[VOR]

An interesting interview!

When they organised the traditional rulers’ forum in Abuja, Yoruba obas were ridiculed. They put all the emirs on the first row and put Yoruba obas, including the Ooni on the second row. When I came in, I asked for my seat and they wanted me to go and sit at the back. I just removed one of the tags and sat beside the Sultan of Sokoto.

Under the Clifford Constitution in 1922, two obas represented the whole of Nigeria at the legislative council – the Sultan of Sokoto and the Alaafin of Oyo. The Alaafin represented the entire south in Lagos. I left the place and went home, wrote a strongly worded letter to General Jeremiah Useni and copied the late General Abacha. Abacha invited me and I told him that government is a continuum. He reasoned with me and corrected that. The Alake and the Awujale never fought their own cause but I fought mine.

When they asked us for a meeting in Abuja, they asked us to bring our aides for hotel accommodation. The emirs would bring about eight and they put them in suits while they reserved two rooms for me. I just packed to one of the presidential suits. They said but it was not reserved for me, and I said they didn’t have to do that, I did it myself. You see, as the Alaafin, you cannot fear anything.

Their own cause is not biting the finger that was feeding them ke!