powerful medicine men and a warrior who was Obamakin Osangangan’s confidant at the time and defeated him. Other warriors who knew Obatala’s awesome powers became jittery of Oduduwa and began to pay obeisance to him against Obamakin Osangagan their former lord. Soon he gained prominence and took over the entire Ife and our people had to retreat to their original home, because Ile-Ife then was just a farm settlement noted even till date for its palmwine. That was when Ugbo people retreated to Oke Mafaragan, (otherwise called Oke-Igbo), from where they started raiding the new settlers of Ile-Ife.
“It is interesting that the raffia day oniyale which is an Ugbo or Ilaje festival is still celebrated till tomorrow in Ile-Ife during the Olojo festival. I may say that the language barrier may also have contributed to the suspicion and eventual displacement of the Ugbos by Oduduwa and his people. It took him 16 years to understand Ilaje and if you go to Ile-Ife today, you will find linguistic similarities between Ilaje and Ife language. You’ll also find that Ife language is quite distinct from other Yoruba languages.
Oba Akinruntan’s motive, he said, is not to rake up fresh mud, rewrite history or clash with his brother Obas in Yorubaland; but to stop pretenders from telling the wrong Yoruba story. “I am just trying to shed some light on our past so that we don’t die in the fog of ignorance. Back in primary school we were taught in our Yoruba syllabus that Oduduwa was one of the sons of Lamurudu who came from Mecca, but Oduduwa is the progenitor of the Yoruba, is that logical? Is it not Lamurudu that ought to be the progenitor? At which point did we give the place of the father to the son? The story that Ugbo was the owner of Ile-Ife was not allowed to see the light of the day. But since I began to champion this, a lot of these Obas have kept quiet, because they knew I have done my research and they can no longer hide the truth from us any longer. The Portuguese are very rich in Yoruba history and they were the first to come in contact with our people who were fishermen; but though they did not sign a treaty with our people. The British, who were cleverer, signed a treaty with my people in 1884. Some Obas signed their treaty in 1888, some in 1889. When we are talking about seniority, some of the Obas should be acknowledging me.”
In pursuing his mission to set records straight, the Olugbo said he is not perturbed by those who’d rather see him as a rabble rouser looking to curry recognition for the sake of it. Being a self-made man and an oil magnate, he said he is neither after money, position nor power from any mortal, but that his people’s story is appropriately captured before it is totally lost.
He said he hasn’t had any serious confrontation from any of his colleague monarchs since he began this perception struggle in 2013 not even when the Alaafin of Oyo told the late Ooni of Ife that year that the Ugbos are the owners of Ife.
He wouldn’t be perturbed either that this thinking did not occupy the front burner until he ascended the throne. Time is everything, he quipped. “Before Jesus Christ, there were Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David and even John the Baptist, but Jesus came lived for just 33 years and changed the world history forever. In the same way, my coming is to change the story of my people.”
On the place of Moremi, who made the defeat of Ugbo warriors possible in those dark days of mysticism and dark magic, Oba Akinruntan said: “She remains a betrayer anytime any day. Moremi is a traitor. We married her; but she used her closeness to our king to know our secret and betrayed us. Our people will never forgive her. That’s irrespective of how their Ife brothers venerated her and celebrates her valour. She remains a villain.”
He said his people had enough relics in Ife to think of seeing Moremi in a better light. “We had our sons still living in Ife. We left our seven quarters in Ile Ife. We do not rely on Moremi as our link to our property. The two markets: Oja Ife and Oja Ayegbaju belonged to my fathers one belonged to Oramfe and one belonged to Obamakin Osangangan. The Gbegbaje of Ife is a title that is usually reserved for our people in Ife. Our place in Ife is not hidden. Go to Ife today, the Ile Ero is still standing in Iremo; our people are still living there. Moremi remains a fraudster, a betrayer and traitor as far as the Ugbos are concerned. Even in Oonis palace, Ile Ugbo is there. Historians knew and that’s why no one can contest it.”
He denounced any attempt to relegate his people to mythical characters in Ile-Ife history, arguing that they are the ancestral owners of the home of the Yorubas. He said it would just be fair enough for historians to capture them as same and not black them out of history as a mere footnote that are unimportant in the narratives that has come to be accepted as the history of the Yoruba race.
To prove this truth, he declared that he has in the last five years, busied himself studying books and now has about 2,000 authorities on Ugbo history, establishing her ownership of Ife. You know I have referred to the late Oba of Benin’s claim, contained in page 209 and 210 of his book ‘I Remain, Sir, Your Obedient Servant.’ The Alaafin of Oyo has also defended the claims of the Ugbos to Ife. Our history are scattered all over the world and I have gone far and wide to bring all these together and that was why I put all these together in a book to be released very soon.
Just as these revelations did not sour his relationship with the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Akinruntan believes the truth should not hurt the present occupier of the throne. “Personally, I don’t fight anyone; I respect all traditional rulers as my brothers. The new Ooni is a friend, though younger. Proving my place in Yoruba history does not mean I’m fighting him. I just want to set the record of the Yoruba straight. We are brothers. If he comes to my house today, I will pop champagne.”
The Olugbo has also been instrumental to conflict resolution among his colleagues. Speaking on this he said: “Hardly would you see any Yoruba Oba dragging themselves onto the pages of the newspapers and fighting dirty anymore, because before it would degenerate to that level, we would have stepped in and quelled it. All Obas are leaders of their people, each have their kingdom and they need not fight if they respect their people. Our interventions have been responsible for the peace that you are seeing everywhere in Yorubaland. We have ensured that our brother Obas now understand each other better.”
About his recent rating as the second richest king in Africa by the Forbes Magazine, Oba Akinruntan was most humble. “I was as shocked as you and every other person in Nigeria was that I of all Obas in Nigeria could be rated second richest in Africa,” adding that, “Sincerely, Forbes are in the best position to answer this question. I don’t know how they came about it; I don’t know their yardstick. I never had any contact with them. Of course I was happy, but on my honour, I never met them. I just knew that I could meet my daily needs (laughs…). I would advise you people to find out for me the reasons (criteria) for the rating.”
He however would not want to be dragged into revealing his true worth in monetary terms, saying his people are rather his present worth, as he is more committed to transforming their lives and giving them hope in place of dejection.
Speaking on the downturn in the economy, the foremost oil marketer and owner of Obat Oil, owners of the biggest tank farm in Africa, urged Nigerians to continue to support the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. He said the current slide in the fortune of the nation’s economy is not new, as the country has always been coming in and out of downturns in its economic fortunes. Recalling the situation in the 1960s when the administration of Prime Minister Alhaji Tafawa Balewa had to borrow two million pounds from Britain, Akinruntan said just as Nigeria got over it then under the purposeful leadership of Balewa, he is confident that Buhari, with his policies and programmes, would lead the nation out of its economic woes.
He however advised the government to create enabling environment for petroleum marketers and design soft loans for all operators, reduce the interest rates, which is presently at 30 percent to maybe five percent, to allow them participate fully in giving their all to the country because the industry is very capital intensive.
“In 2005, I inspected about 85 private refineries in the US out of the 110 they had and I know what I saw. We may not be there yet but we are not far away. If players in the industry have access to soft loans, the industry will pick up.” Oba Akinruntan said.
About his coming book
He said his forthcoming book billed to be released in December is a bomb that would shake the foundation of the Yoruba race and address the many aberrations that are being condoned by so many chiefs and kingmakers in the making of kingship in Yorubaland.
“I must warn that the book will be a bomb. In that book, I was able to put together some of the qualities laid down in Yorubaland to be adhered to before you can ascend to the throne as Oba of any first class Yoruba towns, some of which are being jettisoned. For instance, in Yorubaland a slave cannot be an Oba; a hunchback cannot be an Oba; if your father is still alive, you cannot be an Oba; if you are a female, you cannot be an Oba and your sons cannot be Oba. If you are disabled – either your hands, or fingers, or legs or toes are incomplete, you cannot be an Oba. If you are bald-headed, you cannot be Oba. If you are blind or have cataract or glaucoma, you cannot be Oba. There are about 23 taboos that can disqualify you from aspiring to the position of an Oba. Obaship is a very scared institution that must be respected. An Oba must be sufficient in all things because he must be able to earn the respect of his people. He must be forthright, honest and must not be shifty in character. He must not be a beggar. Similarly, a prince get cannot married to a slave and must marry into a ruling house.
Though he respects the sanctity of the throne he now occupies, Oba Akinruntan said this has not in any way affected his religious inclination as a devoted Christian. He remains very committed to the traditional ways of his people, and though he never personally participates in any of their fetish ways, he has appointed someone to be in charge. And he gives all that is needed for the devotees of any of the gods to carry out appropriate sacrifices for the progress of the town.
He admitted that kingship has changed so many things about him so radically, but frontally, he lost his personal freedom. One of such was his love for plantain and groundnuts. “I will tell you something today which I have been hiding from everybody. Before I became king, I used to buy plantain (boli) and groundnut (epa) on the roadside. As a businessman, I could even stay with the local people and eat it there on the road side, but I can no longer do this now. I miss that one greatly.”
But all these are insignificant compared to what he has gained being an Oba, he said. He cherishes the authority of the throne and would never be ungrateful to his people who counted him worthy to serve as their Oba.
Oba Akinruntan attributed his present position to the God factor. “I have a lot of stories to tell. I have enjoyed God’s favour. But my life has been a testament to God’s goodness. It is a story of hope that if I could come from grass to reach this height of grace and even become king over my people, there is no height that anyone cannot reach in life. It’s God’s doing; it is not my making. So just help me thank that God every day, every minute, every time. By repeating my story, it would look as if I do not appreciate God. But if I can come from the grass, from a riverine area, and get to this zenith in life, I must continue to show gratitude to God.”
