Oba Babatunde Ajayi, the Akarigbo of Remoland, talks to BANKOLE TAIWO about his ascent to the throne and the reasons he hasn’t remarried since the passing of his wife, among other things.
You appear to be the sole person on everyone’s lips as you ascend to the throne. Did you know about this, and if so, what do you believe caused it?
Even though it has been more than seven years, I can honestly say that I was unaware—I didn’t even know I was a prince. Will I not recognize my right to the throne once I realize that I am a prince? But I was aware that my late father, a chief, was extremely near to the palace and frequently visited it.
With the benefit of hindsight, I also knew that, in accordance with Yoruba custom, my father would typically give my children names like Ade this and that, which are symbolic of the crown and indicate that you come from a royal family. But with whatever names my father thought appropriate for his offspring, what is mine? I wasn’t listening very carefully. I didn’t have any inkling, then.
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However, we managed to start a club named The Collectives fairly near the time of my father’s passing. We often like to use the platform to support our traditional rulers, and the club is still in operation. “And you will be running away from home, don’t you know that you’re the next on the line?” my predecessor, the late Akarigbo, Oba Michael Sonariwo, pointed to me during one of the events I attended. I didn’t take him seriously, so I simply rolled my eyes and walked away.
I even believed that Baba (Oba Sonariwo) had consumed enough beer and liquor. He could therefore say whatever he wanted. I simply moved on. But once Kabiyesi passed away, people started discussing me as the person who would succeed the late Kabiyesi. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no instruction because my dad had already passed away. Oddly enough, I had no idea what our governing house was called.
Someone later came to me with a gazette that said it was the turn of the Torungbuwa Ruling House, and I knew that my late dad was the Otunba Oloore of Torungbuwa. “So, this is where this is coming from,” I remarked, but I still didn’t find it interesting. I merely wanted to keep working as an insolvency accountant since I have my priorities in life. When I told my mother as well, she promised to support my choice. After that, I flew to the UK to see my relatives.
Was that when there were rumors that you had fled?
Yes, they said that I had been told to flee by my ignorant mother, but that was untrue. May God pardon all of them. However, I decided to take the idea into consideration after giving it some thought during that trip. With all the noise and publicity attached to my name as the next person to succeed the late Akarigbo, one would have thought that immediately I said yes, they would just put the crown on my head, and that the crowning would be easy, but it wasn’t.
As soon as I decided to accept the challenge, people from all walks of life began to express interest. By the time we had the family gathering, there were 19 contestants, three or four of them were professors. To be honest, I wouldn’t have expressed interest if I had realized that the opposition would be so strong, but to God’s glory, here we are today.
Seven years down the line, what do you have to say as the Akarigbo of Remoland?
It’s been a mixture of experiences, but I can confidently tell you I have no regrets. It’s been highly rewarding, satisfying, and challenging too. The throne comes with huge responsibilities even though I don’t have any budget. I am the chief security officer, I am the chief welfare officer; if people are fighting over there, they will call me, people can’t get food to eat, they are calling me, husband and wife are fighting, they are calling me, and we are doing it with joy.
Despite the attempts by politicians to whittle down the roles of traditional rulers, there is just something innate about our culture regarding the traditional ruler stools; people believe so much in this stool. They hold it in high esteem, and it is highly revered. The love for the stool is awesome, and I think we must keep this.
Since you became the traditional ruler of Remoland, can you see some of your plans and visions coming to fruition?
Yes, quite a lot. Remo is different now. There is peace which is necessary in achieving any socio-economic development. We thank God, even if we are not yet there. What about our growth and development in terms of several companies that have moved in, in terms of federal presence? We now have a passport office; people don’t have to go to the state capital to get their passports done. We have a multi-door judicial centre and a whole lot.
The industries springing up are enormous. We do say that Ogun State is the investment destination of choice for Nigeria, but Remo is the investment destination of Ogun State. We also established Remo Development Growth and Foundation to be at the vanguard of pushing for the development of Remoland at all frontiers. We had our maiden Remo Day on December 27 last year. Let everyone go and circle the date in their calendar because every 27th of December is now for the celebration of Remo Day.
The maiden edition we had in December was great; the President (Bola Tinubu) could not make it because of his tight schedule but his Chief of Staff, (Femi) Gbajabiamila, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the governor himself, former governors and host of captains of industries alongside distinguished sons and daughters of Remoland and their friends were there to rejoice with us. The feedback and deluge of greetings I got had been impressive. The next edition will definitely be superb.
What have you missed due to your status as a traditional ruler?
I have missed a lot of things. I can’t go to restaurants and eat. Even when I go to parties, I can’t eat, yet I will be hungry, but I am now used to it. So, it’s no longer an issue. I also can’t go out to see people or watch cinema as I wish but the trade-off is worth it; it’s part of the sacrifices to serve the people and I am enjoying it.
Some fleeing bandits from the North-East are reportedly coming to the South-West. Are you worried about this development?
We are very concerned; we know who the chief security officer of the state is constitutionally but in reality, we also know that traditional rulers are chief security officers of their respective domains. So, we are concerned, we are alarmed and worried. I think every domain will continually be proactive in scaling up security. We have committed many resources to strengthening our security architecture in Remoland.
Beyond the police and the Amotekun Corps, we have our arrangements that we are funding. We are getting intelligence about the reported fleeing of bandits down the South-West, but Remoland won’t be a haven for any bandit running away from the firepower of security agencies in the North-East. You can be sure that such criminals will be caught and suffer the consequences.
What should governments in the South-West be doing to fight off this threat?
They should be more alert while the security agencies should redouble their efforts, and this again brings around the need for state policing, even though we have to be very careful with it. If we do it well, aside from the fact that it will provide jobs for the people, it is what we need to do to strengthen our security architecture. In America, tiny communities have well-structured community police that help to fight crime; we can replicate the same here.
The frequent cult clashes in Sagamu have gone down. There has been some silence for some time now. What has happened?
I like the word, ‘silence’. We are trying but we cannot afford to relent or lose our guard. It is not as if the thing has completely gone, it still tries to rear its ugly head, but we rise in unison to nip it in the bud. Eternal vigilance is the watchword here. When we hear things, we go swiftly after it. What we have done is continuous engagement. We also know that they are not ghosts; so, we have devised a means through which they talk to us from time to time, and we have told them that if anything happens, every one of them will pay for it.
We sincerely hope and pray that we can continue this way because it is already taking a toll on us, especially concerning finance and other resources. About six of my traditional rulers are in charge of security. They have their problems too to solve, and yet they are doing this job pro bono
What about the amnesty programme you initiated in conjunction with the Ogun State Police Command?
Yes, we did that too because we knew that the guys were with lots of illegal firearms. Many submitted their arms then, but we know that some still did not, but the message reverberated. Before then, you will see them in broad daylight going about with guns, but if they dare try that now, they will be caught and suffer the consequences. We won’t rest on our laurels anyway.
What do you do in your leisure time?
I love to play table tennis; I am very good at the game, and I don’t get easily defeated. I love to walk around too; I equally love watching television. I love good movies, be it Bollywood, Nollywood, or Hollywood; I like to laugh so much. I love the movies our young people are doing now; they are good and top-notch. I was in Lagos in December for the premiere of ‘Christmas in Lagos’ produced by our princess here, Jadesola Osiberu. It was good. I ran into Femi Adebayo and Chioma at the event and I lauded them for their exceptional talents and what they are doing to elevate the film industry. For instance, Femi Adebayo’s ‘Seven Doors’ is good; it was like it used to be back in the days of yore.
How do you balance tradition and religion?
I give unto the Ceaser what belongs to Ceaser. I won’t stand here and denigrate our tradition, even though I also believe that there are some of our culture and traditions we must move slightly away from. That was why I was a major proponent of the new Oba’s law in the state, especially as it concerns the installation and burial of traditional rulers.
People should also know that the law didn’t tinker so much about installation but the burial of traditional rulers. It forbids mutilation and denigration of the body of an Oba. The law permits you to do your rites, but it gives you a limit that you can go; don’t touch the body. This law still allows people to do their burials in a Christian, Muslim, or traditional way but you can’t mutilate the body of the late king. So, by and large, I attend to all even though I believe that some excesses could be curbed, things should be done decently and with moderation.
What is the uniqueness of Remo people?
Remo people are very resourceful and highly educated. Look at Ikenne Remo, the hometown of our baba, the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, then I don’t know of any town that can match the number of Senior Advocates of Nigeria from that town, and we are also very friendly and that is why investors have continued to come to our domain.
Any taboo?
If we go deep down into the towns that make up the Remoland, I don’t think there is any. We do our Oro and Eluku festival when certain people are told not to move around but civilisation has tampered with some of these things. The Oro is now done at night, maybe from 11pm to 4am. Who will be moving about around this time? Again, it is for a specific number of days.
Since the transition of Olori about four years ago, you have not remarried, and some are saying that you have pledged to remain like that to preserve the loving memory of your late wife. Are these people correct?
We have three wonderful princes of Remo. I had a very beautiful, excellent, and loving relationship with my wife. Sometimes when you have something beautiful going on for you, don’t go and spoil it. It’s just a different ball game having to add to the young boys who you want to raise, and you don’t want any trouble, but it is not to say ‘never, it can’t happen’, neither have I also pledged or taken an oath never to remarry. Yes, she was an excellent wife; we were together for almost 30 years. It could be a bit difficult starting afresh, but everything is in the future, maybe later in the future.
