‘We are an assemblage of traditional rulers of Owu descent’

The Olowu Kuta, Oba Adekunle Oyelude, speaks with TUNDE BUSARI on the meeting of the council and the significance of that meeting to the Owus. Excerpts

Can you shed light on what the Supreme Council of Owu Obas sybolises?

The council, as the name implies, is the assemblage of all traditional rulers of Owu descendants. We meet twice in a year at approved venue, and I am the chairman of the council.

 

Doesn’t the council mean a subtle attempt to separate the Owus from other Yoruba people?

Is that possible? How would that possible? What is the origin of the Owu? Owu is not a sub-ethnic group of Igbo or Hausa or Fulani or Nupe. Owu is Yoruba with origin in Ile-Ife, a place we all acknowledged and revered as the cradle of Yoruba race either in Nigeria, Benin Republic or in the Diaspora. Owu is an indigenous Yoruba town which suffered a war that led to its people moving to different places in Yorubaland. We are not trying to carve out another Yoruba from the Yoruba. What we do is to reawake our identity with a view to doing things in common for the benefit of the Yoruba nation as a whole. How can anybody refer to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo without mentioning his Yoruba race? Do Fulani, Hausa or Nupe bear Obasanjo or Bola Ajibola or the late Tayo Aderinokun? No. And these are Yorubas but of Owu extraction. We are trying to foster unity among ourselves.

 

What are the key points you arrived at after your meeting?

We commended the federal government for its diversification of the economy policy. We have realized that the era of relying only crude oil to power the economy is gone. Then what do we do in that circumstance other than looking elsewhere for alternative means of survival? That where President Muhammadu Buhari has scored a good point. Agriculture is being expanded now. You must be aware of the Lagos-Kebbi partnership on rice production. I am saying it to you that sooner, this country will not need to spend our foreign exchange on importation of items which we have natural and human resources to produce here. I see Nigeria exporting these items to other countries. It is a good development which we should not sweep under the carpet. We also charged the president to accelerate action on security issue in the country. Peace is the bedrock to any development any administration intends to achieve. All the killings here and there are not good for the image of the country. Prospective investors will not be willing to put their money where security is not guaranteed. So, we urged the government to restructure security apparatus to make it easier to confront the situation. Government should see objective criticism from right perspective to encourage the public to offer suggestion. Objective criticism must be seen a check and balance principle of Democratic government. Government of change must be all-inclusive because nobody has monopoly of knowledge in bringing change to society.

 

You must have been disappointed in the government approach so far?

It is not about being disappointed. It is rather about urging the government to do more. As you too can observe the Boko Haram issue is not as pronounced, meaning the government is achieving remarkable success in that area. The National Security Adviser is doing a great job. As a traditional, a royal father to all, must speak encouraging words because peace is paramount to development.

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Having mixed with all major ethnic groups in the country, do you see a more united Nigeria in face of regular threats?

That is why we urged the government to be more proactive on security. We believe that unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable. My experience across the country has taught me this. There is unequalled strength in our diversities.

 

I observe that your town, Owu-Kuta is somehow strategic to other Owu towns. Can you expatiate on this?

Some Yoruba History books, especially the History of Yoruba by Samuel Johnson, will guide you better on the place of Owu-Kuta among other Owu towns and communities. After the war that disrupted Orile Owu, Owu Kuta was the first settlement. It was later others then moved to different locations. To that extent, Owu Kuta is central to them. Here in this palace, I host meetings of Owu sons and daughters because they see Owu Kuta as their home.

 

How has life been on the throne since you became the Olowu?

Life on the throne is a different life by all standards. The throne is a sacred place where the occupier is expected to observe all the righteousness. Being a Muslim or Christian does not remove the fact that you are a traditional ruler who passed through some traditional rites before you are given the crow. What I am saying in essence is that the throne is different from the life one was living as a prince. But I can tell you with all honesty that I have adjusted myself to the throne, and I am happy with what we have achieved so far. As I have said earlier, I am the chairman of the Owu Obas today, and the council is progressing in its duties. Our sons and daughters out there are very proud of us. They share ideas with us, and we look at those ideas and find ways of implementing them.

 

The road leading to your town is not in a good state considering that you host important dignitaries. How do you feel, and what have you done about it?

Of course, there is no traditional ruler that will not want basic amenities for his town. This is telling you that I am not comfortable with the state of that road. But my closeness to the government is an opportunity for me to know the size of the workload carried by the government. I trained myself to be fair in my judgment on issues. Give this fact, it will be unfair for me to castigate the government when I know as you and others do that paucity of fund is the problem faced by government at all level. I have made some efforts but they have not yielded result. But I am sure that the efforts will yield fruit one day. If the road is not fixed before the tenure ends, it would be done when another government comes to power. So far, government is a continuum, I have no doubt in my mind that the road and other amenities we need in the town would be given unto us.