Oba Obateru Akinruntan
The Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, Oba Obateru Akinruntan speaks to PUNCH’s Ademola Olonilua, in this interview about the history of the Yoruba race and why his people do not marry fair complexioned ladies...
The monarch who is the Founder of OBAT Oil & Petroleum Ltd.,
and is regarded as the richest monarch in Nigeria and second richest in
Africa, also said that the Ugbo Stool is the oldest in Yorubaland.
Read excerpts below:
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.
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.
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.
Read more HERE.
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