Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona

LANRE BABALOLA

For Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, this is a season of accolades. The Ijebu monarch, who is regarded as the longest serving in the country, on 2 April clocked 54 years on the throne of his forefathers.

For Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, this is a season of accolades. The Ijebu monarch, who is regarded as the longest serving in the country, on 2 April clocked 54 years on the throne of his forefathers.

Apart from this feat, Oba Adetona will on Saturday, 10 May, mark his 80th birthday.

In preparation for the birthday, a world press conference was organised by a group of professionals under the aegis of the Ijebu Renaissance Group, IRG.

Spokesman of the group and deputy chairman of the Publicity sub-committee of the planning committee for Awujale’s birthday, Chief Adetokunboh Fassy-Yussuf, revealed that the six-day event will commence on Sunday, 4 May with a special thanksgiving service at the Cathedral Church Saviour, Italowajoda-Ijasi, Ijebu-Ode.

On Tuesday, 6 May, the programme shifts to the Adeola Odutola Events Hall, where a colloquium on the Ijebu nation and a coffee-table book on Oba Adetona will be presented to the public.

There will be a football competition on Wednesday, 7 May, at the Otunba Dipo Dina International Stadium, Ijebu-Ode. This will be followed by a grand reception at the Oba S.K. Adetona Golden Jubilee Centre, Ijebu-Ode, where about 50 monarchs in Ijebuland are expected to pay homage to the Awujale.

The grand finale comes up on 10 May with a luncheon at the Marquee, located inside the Otunba Dipo Dina International Stadium, Ijebu-Ode.

The paramount Ijebu monarch mounted the throne on 2 April, 1960 when he was just a little under 26 years old. His journey to the throne began in 1960 when he was recalled from the United Kingdom where he was studying Accountancy.

His nomination as the Awujale of Ijebuland was earlier approved by the government of the defunct Western Region through a letter dated 4 January, 1960.

Born on 10 May, 1934 to the Anikilaya Ogbagba Royal Family of Ijebu-Ode, Oba Adetona has every reason to give thanks to God. This is because his reign has been a monumental success and a pride to the Ijebu people. The monarch personifies the attributes of Ijebu people which include fierce and sturdy independence, candour, objectivity, sincerity, entrepreneurial spirit, reliability and resoluteness.

Since 1960, Oba Adetona has succeeded in raising the status and reckoning of the Ijebu people. He is regarded as one of the country’s greatest monarchs dead or alive. A philosopher and social scientist, Oba Adetona’s fame and popularity extend beyond the shores of Nigeria.

The Awujale is also devotedly committed to the Nigerian state. He was in the camp of those trying to find solution to the national political logjam between 1993 and 1998. During the crisis, Oba Adetona consulted widely and hosted several fora. He was never a sell-out. He brokered peace and concord in 1998 and 1999 and prevented the balkanisation of the country. During the dark days of the late maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha, the Awujale was among the few leaders that stood to be counted on the side of history. He refused to sell his soul for filthy lucre. He was never corrupt. He spoke his mind and was never afraid to step on the toes of those in authority. Time has indeed vindicated him on his position on all the issues.

Apart from building bridges across rivers Niger and Benue, the Ijebu monarch admonishes his people to be thoroughbred wherever they find themselves.

One additional way of looking at Oba Adetona is from the perspective of a monarch who has the fear of God. He succeeded in bringing about religious harmony among his people to the extent that religion does not dichotomise the Ijebu. The Christians live in harmony with Muslims in Ijebuland.

Never in the history of Ijebu kingdom have the people been so blessed with a monarch who is not only a motivator and a social mobiliser but also a monumental achiever and strategic moderniser.

Ever since he ascended the throne, Oba Adetona has deployed his sagacity, creative talents and charismatic leadership qualities and exposure to attract the attention and respect of other ethnic groups in the country. He reorganised the traditional age grades/groups into formidable fusions that are not only providing for their needs but are also the focus of development in Ijebuland.

In his quest to develop his land, Oba Adetona mobilised his subjects to build an ultra-modern palace without recourse to funding by any tier of government and this he also achieved in the construction of the palace extention now named Oba Adetona Golden Jubilee Centre.

It is also on record that the yearly Ojude Oba festival, held two days after the Eid-el-Kabir, has assumed a global status through the influence of the monarch. The festival is now a spectacle to behold, with sponsors queing up for the anticipated mileage.

For his services to the nation, the Federal Government bestowed on Oba Adetona Commander of the Order of The Federal Republic, CFR. The monarch is the Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Yola and privately-owned Crescent University, Abeokuta.

He has also been conferred with several honorary degrees by several tertiary institutions.