Oba Akinola Oyetade Akinrera, Alatiiri 1, the Olubosin of Ifetedo, a widely-travelled lawyer, investor and philanthropist, says a paradigm shift to bottom-up strategy is imperative to address most of the challenges facing the country. He spoke to KUNLE ODEREMI.
You were upbeat in commemorating the 70th birthday and retirement of one of your subjects, Professor Rashid Adewumi Aderinoye from the University of Ibadan (UI) recently. Why such excitement and what does the ceremony itself entail for your subjects and Ifetedo land as a whole?
The twin event signifies happiness and joy to the entire Ifetedo community. Of course, we were all delighted to be at the University of Ibadan to celebrate one of our sons, Professor Rashid Adewumi Aderinoye as he clocked 70 and retired from public service. He has contributed, in no small measure, to the development of Ifetedo; he has, over the years, assisted many indigenes of the community to secure admission into institutions of higher learning; be it college of education, polytechnic or university. He has also helped many other Nigerian students in Ifetedo by offering them scholarships into higher institutions across the country. Professor Aderinoye has equally assisted many of them to secure employment after their academic programmes. For those, who could not really progress along academic line, he has assisted them in the area of vocational training and further empowered them to be on their own in order to become self-reliant. He assisted in renovating public schools in Ifetedo and was at a time, the national general secretary of the Ifetedo Progressive Union (IPU), during which he served meritoriously under our highly revered late father, Chief Aaron Akinbola, when Baba was the president of the union. And Professor Aderinoye worked tirelessly with Chief Akinbola and their tenure recorded a lot achievements that remain indelible in the minds of all stakeholders in Ifetedo and as Professor Aderinoye turns 70, I make bold to say we, the entire people of Ifetedo, are very happy; we are very happy to celebrate him. Because of that our happiness that you are seeing all of us trooped out for this programme. It is in appreciation of his huge and diverse contributions to the development of the community; it is to say a big thank to him for all he has done for us and for being a good and worthy ambassador of our community, especially having served in many high profile capacities at the national level. Our gesture is also to encourage him to continue in his service to God and humanity, as well as enjoin our other sons and daughters to emulate the good deeds of Professor Aderinoye. He a worthy ambassador and role model in hardwork, integrity and bridge-building
Generally, how would you analyse the state of education in your area, especially at a period the sector is begging for serious attention across the country?
The state of the sector in my area is quite good. It is one of the areas Professor Aderinoye has contributed immensely to sustain and upgrade. It is encouraging because today, I do not know of any sector where we don’t have an indigene of Ifetedo. Is it in engineering, medicine, law, management, mass media, and so on. I hope you know that Oloye Olaolu Ali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the Ago Oba of Ifetedo kingdom is also a son of the soil. And I’m quite delighted that the upcoming Ifetedo indigenes are becoming more and more interested in education. So, in ifetedo land, things are looking up. The evidence is everywhere and we are not resting on our oars.
What are the core issues?
The main challenges facing my area is the absence of federal government. We have the state government because I must be honest because the presence of the Faculty of Law of the Osun State University has tremendously enhanced the status of the community ditto our general hospital. In fact, I’m very appreciative of the state governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, who, upon coming to office, made it a point of duty to renovate the general hospital in ifetedo; he has completely turned the place around; he has equipped it and we have made an appeal to him that he employs medical personnel to the hospital and I’m happy to announce that from August 1, 2020, the governor posted a medical doctor to the hospital.
But there is still no presence of the Federal Government in my area. Its presence will boost rural integration and development, as well as reduce rural-urban migration and promote agro-allied industries because development anywhere in the world, is usually bottom-up and not as we have had over the years.
How do you want the Federal Government to come in; in which specific areas?
Ifetedo is an agrarian community. We have the land; we have the workforce, including skilled manpower and labour. We have the human capacity that requires federal impetus and catalyst to rev the engine of economic growth and development. All that is required is federal presence, encouragement and synergy. We are looking at the possibility of inviting the Federal Government to take advantage of all these and establish a federal school of agriculture in Ifetedo land. The benefits are many; one, it will enhance food security for the nation; such an institution will also provide employment opportunities for the teeming youths not just in Ifetedo alone but for all other communities across the community and beyond.
With the benefit of hindsight as a lawyer, traditional ruler and leading player in the private sector, how do you think we can enhance the status of traditional rulers in the country?
The starting point will be to assign a constitutional role for the traditional institution. It should be expressly enshrined in the constitution. It should be unambiguously stated in terms of the powers, mandate and responsibility of the oba, emir or igwe; that they are empowered to perform specific functions that can tap into the diversity of the people, their potential and dynamics of their environment. Traditional rulers are closest to the grassroots, where the people reside, eke at a living and sustain the larger system. They know the needs, aspirations and demands of the people; they are constantly in touch and interacting with their subjects. So, genuinely and profoundly empowering the traditional rulers constitutionally will translate into bringing governance closer to the people, fostering peace, engendering stability and guaranteeing general security since we are the veritable bridge between the people and government. Peace is sine quo non for development to take place. As the custodians of the culture, customs and tradition of the people, we are in the best position to act as the stabilising force and building blocks for a progressive society and nation. We hold the ace as the real agents of a prosperous, progressive and dynamic enterprise and system in all ramifications.
Government expects us, as the traditional institution, to provide adequate security for our people at the grassroots level. That comes with a lot of responsibility and discipline. Therefore, I think that there should be a form of empowerment for Obas, and other the traditional rulers to do such things because there is no way you can provide security without intelligence. The key element in security, especially when it comes to human security, is intelligence gathering. And you cannot do intelligence gathering empty-handed. You need logistics to this; and for you to do intelligence gathering, you will have to deploy people and those to be deployed expect you to mobilise them. They expect me as the Oba to make them happy. So, I think it is one critical issue we must address in order to make a headway and stablise the system. So, the government should without further delay assign a well-defined constitutional role to traditional rulers; it’s time the vacuum is filled if we are seriously determined and resolute at placing the nation on a sound and firmer pedestal in the comity of nations. We can no longer tolerate the rot in the system; the chain of discordant tunes; the decadence in the society and the abysmal neglect at the grassroots, where majority of the Nigerian population still reside and ply their trade. History will be kind to us if we quickly redress the situation and empower the traditional rulers to exercise constitutional powers required to fast-track genuine development and security as the closest institution to the people.
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