Oba Francis Olusola Alao, the newly installed Olugbon of Orile Igbon in this interview with National Insight crew in Ogbomoso explains why he visited the grave of the former premier of the Western Region, late Samuel Ladoke Akintola and his plan for the people of Orile igbon . excerpts
Congratulations on your enthronement sir, can you tell us the significance of your visits to Samuel Ladoke Akintola’s grave
Thank you very much, there is an adage in Yoruba which says a stream that forgot his source will dry, what I have come to do here is just to pay obeisance to those who have died, who have fought gallantly for the glory of Orile Igbon, ogbomoso, Oyo state and Nigeria at large, Akintola is my great grand uncle, so I have come to pay obeisance to him, I ‘ve pay obeisance to almighty God and I have pay obeisance to those who have died, my ancestors ,my predecessors, so what I am here is part of our tradition and culture, that is what I’ve come here to do
You must have pass through a rigorous journey to the throne, can you share your experience sir
For me, I won’t call it rigorous, though people may say it is rigorous but in the sight of God nothing is rigorous, Almighty God destined me to the throne, we pass through due process, due process was followed and I emerged as a winner and I believe my emergence as the winner lies in the hand of God and I give him all the glory not to my own praise but to the praise of Almighty God
Sir as an international businessman with a lot of exposure and connections, how will you use your influence and position to attracts development to Orile Igbon, like your predecessor
Yes I have travelled far and wide, I have been to about over 30 countries in Africa, I have been to almost 20 countries in Europe, America and South America, I have travelled far and wide, my exposure and experience will be used in the development and transforming Orile Igbon, I am bringing industries , I went into all the areas the kingdom is just in desolation, honestly I am not happy with what is on ground, we will change it, I want industry for that community, we can turn that community into an industrial community that is major point of my prayer so that the community will grow faster and better, also to empower the youth and also to preserve our cultural and traditional heritage
In the area of preservation of cultural heritage, how do you want to go about it and what are your program
First thing to do is to look at what is on ground, I will go round to visit other traditional rulers and ensure harmonious relationship with them especially the Alaafin of Oyo who is the Chairman council of Oba’s in the state, by my enthronement as the Olugbon of Orile Igbon, automatically I am the vice chairman, I will work with him we will synergize together and work with him on how to further preserve our cultural values and heritage which he has been doing actively, we are also proposing a yoruba cultural museum which will be presented to the Alaafin and we will work it out
Kabiesi, one of the problems militating against Yorubaland is lack of unity among the traditional rulers and institutions, now that you are coming in, how will you work with others who are making efforts to move Yorubaland up
You see, we are in a modern era, It is high time for people to stop primordial sentiment, it is sadden that some people are still involved in this disunity thing you talked about, but will try our best to work it out, we are civilized, we won’t be running traditional institution like some feel it should be done , we have to do it how it should be done just like Onirisa is doing in Ile Ife, he is doing very well, for us to achieve any meaningful development we have to coexists peacefully, peaceful coexistence will bring Unity
You must have jostle for this throne with some people, are you thinking of reconciling with other contestant for the throne
Yes, I have given them olive branch for them to let us come together, those who have lost In the race, I don’t see it as a lost because once we are together, we have a lot to benefit, we have a lot to do together, I am ready to reconcile with everybody, I will dialogue with everybody we will work together and we move Orile Igbon forward
Sir are you relocating permanently to Orile Igbon or you will be ruling from Lagos
I can’t be ruling from Lagos, you see we are in a present world of democracy and the simply analogy of democracy is government of the people by the people for the people so you must be close to the people, if you want to administer medication to somebody who is sick, if you are not close to that person you won’t know the kind of ailment the person is suffering from so what happened is that I must be close to my people, once I am close to them I will be able to address issues and again, there is no palace their, I want to build an ultra modern palace that will be for the society
What is your essage for the Orile Igbon people at home and in diasporas
The diaspora people has always been part of me because I have traveled far and wide, Orile Igbon people in Europe and America should beaware of the fact that a new king of like minds has come to reign .and has come to reign to bring development to our environment so they should also be part of the positive advancement for our community.
