The next Ooni must be able to maintain Ife financially – Obalufe

The head of the Ife kingmakers, who is the Obalufe of Iremo Quarters, Oba Solomon Omisakin, tells FEMI MAKINDE in this interview that the kingmakers are looking for a new Ooni who will be much better than late Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who died on July 28, in London

Who is Obalufe?

I am the second in command to the Ooni of Ife. We are 16 traditional chiefs who are the kingmakers and we are divided into right hand chiefs and left hand chiefs. I am in charge of administration.

Which ruling house is the next to produce the Ooni?

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The position of the Ooni is so great, so fantastic and appealing. Let me tell you, if I am in a position to contest, I will also want to be the next Ooni of Ife. If I am from the ruling house , I will contest because I like the position very well but I am not in the position to do that.

To your question, we have four ruling houses in Ife and they are: Osinkola, Ogboru, Giesi, and Lafogido. Almost every prince from these ruling houses is trying to occupy the stool but definitely only one person will sit on the throne at a time. We the kingmakers will be on the side of the law to arrive at a position at the end of the day.

We will make use of the law and the law will prevail in the selection of the new Ooni. We won’t do anything outside what the law stipulates. If the law says two plus two is four, we will go to four.

Are you saying you will abide by the Ife Chieftaincy Declaration of 1977?

We will put everything down and see which one is correct, then we will decide. Some are saying we should use 1957 declaration, some are saying we should use 1977 and some are clamouring for 1980. But we will put everything together and use whichever one is correct. We will follow the current one. Let me make this one clear, I am not the only one who will decide in this case, we have 16 traditional chiefs. All of us will sit down and look at the whole thing and all of us will decide together. We will follow the law strictly.

What role will Ifa play in this selection process?

When we know the qualified candidates, and they are more than one, then we will consult the Ifa to know who is the best among the qualified ones.

Who is in charge of the affairs of Ife now that the Ooni has gone to be with his ancestors?

There are 16 traditional chiefs but I am the head. All of us are running the affairs of the town. We have different duties.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited the chiefs last week and some have been saying he came to lobby for a particular candidate. How true is this?

It is not correct. He came to commiserate with us and that is all. The former President came to commiserate with us and the entire people of Ile Ife and nothing more. He did not ask us to favour any of the contestants.

What is the role of the government in selecting the next Ooni?

The local government will write to the next ruling house to present their candidate. They will send their candidate or candidates to us and we will do the right thing. Like I said before, we will abide by law. Whether we consult Ifa or not, we will do the right thing. You cannot take somebody from Ibadan to come and be the Ooni or take somebody from Ilesa to come and be the Ooni. You can not take somebody from America to come and be the Ooni. It is impossible.

Can somebody whose mother is from a ruling house contest to be the Ooni?

We will examine the law about that. We will see the latest law to see the authenticity of that.

What is the role of traditional chiefs in the whole process?

You know they are running around now for the position. They are running everywhere and struggling to be the one, that one is not our concern. Our concern is to sit down and do our job. We will do our job according to the law. We will abide by the law to arrive at all our decisions in this race.

What are the basic qualities anybody who would emerge the next Ooni must possess?

We have so many things we will put into consideration. But among them is education. We cannot elect an illiterate as the next Ooni. We will put somebody who will be able to maintain Ife financially. We will look at the past records of the contestants before we choose any of them.

Is it true that Oba Sijuwade fed about 1,000 people within the palace every day?

He was a rich man. He was rich before he ascended the throne.

Are you saying anybody who will succeed him must be able to continue feeding these people?

That will help the town. It will help Ife. If somebody was good, we have to get a better one. That will be better for the town. Comparison of adjective comes in here. If Oba Okunade was able to feed 1,000 people, we want somebody who will be able to feed 10,000 people. We don’t want to go back. We want to go forward.

There are rumours that some contestants have been buying cars for you and giving you money to look at their direction. Is it true that this is the harvest time for you kingmakers?

People may say whatever they want to say. We will do what is right and be on the side of the law. If we are given money now to do what is not right, I will not do it.

If you buy me cutlass and give me N10m and say I should be cutting heads of the people, I will not do it. If I take your N10m, I will not do what you ask me to do because it is wrong.

Will you take the money?

That is between you and I. But I will not do the wrong thing even if I take the money. I know what the law says and we will do just that. If they are giving us this and that, they are wasting their money. If you like, waste your money. Even if you give me a helicopter, I will take it but I will not do the wrong thing with my little education. I will not do what will make the people to hate me. I will do the right thing at the right time and in right places.

If they say people gave us money and all that, let them say whatever they want to say. But we will follow what the law says.

How long does it take to install a new Ooni after the death of the previous one?

Until we settle with the whole thing, we cannot say when. We have processes. We have our own part to play as kingmakers, the government will play its part.

I cannot tell you everything will be done in a week or two weeks. No.

Is it true that the ‘abobaku’ fled and refused to be buried with the late Oba?

There is no abobaku in Ife. This was fabricated by those who know nothing about our tradition. Nobody was assigned to be buried with the Ooni and nobody was buried with our baba. Oba Sijuwade was buried alone, he was not buried with anybody. There is no human sacrifice and all the lies you heard then were fabrications of some people who sat in one corner and were dishing out lies for reasons known to them.

Who is Isharun?

Isharun’s role is like the aide de camp of the Ooni and he is not expected to be buried with the Ooni.

Some say a number of people were buried with the late monarch, how many people were buried alive with him?

It is nonsense. How can somebody die and you bury 14 or 16 persons alive with him the way they have been saying? It is not true. Burying anybody alive with him? Will it not be against the criminal code? Somebody died and they expect us to bury another one with him? It is criminal and we don’t do that. If they say we should bury 16 people with him, that means I will be buried alive with him because I am one of the 16 traditional chiefs. The 16 kingmakers are intact; none of us is dead, so nobody was buried with him. No stranger, no indigene was buried with him.

The rumour is absolute falsehood, don’t believe them. They are spreading the rumour to destabilise Ife but it won’t work.

Oba Adesoji Aderemi died, nobody was buried with him; Ooni Ajagun died, nobody was buried with him; Olubuse the first died, nobody was buried with him. How can we now bury somebody with Oba Sijuwade? Do they want to invent a new tradition? No! It is not so. The rumour is unfounded and a blatant lie.

How was the late Oba buried? Was he buried in standing or sitting position?

I am not in charge of that aspect. But what I can say is that some people told so many lies. How do you expect somebody to be buried standing upright or in sitting position? It is all lies.

Is the heart of Oba Sijuwade being preserved for the next Ooni to eat during his installation?

It is another lie. That statement is not correct. There is nothing like that. It is a figment of the imagination of those saying that.

Is it true that the ghost of Oba Sijuwade still sits on the throne or that some people still sight him in the palace because he was not properly buried?

Please don’t believe this falsehood. These people are just saying anything they feel like. They open their mouths and utter anything that comes there. It is hearsay, they just say what pleases them. Don’t believe that. Let us be factual and leave the realm of their fabrications.

What are the laid down procedures to announce the death of an Ooni?

When you get to the palace, you will get that. You know that the traditional chiefs have different roles. We have the technical side and the administrative side. I am in charge of the administration. The Lowa will tell you that when you get to the palace.

Do you know of unfulfilled aspirations of Oba Sijuwade?

Frankly speaking, he was a human being. But I don’t think he left anything undone. As a human being I believe he did what he ought to do before his time was up. As a human being, you cannot finish everything but he did his very best. Even our personal job, as individuals, we can’t finish them, let alone the running of the affairs of the whole of Ile Ife. But he did a lot.

Sir Adesoji Aderemi, who reigned before him was a good Oba, Oba Okunade Sijuwade was better, we are now looking for the one who would be better than Oba Okunade Sijuwade.

What do you consider the greatest achievement of Oba Sijuwade?

He recorded so many achievements. But he maintained peace and stability in the town; that is the first one. He raised the bar of obaship in Yorubaland. Even professors want to ascend the throne of Oba now. He created that atmosphere, he made the position attractive and that is why many very educated persons are now interested in becoming Obas.

He lifted the throne. You know we have many doctorate degree holders and professors now who want to be Oba, his contributions to lift the position created this.

No doubt, Oba Sijuwade was very wealthy, but some people allege he got his wealth from politicians?

He was a great manager at Leventis in those days. He was the manager and many white people were reporting to him then. He invested into oil and gas, he had great companies which he established long before he became the Ooni. So, those who are saying politicians gave him money are ignorant of the enormity of his investments.

He made his money in a very clean way. He did not defraud anybody. He was an astute businessman before he ascended the throne.

There was a claim that former President Goodluck Jonathan gave the late Oba Sijuwade so much dollars when he came to the palace shortly before the last election. You were present at the meeting, how much washe given?

I cannot comment on that because it was not true.

But were you not given dollars then?

That is what I am saying, I was not given any money, dollar, naira or any currency. If I was given any money, I will say yes but I was not given. I cannot force former President Jonathan to give me money. I am not an armed robber and I was not given any money. If I was given, I will frankly tell you I was given. But I was not given any kobo.

Has the crisis between Ife and Modakeke been finally resolved?

It has been permanently resolved. We may still have some recalcitrant elements but it has been solved. With the assistance of government and from the look of things, there will be no problem.

What is your advice to the four ruling houses jostling to produce the next Ooni?

My advice to them is that they should allow peace to reign. Peace is the paramount thing. When they are peaceful, we will be able to sit down, examine them, interview them and we will be able to take the best among them.

If they are not peaceful, we won’t be able to pick the best to occupy the throne. This is not a political office. But they will help us and the people if they maintain peace.

How do you assess the development in Ife?

Whatever is happening in Ife is not peculiar to Ife; it is what is happening throughout the country. The bad road is not here alone. That will be blamed on the government.

I will just advise all the three tiers of government in the country to make the situation better than they met it.

What is the relationship between Ife and Cuba?

People from there have their origin in Ife here. People from many places originated from here. Lagelu had his place here, Ekiti people had their place here, even Lagos people had their place here.

Oba Sijuwade visited Cuba and performed some traditional rites there. The people there appreciated this and that is one of the reasons their ambassador came here to commiserate with us on his transition.

The ambassador recalled how the arrival of Oba Sijuwade ended three years of drought in Cuba in 1997. What do you think was responsible for this?

It might just be an act of God. But they ascribed it to tradition. It was very timely.

What do you think is the reason the Ooni and the Alaafin did not agree on whose position is superior?

They want to rewrite history and that is not correct. Oranmiyan was the sixth Ooni of Ife. Oranmiyan begot the first Alaafin if you read the history. So how can the grandson claim to be in the same position with his grandfather?

Oranmiyan was the sixth Ooni and Oranmiyan begot Sango who was the first Alaafin. How can somebody, the grandson of Sango, claim to be the father of Oranmiyan? I don’t know where they got their study.

Are you saying the Ooni is higher in hierarchy than the Alaafin?

He is far higher. You cannot compare them.

But what do you think prevents the Alaafin from recognising what you have just said?

As a human being, he has his own reason. But his reason on this is not a good one. It is very confusing. I will not say he is a confusionist but he must not confuse the hierarchy. He is the one teaching heresy. If I say this water on the table is blood, I am teaching you heresy.

But there is this claim that the Ooni is not one of the sons of Oduduwa. How do you react to this?

That is the heresy. Let us not go into that.

What is the position of the Ooni among Obas in Yorubaland?

You know that Oduduwa was the first Ooni. He begot his children and they settled everywhere as crown beaded Obas.

How many deities are being worshipped in Ife?

We have 401 deities in Ife. We sent out 200 and we are worshipping 201. The Ooni is the only living deity. That is why he is called the Onirisa.

Were there no time when there was conflict among Christians, Muslims and traditional worshippers in the town?

I have been the Obalufe for the past 27 years and there was no time we ever settled any quarrel for the adherents of various religions in the town. No fight between masquerades and Cherubim and Seraphim or Ansar-ud Deen or any group.

What will you say is responsible for the peaceful coexistence among adherents of various religions?

This was due to the disposition of Oba Okunade Sijuwade who allowed everybody to practise their religions without hindrance.

An evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church , Toluwase Akeredolu, said he preached to Oba Sijuwade and he accepted Jesus Christ as his saviour. Do you know if this is true?

That is correct. When you get to the palace now, you will see a beautiful church there and by its side, we are preparing to build a mosque and on the left hand side, you will see Ogun shrine.

The constitution is followed at the palace. There is freedom of association and everybody is free to practise their religion as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

But do you believe that Oba Sijuwade died a born again Christian?

I will say yes. You can be a Christian or a Muslim or practise any religion you like but people will want you to use your religion to better things and not to worsen the situation.

Copyright PUNCH.