There were mysterious deaths in my town before I was persuaded to ascend the throne

*The last interview with Ogun monarch shot dead recently

This interview was granted by the late monarch, Onijoun of Ijoun in Yewa North, Ogun State, Oba Jimoh Olubo, before he was killed by unidentified gunmen at Igbogila, Yewa North, on April 16, 2011. It had not been published before his death. Below are excerpts of the interview conducted by KUNLE AKINRINADE

How long have you been on throne as the king of this town?Well, let me first of all correct the impression. I am not the kabiyesi but the Almighty God up there who is the king of kings. I am just an ordinary keeper of the stool and once my time is up, I’ll have no choice but to drop the crown I‘m wearing and leave. But God does not die because He’s the Creator of everyone. But back to your question, I have spent 15 good years on the throne.

How did you emerge as the choice for the throne?To be honest with you, I did not vie for this position but the people of this town begged me to ascend the throne after a protracted crisis over the vacant stool.
What kind of crisis?First of all, I am from one of the royal families of this town but I never contested for the stool because I was still serving in the Army. After the demise of my predecessor, a protracted tussle for the throne engulfed the entire town. Some fathers killed their own sons over the throne while many siblings killed themselves as well. And for about ten years, there was nobody to install as monarch of the town until the kingmakers were left without a choice but to turn to my family for a candidate, hence, I was nominated.
So how did you beat other contestants to ascend the throne?I didn’t defeat anyone because it was not a contest but a walkover. Like I said earlier, a lot of contestants for the throne had died strange deaths and there was no one else in the race. The situation then made the kingmakers to invite me to ascend the throne even though it was difficult for me to accept the offer.
Why was it difficult for you to accept an offer others would have grabbed with their two hands?It was because I was still serving in the Army as an officer and the Nigeria Army authorities were not willing to release me for such appointment.
Why?Well, I was sent on a specialised military course as an officer and I was made to sign a bond that I wouldn’t quit service for six years after the training programme.I was offered the throne mid way into the duration of the bond. On the one hand, I was happy to become a king but on the other hand, the bond almost discouraged me from accepting the offer. But eventually, I had an agreement with the military authorities that I would be shuttling between the palace and the barracks. So, I would first report before attending to the community as a monarch because as an intelligence instructor, I have people to teach or train and I did that throughout the duration of the bond until I was finally released in 1996 after spending over 20 years in the military.
Now, how have you been coping with the challenges of office so far?My guiding principle is honesty. I will never promise things I cannot do. If you seek favour from me and I know that it will be difficult to do it, I will tell you at once no matter how bad it hurts because I am a Christian and my religion abhors lies. Even among my colleagues in the Yewa Council of Obas, they know me as a very blunt person and I wouldn’t do things that negate my principle or belief no matter whose ox is gored.
What about the fetish things that traditionalists perpetrate in various communities across the South-west?If you ask my chiefs, they would tell you that I don’t join them in such acts. Mine is to administer the town while there are chief priests in charge of the deities in the community. They know the time to hold their festivals and I don’t join them in the celebrations.
But your name does not portray you as a ChristianYes, I was born a Muslim and I later became a Christian convert at a point in my life. By the grace of God, I have been to Jerusalem.
What kind of developments has the town witnessed since your enthronement?A lot. You can see that this town is full of solar powered streetlight and if you come here in the night, you won’t believe that you are not in the city because the whole place is usually brightly lit. The project was carried out by a member of the Federal House of Representatives, Hon.Razak Adewusi who incidentally is a son of my predecessor and we are proud of him. Apart from that, he has also sunk boreholes in various parts of the town and equipped our maternity centers with drugs, among many others. That is why I stood against some elements who were saying that he has not done anything since he got into office because even a blind person can see what he has done so far.
What is your opinion of the current administration in Ogun State?The current administration is trying its best to have something to show for its tenure even as it is being confronted with unforeseen challenges. But to say the truth, much as I don’t want to make any comment about the political situation in Ogun State, I feel bad that the state is not enjoying peace in terms of governance. Only recently, about nine members of the Ogun State House of Assembly impeached the majority, thus setting the state backward.
Can you briefly narrate the history of Ijoun?The town was founded by an itinerant warrior called Dagunja who left Oyo town to live in Ketu in Dahomey now Benin Republic. He was called Dagunja because he was fond of going to battle front alone without troops. As you may have read in the history books, Alaketu and Oranmiyan, the founder of Oyo Kingdom, were siblings and that was the reason why Dagunja left Oyo to stay with his kinsmen in Ketu. When he got to Ketu, he was referred to as the ‘omo kekere ijoun’ (a small boy of yesterday) and the appellation stuck on him. But being an independently minded person and a restless one at that, he decided to establish his own domain and the appellation not only became the name of the town but that of his title.