Susan Wenger's House

Susan Wenger’s House

The late Adunni Olorisa whose untainted devotion to the Osun goddess, Susan Wenger died two years ago. She left her house in charge of one of her children. Taiwo Abiodun who visited the residence recently in Osogbo writes

The entrance to the two storey building painted in white is designed with wall murals. Animate and inanimate objects of different artworks are crafted on them. The beautiful green flowers that covered part of the building give it a shade, thus making the environment cool.

As one sashays into the expansive building one is confronted with animals of different species starring at the visitor as he enters. But there is only one thing; they are harmless and are motionless as they are only made of wood carvings, and paintings of all kinds. The staircase, tables, and chairs are all made of artworks; some made of iron, steel, stone, wood and oil paintings .The walls are also adorned with artworks. Not only this, in the corner of the living room, is a place meant for consulting the gods. Whoever comes to the living room will go to the corner where some ritual objects and clay pots are placed, to pay obeisance to the gods. Two women who came in knelt down, bowed and gently hit their foreheads on the ground three times and then uttered some incantations.

Welcome to Susan Wenger’s house at Ibokun Road, Osogbo, Osun State. The place is being manned by one of her adopted children, Mrs.Doyin Faniyi.
Welcome to the house of Adunni Olorisa, the Yeye Osun of Osogbo. Susan Wenger lived all her life studying Yoruba culture and arts, declared Faniyi , an art historian, chief priestess and a devotee of Osun Osogbo goddess.

She declared. “I am a complete traditional worshipper. I don’t go to church and I don’t care whatever anybody says about my religion and I have no apology for this,” she said, fiddling with the pendulum-like beads on her neck. She said each of the beads is a symbol. She noted; “The beads you are seeing are not ordinary beads; we have the one that represents my chieftaincy title, another represents another title while I also have a whisker as a traditional chief. All these are my accessories and paraphernalia of the positions I hold. There are taboos that are attached to all these and they must not be broken.”

The woman who has a first and Master’s degree in Yoruba and African Studies from the universities of Ilorin and Ibadan respectively said she remembered Yeye Osun always. She spoke about her relationship with the late cultural icon; “I am one of the children of Mama Aduni. I was here from birth and I grew up with her as my mother. She was a wonderful mother and I have continued from where she stopped. I can never forger her roles in my life”.

Asked whether she felt inferior or discriminated against because of Wenger’s white skin, the woman laughed and said it never crossed her mind whether the late Wenger was black or white as she never behaved as such. “She had already become a Yoruba woman so the thought never came to her at all,” she added.

According to her, she became a Chief Priest some years ago, consulting the gods and acting as a diviner, who helps people to solve their problems, and performing rituals as well as offering sacrifices when necessary. “I am a traditionalist to the core. I also act as a consultant to those who come here for research. I paint, and as well do textile design for exhibitions. While Iya Aduni Olorisa was alive, I travelled with her to many places like the United States of America, Great Britain, and Austria for exhibitions,” she exhaled.

On the last days of Yeye Osun, she said; “Oh, it was wonderful and nobody expected it. Though she was sick, she was getting better until she just died. She did not die in the house but in the hospital. It is a pity we could not do anything as the reality dawned on us at last. We will always be remembering her for many things, for her maternal care and devotion. Mama was a wonderful, great model. When you get to the groove, you will see the monumental sculpturing on the walls and many other works she did there. She wrote books on textile designs”.

However, what still surprised many is the fact that the house Susan Wenger had occupied since the 50s does not belong to her. She rented it. According to Braimoh, “The house belonged to my late father and Susan Wenger rented it when she came to Osogbo. They have just paid for another 10 years for the house rent and they have not told us whether they will acquire it or not”. The question on many minds is whether the state government will acquire the house and turn it into a monument of attraction in areas of cultural research.
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Igbo Ora, the home of twins

Igbo Ora, the town of twins

Hardly could one get to a household at Igbo Ora, Oyo State, without seeing a set of twins. The indigenes believe that a kind of okra leaves, locally known as ewe ilasa, is capable of making women who use it give birth to twins. Taiwo Abiodun who visited the town writes on this phenomenon

Welcome to Igbo Ora, The Nation’s Home of Twins. Those are the boldly written words that a first time visitor to the ancient town of Igbo Ora is bound to see as they course through its main entrance. A little further into the town at the roundabout is a sculpture of a woman, a mother of twins with a baby strapped to her back and another on her chest with a girdle, while the twins raised up their hands in an ecstasy of jubilation.

At the mere mentioning of Taiye or Kehinde in the public place could trigger a simultaneous response from more than four people. In other words, the names, being what twins are called (the former for the one who came first and the latter for the one who followed) in Yoruba land, unusually have more than one claimant in this land.
“If you gather about 200 people, 70 per cent of them is likely to be twins,” Taiwo, twin, told The Nation. “I am a twin and my twin brother’s wife is also a twin and she has a set of twins. My younger sister, Idowu, has two set of twins too but I don’t have twins yet. I believe that my new wife will deliver twins by God’s grace,” he said as he thumped his chest.

Chief Isaac Olurinmade Olapegba [JP],73, described the town as a unique town where God blessed the people with twins and triplets, saying “every time our women deliver babies they always give birth to twins and at times triplets. You can go and ask the medical doctors as the record is there for everyone to see. In fact, people from all walks of life do come here for research.”
Elated, the septuagenarian further told The Nation that the signs that the town is blessed with twins are everywhere. “Go to the entrance of the town and to the roundabout where we have the statue of the mother of twins and her babies on her chest and her back. Delivering twin babies is our industry here. We are the ones producing more twins than any other towns in Nigeria, and that is what our study reveals because of the symbolic reason that we prepare okra leaves as soup more than any other soup,” he said.

He noted further that: “There is no man or woman in this town who does not know how to eat okra soup. We cook the leaves called ewe ilasa (ilasa leaves) more of which we consume than any other soup. If you go to the market on market days, you will see how twins’ mothers carry their twin babies and dance around demanding for money. Hardly will you go to any house without seeing at least a set of twins. In fact, you could see three sets of twins in a house. Therefore, if you are calling Taiye, you need to be specific so that we can know whether it is the senior or junior one, or else all of the twins could rush to you to answer. It is a funny thing and we shall soon have twins fill the town. It is God’s gift; it is just blessing we cannot explain. It is incredible.”

In order to convince this reporter of his claim, the old man took him round the town, visiting about 20 houses where they have a set of twins, triplets, or two sets of twins of different age, similar and different sexes. Again, it is not uncommon to hear that a Taiye or a Kehinde is away to Lagos to buy clothes when asked about their whereabouts. The import of this metaphoric journey is simply that the person in question is dead. In some of the houses visited, such euphemistic rendition was not wanting.

A mother of twins simply called Iya Ibeji (a mother of twins) observed that the nursing of twins is quite hectic, especially at infancy. She said, “Feeding the twins and taking care of them is not easy at infancy, but it only gets better when they are growing up. When they become big men and women, say medical doctors or engineers, one can now be proud of them because they have become big men and women – important personalities in the society. Then you will appreciate them as people will envy them and you would have forgotten the stress you have gone through.”

She spoke on the idiosyncrasies of twins: “Their best foods are beans and corn meal. While growing up, they wear the same clothes and put on the same shoes. The fact is that some mothers die while taking care of them because of the rigour of stress and many other things they undergo while the children are very young. Breast-feeding them is a very tasking for the mother. Hardly does the mother have time for herself. Twins always cry at the same time and fall sick again at the same time, or one after another. And the mother has no choice but to take care of them sometimes to the detriment of her health.”

Similarly, Olapegba revealed that twins, according to the town’s traditional belief, are regarded as special creatures and therefore should be treated like gods. Hear him: “We have our own traditional way of taking care of twins. We buy them the same clothes, shoes, bangles, and do same hairstyles for them. We equally treat them like gods and therefore build a shrine for them in the corner of the living room where we use the items like palm oil, tubers of yam, and dry beans (ekuru) for ritual everyday, especially when one of them is sick or dead. When one of the twins dies, an effigy which will serve as a replacement of the deceased is carved and placed in a corner where some rituals are carried out on it everyday so that the living one is not dragged along to the grave.” According to the town’s spokesperson, this is compulsory, for many twins had been snatched by death just because the rituals were neglected.

In the words of Mrs. Kehinde Sakiratu Kehinde, her mother had three sets of twins and also built shrines for them when they were young. However, her twin brother, Taiwo, died recently and she feels his absence daily. In a quavering voice, she said: “Despite the fact we are not identical and of different sex, I still miss him.” Asked whether she has an effigy of her twin brother on which she pours libation or palm oil on so as to prevent him from taking her away to himself, the woman replied to the contrary, saying, “it was practised in the olden days but things have changed now. It is still practised by the illiterates. Not only this, Christianity has taken away all these things and education has changed many things too. But that does not mean some people are not doing it as some still believe in it. It has become personal belief for many. I cannot blame them over this.”

On why some of the twins’ mothers dance round the town, Kehinde said the mothers of these twins should not be blamed, for many are given the conditions by soothsayers or diviners called babalawo. According to her, twins are considered to be strange people who came to the world of their own and it is believed that they have different spirit that goes with them and that is why they cannot be harmed. She added, “Some of these mothers were informed before the children grow up that they must take them out and must dance round the town or market places or else they would die. I know a wealthy woman who is a trader and sells clothing materials in Lagos. But when her baby twins were falling sick everyday, she was instructed by the oracle to go and dance in the market places before they could recover. She refused and was ashamed to go so low and out of shame did not do it. But she would later regret that as one of the living twins fell sick again and was dying. She later went to the market place to dance.”

Mrs Kafaya Olawale, another mother of twins, was met breastfeeding her baby twins. Her twins, she said, are one year and two months old. She equally agreed breastfeeding a set of twins is a hard work to do. “It is not easy my brother,” she moaned pointing to them and adding, “You can imagine how they both cry for breast at the same time. Besides, they cry a lot if they find out that they are wearing different clothes. It’s like they are spirits, for one would cry if she sees her twin sister wearing clothes different from hers. So, you must wear the same clothes for them or else they will keep on crying and this could lead to sickness for them.”

To Kafaya, the claim that the eating of some special okra leaves also aide the birthing of twins in this town is not a myth. “Yes, it is true. If you want to have baby twins, just go for ilasa leaves. That is the way one can have twins. The leaves are cooked as soup and before you know it you will be pregnant with twins.”

When this reporter got to the market and requested ilasa leaves, the sellers all laughed and asked him whether his wife is aiming to have twins. The surprising thing is that most of the sellers are called Iya Ibeji. Displaying the leaves, one of the women, a mother of twins, declared: “I have three sets of twin and this ilasa leaf is the secret behind it here in this town, nothing else. That is our own industry here and people come here to ask for it even from overseas they do demand for it and take it out.”

Apart from being known for having twins, Igbo Ora is also known to be the sixth largest charcoal-producing town in Oyo State. Igbo Ora derived its name, according to an octogenarian, from verbal challenge posed to a friend. According to him, there were two friends; one lived in the town while the other lived in the forest. The latter occasionally did come to town to pass time there with his friend. He got so used to this that sometime he would not feel like going home. One day, his town-dweller friend asked him to go to the forest he bought (igbo o ra). Ever since, the saying became a household name with which the town is identified.

A prophet’s strange world

Joseph Adeyemi Bojesomo of Cherubim and Seraphim Church is believed to be over 100 years of age. He climbs over 400 steps weekly and still religiously observes fasting. He said God instructed him in 1945 to spend only seven days on the Ori Oke Erinmo (Erinmo Mountain) and since then he has not completed the seven days. Taiwo Abiodun visited the prophet on the mountain

Going to the top of Ori Oke Erinmo Mountain reminds one of the late Daniel Fagunwa’s novels, Ireke Onibudo, which revolves round some hunters’ expedition to the legendary Oke Langbodo (Langbodo Hill). So tasking and discomfiting is the exercise of climbing up to the zenith of the mountain that some of the climbers could not make it. Again, like Sisyphus in the Sisyphean myth, all their galvanised efforts to role their human boulders up the summit of the mountain prove disappointingly abortive. For a few of the numerous climbers of Ori Oke Erinmo, their experience was not too different. Many who came for prayer and spiritual incubation [abe aabo] were seen struggling to climb the concrete steps. This reporter, strenuously climbing too, was panting like a dog and nearly fainted. It took almost one hour to successfully climb from the base of the mountain to its top. Situated somewhere in Erinmo, near Ilesha, Osun State, some men and women were seen in their white sultana (garment) on this rocky mountain maintaining a recumbent position praying. Some were calling the name of Prophet Bojesomo and Jesus to intercede for them. Not only this, there are about five to six mud houses with a small brick-decorated temple built on the rock. That is Joseph Adeyemi Bojesomo’s abode. Bojesomo’s head is as white as snow. The whiteness of beards is interspersed with some strands of black hairs. His voice cracks as he speaks. He does not use a walking stick and is not bent double as is characteristic of those of his age. Stout of stature, hardly would one believe he is truly of the age credited to him. Speculation has it that he could be over 100 years of age. He could not tell exactly his age because, according to him, he did not know when he was born. But he believes he is a little bit advanced in age. He, however, attributes his agility and strength to climb the over 400 steps to God’s glory. He said, “It is true that I often climb the mountain. At times I would have to rest twice or thrice and then continue with the journey to the mountain top. In fact, whenever I go to this bush for hunting expedition, I do descend the mountain with the bush meat I caught carried on my head. I don’t know where the strength comes from.” The prayer mountain is in the forest which it borders Ekiti State. It is about one hour’s trek to the base of the mountain – a ride on okada would take about 20 minutes (and for only 400 naira) to the base of the mountain. The Okada rider that took this reporter to the base of the mountain confided in him that important personalities like senior police officers, senior military officers, politicians and people from all walks of life come from far and near to visit the place. They would pack their cars nearby and then ride on okada to the base of the mountain in the forest. “The moment we sight them we would charge them higher than ordinary person and we make good money. It is a good source of revenue for us”, the commercial biker said, beaming with smiles. On the choice of the location of the mountain, which is far away from the town, the heavily bearded man of God declared: “This place is a special place. It is owned by my father and he used to worship the gods on this mountain. Then it was occupied by the gods and I thought I would join him later in life worshipping along with him but God claimed the mountain at 11pm in the night of 1925 and told me that He would turn this place into a place where He would be worshipped. He said He would turn this place into a town. While on the mountain, three angels were praying along with me and they are angels Michael, Raphael and Uriel.” According to Bojesomo, he was called by God in 1945 to turn the place from one being used for idol worshipping to that which is dedicated to the worship of God. God instructed him to spend only seven days and after which he would leave the place. “Since 1945 when God asked me to spend seven days here, I have been here and I am yet to complete the seven days .Until I complete the seven days, I am not leaving. That is the covenant I made with God. I have not completed the seven days and when I complete it, I will come down,” he disclosed. Bojesomo finally made up his mind to be living on the mountain in 1945. “My wife, child and I were the first to come to this mountain to stay in 1945. Later, God increased the number to four, with additional five later. God did not stop His good works here on this mountain, for He heals and saves lost souls. Those seeking the fruit of the womb came here to pray and got children. People visit this place from far and near. God promised to bring His people here and He has been doing His work. You only need to bring water here and it will be prayed on. Thereafter, it becomes holy and you are richly blessed,” he said. With the growth and expansion of the church came controversy about the land on which the church is situated. The conflict raged on and the land was almost confiscated. Narrating the ordeals he went through before he could repossess the land, Bojesomo said, “Before I could recover my land back I faced a lot of challenges and evil forces in the 1970s. The then monarch of Erinmo town, the Elerinmo of Erinmo, almost took possession of the land and the mountain from me. The land belonged to my late father, Bojesomo. The mountain and the land‘s location is controversial as many call it Oke Erinmo thinking it is situated in Erinmo near Ilesha in Osun State. This is because people take the route to the mountain top but it is in Efon Alaye, in Ekiti State. Soon, when the road from Efon Alaye to the place was constructed worshippers no longer take the Erinmo/ Ilesha route. This is the mountain on which my father worshipped idols and gods and it is the family land. They waged war against me because of the mountain and the land as we (Elerinmo and I myself) dragged ourselves to the Owa of Ilesha. The case took over one month. We almost shot ourselves as the police came from Akure, Aramoko, Ado-Ekiti and Efon Alaaye. I have all the files. I called on all the chiefs from Ilesha to call their ancestral gods and I would call mine and we would swear on who owns the land. But they later pleaded with me and begged me. Later the Elerinmo was warned not to bother me again. That was how I repossessed my land.” The prophet’s life has not been free from the threat of death and near-death experiences. He recalled how he miraculously escaped from being killed several times. According to him, on the numerous occasions when his attackers came with cudgels and cutlasses, he would walk in their midst and escape without being seen, leaving them arguing one with another on whether he was the one who had just passed by them. He spoke about his grey beard. As he was speaking he removed the cap from his head and said, “It is not only my beard that is white; my head is pure white. It is the Holy Spirit that instructed me to keep the beard. Razor has not touched it for the past 50 years.” Incredibly, the man of God also doubles as a traditional chief. Some Christians frown at this. Asked what he is doing with the irukere (whisk) hanging on the wall of the sitting room of his private house at Efon Alaaye, the man of God responded, “Jesus is king. God is reigning in our lives. I am a king. I am a chief. The church committee told me sometime ago that I should stop bringing the whisk to church conferences, saying it was against the tenets of Christianity. But I laughed and replied that it did not matter. I am from a royal family and it cannot be stopped in my family. Whoever stopped using the whisk in our family is a bastard.” The mountain-dwelling prophet always dons white garments – the white for him represents purity. “I have over 40 sultanas and do not know the number of waist girdles I have,” he maintained. On the meaning of his name, Bojesomo revealed, “I was told that my grandfather gave birth to many children but they always die at infancy. And when my father was born he was called Bojesomo meaning: ‘let us watch whether this one would be the child’. Since then it became the family name, and my father lived.” This God’s messenger is not in want of feminine pleasure and comfort. He is the husband of four wives! He is often being “policed” by two of his wives. One of them said, “Papa is old and we don’t want him always to be stressed. That is why we always go with him whenever he comes to the mountain”. Papa, as he is called, has one wish: he wants the government to construct the road leading to the mountain. Said he: “Many have come here and have seen how difficult it is to get here. So, the road should be constructed and we need a helicopter to be landing here.” Aside his wish is the pang of disappointment that weighs heavily on his mind. He is pained that those whose prayer requests were answered have neglected and totally forgotten about him. Many of them don’t come back to redeem their pledges or fulfil their vows. He raised his hands and said wryly, “Many people do come here; all the past and present heads of state visited here for spiritual assistance. Ministers, commissioners, and governors do come here for anointing oil and when they got what they wanted they forget this mountain. This is what pains me most. It is not too much for helicopters to be landing here all the time”.

11 is my mystery number —Oba Olateru Olagbegi

By Taiwo Abiodun, Owo

His Royal Majesty Olowo of Owo, David Victor Folagbade Olateru Olagbegi III recently celebrated his 10th year coronation anniversary. In this interview, he spoke with Taiwo Abiodun on his journey on the throne, the love he has for the ancient town, his late father, the 11 mystery number and many more You have spent 10years on the throne how has it been?

Well, I thank God. I think its quite memorable. I thank God for the experience. For experience is the better teacher. I went through a lot and I thank God for everything.So far, so good , I thank God for it. What have you achieved since?

I think when I came I had my own vision. I want this place to be bubbling again as it was when I was young. Owo used to be the commercial nerve centre in those days when I was youg. By the time I came things were relatively dull, and I had to start pleading to people to come and help us develop this place.I am happy there is a lot of development now. Here, we have banks like Inter Continental and many more and others are still coming up. We have a university, we have factories now like the Aluminium and many others are coming up.

You are a lawyer, a Christian, a custodian of Culture. How do you cope?

Oh! I do cope, the legal profession helps me in many ways. As a Christian I believe in God the Almighty. If you read Job Chapter 28 verse 28 which says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom so, I really fear the Lord. I am a Christian and I pray to God always. As a traditionalist, I respect our culture and tradition so much and this does not mean paganism.There is a difference between Christianity and Culture.

Kabiyesi, is it true that everyone who kicked against your enthronment suffers one tragedy or the other?

You know as a Christian it is not acceptable for me to pray that God should destroy my enemies.There is no way I could be so close to God as I am today if those things did not happen.Though it is painful that such things happened, but I could tell you that they actually worked out for my own good. It is not even Biblical for you to tell God to kill your enemy. God is not a hired killer! What kills the enemy faster is for him to be alive to see the purpose of God fulfilled in your life. If they are beset by tragedies it is because of the evil they did in the sight of God and my earnest prayer for them is that they repent and turn away from evil, otherwise they may continue to face the wrath of God.

With the experience you have you still assist Owo people a lot?

Owo people are nice. I must assist the needy ones. Our children are our future. We must help them get good jobs, go to higher institutions and be good citizens of Nigeria.We must sheath the sword and forge ahead.We must spread the hands of fellowship to our people. A lot of people did not know me then when there was crisis in Owo, today they know me. I thank God. That is why I have open door policy.We should spread our hands of fellowship to them and bring them closer. During the crisis there were rumours that you died. How did you manage the situation? It is God that did everything. Talking about not seeing me, by then I travelled. I wasn’t around, I could be in the US,England, Abuja or Lagos. It was quite a long time so when the people did not see me they peddled the rumour.I was not surprised, it is normal and above all God was in total control.

During the last Igogo festival you danced round to Ehin Ogbe quarters where everybody believed you will not go?

The people of Ehin Ogbe are nice people. I think it’s alright for me to go there and say hello. The last time Olowo went there was about 29years ago.The Igogo festival is a festival that unites all the natives. It is okay.

People come here everyday to seek assistance from you, how do you cope?

I am a quiet man .I do not want to be blowing my trumpet.If I assist my fellow people it is not in my blood to be saying it. God should be given the glory not me.

Why are you called O.O. by some people?

My parents christened me David Victor Folagbade. Ah! Who told you this boy? [laughs] I t is some of my friends also said it means Olowo of Owo,Olateru Olagbegi,Ordained Oba,Ogo f’’Oluwa, they all love the initials of that O.O.

When you were young, did you aspire to be a king?

Well, behind the mind of every prince they know what they want. We pray to God to give us our own desire.

Why did you choose to read Law and not another course?

You want to know about it? You see when I was young and with my father , one day a gentleman came in suit to see him and came with his uncle to the palace.I asked my father who he was and my father said that the gentleman was a lawyer and has just come back from England,I was fascinated. He is now a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), he is Elder Olakunori, an indigene of this town.That was where I picked my interest and went to read Law in England. Tell us about your father, the late Sir Olateru Olagbegi II (KBE). My father was a great man. He was understanding, kind, generous, educated, loving and a lover of peace. He was a man one can be proud of. He was intellectually giant.

But he was sent into exile?

Yes, he went for 25 years. There was a prediction about that 25 years. Yes ,that was what I heard, that it was predicted. He reigned here (Owo) for 25years. He was deposed and banished and was away for 25 years. And he returned and reigned for another five years before he passed on in 1998.

Where were you and how did you feel when he was deposed?

I was in England then almost finishing my Law course.I was surprised when I heard,He was banished from Owo and sent to Okitipupa where I had to stay later. When he was released he was asked not to come to Owo, later he was told to come to Owo and that was in 1977. In 1993 he was reinstated as the Olowo of Owo until he passed on in 1998.

Your late father was reported to have over 100 children as at 1969?

Well, it is not completely correct.Yes, my father had many children but not up to 100 as you have said.The fact is that it is not in our culture to count the number of our children. By our culture we do not count the number of our children.

He trained all his children by sending them to school?

Yes, he did. I think the best legacy is to give our children good education. Apart from being a meal ticket, I think it exposes them and makes them good citizens.

Do you share the same philosophy?

Of course yes. I have been trying my best to train my children. I also tell others too and assist them in any form to make sure they train their children too.

Its like legal profession flows in the family?

I am a lawyer, I have produced lawyers too among my children.

Your father had many wives , as an educated and popular monarch how many do you have?

I have only one wife. How many did you see here? (laughs)As a custom we have custom of inheritance, my father’s wives are my wives, that means I have many wives (laughs). There is this mystery number 11, people are talking about , what is it. You see ,when I went to contest I picked ‘’agada’’ (traditional staff of office) of the past Olowo which would reveal how my reign would be. Out of nine agadas, I mysteriously counted 11 agadas. I picked Elewuokun’s agada. Elewuokun was the most powerful Olowo and his reign was also wonderful.I had my first child on the 11 th.My mother went with the Lord on the 11th of January and when it was exactly 11 months and 11days I received the royal staff of office at the governor’s office on the 11th December 2003 at 11:13am.

Who are those that influenced your life?

A lot of people. Many years ago Mrs Henrietta Williams, the wife of Ladi Williams (SAN) wrote a letter to me and said I would become the Olowo of Owo in future , but I should be a king after God’s heart. Primate Fakeye of Ayo Ni O church prayed for me several years ago and said I would become a king and that he saw a lot of crisis around me but I would overcome every obstacle. I remember Pastor Adenrele who was my father’s prophet in those days .I was in Law school when I met him. Myself and Yeyesa (one of my father’s wives) went to him for prayer and he said I would become a politician because he saw me in the midst of politicians and that I would later become a king. That was in 1968 and 1981. I became the Legal Adviser to Vice President Dr. Alex Ekwueme and in 1999, I became the Olowo of Owo. I remember Primate Akinola whom I met years ago too in London. As he was about to go he gave me his complimentary card and wrote Psalm 30:5 at the back. Pastor Adejare Adeboye is another respected man of God, a man of honour and dignity, a great man of God whom God is using for Nigeria who prayed for me in one of the Holy Ghost services. He prophesised that there was a king that people wanted to cut his reign short but God said He would frustrate his enemies. He told me not to worry that I would get the staff of office soon. A time was when some people threatened to cause trouble if he visited the palace when he had a crusade in Owo. He came and nothing happened. I will not forget Primate Adetiloye too who prayed for me and asked me to read the book of Ephesians 3:30.He told me not to worry.

Olowo palace is the oldest palace in Nigeria and it still retains its beauty .What is the magic wand behind it?

No magic wand. We are trying our best. We have not been where we should.We are pleading to the Federal and State governments, friends and even corporate organisations to assist help us build a new modern palace like some of our other monarchs, even if we have our heritage and oldest palace. The Owo people should come together and develop the place, we have no other home.

Welcome to my world

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