We balance tradition with people’s rights —Alagbara

Oba Lukman Jayeola Agunbiade, Olute 111, Alagbara of Agbara, is not only a first class traditional ruler in Ogun State, he also holds two Masters degrees in Finance and Law. In this interview by OLAYINKA OLUKOYA, he speaks on the menace of Fulani herdsmen and on his developmental plans for the community, among others.

Could you please tell us about your journey to the throne?

My journey to the throne was miraculous because I never thought of becoming a traditional ruler. Although I am from a royal family, I never thought the mantle of leadership will fall on me, knowing full well that I have elder brothers who are equally fit to occupy the throne. I was of the belief that one of them should be considered instead of me, particularly being a practicing lawyer and a part-time lecturer. After the demise of my predecessor, Oba Gbadebo Agunbiekun and after the completion of the burial rites, I received a phone call from our family head that I should come home. Then I was abroad attending a conference in 2011. He told me that the next Alagbara of Agbara will be picked from our ruling house. He said that as it is customary, that they had consulted the oracle and that I was the one chosen.

I pleaded with him that the information should be kept as a secret between us and told him I had no interest in becoming an oba. I told him that I have elder brothers that could be made king and I am ready to give them the necessary backing. He told me that, as the head of the family, he has sons that can equally contest for the throne but that I was clearly chosen by Ifa and that must be respected. He insisted that things must be done according to customs and traditions. I did not agree with this position. I told myself that I would not have gone this far by acquiring two Masters Degrees in Law and Finance if I knew that one day I would become a traditional ruler.

Later, I remembered that my late father, High Chief Ishola Agunbiade, had called me and told me about the history of Agbara; the issues relating to obaship, the ruling houses involved and other things I needed to know about the town. I pleaded with him to give me an opportunity to invite two or three of my brothers to be part of the meeting. He obliged me. He told me everything about Agbara, brought out the paraphernalia of Obaship in the presence of my elderly ones and handed everything over to me. I told him to give these things to any of those present. I told him that I cannot take those things to Lagos where I live. My elder brothers encouraged me to collect it.

My father told us then that the next Alagbara will come from our ruling house and that if there is any one of us that is chosen, the person should not reject it. I remembered what he told me and I went back to the Olori Ebi, asking him to name his price and forget about what Ifa oracle had spoken about me being the choice. I told him I don’t want to become an oba and that I was ready to support any other person from our ruling house. He vehemently refused my offer.

However, I have a brother who was so interested in ascending the throne and he is the current Bada of Agbara. I begged the family to pick him. Another round of consultation was held. I was the only candidate that did not show up. Again, the Ifa oracle picked me and a phone call was put through to me that I was the one picked by the oracle.

With this development, I decided to consult elders and seek for their advice. Many of them told me not to reject it. They described the choice as providence that must be embraced. I can never forget the role played by my friend, Chief Abayomi Tella, on this matter. He begged me not to turn down the offer. I consulted my pastor as well and, after praying for me, he told me that my appointment was divine. After all said and done, I conceded to the pleas and persuasions sometimes in 2012. After much ado, the state government gave me an approval on June 20, 2016 to be the Alagbara of Agbara Kingdom and my coronation was done on August 20, 2016.

What has been your experience in administering your people for almost a year now?

It has been very challenging because administering a community is a different ball game. It is not a boardroom issue. I came from the private sector as a practicing lawyer and accountant of a company before retiring to my own private practice in legal and tax consultancy. It is a different ball game because you are going to administer people from different backgrounds, colours, behaviours and different age groups.

It has not been an easy ride, but to God be the glory because prior to my ascension I prayed to God to give me the wisdom of Solomon in carrying out my assignment. I am the youngest in the palace, surrounded by the older ones. You have to be a paragon of patience in listening before taking any decision and withstand the unreasonableness of some litigants that will be bringing issues before you. There are many interests that are always at stake and you have to balance them; you have to maintain equilibrium. You have to do that without being biased or sentimental. Agbara is a cosmopolitan town and one needs to govern with the fear of God. We balance tradition and the rights of people living here.

How do you ensure peaceful co-existence among people from different ethnic groups considering the recent crisis in Ile Ife?

Respecting the rights of others will bring about friendliness and brotherliness. Here in Agbara, we consider things that will favour all and sundry. Like the example I gave earlier, whenever there is Oro rites, we ensure that adequate information is disseminated to the people. We start the rite at about 12.00am when we believe that anybody should not be outside. Even those who are traveling into the town would have been informed by the police because their station is located at the entrance of the town. We always put other people’s interest into consideration. As an oba, you are the custodian of culture and tradition. In my community here, I ensure that there is no friction among the three religions being practiced. One religion must not disturb the other. We must be able to tolerate ourselves and co-habit in a peaceful manner. The Ile-Ife incident was an unfortunate one. We are all Nigerians and we must promote peace and love among ourselves. I want our people to see reason why we must not engage ourselves in a needless crisis.

The activity of Fulani herdsmen across the states of the nation has become a nightmare. What do you think should be done to curb the menace of these people?

The Fulanis are part of us. They are Nigerians but I believe it is high time the Federal Government intervened by providing a workable and lasting solution to this matter.

What are your developmental plans for Agbara? What effort is being made about the deplorable condition of the road leading to this town?

When I came to the throne I have plans for my town and my main plan is to bring developmental projects to this community and liaising with appropriate authorities; the local, state and possibly the federal governments to ensure that we have projects that could make life more meaningful to the people. For example, within this shortest time on the throne, I have been able to facilitate the issuance of driving license here in Agbara by liaising with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). By this, anyone that wants to procure drivers’ license do not need to travel to Ota or Abeokuta before they can get it. I am happy that it is during my time that the state government created Agbara/Igbesa Local Council Development Area (LCDA). I am using this opportunity to commend our governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, for bringing government closer to the people.

Also, when I came to the throne, I commenced an industrial tour, visiting some of the companies here to know how they have been performing their corporate social responsibility. I told them that it is no longer business as usual that they must be responsible to the community, because for every industrial activities, there will always be positive and negative externality effects. The negative externality effect is the degradation of our environment, pollution of both air and water. Heavy duty trucks loaded taking finished goods to the selling points damage our roads. Their positive externality effect must be able to cushion the negative externality effect on the environment. The positive externality effect is provision of employment for our teeming youths, provision of pipe borne water and other infrastructural facilities, such as building of schools, hospitals. Some of these companies have done one or two things, but to me, they still need to do more.

Plans are underway to organise what I called Agbara Stakeholders’ Forum where representatives of each of the corporate bodies will be a part of; we will be able to establish an endowment fund for the community. The Palace and representatives of these donors will be the trustees of the fund which will be used judiciously in the overall interest of the people and the community as a whole.  On the road, I am very sure that within a short space of time, reconstruction work will start on that road. Work will soon start because we have received the signal.

The activities of these herdsmen have now become so notorious. Recently, the issue of the herdsmen came up in Yewa Traditional Council based on reports from our communities, especially those ones at the border areas. If the solution is going to be in form of legislation, government(s) should let it be. They should create grazing areas for these people to rear their animals, let there be so that there will be peace. A situation whereby a herdsman will be carrying ammunition should not be encouraged. In fairness to them, some of them are very pleasant and friendly, but one wonders why they carry dangerous weapons around. All arms of government must be involved and the solution must be realistic.