A must Read Not a laughing matter for royal fathers

At a time when masqueraders, art works and other symbols of traditional institutions are being desecrated, Femi Makinde writes on the experiences of some royal fathers in Osun State who have been humiliated or attacked for different reasons

Compared to what obtains in many places nowadays, the kingship institution used to command a lot of respect in the past in Yorubaland. The Kabiyesi,  which simply means the unquestionable,  were revered  by their subjects.

Then, an Oba could do anything in his domain without anybody questioning him. But things have changed. While subjects now drag monarchs to court  for different reasons, some unfortunate ones are dealt blows and attacked with cudgels by aggrieved subjects.

Recent  in Osun State, which prides itself as the State of the Virtuous, have shown that obas appear to have now become an endangered species.  Some of them are being hunted by their subjects and hoodlums who take pleasure in desecrating the sacred abode of those who are referred to as representatives of God on earth.

The incident of November 20, 2013 marked the peak of  the desecration that has befallen the institution of obaship especially in the state.

The Loja of Ilashe Ijesa, Oba Adesina Anibijuwon, had woken up on that fateful day in the rusty small town he had ruled for over 22 years without knowing that it was going to be his last day on earth.  The monarch was killed in a way too painful for an old man of about 85 who had hitherto been suffering total blindness.

His assailants were said to have earlier come and demanded to see him but they were told that he was asleep. They reportedly left a message that they wanted to visit three other places and come back with the hope that the octogenarian would have woken up from sleep.

True to their promise, they went back to the palace and suddenly one of them was said to have brought out a gun and pointed it to the head of the housemaid. Other strange visitors headed for the room where the monarch was staying and strangled him.

A wild fire broke out immediately the strange men left and the housemaid managd to escape. But the monarch was burnt in the inferno. It was gathered that while the palace was on fire, some of the chiefs went into hiding, raising suspicion among some residents that the killing might have been orchestrated by those who were tired of having an 85-year-old blind min as the Oba of the town.

Residents said that fire fighters who came to put off the fire tried but in vain as they ran out of water. The two storey-building was completely burnt and many who visited the scene expressed the opinion  that the structure should be pulled down to prevent it from collapsing on anybody or adjacent buildings.

The Sasore of Ilase, Chief Oluwagbemiga Oke, speaking on the incident, expressed surprise. He said there was no land dispute nor chieftaincy tussle in the town and thus wondered why the hoodlums  killed the monarch.

Chief Jumoke Ogunkeyede,  whose brother gave  the burnt residence to the monarch because the palace was under  construction,  also described the incident as shocking.

He said, “We heard that the three persons  came in a red Mazda 323. They escaped after killing the Kabiyesi and we learnt that their car had veered off into the bush while they were speeding away. We invited journalists  from the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, at Ibokun. But while they were coming to take photographs of the car, they saw that it had been set ablaze.

“They  ( hoodlums) also removed  the number plate of the car, if at all they fixed any  to it when they brought it. I believe that they set the car ablaze to conceal their identities. But the police can still find a way of unravelling those behind the killing and arson.”

All those who visited the burnt palace concluded that the fire was arson, not an accident. One of the fire fighters, who spoke with representatives of Governor Rauf Aregbesola during their visit to the scene, said he suspected arson.

But many natives of the town are still surprised at why the king was killed.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the monarch had been having what some natives described as spiritual attacks since he ascended the throne. He was said to have lost his eyes during one of such experiences.

But some natives of the town in the Diaspora told our correspondent that those who contested against him should be thoroughly investigated to know if they know anything about the attack. They also cautioned that the investigation must not be limited to such people alone while advising that security agents should look for his killers everywhere.

Remanded in prison

While circumstances beyond the control of some of the Obas in Osun State have led to the disparaging of  their position, some of them had through their shameful actions, brought ridicule upon themselves.

The monarch  of Igbadae, Oba Olanrewaju Olaosebikan, was remanded in prison custody on the order of a Magistrate Court for an alleged attempt to kill one Mr. Alake.  Magistrate Olalekan Ijiyode, who presided over the case heard  in August 2013,  dumped  the monarch in Ilesa Prison based on the allegation. The allegation is yet to be proved before the court, but the humiliation  the monarch experienced is far from being enviable.

The Prosecuting Counsel,  from the Department of Public Prosecution, Mr. O. Faremi, had told  the court that the monarch  attempted to kill one  Alake with a double barrel gun but missed his target and the bullet killed a sheep instead.

He told the court that the accused person by his action committed an offence contrary to the law and punishable under Section  320 volume 2 of Criminal Code Law of Osun State. Although the monarch has not been pronounced guilty by the court and he could be innocent of the allegation, the fact that a monarch who is the head of the town was bundled inside the same place with common criminals is humiliating.

Another Oba accused of rape

Another incident that can be traditionally called an insult on the royal institution  is the dragging to the court of the Alowa of Ilowa, Oba Adebukola  Alli, by a female member of the National Youth Service Corps, Miss. Hellen Opara,  for alleged rape.

Justice Jide Falola of Osun State High Court,  after about three years of legal battle,  discharged and acquitted the Oba but not without scolding the monarch for dragging royalty in the mud by having sexual intercourse with a corps member in his domain – one  who is young enough to be his daughter.

Opara,  who served in Alli’s domain between 2010 and 2011, claimed that the monarch took her to his private residence in Osogbo, the state capital,  where he forcefully had sex with her. But the monarch denied the claim saying the ex-corps member was his girlfriend. Opara had said at a press conference that Alli raped her without using a condom.

The former corps member had explained   that she got acquainted with the monarch during the last voter registration exercise in Ilowa and he  (Alowa) eventually asked her to assist him to facilitate computer training programme for his subjects.

She said,” On Friday, March 25, 2011, I came to the computer centre and found some pupils and some community members seated. I introduced the programme to them and gave them forms, which I later collected from them. After all was done, I dismissed the pupils and told the Oba that I wanted to leave.

“The  Alowa proffered to drop me off, but on getting to the place of my primary assignment, he sped past, telling me that we had to go to Osogbo together so that I could enter the names of the pupils into the computer in Osogbo. He added that we also had some other issues to discuss.”

She claimed that she was served drinks by the housemaid at the Alowa’s residence in Osogbo and later the monarch started caressing her, but she refused his sexual advances. Her refusal, she added,  angered the Kabiyesi who, she claimed,   locked her up in one of the rooms in the house.

 “When he got in, he said I was mad and that I should go into the room, where he stripped me naked. I pleaded that I was naked but he said I should go there, promising that he would not touch me. When I went in there, I was kneeling down, crying and pleading with him but he laid on me forcefully. When I screamed, he said nobody would hear me. When he was done, he went into his room, had his bath and dressed up. I told him to go and drop me.

“He dropped me off and on getting home, I called the corps liaison officer and the local government inspector, who took me to the police station in Obokun, where I narrated the incident,” she added.

Although Oba Alowa has been discharged, Osun State Government has filed an appeal  to challenge the verdict.  While Nigerians are patiently waiting to see how the matter will unfold, the case has, to some extent,  portrayed the monarch in bad light and ridiculed the position, which was once revered. For instance, those who followed the case would not forget a day when the monarch lay flat on the floor in the courtroom due to illness. Many residents said that if the Kabiyesi had not caused his humiliation, there was no way he would have been so treated.

Invasion of Olokuku’s palace

A gang of armed robbers stormed the palace of the Olokuku’s of Okuku, Oba Oyebode Oluronke, in 2008 and stole crowns,  insignia and paraphernalia of office.

The most intriguing aspect of the palace invasion was that it took place around 10.00 am. The hoodlums who drove into the palace in three vehicles were said to be around 10. They overpowered the palace guards and tied them to a pole while they continued to move away what mattered to them.

In a show of utter disregard for the monarch, the hoodlums were said to have woken the Kabiyesi up as he was said to be relaxing and took away his invaluable property right before his eyes and he was helpless.

Not done, the marauders searched and found two brand new cars parked within the palace and drove them away.

About two months earlier, a gang of hoodlums had carried out a similar raid at the palace of the Olobagun of Obagun in Ifelodun Local Government Area which is less than 10 kilometers away from Okuku.  The raid was believed by many to have had political undertone and many argued that that kind of painstaking robbery would not have been possible if there was no politics behind the whole thing.  They stole crowns and other property in the palace and left the place only when they were satisfied that they had taken enough.

Reasons for increasing desecration

Many believe that some monarchs are bringing disrepute to the institution because of their approach to life.  A monarch who does not want his name in print said that politics was part of the problem. He said that some governors would just prop up somebody they consider to be sympathetic to their cause and decide to impose such on the people,  not minding  whether they are qualified or not.

He said, “In a situation where somebody who is not qualified to ascend the throne is imposed on the people, what do you expect? Strange things will begin to happen because they denied the rightful candidate access to the throne of his ancestors and install strangers.

“ If there is any problem in my domain now and I don’t know what to do, I will go to my father’s grave and speak to him. He would hear me because I am his son. But if a stranger in a palace comes across such situation who will he speak to?”

The Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba Olayiwola Olawale,  and the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdulrasheed Olabomi, asked the government to beef up security around palaces and traditional rulers.

The Akinrun said that he was worried that palaces of obas were now under constant attack from hoodlums,  saying government should deploy security operatives to protect the custodians of tradition and culture of the people from harassment and humiliation.

He said, “ I believe that those who killed the Kabiyesi of Ilashe would have been challenged if he had security operatives attached to him. They just went in unchallenged and killed him. This is unfortunate and I condemn the killing. We should do more on security of lives and property of everyone including kings.”

Oba Olabomi said, “The barbaric act is highly unfortunate. That shows how vulnerable Obas are now. While I want the government to provide more security for obas, I also want to task each community to look inward and fashion out ways to protect their royal fathers.

“It is an insult on any town whose oba is molested or killed. Our people should also join in the efforts to stop the desecration of palaces and obaship position by criminals.”