The Olu of Olode-Awolowo Town, Oba OlayemiYekiniOmisore, speaks with IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI on his 70th birthday among other sundry issues.
Sir, you are celebrating your 70th birthday today. How do you feel being alive to witness the glorious day which coincided with the Eid el-Fitri celebrations?
All glory be to Almighty Allah, the beneficent and the most merciful. He has been the one that has spared my life till this day. And I am very sure He will continue to be behind me to witness many more of it in sound health and peace of mind. This is because there is nothing anyone can do if the Almighty Allah has not empowered him or her to do so. So, I see my being alive to witness the 70th threshold as an act of His mercy and not necessarily my power, because there is truly nothing I can do without His help. So, I give all glory and honour to him.
Sometime last year, you were crowned as the Olu of Olode- Awolowo town succeeding the late Oba OlajideOmisore. How does it feel occupying such a traditional institution and what are those things you were doing before ascending the throne that you can no longer do?
Well, there have been a lot of differences between how I used to live before I became a king and how I live now. This is because I am more at the centre of people’s attention now unlike before. And this has particularly determined the kind of social engagements or outings I can attend. I can be in Ibadan and drive myself around the city. But I can’t do that in Ife and my domain, because all eyes will be on me. It has not been very easy; I must confess. Before I became a king, I could attend parties anyhow, but I can’t do that now. For instance, if people are doing funeral ceremonies and they invite me, I may not be able to attend such because of my status as an oba. There are some places I would have loved to visit and even enter, but I can’t just do so now, because people will read different kinds of meanings to my movements and actions. That is just a fact, but some people will not want to believe it. They would think I just did not want to grace their programmes, not knowing it’ is not all events that I can attend. But I strongly believe that I will definitely adapt after some time. And I must say that I have learned a lot since I became a king, because I attend to different issues every day. Just as you know, learning is a continuous process, so I believe I will continue to learn new things and unlearn some old things as days unfold. I believe that the Almighty Allah will see me through. I will not say the journey so far has been very smooth because it is usually not all rosy for us kings. People may be seeing us smiling and attending to issues fearlessly and getting results. But some of us too still have some personal issues that challenge us. But it is just the Almighty Allah that has been seeing us through.
Before you were crowned as oba, you were a strong player in the entertainment industry. So, what can you say about the Nigerian entertainment industry and the pieces of advice you can give the current players in the industry?
I studied Theatre Arts and Cinematography. But you will agree with me that things have turned upside down in the industry now, because it is not the way we started the industry that it is now at present. But what I have observed is that female actors now find it easy to make their mark in showbiz, unlike their male counterparts. The male actors would have to go through hell and sweat profusely before they can even get anyone [producers and all] to listen to them. It is also a function of the marketers who are at the centre of every transaction. You asked me about the advice I have for them. But I can’t say anything, because everything rises and falls on them in the industry.
Coming back to your communities, what are your various programmes and plans for the residents and indigenes of the town?
Well, very soon, some projects will be delivered to my community. This is because investors have been coming and indicating interest in bringing in one project or the other. And we are very much ready for them. I would have listed some of the projects now, but I want them to be completed before letting the cat out of the bag. There are other projects too. But it is not until I see some level of seriousness from the project’s sponsors that I would take them seriously. There are several projects to be completed and I believe before the end of this year, we will see a significant improvement in the level of the projects. As I have said, I won’t disclose the names, because I have been warned not to do so. So the plan is to start introducing the projects one after the other.
But if there is one piece of advice you would give to the Nigerian government, what would that be?
The truth is that we are all involved in governance. We simply just have one person at the top that is representing our interest. There is no gainsaying the fact that everything in Nigeria has become rotten. There is really no sector in this Nigeria where you will not find corruption. The whole country is riddled with corruption. It is so bad that even your domestic workers at home cannot be absolved of corruption. They are not innocent. It is the same for your gateman, mechanic, and even driver. You will send them on errands to get some things for you, but they will inflate the prices of the products. What then gives you the impression that if such people get to the corridors of power in Nigeria whether as legislators, governors or in the presidency, they won’t steal trillions? Every time the youths accuse those in the power of stealing huge public funds, but do you know how corrupt some of these youths also are? Money has no value before them these days. In fact, they see millions and talk about millions as if they are talking about a thousand naira. So, it is only God that can rescue Nigeria. There is no messiah anywhere, because no one can get there and do a quick fix of all the problems bedevilling us as a nation and as people. I say this because of the level of corruption that has been entrenched. Corruption has become endemic in Nigeria. We all blame the government, but we ourselves also have our fair share of the blame.
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