At Ikate, Oba Lateef Adams Marks 10th Anniversary With Empowerment, Giving Subjects Tools to Build Their Livelihoods

*‘I am a father before I am a king’ – Oba Adams

*Occasion witnessed many benefits including a sewing machine that came like a miracle

*An elderly couple got a new lease of life, as Onikate chose empowerment of his people over lavishness

*I went round town ten times to select eligible beneficiaries – Olori Risikat Adams

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

Hundreds of traders, artisans, small-scale entrepreneurs and residents of Ikate Kingdom gathered at the venue, waiting with excitement as names of beneficiaries were called one after another.

By mid-morning on Thursday, July 23, 2026, the palace grounds of Ikate Kingdom in Surulere, Lagos State, had assumed an unusual appearance.

It was neither entirely a traditional royal celebration nor an ordinary community gathering. Instead, the venue on Olaogun Street looked like a colourful open-air trade fair, with rows of brand-new chest freezers, industrial sewing machines, welding machines, hair-washing basins and grinding machines carefully arranged for distribution.

Hundreds of traders, artisans, small-scale entrepreneurs and residents of Ikate Kingdom gathered at the venue, waiting with excitement as names of beneficiaries were called one after another.

The occasion was the 10th anniversary of the coronation of the Onikate of Ikate Kingdom, Surulere, Oba Lateef Adams, but the monarch chose to mark the milestone in a manner that placed his subjects at the centre of the celebration.

Rather than organising a celebration focused solely on pomp, pageantry and royal entertainment, the monarch used the anniversary to empower members of his community with equipment and financial support designed to strengthen their businesses and livelihoods.

For many of the beneficiaries, the event was more than an anniversary celebration. It was an unexpected intervention that offered them an opportunity to improve their economic circumstances and, in some cases, provided tools they had struggled for years to acquire.

The initiative, according to the monarch, was rooted in the belief that blessings come with responsibilities.

Reflecting on the programme, Oba Adams said the empowerment was motivated by the conviction that anyone who had been blessed had a duty to extend that blessing to others.

“The initiative is simply based on the thinking that if God has blessed you, then you have an obligation to also bless those around you,” the monarch said.

He disclosed that 100 people received cash grants of N100,000 each, explaining that the beneficiaries included petty traders and small business operators selling bread, noodles, sachet water and other everyday commodities.

According to him, the financial assistance was intended to enable the beneficiaries to increase their business capital and, in turn, improve the welfare of their families.

The monarch explained that the empowerment programme had grown beyond what was initially envisaged.

What began as an idea for a modest anniversary gesture eventually expanded into a broad-based intervention involving a significant number of residents and a wide range of business equipment.

For Oba Adams, however, the real measure of the occasion was not its size but its potential impact on the lives of the beneficiaries.

‘I Am a Father Before I Am a King’

At the heart of the anniversary programme was a philosophy that Oba Adams repeatedly emphasised: his responsibility as a traditional ruler was not limited to ceremonial duties but extended to the welfare of the people under his authority.

“Empowering my subjects gives me joy,” the monarch said.

His decision to devote his 10th anniversary to an empowerment programme was seen by many participants as a reflection of his approach to traditional leadership.

Rather than making the anniversary primarily about his own achievements, the monarch directed attention to ordinary residents whose daily struggles often go unnoticed.

Among the beneficiaries were hairdressers who needed modern equipment, traders who depended on chest freezers to preserve their goods, artisans who lacked the machines required to operate independently, and elderly entrepreneurs whose businesses had been threatened by failing equipment.

Oba Adams also drew a distinction between his initiative and empowerment programmes frequently organised by politicians.

“This is definitely different from what a politician would do. I am a royal father,” he said.

According to him, political office holders have access to public allocations and other official resources, whereas traditional rulers do not receive comparable funds to execute such programmes.

“Politicians get allocations and other allowances for their constituencies. For royal fathers, government does not give us any such money. Even the little we get as salary is not enough to take care of the household. So, this is directly from me to uplift people in my domain,” he explained.

That distinction resonated with many of the beneficiaries, particularly those who said they had not expected to receive any assistance.

A Sewing Machine That Came Like a Miracle

Among those whose lives were directly touched by the intervention was Farouk Ogunriola, a young man who had completed his apprenticeship in a fashion house three years earlier.

Although he had acquired the skills needed to establish himself as an independent tailor, he was unable to take the next step because he could not afford a sewing machine.

The death of his mother had further complicated his situation, leaving him without the financial support he needed to establish his own business.

For Ogunriola, the industrial sewing machine he received at the anniversary celebration represented the fulfilment of a long-standing hope.

Speaking emotionally in Yoruba, he described the equipment as nothing short of a miracle.

“There is no way I would describe this machine as anything other than a miracle because there was no way I would have been aware, let alone have the connection to be able to get on any such list to secure this tool which is critical to my life,” he said.

He expressed gratitude to the monarch, saying that hearing his name called as a beneficiary had left him overwhelmed with emotion.

For a young man who had spent years learning a trade but could not afford the basic equipment needed to practise it independently, the sewing machine represented not merely a gift but a potential turning point.

An Elderly Couple Gets a New Lease of Life

The empowerment also reached older residents whose livelihoods had been sustained by small businesses built over many years.

One of them was Baba Mathew Aluko, an elderly man who, together with his wife, had spent years grinding pepper for residents in the community.

Their livelihood depended heavily on an old grinding machine that frequently broke down. Replacing it, however, was beyond their financial means.

The new grinding machine presented an opportunity to continue their trade with greater reliability.

“What my wife and I have always done is grind pepper for people in this community, but due to the issues we have with our old grinding machine, I just didn’t see a way out as we could not afford a new one,” Aluko said.

He described the new equipment as a “new lease of life” and expressed appreciation to Oba Adams and his wife, Olori Risikat Adams, for the support.

For Aluko and his wife, the intervention was not simply about acquiring a machine. It was about preserving a livelihood that had sustained them for years.

Hairdresser Replaces Basin After More Than a Decade

For Joseph Mary, a hairdresser operating around Olayemi Street near the popular Kilo Bus Stop, the empowerment came as a complete surprise.

She said palace representatives had visited the area weeks before the event, collecting information from some residents.

At the time, she did not understand why they were asking for her name and telephone number.

Her surprise deepened when she received a call on July 22, a day before the anniversary programme, informing her that she had been selected as a beneficiary.

When she arrived at the palace and received a brand-new hair-washing basin, the significance of the gift immediately became clear.

Mary said she had been using her old basin for more than 10 years and had been saving gradually to purchase a replacement.

“I’m very happy. The basin I’ve been using is over ten years old. I was thinking of buying another one but I have been struggling to gather the money because it is expensive,” she said.

With the new equipment, she said she felt relieved and grateful to the monarch and his household.

“May Almighty God bless our daddy,” she prayed, expressing hope that the blessings associated with the expenditure would return to the royal family.

From Sachet Water and Drinks Seller to Business Owner With New Capital

Another beneficiary, Azeezat Odubona Anisola, received one of the N100,000 cash grants.

Azeezat sells cold drinks in one of the streets in Ikate, a business she operates by purchasing ice blocks from the market.

She said the rising cost of ice blocks and the general economic difficulties had made it increasingly difficult to sustain and expand her business.

Her encounter with palace representatives, she recalled, came at a time when she was more concerned about what her children would eat that day than about the possibility of receiving financial assistance.

According to her, she initially did not understand why the representatives were asking for her details.

It was only later that she was informed that they were from the palace and were identifying small business operators who might benefit from the empowerment initiative.

What she eventually received far exceeded her expectations.

“I sell drinks by buying ice blocks in the market, and you know how the market situation is now, with the price of ice blocks,” she said.

The N100,000 grant, she explained, would enable her to inject additional capital into the business and improve her ability to provide for her family.

Olori Risikat Adams: ‘I Went Round the Town About Ten Times’

Behind the empowerment programme was months of preparation and community-level identification of potential beneficiaries.

Olori Risikat Adams, the queen of Ikate Kingdom, explained that considerable effort had gone into ensuring that the initiative reached people who genuinely needed assistance.

Rather than simply announcing the programme and waiting for people to apply, she said she personally went around the community several times to identify residents whose businesses and livelihoods could benefit from the intervention.

“I went round this town, maybe about ten times, to see the people who really needed it,” she said.

The queen expressed satisfaction with the turnout and the reaction of residents to the programme.

She said the beneficiaries were not selected merely because of the anniversary but because there was a genuine need for the tools and financial assistance being provided.

Olori Risikat appealed to the beneficiaries to use the equipment and funds wisely, urging them not to sell the items but to deploy them toward building sustainable businesses and supporting their families.

She expressed the hope that the intervention would have a multiplier effect, enabling parents to provide better opportunities for their children, including education.

“The industrial sewing machines, the welding machines, freezers, hair-washing equipment and others are tools that they can put to great effect,” she said.

She added that the cash grants should equally be invested in businesses so that beneficiaries could generate income and improve their living conditions.

Traditional Leadership With a Human Face

The initiative also received strong commendation from members of the palace and the wider community.

Chief Olayemi Salami, the Lisa of Ikate Surulere, described the 10th anniversary empowerment programme as a reflection of Oba Adams’ commitment to the welfare of his subjects.

According to him, the monarch had, over the years, supported residents with clothing, rice and other household items, but decided that the 10th anniversary presented an opportunity to provide something that could help people generate sustainable income.

“We thank God for our Kabiyesi. It’s been ten years since he was enthroned and he has brought real change to this community,” Salami said.

He described the empowerment initiative as evidence of a traditional ruler who was concerned about how residents could improve their economic circumstances and provide better lives for their families.

He added that the monarch’s reputation among residents was largely shaped by his accessibility and concern for the people.

According to Salami, the decision to provide business equipment and cash grants was a logical extension of the monarch’s belief that celebrations should have lasting value.

A Legacy Measured in Livelihoods

The significance of the event in Ikate Kingdom went beyond the anniversary of a monarch’s coronation.

It offered a glimpse into a form of traditional leadership that seeks to measure its impact through tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary people.

For the hairdresser who had used the same basin for more than a decade, the new equipment meant renewed dignity and improved service.

For the young tailor who had completed his apprenticeship but lacked the money to buy a sewing machine, the gift represented an opportunity to finally begin his independent career.

For the elderly pepper grinder whose old machine had become unreliable, the new equipment offered renewed hope for the continuation of a family livelihood.

And for the petty trader who received N100,000, the grant represented much-needed working capital at a time when the cost of doing business continues to rise.

These were not grand monuments. They were practical tools.

Yet, for the people who received them, their value could be measured in daily income, family welfare, children’s education and the possibility of a more secure future.

As the crowds gradually dispersed from the palace grounds and beneficiaries carried their equipment home, the symbolism of the 10th anniversary became clear.

Oba Lateef Adams’ decade on the throne had been marked not only by the traditional rituals associated with royalty but also by an attempt to connect the institution of the traditional ruler with the everyday economic realities of his subjects.

The chest freezers, sewing machines, welding machines, grinding machines, hair-washing basins and cash grants distributed that day became physical reminders of the anniversary.

For Ikate Kingdom, the celebration may therefore be remembered not simply as the day its monarch marked 10 years on the throne, but as the day a royal anniversary was transformed into an investment in livelihoods.

In the words of the monarch, the ultimate purpose was for the beneficiaries to direct the benefits of the intervention toward their families and the wider community.

It was a message that appeared to resonate throughout the gathering: that leadership is not only about occupying a throne, but about using whatever blessings and influence one possesses to make life better for the people within one’s care.

For the Onikate of Ikate Surulere, the 10th anniversary was therefore less a celebration of a decade spent on the throne than an opportunity to strengthen the people over whom he reigns.

And for those who walked away carrying new equipment or holding cash grants, the anniversary was not merely a ceremony.

It was, for many of them, the beginning of a new chapter.