Remembering the late Olugbon

Oba Samuel Adegboyega Osunbade, the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, a great king in Yorubaland, has gone to join the ancestors.

The traditional ruler with a great personal profile changed the face of Orile-Igbon in Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State with his expertise and zeal to uplift the exalted throne and the land of his fathers. Historically, the Olugbon was among the top provincial rulers of the Oyo kingdom. However, Igbon was one of the early casualties of the destructive forces unleashed on the kingdom from the beginning of the 19th century by Afonja. By 1830, the community had scattered and a section of its people, with the Olugbon, found refuge in Ogbomoso. His predecessor, Oba Akanni, started the resettlement efforts at Orile-Igbon and after the of Oba Osunbade on the 24th July, 1992, he continued the resettlement efforts with notable strides.

The strides include the removal of the consent of the Soun whenever subsequent Olugbons will be installed as recommended by the Oloko Commission of Inquiry, which emphasised that the Olugbon ranks second to the Alaafin in the state in terms of traditional hierarchy. He also embarked on a quest to have Orile-Igbon as the headquarters of a newly established local government in 1996, which was a great feat for his people. Subsequently, he became the Vice Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas. Many developmental projects that have attracted various government agencies in the community were largely based on his philanthropic gestures.

The traditional ruler with a flourishing accounting practice in the city of Lagos was prepared for all the struggles with government institutions for all these visible developments of Orile-Igbon. As a student in England, he was the General Secretary of All African Students Union and also the President of the Nigerian Union of Students in England and Ireland, which afforded him the opportunity to visit a lot of African countries. In 1967, he led a delegation of Nigerian students from England to pay a visit to the General Yakubu Gowon–led Federal Military Government to intervene in the national crisis at the outbreak of the Civil War.

I had the opportunity of meeting the traditional ruler in his Ogbomoso home. He greatly encouraged me when I embarked on the noble cause of writing the biography of my maternal grandfather who was his spiritual father while he was the under shepherd of First Baptist Church, Okelerin, Ogbomoso.

As described by Reverend Okesiji, Oba Osunbade truly cared about the work of God and his leadership charisma was evident in his wisdom regularly doled to other traditional rulers around him. He was not a hindrance to anyone within and outside his community who worshipped the triune God.

Unfortunately, the great story of a noble king and activist had a dark lining in 2012 when his son, Prince Aderoju Osunbade, died in an air crash. This deeply affected the traditional ruler till he eventually gave up the ghost on 14th October, 2016. The ruler credited with glowing tributes from across the globe as a boardroom colossus, a traditional ruler of repute and a devout Baptist, has completed his terrestrial 82-year race. The king served both divinity and humanity.

Olutayo Irantiola

Lagos, Nigeria.