The coronation reception of new Olufon of Ifon in Orolu local Government area of Osun State, Oba Peter Oluwole Akinyooye holds today in his palace. In this interview by ADEOLU ADEYEMO, the monarch spoke on preparedness for the programme, plans to ensure the town is rapidly transformed , amongst others. Excerpts:
KABIYESI, how is the preparation for your coronation going?
Glory be to God. This coronation is for everyone. From the indigenes of the town, local government executives, and religious associations to the state government, everybody is preparing ahead.
We are expecting well wishes from far and near and we are preparing to make the coronation a successful one. We have people from the United Kingdom and the United States of America who are already here for the coronation.
The first thing we take care of is the security. We want to make sure that the safety of our guests is ensured and I want to appreciate Governor Ademola Adeleke for his support.
We are expecting some business moguls whom I’m hoping can come to invest in our community. That is why we have to show them we are peace-loving.
What are your plans to ensure that Ifon Orolu town is rapidly transformed compared to what you met?
Only God can transform something. I am only praying to God and appealing to well-meaning people in the society to come and invest in our community. We’ve contacted some of them and we are still contacting them.
The only way a community can develop is through people investing in the community. I remember a few years ago when Asia was inviting people to come and invest in that part of the world. Dubai was not what it was before, it was just a deserted place but today, if you are a traveller and you’ve not visited Dubai, you are missing something.
This was as a result of some investments in the country. We are also appealing to people to come and invest in our community and they will not regret doing that because Ifon Osun is a versatile community with a lot of mineral resources that they can tap into. Also, we have a good network of roads.
As a businessman and a king, I will not rest until my community is developed to the state I want it to be and the taste I want is for Ifon to be like Dubai.
Many youths of today seem to have discarded Yoruba culture, what do you think can be done to address this?
As traditional rulers, we need to show by example. When a king is not well cultured, there is no message he can pass to his subjects. It is a pity that the society has turned to another thing today.
I don’t condone any act of immorality. We are Yoruba first before any other thing and as such, we should be seen as Yoruba I am committed to promoting our culture and values. Our culture is losing values fast and if nothing is done about it, the incoming generation might have to pay to go and buy our culture back because the white people have been coming to take away our culture.
Yoruba is the best culture all over the world but it is a pity that religion and some other knowledge acquired by people from different places have corrupted our culture.
Imagine an Alfa giving a monarch seven days to retrace his step. Does that not show that our culture is going into extinction? That is something his grandfather cannot even say to a monarch.
We should be very careful of this western culture and foreign religious.
Is Cairo or Jerusalem our fatherland? We should be very careful of our actions.
We do not have the fear of God again and the western culture and some religious fanatics have caused a lot of problems for us.
We now have children beating their parents in the open without minding the repercussions.
We have to be very careful. No one has seen God before and if there is anyone that has seen God before, he should come out and face me.
What is your take on the issue of minimum wage?
I want to urge the federal and state governments to look into the issue of minimum wage critically. Our economy is not buoyant like before. A worker with a wife and four children who can’t even afford to buy a bag of rice, how do you want such a person to survive? That is why some civil servants take bribes and steal.
Also, the civil servants should cooperate with the governments on this issue.
Do we really need an increment or the government should look at how to control the prices of goods and commodities?
Both sides should critically look into it. The government should look at how civil servants will live better. Also, pensioners should be paid their dues as and when due.
People are now falsifying their date of birth because of the fear of the unknown. They don’t want to leave their job because they are not sure they can get their pension after retirement. The government should look into all these.
How will you react to the Kano emirship tussle?
Kano happens to be my second home but I don’t want to say much on the issue because it is in court.
I will just appeal to the government that the traditional institution should be given autonomy to govern itself.
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