Now that Akarigbo of Remo is on throne

T HE widespread acceptance, joy and excitement that greeted the nomination, approval and coronation of the His Royal Majesty, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, the Torungbuwa II, as the Akarigbo of Remo surely came not just as an epochal moment in the history of the Remo Land, Ogun State and Nigeria in general, but as a golden opportunity of positive fortune change for each of these entities. To interpret this development as an insignificant reality is to sustain the prolonged error of blindness to the true socioeconomic status and significance of the Remo sub-ethnic nation. Actually, it is the need to open our societal inner eyes in this regard that has inspired this piece. For RemoLand, the filling of the exalted stool after a prolonged vacancy, which was actually strange in the Akarigbo history, to the delight of all indigenes and residents of the Remo Kingdom, irrespective socioeconomic and political differences was, and is still, an opportunity of rebirth for us.

The peace that spread round theRemo towns and villages all through the stages of Akarigbo enthronement, which no single human or heavenly voice opposed, was a rare opportunity for us to realize the priceless value of unity. Sincerely-speaking, to see my people put aside their multiple differences to dine, wine and dance together in a manner that suggested that they had just won a jackpot was a marvel to me. It was like a fairy tale, a real life dream, judging by the widespread uncertainty and rumour-mongering that seemed to have divided the people on the basis of varied candidate loyalty during the prolonged tussle for the throne. My take is that making the unreserved unity that welcomed Oba BabatundeAdewaleAjayi a permanent feature of the Remo land is our first key, as a people, to fully take advantage of the opportunity that the new Akarigbo has brought along. In concrete terms, we need to bury all internal grievances that have polarized our towns, villages, communities, traditional monarchs and many other societal institutions. We need to henceforth reason together to be able to see together.

What to see together is surely what we have always seen differently. That thing is our core problem that we need to collectively address to be able to have a united voice and identity in our relationship with the world. The present historical moment has made this task a very easy one, in my humble estimation. No one can deny that the people of Remo, in their social, economic and political diversities, now have a rallying point of unity in the personality of the current Akarigbo of Remo whom all sons and daughter of the soil love and perceive as their true father. The only barrier that, however, stands between us and the attainment of this is our capacity to move beyond mere words to actually work with the His Royal Majesty, to look inwards to discover the real problem that has prevented us from benefitting from our strategic status in Ogun State, Nigeria and Yoruba nation.

After achieving a united voice on our common problems and the need to rally round our common Royal Father to addressing them, the next opportunity to utilize in the new Akarigbo is the virtue of excellence. Again, no one would deny that the horse on which His Royal Majesty has ridden to the exalted office is excellence in all aspects. Oba Babatunde Ajayi is indeed a living example of human excellence, if perfection is actually impossible for humans. His journey through life has dramatized the Yoruba adage that advises that after being born, every man must get himself reborn. The factor that has moved his life, from stages to stages, opening doors for him, has never been the royal blood flowing in his veins. Rather, he has been fired by an undying zealto work hard and excel in everything he lays his hands upon. Hence, his enviable qualities of unblemished character, academic soundness and professional proficiency are a combined asset that Remo must prepare itself to explore to maximum advantage.  But, we must be ready to align with the dynamism and progressive ideals, I am sure, His Royal Majesty will attempt to deploy in a bid to change the Remo fortune for the better.

Essentially, there can’t be a more auspicious moment than now for our royal fathers in charge of Remo towns and villages to close ranks, so that our new royal pilot would find it easy navigating our destiny plane, safely, through the turbulent airspace of Ogun State, a State reputed as a hotbed of competing enlightened groups, and of Nigeria in general. Talking of the opportunities offered by the current joyous mood of Sagamu and all other Remo communities to Ogun State, a bitter truth comes to mind. The Gateway State has, for long, shortchanged itself when it comes to taking advantage of its vantage position as the Gateway to the Nation. What an irony! The prolong neglect of Sagamu, in terms of infrastructure development, prior to the coming of the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration, has not just constituted a great disservice to the Remo people but a disastrous blow on the growth and developmental potentialities of the entire state.

However, the unity of purpose exhibited by the good people of Remo Kingdom and the speedy alignment of the dynamic government of the State with the choice of the people that has led to a hitch-free coronation provides the government with the conducive atmosphere for the success of its development agenda. If anything is true, it is the fact that the attractiveness of the Sagamu axis to global industrialists and investors has always been enormous.  But the state of intra city infrastructure that would make the terrain an irresistible paradise to investors is generally poor. The effect of this sad tale has been a seeming loss of sense of belonging by the average Remo indigene and resident in his or her perception and attitude towards Ogun State. Much thanks to the Urban Renewal of the Amosun Government that has made us feel a bit relieved of the ‘South-West Niger-Delta’ mentality that had begun to form in us. A mentality of the neglected that would manifest most in youth militancy, a trend that people with inner eyes could see clearly as gradually evolving in our youthful populace.

Sincerely, the fragile peace that Ogun State and Nigeria, as a whole, have enjoyed in Remo Land, which is the ultimate Gateway of the Nation’s economic activities, has majorly been the untiring handiwork of Remo stakeholders under leadership of our traditional rulers, chiefs and Baales, patriots who were always on the streets to ensure that our boys and girls did not succumb to frustration. Kudos! On the whole, the spirited efforts of the elderly and the recent unity of purpose between the Remo people and the Ogun State government would not automatically take the Remo Kingdom, Ogun State and Nigeria to the promised land. What would do the magic is the concerted efforts of all stakeholders to utilize the boundless opportunities that history has offered through the emergence of a young, thoroughbred intellectual as the Akarigbo of Remo.

• Oba Emmanuel King is the Akile of Makun-Sagamu kingdom in Ogun State