Obasanjo didn’t influence my becoming Olowu of Owu - Oba Dosunmu

   

Oba (Dr) Olusanya Adebgoyega Dosunmu, (CON), is the Olowu of Owu, Abeokuta, Ogun State. He speaks with Royalty and Festivity about Owu kingdom, the thorny issue of unity among the Yoruba race and his relationship with former president Olusegun Obasanjo, among others. Excerpts:

YOU describe yourself as the Akobi Oduduwa, how did you come about this?
Olowu is the first grandson of Oduduwa; his mother was the first child and daughter of Oduduwa. It was Oduduwa himself who removed the crown and put it on the head of Olowu and coronated him, even as a child. Being the first to wear the beaded crown of Oduduwa, he became therefore the first born, the first child out of Oduduwa’s ribs to wear crown and become an Oba, outside Ife kingdom.
What is the relationship between Owu and Egba in general?

Egba was one of the four kingdoms to break up from its homesteads and settled down in Abeokuta.  A lot of people don’t know the difference between Abeokuta and Egba. The Egba people came from the South western part of Oyo kingdom after the Owu war between 1821 and 26. They were the first to be completely routed out of their residences and flee the attack of combined forces of Ijebu, Ibadan, Ife, Ekiti, Ijesa and Oyo people. When the forces found it impossible to penetrate Owu people and having wasted four years waiting, they decided to attack Egba people who did not join the combined forces to attack Owu. Egba was attacked unaware, the devastation was much because Egba towns and villages were scattered in a place called, Egba Forest located in the South western part of Oyo kingdom. The forces set fire on every Egba town; this made Egba people to run away and come to Abeokuta where they found solace under the rock of Olumo. All other Egba conglomerates, the Gbagura, Oke-Ona also fled to Abeokuta. Owu people, on the other hand, were the real target of the attack; they too fled to Ijebu but went back to Owu. When they heard that Egba people were peacefully settled they also decided to come down to Abeokuta.

Why was Owu singled out as the sole enemy of other Yoruba sub-nations and attacked by their combined forces?Historians have advanced so many causes. The remote cause is that Owu people were too powerful.  They had become allies of British slave abolitionists and were used to police areas where inter-tribal war was rife. They were the ones stopping slavery. At a time in their attempt to stop slavery, they arrested an Oyo prince and tied him down shamefully. This did not go down well with Oyo and Ijebu people, though they (Ijebu people) were not capturing slaves, they were collecting tolls on every slave, because all slaves captured in the hinterland were transported through Ijebu to Lagos. Ijebu people set up toll gates and collected tolls on the slaves that passed through their boundaries. For Owu to put a stop to this prosperous trade was not in the interest of Ijebu people. As a result of Owu’s campaign against slavery in Yoruba land, they were really hated, so, any attempt to deal with them was welcome. However, the immediate cause of Owu war was as a result of a misunderstanding that ensued over one Ijebu woman who came to buy guinea pepper, ata ire, at Apomu market, which was located in Owu land then. She bought six bags of the pepper and carried them to Ijebu only to come the next market day complaining that one of the six bags was short of two pieces of ata ire, and demanded full compensation.  It is amazing that in the gathering of Yoruba people that day, they could not settle the rift. In an attempt to settle the rift, the Akogun of Owu, who was in charge of the market, drew out his sword to threaten the people and mistakenly struck the Ijebu woman who was also pregnant in the belly. Ijebu people heard about the incident, that was how Ibadan, Oyo, Ijesa and others joined forces together to fight Owu.

Disunity among Yoruba people is as old as the race itself, do you think this has changed or reduced?I agree with you. We have a lot against one another, the center has never held in Yoruba land, except for the dexterity of the Yoruba people in terms of wisdom and ability to settle. This is again ironical that the people who are so adept in settling crisis among themselves could not settle an issue over ata ire. In real sense, the Yoruba people are not as dexterous in settling quarrel as people think they are. It was among them that the trade of slavery was rampant; they were capturing one another and selling into slavery, that to me is an aberration of the so-called ability of the people to mend fences. Till tomorrow, you can still see traces of in-built resistance against one another among the race.

What could be the cause?Some people think it is education.

Was it education that made them to take up arms against one another and sell their relations into slavery?Comparatively, they must have had some kind education, like all the learning and philosophy of Ifa which was their major source of enlightenment. By 18th and 19th centuries, the Yoruba were quite enlightened. Usually among the enlightened, you always find differences of opinions and ideas. When this happens, there will be rivalry and hatred among such people. Even in Europe between 14th and 19th centuries, same thing happened there, after all slavery started in Europe before it moved down to Africa. It is because of enlightenment. The thought of being wiser than the other would create envy and rivalry and this could lead to war.

You don’t see this internecine rivalry as a result of greed among the people?Of course, it is true.  The people whose eyes were forced open, the human nature is to rule and lord it over the other whose eyes are not quite opened. It is human. Human beings are just like that. We are not infallible.

Those factors you mentioned earlier, in what way have they shaped the destiny of the race within the Nigerian nation?In politics for example, our so-called enlightenment has taken us to a status of saying no to ideas we don’t like. You will find that the first division politically started in Yoruba land, whereas where leaders of other races lead, that is where their people follow, it is not like that in Yoruba land. This kind of intellectual rivalry is much pronounced here because of the people’s early exposure to education and civilisation.
What is your relationship like with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo?

We grew up together as children. We went to the same church, same primary and high schools. He has done things that didn’t seem well with me, we have argued. We have slugged it out, but then we are friends.

How would you react to the allegation that Chief Obasanjo tore the paper containing the name of a would-be king said to be the choice of Ifa and presented to him by Owu kingmakers?I must correct this, Ifa oracle didn’t have anything to do with my installation. We have done away with that in Owu kingdom a long time ago. For Obasanjo, I don’t know about his tearing any paper. I wasn’t there. I didn’t see it, but some people alleged that. We should ask why would he do it? I’m not sure he did it. If he actually did it, could it have been because of some discrepancies that could blow out into a more serious thing?

You were said to be his preferred candidate then?Did he want me? Do you know that Obasanjo was not even among those people who voted me as Olowu, though he is a king maker, he was not there. He was away from that meeting.