ON July 17, 1999, there was this huge crisis in Sagamu between the Yorubas and Hausas. Since then there has been peace. How do you intend to sustain that?
We’ve already started. The Emir of Kano was the guest of honour at this year’s Sagamu Day. Unfortunately, he could not attend but he did send a representative. Beyond that, the Hausa community are even part of the coronation committee. I’ll tell you a joke about how it happened. When I knew that the Hausa community was coming to see me, I knew that I needed to give them something to take back, and when we finished talking, they said they would love to be appointed as members of the coronation committee; I said ‘no problem.’ So as I was handing out my gift, which was kolanut, to them, they were also bringing out their own kolanut.
I can assure you that things are different now. The amazing thing is that if you even go to Sabo where they are, you will see billboards designed by them for this purpose. It’s just a divine thing and I believe God loves this community. And when people want something, they go out of their way to ensure that there is peace and tranquillity.
At what point in your life did you decide you were going to be Oba?
To be honest, it never occurred to me that one day I’ll be Oba. I have never used the title ‘Prince.’ I think the consciousness came when the past Akarigbo passed on and it was all over the town that I had been chosen, that the kingmakers chose me two months after the Akarigbo’s demise. That was when I asked somebody, what is with me and this throne thing? And then they said don’t you know that your dad was the head of the Torungbuwa Ruling House? Then somebody showed me a copy of the gazette, which has been structured. That was when I knew our ruling House was next in line. I know that the late Sonariwo, anytime he saw me, he would say ‘Tunde, better go and start getting ready for the throne’ and I would just reply ‘me, what is with me and the throne?’ So, I started thinking about this about 12 months ago.
You were a popular choice. Why was that?
Honestly, it beats me. And I think that’s why I decided to put my heart to the race. When this whole thing started, I already had plans to travel for summer and I took off. Then it was all over the place that I ran away, but my mum said no, that wasn’t true. It’s humbling. In life, you reap whatever you sow. I have just been somebody who has done a lot for our people, but it is not with a mindset that I will be paid back. And when people see what you have done, they believe this person is worthy. I was National President of my alma mater, Remo Secondary School for a long time and we did a lot.
We have a good investment in Shagamu I remember a joke one old man said when we had a good investment in Sagamu. The man said ‘don’t you know that it is Irunmole that brought you to build this in Sagamu?’ But for me, it was an investment decision, since Remo could provide a good investment opportunity for the project. So, I think people see in me someone who has given a lot to the community. But beyond that, honestly, I would say I really do not understand it. I have been in seclusion now for almost two to three weeks and the support is huge.
There were speculations that during the race, the high and mighty were supporting one of the candidates. How did you feel during those periods?
All I know in my life is that when you work hard, you get results. We worked hard and we knew we would get results. Besides, the people were on our side. So we knew there was no other power that is beyond God and the community. So, I never doubted for once that we would get results.
The powers of the traditional institutions are declining across the world. What do you think about this, and how do you plan on making the life of your people better?
If you’ve asked me this question 12 months ago, honestly I would not have had a view. But in the last couple of days when I see my people, a lot of them, with so much expectations; the burden of expectation is so huge that people think when you get in there, with your power, you will just say ‘let there be road, let there be schools, let there be this, let there be that.’ And it is so painful personally that our constitution has not provided a clear cut role for traditional rulers. I have now seen that traditional rulers need a clear-cut constitutional role. You can imagine if I have a budget, the resources; because I know the expectations of these people. And, don’t forget, this is a lifetime thing, not something I’d do for four years or eight years, and I owe it to them to do something. So if roles are properly carved out for traditional rulers, I think there will be a meaningful transformation within the society.
Having said that, we are in this business to serve. And I have told people that one thing that we will not be accused of is not trying. We will try, we will demand, we will parley, we will talk to whoever we need to talk to, so that my people will be empowered. We know that we are going to do something.
What do you have in mind to ensure that the youths do not veer off completely from the Yoruba culture?
I have never been someone who is into tradition before now. But, of course, part of the things I was considering was ‘how do I handle things?’ However, you will be amazed that a lot of our people are still involved in traditional methods; in fact, I have had to give assurances to them while meeting with lots of different groups, sects and units. All they just need is arrangement. You see, they are slightly behind in modern things; the tradition, too, needs to move with the modern trend, they need to be organised. Someone asked me if I was going to attend their festivals, and I said ‘why not?’ but they need to plan. If I have my iPad and I have slotted in all the festival days, there is no way I won’t be there. But these things just need to be structured. I have even been told that we have an Ifa School.
As far as Remo is concerned, support for tradition is huge. Even people who have gone to universities, professors, have come to me to discuss topics like Ifa. What they need to know is that the present Kabiyesi is really interested. I’m not going to say because I’m a Christian, I won’t join them. The same way I attend to Christians is the same way I attend to Muslims. And if we give these traditional people the resources, you will be amazed at the results. I cannot see our culture dying, based on my experiences in the last couple of weeks.
For a boardroom person, how has the confinement experience been?
I have not really been so much of a boardroom person. I have been an insolvency practitioner, and that is what I do and have passion for. I’m somebody that is always up and down and, for the first time in my life, I will say this has never happened to me, to be confined to a space for a period of more than three days, not to talk of weeks. But by and large – and this is what I say about modernity – we’ve tried to modernise things. I was told that my predecessor, when he woke up, because he slept on a mat, they had to raise his legs and apply hot water. That’s different now, because we can have our mat and still put out mattress on it. We have a fairly conducive room. I even have CCTV in my room and can see what is going on outside. So we’ve tried to make the best use of this situation. But it’s not really a bad thing. It just teaches me about humility, about sacrifice; you learn a lot and have time to think about so many things, which is what I have done. Despite the fact that I receive visitors from 10 a.m. to about 8 p.m., I still have time. It’s a good cleansing process.
Don’t you think you are losing money by becoming a king?
People have asked me that; but I think that I am at that age when you start thinking about retiring. But by and large, I think it is about sacrifice. When my friends heard, they could hardly believe it, because I am not just that kind of person. But I looked at it and said it is time for me to make a difference with my people. I won’t have been in this position if I had a feeling I was forcing myself on this people. In fact, sometimes I shudder to think of the alternative, because people just had this mindset that it had to be this man. And that is humbling enough. So, it is just a sacrifice. And it is well worth it when you see the reaction of a 90-year-old woman coming and crying that this happened in my lifetime; because it has never happened before that we will have a selection of Akarigbo that is appealing to everybody.
Can you tell us a bit about your educational background and professional journey?
My dad used to say the only thing I can do is to read. I went to Remo Secondary School. I was the National President of the Old Students’ association for a very long time. I also went to the University of Ibadan for my first degree. When I finished, I trained as a Chartered Accountant. And, since I knew I was going to go into Insolvency, I thought I needed to read Law. So, I went to Calabar for my LL.B. I did very well in school; I had the best result and in the Law School too. And that’s me – when I want to do something, I focus on it. Then I went to the University of Lagos for my LL.M. And I have taken lots of fellowship exams. I was the first INSOL fellow in Nigeria. Now, we have three fellows in Nigeria.
Why did you go to Calabar for your Law degree?
There is a story behind it. I had already finished my Accountancy and was already working and we got a massive job in Calabar. I was 26 then and was General Manager. But then, Calabar was a civil service town, so by three, four o’clock, you have nowhere to go. So, I told my principal then that I wanted to do an MBA, but he dissuaded me and encouraged me to do Law. And because I was GM of a massive company, I had the connections; I was able to call the Vice-Chancellor and tell him I wanted to do Law. So, I packaged my documents and started the admission process. The trouble was when we finished the job we had in Calabar, I had to go back to Lagos. And Law School too; we were the first set of students to go to Law School in Abuja.
What is your passion, your agenda for the Yoruba nation?
I think a lot has been said about that and I don’t think I really have anything to add to the idea of unity, cohesion, because once we are divided, we cannot get what we rightly deserve. With all due respect to other tribes in the country, Yorubas are trailblazers, we have achieved a lot in every sector of the economy, and we cannot be pushed to the background; and I think one of the institutions that can be a voice for the Yoruba nation is the traditional institutions. When we assume power, we will be a voice, because our people will know that we are truthful. What we are bringing is sincerity. Our people don’t want much; so once you are sincere with them; that’s it.
What does your mother think about this?
My mum is from a royal family too, Makun. And that’s one of the things that is working for me. I was invited to the Makun Day and people told me ‘you can’t go’ because they will be seeing you as a Makun person. But I am. My late maternal great-grandfather was the Ewusi of Makun. So on my mum’s side, we have a connection to the throne and the same thing with Ofin. So Makun people are saying ‘it is our man that is there’ and Ofin people are responding with ‘no, he is our man.’ And I think that is why the whole thing is really working out. I am proud to be both.
Regarding my mum, her reactions were just like any mother. She was like ‘they want to take you away from me’ but at the end of the day, that’s where motherly love comes in; she would say her own and immediately she sees where you are going, she will give you all the support and connections that she could deploy into the process. And it is very rare for a new king to have his mother alive. We thank God she is able to witness this.
Will you be bold enough to confront the state governor with the truth if he is going astray?
Why won’t I be able to? Truth is a very important thing. And I will tell you something about the governor, based on what he has demonstrated to me personally; and I have said this to his face: that he is a good man. Can you imagine a situation where our governor was interested in a candidate during this last process and the candidate was not us? But what the government did was to stand aside and allow that process to take its course. The day it took its course, he invited me to Abeokuta and that was a masterstroke, because all agitations just died with it. On that score, we are personally indebted to him, because he allowed the process take its course.
Having said that, I do not know why one will be afraid of telling the truth. We do not seek to embarrass the government; there are always channels of communication; I consider him as a friend and I am not that person who cannot tell his friend the truth; and it is not a fight, there is space for criticism. And when he’s doing very well – as he has done . . . if you try and conduct an opinion poll on the government now, his ratings are very high, because the mileage the government got from allowing the process take its course is huge.
How do you start off?
We have professional experience in the boardroom. We are going to move hi-tech. We already have panels, committees constituted; it’s more like a government taking over. We have a transition committee mapping out different sections, and we have blueprints for different sectors: infrastructure, communication, education, roads; we have them all planned out. Unfortunately, we don’t have a budget from government, but we want to have all those areas mapped out and the goals we want to achieve. The beauty is that we have a lifetime to achieve these goals and we will take it one by one.
What’s the selection process like?
The kingmakers were guided by Ifa, but they cannot use Ifa to select. The key thing is that you have seven kingmakers who come together and consult the oracle, which is to guide them on which candidate is good for the community. Once they have that pool of candidate, then they can put it to a vote and recommend the most popular choice to the government. Once government approves, the king is selected.
We have two forms of ceremonies: the traditional one and the government ceremony. When I leave here, which is the traditional one, the icing on the cake is the government ceremony.
and then