Were you approached to become a monarch or was it a decision you
took on your own?
We
have one ruling house and four segments in all. To cut the long story short,
the stool was monopolised by one of them for a long time without any plan to
relinquish the post for others. So the other segments went to court and they
won. After the judgement, I was invited to become the Oba. When they invited
me, who am I to say no? I was invited.
What has kingship status changed about your life?
Before
I became king, whenever I travelled and I saw roasted plantain and groundnuts,
I normally stopped to buy them but I cannot do that now. When I was just a
business man, I would stop to buy the roasted plantain and I could even sit
down with the seller and eat it there but now, I cannot do it, I miss that a
lot.
How did you feel when Forbes Magazine ranked you as the richest
monarch in Nigeria and the second richest monarch in Africa?
The
people that came out with that list know what they saw before they came out
with the ranking, I don’t know what they saw. I don’t know the people that
rated me; neither do I know how they came about the rating. Mine is to look at
my purse to know whether I am being flattered or not. When you hear such a
thing, you will be happy but I do not know the people that came out with the
ratings.
But what is your net worth?
I
don’t know how much I am worth. I would not tell a lie but I do not know what I
am worth in this country and in the world but I know that I am living well and
I can afford my three square meals a day.
How do you relax?
When
I wake up in the morning as early as 6am, I run round the house then I spend
some time in the gym doing some exercises. After that, I have my bath and take
breakfast. Sometimes I listen to music. I read a lot of books about the Yoruba
race and I am very conversant with our ethnic history. I also read
international journals.
Recently, you published an excerpt of your book referring to the
Ugbo stool as the oldest in Yorubaland. This claim appears to be in contrast
with the history of Yorubaland, can you shed some light on your claim?
If
you read some of the articles which I wrote, I said it without any
contradiction that I am the owner of the Yoruba nation. They claim that Oduduwa
is the progenitor of the Yoruba race, yet he met my great-great grandfather,
Oba Makin Osangangan, the son of Oraife in Ife. If you go to Ife today, they
would testify to it because a lot of books have been written and they
acknowledge this fact.
A
son of Ife, Dr. Moses Ajetunmobi, also wrote that when Oduduwa arrived at Ife,
he met 13 communities and that Oduduwa came from Mecca. I was invited during
the launching of the book and the late Oba Sijuwade wrote the dedication to the
book. The late Oba wrote that he agreed with the findings of the erudite
author. Also, the late Oba of Benin, a nice and brilliant monarch who I
respected so much said in his book that the only Oba he respected in the South
West is the Oba Olugbo of Ugbo, who resides in Ilaje and is the owner of Ife.
If we are talking about the history of this country, the man was very rich,
eloquent and brilliant. He knew a lot of things about this country. I remember
some years back when I was with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, and he
said to me, ‘Olugbo your father is the owner of Ile Ife’.
I
have about 2000 authorities I can quote over this subject because I travel far
and wide to study. I went to Portugal, Germany and I also visited the national
archives in London. These are the places you can get our book; you cannot get
any book here in Nigeria because most of our books have been distorted because
they don’t want the truth to be known.
What is the place of Ugbo land in the story of Moremi?
Many
people must have read about the Moremi episode. The Ugbos raided Ife many
times, so they consulted Ifa and Osanyin for a solution. The oracle told them
to put a beautiful lady in the market and they put Moremi there who later
betrayed the Ugbo people. This is why she is never celebrated in Ugbo. We see
her as a betrayer, someone who leaked our secret to Ife. That is another reason
why Ugbo people do not marry ladies who are fair in complexion. We see such
women as another Moremi.
We
believe that she was a traitor and a betrayer. She deceived us and leaked our
secret to Ife, otherwise we would have kept invading them till date. There
would not have been anybody in Ife if not for Moremi. That is why we can never
celebrate her. She betrayed her husband, she was a killer and we can even call
her an armed robber. That is why nobody in Ugbo can celebrate her.
But was she not the link between the Ugbo and Ife culture?
We
had our sons in Ife, we had about seven quarters in Ife, so we did not rely on
her. The two markets in Ife, Oja Ife and Oja Ayegbagun belonged to my
great-great grandfathers, Oba Makin Osangangan and Oraife. The Aje of Ife
belongs to our house. When you get to Ife, ask for Oke Remo and Ile Ero, you
will see our people there. We did not need to rely on Moremi, she is a betrayer.
If your ancestors were at Ife before Oduduwa, at what point did
they leave Ife and even began to invade it?
When
Oduduwa came, he did not understand Ilaje language and it took him about 16
years before he could understand our language because he came from Mecca. When
he arrived at Ife, he met the Oba Makin Osangangan in Ile Ero. It was my
ancestor that received Oduduwa in Ile Ife.
The
first Yoruba history written by Samuel Johnson in 1889 stated that when Oduduwa
arrived in Ife, he was wandering for about three months before he came out of
the forest. Oduduwa fought with Obatala and defeated him. We had a lot of
warriors that worked for Oba Makin Osangangan and they felt jittery about the
man that came from nowhere to defeat Obatala. Our great-great grandfather had
to retreat because they had families and a lot of property at Ife. Back then,
the only thing the Ife people had was palm wine; that was their only economic
power. The Ugbo people decided to retreat because they knew if they fought at
Ife, the battle would affect their daughters, wives and children, so they
retreated to Oke Mafuragan and they decided to attack Ife from there. Our
people raided Ife successfully to the extent that the people of Ife thought our
warriors came from heaven.
So what is the place of
your kingdom in Yoruba history?
When
we were in primary school, they taught us that Oduduwa is Lamurudu’s son. We
were also told that Lamurudu came from Mecca, yet Oduduwa is the progenitor of
Yoruba race, is that logical? Isn’t his father, Lamurudu supposed to be the
progenitor of the Yoruba race and not Oduduwa? There was a lot of controversy surrounding
the Yoruba race. Some people felt that an Oba was wealthy so they sided with
him to achieve their goals and that was how history was distorted. I remember
when I was in primary school, I learnt that about 25 professors were tasked
with finding out the history of the Yoruba race and they did a beautiful job
gathering information, they wrote the book beautifully and one of the things
they wrote was that the Yoruba race belongs to the Ugbo people but the result
of the research never saw the light of the day.
If
you look at what is happening in the South West, everybody is keeping quiet. We
have a lot of sophisticated Obas but if they want to talk, they do so in their
rooms or palours because they know I have what it takes to challenge them. I am
talking with the authority I brought from overseas because the Portuguese are
very rich with information when it comes to the history of the Yoruba. They are
the first to come to Yoruba land especially in our area because we are close to
the river and we are fishermen. We are the first people to have a treaty in
1884 and the British confirmed it. When we are talking about seniority, you
have to acknowledge me.
Don’t you think your
claim is contradicting the known history of the Yoruba race?
The
Yoruba history has been distorted for a very long time and it would take time
before the record can be set straight. I am not trying to re-write the history
of the Yoruba race, I am only stating what happened. People have done a lot of
bad things by distorting the history of the Yoruba race because of their
ambition. This is the time of change for Yoruba race just like President Buhari
has brought change to Nigeria. They have been deceiving us for a long time and
I want to set the record straight.
But why did you not raise
these issues when the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and the late Oba
of Benin, Omo N’Oba Erediauwa were alive?
I
remember in 2013, when both kings were still alive, about ten newspapers
reported it that I said ‘the Ugbos are the owners of Yorubaland’. Where were
they then? They were alive and they read it but nobody contradicted my claims.
What else do I want again? These kings were still in existence at the time I
first spoke out. They acknowledged it.
But why didn’t your
predecessor say this before his demise?
Look
at what happened during the time of Jesus Christ; there were Moses, Joshua,
John the Baptist, and other prophets before Jesus Christ. These prophets were
not called progenitors of Christianity but Jesus Christ came for just 33 years
and we proclaim him our saviour. That is exactly what happened; there is time
for everything. It is not how far but how well. This is the time to speak out,
it is never late.
Are there records backing
your claims?
Yes
we have a lot of records. The Alaafin of Oyo confirmed it, as it was widely
reported. He confirmed it that my great-great grandfather was the owner of Ife.
Also in the book of Omo N’Oba Erediauwa; it is there on pages 209 and 210. I
said I have about 2,000 authorities on this subject. Before you can confront
me, go and read your book well. If you meet me and you are not up to
expectation, I would fault you and your kingdom; then your kingdom would fault
you because you do not know anything.
What is your relationship
with the other monarchs in the Yoruba kingdom?
I
have one style; I do not believe in fighting with anybody because the person
you fight today could later be your friend and help you in life tomorrow.
What is your relationship
with the new Ooni of Ife?
I
am not fighting with him. I call him a friend of Ugbo. I am not fighting with
anybody. Proving my worth in the Yoruba nation does not mean that I am fighting
him, I just want to set the record of Yoruba history straight. If he comes to
my house, I will entertain him with whatever I have. That is my attitude
towards life because I am a civilised Oba. I regard him as my friend even
though I am older than him. I am friends with any Oba in Yoruba land and they
are my friends as well.
When would the body of
your book be published?
When
I publish that book, it would be as if I detonated a bomb. It is then that you
would know the kind of people that should be Oba in the Yoruba nation. A lot of
people that are Obas now are not supposed to be on the throne. For instance, a
slave cannot be an Oba, an hunchback cannot be an Oba.
If
your father is still alive, you cannot be an Oba. If your fingers are nine or
eleven, you cannot be an Oba. Also, a deformed person cannot be an Oba; a bald
man cannot be an Oba. In my book, I listed the qualifications of an Oba. That
is why some people are misbehaving in the land. An Oba should sit at home while
people would come and pay homage to him. You have to sit majestically, that is
what they call an Oba.
What are some of the
taboos in Ugbo land?
In
Ugbo, anybody who is a prince cannot marry a slave because we do not want to
taint our heritage. There is a hill in Ugbo that females cannot go to. The Oba
must not see a dead person. An Oba cannot be present when a woman is giving
birth even if she is your wife, other people would have to handle it. Once an
Oba makes a decree, he cannot go back. We have a lot of festivals in Ugbo and
before the masquerades come out, they first have to come to the palace; if it
goes elsewhere, it would be disqualified. The Oba has to bless it before it
goes to the public.
When
you want to get married in Ugbo, you cannot go to your intended in-laws’ house;
you have to send some representatives from your family to the place. They would
talk to your in-law on your behalf and pay the bride price. There is a way you
pay the money and it is not much, it could cost about N10. The day you are to
sleep with your wife, everything has to be brand new because when you sleep
with your wife, your in-laws have to see the impact the following day, it must
be proven that she was a virgin.
Are you saying that
virginity is still celebrated in Ugbo land?
Yes,
it is celebrated. It is just that it has been bastardised now. In those days,
it was held in high esteem.
How have you been
managing to be a Christian monarch in a community that also practises
traditional religion?
It
is very simple but you should remember that in those days, there was nothing
like Christianity. Our colonial masters were the ones that brought it to
Nigeria. What I did when I ascended the throne of my father was to tell my
people that I would not abolish the culture they had been practising. I said
instead, I would get someone who would be doing it for them. There is no
conflict there. If anyone believes in it, then they should carry on but I
believe in Christianity. There is no controversy there.
Before you became a
monarch, you were an oil magnate who had to move around the world. How were you
able to adjust to the palace life?
It
was as if I knew I was going to become a monarch. I have very sound members of
staff that are well trained. I sent some of them abroad for training while some
of them were trained here. Two of my sons were trained to be able to handle my
work. Even when I travelled out of the country, my sons and staff are there to
manage the business.
Many believe that before
a Yoruba king is installed, he has to eat the heart of his predecessor; did you
eat the heart of the king before you?
I
did all that I was supposed to do but I did not eat the heart of anybody, I was
involved in all the necessary sacrifices.
Culled from : http://punchng.com/ugbo-people-dont-marry-ladies-fair-complexion-oba-olugbo-ugbo/
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