The highly revered Owa of Idanre Kingdom has spoken up about his life and the incredible things that have happened to him.
The Owa of Idanre Kingdom, Oba Fredrick Adegunle Aroloye IV
The Owa of Idanre Kingdom, Oba
Fredrick Adegunle Aroloye IV, a nonagenarian, in this interview with
PETER DADA, speaks about his life before and during his reign as the
paramount ruler of the Idanreland, Ondo State
Please tell us about your background.
I was born on March 30, 1927 and I attended St. Paul’s Primary
School and Methodist School, both at Idanre. I had my secondary school
education at Western Boys High School, Benin and Hussy College, Warri
and later went to England, where I attended Balham and Tooting College
of Commerce and Law. When I finished there, I took up an appointment
under Survey Country Council as a licencing officer. From there, I was
transferred to Greater London Council as a Finance Clerk.
When did you return to Nigeria and why?
I left England in 1969 on my father’s instructions. He said he
wanted to see me before he died. I went to England in November, 1958.
Initially, I didn’t want to go to England. When my mother died, I was
taking my class four examination. They sent a telegram, but my principal
didn’t allow me to see the telegram. He kept it from me until after I
finished my examination. On the day that we finished our examination,
the principal invited me to his house and I was afraid. He asked me to
eat and after the meal, he broke the news of my mother’s death to me.
That was how I returned home.
How did you sponsor your education in England?
I had a childhood friend called Samuel Agboola Akintan, he told me
to travel to England to continue my education. I asked him how I would
do that when my father did not have money. My father was receiving 200
pounds per annum at the time. But he (Akintan) said I should leave it to
him. He was a Treasury Cash Officer at the time; he was able to
convince the council that the salary of Owa (Idanre) was very small and
that it should be reviewed. So they increased it to 500 pounds and
backdated it to the previous year. That way, we were having a surplus of
300 pounds. I was able to pay for my trip and the tuition. He is a good
friend of mine and I will never forget him. Now, he is number three to
me. He is my High Chief. Luckily again, I had one friend called Ife
Aladenika; he is an Ondo man. We travelled together; he told me that
they used to be engaged during Christmas time. We got casual jobs at a
post office and we were able to make money. During the Easter period, we
went to the post office again and got ourselves jobs. We put the money
together with the one that was given to us at home. During a long
vacation, which was for 10 weeks, we were also fortunate to get work at a
food factory. We were paid nine pounds per week. So when we got back to
London, we had enough money to pay for our tuition and so on.
What was it like working as a young black boy in England?
It was splendid. At that time, citizens of member countries of the
commonwealth had equal opportunities. For instance, when I was a
licencing officer in charge of changing of ownership in England, I had
my own office and a clerical officer, who was a white man. One day, a
white man came to our office; he wanted to do change of ownership and my
clerical officer directed him to me. So when the white man opened the
door and saw me, he said I am sorry I’m in a wrong office. He went back
to my clerical officer who then brought him to my office. Immediately
the white man saw me again, he said he was sorry and that he didn’t know
I was the right person he would see. The white man did not believe a
black man could occupy that seat. Also while I was working at the London
Greater Council, people liked me. After I had returned home, they wrote
to me to come back and occupy the position because I was one of the
black men that did very well in that office. So I replied that I could
not return to the job because I was the king of my town. It is very
unfortunate that we don’t enjoy those things again. Things were still
fine till 1963 but immediately after we became a republic, we did not
enjoy those things again. Even in school fees, there was discrimination.
After returning to Nigeria, you worked with the government
as a Treasury Officer and in charge of money; did you have any
temptation to steal money as some public servants do nowadays?
There was a time that I was broke. But I thought that if I should
prepare a fictitious voucher to bring out money and if they found out, I
would destroy my name, so I resisted the temptation. There was a time a
man came to my office and started congratulating me. I asked, ‘what
for’? He said I had been selected to participate in a football
competition. He asked me to bring N25,000 to win N1m. I told him that I
did not have such money and he said ‘you are the treasury officer, take
from the money in the treasury’. But I said he should let me tell my
wife but said I shouldn’t tell anybody. Then I told him to leave my
office. He then introduced the same thing to my colleague in Ijebu Ode,
the man fell into his trap and was jailed. The man came back in disguise
and introduced the thing to me again. I told him I was not interested. I
said I was comfortable, and so he left. It is better for a person to
protect his integrity.
Idanre is an ancient town, how did it come into being?
We have two sets of history. The aborigines’ belief then was that
that they descended from heaven with the help of a chain. The first
footmark can still be seen on a rock here today. We call it Abogun
footmark because it was Abogun that discovered the footmark later.
Another history says that when Oduduwa and Olofin came from Upper Egypt
to Ile-Ife, they stayed in Ile-Ife for some time. And because of their
intelligence, they changed our administration. They became the head.
Oduduwa became the Ooni of Ife and when he died, Olofin took over as the
head but Olofin wanted to continue the journey. He didn’t want to end
it there. So Olofin asked the first son of Oduduwa, Oranmiyan, to stay
behind but he (Oranmiyan) refused because he wanted to follow his uncle.
Olofin was Oduduwa’s immediate younger brother. So Oranmiyan followed
his uncle. They met the people of Idanre here and took over the
leadership as usual. When Olofin was about to die, he assembled his
people and told them that after his death, if they wanted him to protect
them, they should offer a human being to him as sacrifice every year.
The people were perplexed and wondered how they would get the human
beings. So he taught them the rite to be performed. When he died, they
were performing the rite and his first son, Abogun, became the Oba
(monarch). Oramiyan wanted to become the Oba but the people said they
wanted Olofin’s son. So Oranmiyan left for Edo and later to Oyo Alaafin.
So Abogun was the ruler. The human being that his father demanded as
sacrifice from him annually would come by himself with two leaves called
Irere. Any stranger seen then during Olofin’s period was used for the
sacrifice. And when the adjoining towns saw what was happening to us,
they gave us a nickname, Onidan, which meant people that performed
ritual to get human beings used for sacrifice for their god. Our former
name was Ife-Oke. When our children were being kidnapped, we sought
protection and left that area for Utaja. There was a man among us, he
was a hunter, and he said he discovered a place on the hilltop that
would accommodate our population at that time and get us away from the
threat of kidnappers. That was how we moved up there and we were there
for 800 years before we started coming down again. In 1894, Governor
Carter from the colonial office, came up there to sign a treaty with my
grandfather, Arubiefin the First, saying that her Majesty, the Queen of
England, would give them protection and that they should not follow any
other foreign country. So we were being ruled right from the colonial
office in Lagos. He also said Her Majesty would be giving the Oba 50
bags of cowries if we were able to keep the road between Owena and
Idanre. In those days, it took them nothing less than two months to go
to Lagos and bring the bags of cowries. So when my grandfather died, my
father, Aladegbule, who brought Christianity to Idanre in 1895, was
supposed to become the next Oba but because he was a Christian, people
rejected him. They preferred his younger brother, who was an idol
worshipper. But the brother did not live long. He ruled for seven years.
After his death, the people asked my father to become the king. So he
was enthroned in 1919. In 1926, my father wrote a letter to the
Lieutenant Governor in Enugu. Then, Nigeria had been divided into
northern and southern protectorates and the southern protectorate was
being administered from Enugu. So it was Enugu that my father sent the
letter to and it was debated in the legislative council and passed that
we were free to move down the hilltop. It was then the Surveyor-General
was asked to survey the new town for us. They made two places for us
called Ilu-tuntun.
What is your relationship with Alade Idanre, the neighbouring town?
That is what I am saying; we are the same because by that time, as
I told you earlier, they were purely idol worshippers and we were
Christians and they used to clash. So the district officer advised my
father that in order to prevent future crisis, we should manage the
space given to us. He said in England, where he came from, the queen
could be in London or Scotland and be ruling. So he said when he planned
this town, the Owa’s palace should be here and downhill, he would put
where Oba’s palace would be there. That is why they are calling this
place new town and that place new town. The Postmaster-General wrote to
differentiate them. There is a stream that divides Oke Idanre town into
two. If the people on this part moved to the other part, they will say
they have gone to Ode Idanre and now we are descending, they call this
place Odo Ode Idanre. There is a market there which has been there as
far back as 15th century. We say we should call that place Alade to
differentiate the two towns.
Are you saying it is the British that named them Alade Idanre?
No, they only planned the place, but did not name it and in that
legislative council, it was stated that all people moving from Oke
Idanre down should owe their allegiance to the Owa of Idanre as their
paramount ruler. It is also in the archive.
What about Atosin Idanre?
Atosin is one of our oldest settlements; they were there before we
moved down from the hilltop. They have been there for quite a long time.
When we were up there, they were there cultivating farms.
To climb the Idanre hill, one has to climb 660 steps. What is the history behind the steps?
The steps are new; they came into being when one man called Akin
Deko became the Chairman, Idanre District Council. He brought the idea,
he called it Jacob ladder and it was made with cement. Akin Deko created
it.
Apart from Christianity and Islam, what other religions are being practised in Idanre?
We have Olofin festival and we also have Orosun festival. Orosun is
the goddess of children. We celebrate the festivals annually. We fast
on the day we celebrate Orosun; nobody must eat, we go to the shrine and
pray and come back home. We also kill a dog as sacrifice to the goddess
because she liked dogs when she was alive. We do rotate the giving of
sacrifice; if Owa provides a dog this year, the two other kings will
provide dogs for sacrifices to be made in the subsequent years. It is
the Osolo that represents Owa at the shrine every year.
As Idanre is an ancient town, are there taboos?
In Idanre, we have quite a number of taboos. First, we don’t allow
anybody to go near the Oloris (queens). We monitor them and when an
Olori is menstruating, she must never see the Owa for seven days until
she finishes her period. When an Olori misses her period, she will be
under protection and they will be watching her. And when an Olori puts
to bed, she must not touch the baby. They will invite Odofin and two
other chiefs to check if the child has royal signs and when they see the
signs, they will keep it secret. Only the reigning monarch will be told
so that in the future when the monarch dies, they will ask how many
princes have these signs. If they are more than one, they will consult
Ifa oracle to choose the better one but nowadays, we don’t do that
again, we only choose from the children of those on the throne, that is,
your father must be an Oba. Your father must reign before you can
become an Oba.
Is that how you were chosen to succeed your father?
In my own case, my father secretly told me that I was the one he
was going to hand over to and I told him no, that I did not want to be
an Oba. But I did not tell anybody.
Why did you refuse the offer?
I refused because my father had earlier told me that he did not
want male children to leave in the palace because they would be
arrogating power to themselves unnecessarily and would be lazy. He had
also told me that the Olofin might kill them; that was his belief. So
any prince that is up to four years of age would be sent out of the
palace. I was the first to be in the palace because I was born when my
mother was already in old age and was not expected to have a child
again. She had lost hope bearing a child again. So when I was born, I
was given proper care. According to my mother, when I was about six
months old, I had stomach pain and died. She said she felt bad. She
narrated that as I was about to be buried outside the palace, something
struck her mind and she told those who wanted to bury me to wait for
her. She said she went into the palace and brought one Sayan
(traditional woven cloth) to wrap me up. So as she was about to wrap me
with the cloth, I suddenly sneezed and woke up. Quickly, she gave me
breast to suck. And since that time, I have not fallen ill. For over 80
years, I did not fall ill, even for one day, until few years ago.
What do you think made your father to prefer you as his successor?
I don’t even know. My father wanted me to come home. I was working
with London Greater Council and I was very comfortable, but he insisted
that I should return home. When I got home, he was very happy. On that
day, people followed me to Oke Idanre, where my father was. He could not
walk again; he was about 140 years old. I sat beside him. As they were
welcoming me, a chief stood up and told my father that he (my father)
would be at Oke Idanre while I would be at Odo Ode Idanre (down the
hill) ruling. They sang and everybody was happy. So my father said I
should come back and see him the following day. When I met him the
following day, he warned me not to listen to them. He asked me to go and
work. He said if I listened to them, the same people would accuse me of
making myself king while he (my father) was still alive. I agreed.
Luckily, I got a job with the government as a treasury officer.
Were you chosen automatically to succeed your father when he passed on?
Many things happened after the death of my father and during the
selection period. For instance, after my father’s death, some
politicians approached me, they brought a paper for me to sign so that
when I finally became the king, I would be in their party, but I
refused. I told them that a king should not be partisan, and that I
would be for all. So later they brought one of my brothers to contest
the stool with me and according to our own registered declaration, we
have only one ruling house and a candidate at a time and members of the
ruling house would be all the palace chiefs, all the surviving Oloris,
and the direct children of the past Owas. And if anyone was dead, the
first child from that line would represent the line at a meeting. So I
was selected, there was a bit of politics about it but the government
followed the declaration and I was later selected in 1976. After my
selection, all the contestants congratulated me and I embraced all of
them. We are all brothers of the same family.
After becoming the king, what are the lifestyles you missed?
I missed many things; I missed the company of my friends. And I
used to go out to different places but that was not possible again.
Another thing I missed was that I could not do many things in public
again. I can’t eat in public and I can’t drink in public again. In
short, it affected my social life. But there is a prestige to be an Oba.
As an Oba, I can say I want to see the governor. But as a civil
servant, it may be difficult. The honour is also there. I was the
Chairman of Obas (Ondo State) three times. It is a great honour to be an
Oba.
What challenges do you face as a ruler of an ancient town?
There are so many challenges. According to William Shakespeare,
‘the love that follows us is sometimes our enemy’. If you are not
careful, you will fall into the hands of some people who will be your
enemies again. One of the problems has to do with a land matter and it
has been on for a long time.
Many traditional rulers are polygamists while some are against it. What do you think about this?
As an Oba, there are many activities and one Olori cannot do the
job. For example, when there is a celebration, we will have calabash
drums, bells, and other musical instruments in the palace and one Olori
cannot do the required job and a woman who is not an Olori is not
allowed to do it. There are some things the Oloris do in the palace. All
these will force an Oba to have more than one wife. But there are some
modern Obas who are against this. I don’t know how they do it, but in
Idanre here, it is not possible for an Oba to have only one wife.
What are your major achievements on the throne?
My major achievement is that I am being loved by my people. Also,
the Federal Government recognised my contribution to the development of
my people, which was why it gave me OFR (Officer of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria). Some universities conferred on me different honorary
doctorates because of my performances. When I ascended the throne, we
had 619 square miles land mass with more than 500 towns and villages and
to be able to administer these areas I introduced Oluship. I divided
them into units. Instead of having meetings with 500 baales (traditional
rulers), it is the Olus that represent their various units.
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Via Saturday Punch
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