What I saw in Ipebi —Onjo of Okeho

Okeho, the headquarters of Kajola Local Government Council of Oyo State is marking its 100th year in its present location. The Onjo of Okeho, Oba Rafiu Mustapha, in an interview by TUNDE BUSARI, shed more light on the origin and growth of the Oke-Ogun town.

 

How did Okeho come into being?

Okeho came into being in 1680. The history of the town is about the relocation of a prince from Ilaro, known as Ojo Oronna. He came down from Ilaro after he contested the Olu of Ilaro stool but lost to his younger brother. He felt he needed to resettle elsewhere. So, he left Ilaro in the company with some high chiefs, including Jagun, Mogaji, Balogun and others, who had wanted him to become the Olu of Ilaro. They supported him to the end of the matter and followed him on his journey.

 

Where exactly did they settle in the town?

The place is called Omogudu. Omogudu is along Isemile road. It is about 32 Kilometres to the place we call Rest House, which housed the colonial officers. I have to make a clarification at this juncture because it is important to do so to avoid distortion. We cannot establish who first settled here between Ojo Oronna and his people on one hand and Olofin on the other hand.

 

Who is Olofin?

Olofin was an hunter. This is what happened. One day Ojo Oronna, who was a farmer, sighted a rising smoke at some distance. He then decided to trace the smoke. That was how he met Olofin. They became friends and lived happily as neighbours. That was the situation, the peaceful situation until the Dahomey and Fulani Jihadwars between 1800 and 1820 forced many communities to flee to different places. At the end of the day, we had 10 communities co-existing here. The name then was not  Okeho, it was Ojio and Ojo Oronna was the ruler. The new communities accepted the authority of Onjo because of his royal blood and his sense of administration. But the new arrangement, after the new communities came, was that head of each settlers governed the town together. These communities are Olele, Bonje, Ishia, Ogan, IsaleAlubo, OkeOgun, Imoba, Isemi-Okeho and the host town Ijo.  That was the situation until the OnjoArilesere called heads of those communities together to form what is now Okeho. Then other communities turned to quarters.

 

How many Onjo had so far reigned since inception?

I am the eighteenth after 20 years of interregnum, which God helped us to resolve when I was installed.

 

Can you tell us the number of ruling houses in Okeho?

We have only two ruling houses. One, Adeniyi and two, Etielu ruling houses.

I am from Adeniyi ruling house.

 

How many princes showed interest on the stool?

We were 10 contestants.

 

It must be a keen contest then?

It was not really. I was unanimously selected.

 

You must be popular than your co-contestants before the process?

How should I answer that question? What I should say in that regard is that I was known for my love for the town. Despite the distance of my work place, I would always connect with home and what happen in the town. I think, this was one of the things the kingmakers looked into during selection. The lesson therein is that we must always identify with our towns, no matter the situation. Our home is our home.

 

What were you doing before you became the Onjo?

I was an officer of the Nigerian Customs Service. I was Deputy Superintendent of Customs serving in Katsina State Command. My last post was at Gongola border of Nigeria and Niger. That was where I was serving the issue of succession came in 2003. And as a qualified prince, I did not have a choice than to heed the call.

 

Your job at the border must be demanding, are you not missing your days up there?

I cannot say I miss those days. Progress and development of my town are more important to me than any other thing. What I am doing now is service to my town, which I am very happy to be doing on a daily basis. This service should be uppermost in the mind of every prince. I am happy to be back and serving my people as their royal father. There should be no reason to regret serving one’s father’s land. I am comfortable being here after having served the nation.

 

After you were picked as the next Onjo, what happened?

The next thing was movement to Opara House where I spent the next 17 days.

 

Is that the Ipebi?

Yes. That was where I was taken through all the rudiments of the throne. I was tutored on a lot of things I would not have known. We did a lot of rites for the peace and progress of the town. We also did some rites on my personal security on the throne. There was no secrecy in those rites. They are obligations that must be performed by every Oba-elect as custom and tradition require.

 

In the last 10 years of your reign, what changes has Okeho witnessed?

In the last 10 years, I give glory to God for making me a catalyst of development. One, the town has expanded tremendously. In fact, Okeho is not what it used to be again. As the headquarters of Kajola Local Government, we have lived up to that status. In Oke-Ogun here, we are a major town where people from outside the state like to settle. We have about 30 secondary schools now. Oyo State Government has also given us satellite campus of the college of health, science and technology. The college has started operation on a temporary site now.

 

The road from Iseyin down here is fairly good but terminated few kilometres to the town. What is the problem?

I should also ask you to ask why the work did not enter the town. That one is even better. If you go to the road leading to Iganna, you will sympathize with us. That road is the worst anybody can think of. It gives my people and Iganna people serious problem in transporting their goods. It is just nine miles but it is not a good experience for anybody. I am appealing to the government to look into it. If the road is fixed and tarred up to the border, it is shorter to Benin Republic than taking Ibadan-Lagos route. We also appeal to government to give us a university. I mentioned it at the commissioning of the Technical University in Ibadan few months ago. I hope the governor would one day consider it. We are due for it. Also, we want our dam to be upgraded to serve the people with pipe borne water.

 

You said the town was founded in 1680, why are you now celebrating centennial anniversary?

Centennial anniversary is symbolic to the history of Okeho because it was in January 1917 that the people were forced to relocate back to this present site. Let me make it clear here. OjoOronna moved from Omogudu to Ojomu near the Oleyo River. That was the second Ijo. The third Ijo was very close to the present Rest House called Bareke while the fourth Ijo was in old Okeho-Iganna road. That was where the name Okeho was invented.