The educated ones are now mounting the thrones of their forefathers – and with their sound education and exposure and enlightenment, they are transforming the traditional institution, making great impacts, adding value and also leaving their foot prints on the sands of time. Epitomizing that right now is Oba Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin, the Orangun of Oke-Ila in Osun State. Sir Doxzy, like he used to known by friends and admirers before he swapped that with Kabiyesi, is doing wonders in his domain. The legal practitioner who rose to the position of a Legal Adviser to one-time Senate President, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, before he accepted to serve his people, has a school in Oke-Ila where the indigents are educated, fed and accommodated for free! The school, Abolarin College, currently has 34 students, all on his scholarship. And that is just one of the good things that the good man is doing as a monarch.
On Saturday, June 20, 2015, and barely hours after his visit to Lagos where he was the Royal Father of the Day, at the 4th Annual Lecture/Cocktail Party of YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine, our Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AZUH ARINZE, met him somewhere in Ikeja GRA for this interview. And for nearly one hour, the cerebral and ever supportive royal father enlightened him on certain things about the traditional institution and more. Enjoy…
Kabiyesi, how is life on the throne?
Interesting, a call to service, beautiful and I give God the glory.
What does Kabiyesi like most about being on the throne?
That I’m with the poor. I never planned to be a king. But that’s the supremacy of God. I found myself on the throne and I enjoy it.
What don’t you like about being on the throne? What are those things you don’t like about being a Kabiyesi?
You are no longer yourself, there are so many things you are not expected to do, because you are next to God. You represent the people, the present and the future of the people and the myth that surrounds the institution and you don’t have to break protocol. And for someone like me, an extrovert, you wanna go on the street, you wanna eat; you can’t go to bukas any longer, you can’t do things that are not permissible as a royal father and at times you wanna be yourself, but you can’t be yourself, because the institution is so important that you have to carry it well.
What is the wisest decision you’ve taken since you mounted the throne?
Wisest? Wisest? Yes, you know I’m passionate about the school (Abolarin College). You know I have a school for the poor. I thank God for the opportunity to build for the poor and I pride myself as an ambassador to the poor, the down-trodden and with the school, I just give glory to the Lord. Then, you see brothers fighting themselves over things that are not important, because to a very large extent, they find it very difficult to see beyond now. Because of poverty, because of their level of poverty and you tell them to sheath the sword. I’ve done that once or twice and thereafter they keep coming and thanking Kabiyesi. Asking, where did you get this wisdom from? I just laugh and I tell them it’s just God. So, we’ve been able to resolve a lot of that. I cannot be able to pin it down to one or two, but the Lord has been able to use us to resolve, mitigate serious conflicts in the community.
What are some of the things you would have loved to do for your people, but have not been able to?
To give everybody free access to quality education, because I’m a lover of knowledge, but not knowledge without character. It’s knowledge with character. That, I’ve not been able to do and I pray that the Lord will bless me just for the community. It’s a small community and I believe you can assist government to bring good education, quality education to the grassroots.
What was the first thing you did on the day you mounted the throne of your fore-fathers?
I was in incarceration for 3 months.
What were you doing there?
I can’t tell you (General laughter). That’s a no-go area, that’s a no-go area…
How is life in the rural area? You used to be in the cities of Lagos and Abuja…
Oh, beautiful! Beautiful! I tell people, Nigeria’s educated elite has a lot with our rural people, because we are all products of the rural society and we’ve abandoned our people for too long. So, it’s important for us to look at one or two things to be done to alleviate the sufferings of our people and for them to feel that they are humans themselves, because it’s as if they don’t have rights – either social or political or economic rights. They’ve been totally marginalized and I am happy to be in their midst and lift them up; give them hope.
You trained as a lawyer, what do you still miss about not practicing?
I miss the courts, then I miss the fellowship of practitioners, either as a solicitor or as a barrister. But again, it’s a continuation of your legal service being on the throne, because now you use that position to settle conflicts. I tell people, you are the solicitor general in your community, the attorney general in your community, you are an arbitrator, you are a conciliator, you are all rolled into one and again for them to understand and appreciate what the rule of law is all about. You expect a monarch to be dictatorial. But probably because of my knowledge as a lawyer, I know the importance of the constitution, I know that the constitution is the foundation of all in a democracy. But again, you k now that you cannot be dictatorial even on the throne. So, blending constitutionalism with your position as a king makes it interesting and exciting.
What’s the most difficult decision you’ve taken since you came on the throne?
Being a king itself is the most difficult decision (Laughter). Being a king itself is the most difficult decision…
With the benefit of hindsight, what will you say makes a good king?
Wisdom from God. You just need the wisdom of God. Your education may assist you, but you have people who are not educated in the western sense and they still do well on the throne. So, it’s the wisdom.
What is the commonest mistake that most kings make?
(Thinks) I don’t know! I don’t know! I can’t speak for my colleagues, but I just know that it’s a big call and the most honourable position to be in.
When people have issues, they bring them to the kings, when the kings have issues, who do they take them to?
You take it God!
That’s great to hear. Now, God has been nice to you, what more do you want from Him?
Oh, God has been gracious unto me…
What has God not done for you, what more do you want from Him?
He has done all for me and I know that because I fear Him and I love Him, He will still do more for me and it is within the purview of the Lord Almighty to decide and direct.
Most people become traditional rulers and they cease to be Christians or Muslims. They embrace the African religion and some fetish traditions. Are you still a Christian, because you’ve been mentioning God’s name since?
Oh, I am! And my Bible tells me and I also tell people all the time, 1st Peter 2:17, honour all men; all men (emphasizes it). Not some men. Honour all. For emphasis, all men. Love the brotherhood, fear God and honour the king. If you are a Sango worshipper, I must honour you, if you are a Christian, it is my duty to honour you, if you are a Muslim, I have a right to honour you, because that’s what my Bible tells me. But again, there’s a caveat – Fear God! If because I honour you and you won’t allow me to fear God, then that’s a point of departure. All the time, I have to fear Him, I have to honour Him and while honouring you, do not allow me to be in conflict with God.
Most kings tend to have more than one wife. Are you going to take more wives now that you are on the throne?
You see, you see, I cannot even afford it, I can’t even afford it, I cannot afford having many wives. I have so many responsibilities. I told you that I have a school for the poor, for the indigent. Presently, I have 34 students in boarding house and they are not paying a dime. They are my children already, so what else am I looking for? I think I’m satisfied with what I have.
Away from your traditional duties and the other things that you do, whenever you are free, what do you do?
I’m very busy, because once a teacher, always a teacher. I deliver lectures here and there. I don’t even have spare time; 24/7 is not enough or me, because I’m someone who is so interested in the future and I’m someone who has passion for the young souls and I’m someone who is passionate about the poor and I live for the poor. So, it’s my duty to try as much as possible, as someone they look up to, as a conscience of the community, as someone who believes that if you are interested in public policy, you are interested in people, there’s a need for you to always think of how to better their lot. Not necessarily in terms of giving them money, but in terms of advise, in terms of mentoring and these are things that I do. So, it makes me to be very busy and I enjoy what I do.
What’s your vision for the people of Oke-Ila?
I just pray, I just pray, I just pray that the Lord will use me to grow the community. I pray that the Lord will use me to create great minds of the future. Not necessarily in Oke-Ila, but my environment. I just pray that I will be an instrument in His hands to create wealthy people that will work. I just pray that the Lord will use me to create people who believe in pleasure, but pleasure with conscience. I pray that I will be able to create people who are religious, but they will know that with their religion, they are to sacrifice. I pray that I have great leaders of the future, people who believe in politics as a means of service and people that will believe that yes, politics must go hand in hand with principles. It’s difficult, but in the 21st century, that is what I think the Lord will use me to do. To prepare a better future for my people.