The DEFENDER ROYALTY: Our lessons from Sokoto, Deji of Akure, Falae, delegation narrate Sultan, Governor Tambuwal, Caliphate people’s hospitality, humility, commitment to unity of Nigeria
Cultures and religions exchanged as Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani communities met during the historic visit of the Deji of Akure Kingdom to the Sultan of Sokoto beginning from Monday 1st to Wednesday 3rd July 2019. The journey to Sokoto was long conceived by the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Odundun II, who felt the need to visit the Sultan, which he had not done since he came to the throne in the ancient city of Akure four years ago.
The Ulefunta Festival 2019 thus provided him the opportunity. How? Last year, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Fr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, came all the way from the Bishop House Sokoto to Akure on a day that was singled out of the weeklong event for Ulefunta Annual Lecture 2018 where he was guest speaker. To balance the equation this year, the Deji-in-Council and leadership of Ooye Development Initiative (ODI), with support of Akure sons and daughters at home, in Ibadan and Lagos, put heads together and made a bold decision. That Ulefunta Annual Lecture 2019 must be an improvement and more nationally, continentally as well as globally spread than the year before. They thought of how to achieve it and their conclusion was to have a personality with carriage of common morality that runs across all religious, ethnic and cultural divide, to be physically present as Chief Special Guest Speaker on ground. All required qualities were found to be resident in the the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, mni, CFR.
One thing is to conceive the idea of having the Sultan, another thing is how to approach him and convincingly present what the Akure Kingdom wants from him. This became the much headache in the Deji’s kingdom until from among the sons and daughters of the ancient kingdom founded by a direct descendant (grandson) of Oduduwa, Asodeborode, the message was put to the Sultan. That was when Impression Number One came. Those who had developed some huge concerns and burdens within their minds as to how to go about approaching a personality as globally influential as the Sultan began to see the scenario like a dream. They had always got the reply of the Sultan through an intermediary that Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, at the courtesy call on him by the Deji later after his arrival, described as “our son donated to Ondo State” (names withheld) but they also constantly said: “For how long are we going to continue to live in this figment of our own imagination that we can ever have Sultan of Sokoto in our midst? How are we going to achieve it? Yes we have heard the message that the Sultan has granted our request to visit Akure, even without us writing official letter to him but how are we sure we are not still in the dream of impossibility?” This was resemblance of the feelings of entire stakeholders until they began to feel strongly that a Deji’s request to visit the Sultan would finally solve their disturbing imagination and make it real.
This time the Deji went by a well stated-out letter on his letterheaded paper, through which he let the Sokoto monarch know his and Akure people’s intention for and vocal point of why his presence in Akure would be very inevitable. Oba Aladelusi said in the letter that his pro-Nigerian peace and unity project whereby all tribes and religions co-relate in his Kingdom in peace, love, harmony and development has a lot in common with the Sultan’s sole project seeing to establishment of mutual understanding for the peace and unity among peoples of Nigeria. He then concluded the letter by making a request for a visit to the Sultan in his domain with a view to rubbing minds, not only on the Ulefunta Lecture programme but also to enable the two monarchs discuss and proffer royal solution to Nigeria’s security challenge that is mainly the handiwork of political class.
This letter, again, the Sultan approved and looked forward to having the Deji of Akure in his Seat of Caliphate, which was what happened beginning with the arrival of his Advance Party consisting of two: Head of Department Botany and Dean-elect, Faculty of Science, University of Ibadan and, indeed a proudly Akure son, Professor Abiodun Ayodele and a Lagos-based media practitioner and prince of Isolo Akure (names withheld) who were received at the Airport and taken in a car sent by the Sultan’s Palace to the Sultan’s Guest House that was already prepared for them as lodge. Sultan’s Chief of Protocol, Mallam Mainasara Abubakar, was in charge of this arrangement for the Sunday 30th June aspect.
The Advance Party was later given special audience by the Sultan in the TENT after dinner on the day of their arrival same Sunday and they were together from 9.00pm till 12.00am of Monday 1st July 2019. Professor Ayodele, after the audience in the TENT (a special all-rugged place within the Sultan’s Palace where he dines and chats, informally, with friends and visitors in late evening times), said, “This audience with the Sultan has further taught me that before you form opinion about anybody or people, move close to them and don’t base your judgement on what you hear people say. What I have seen, since we came from Airport to the lodge, from leaving the lodge to the Presidential Lodge, Government House to the Palace for this audience with the Sultan, has really helped me in forming a better opinion than others who do not move out like I have done,” the Ibadan Varsity don said in the car as the Advance Party was driven, from the Sultan’s Palace, back to its Sultan’s Guest House lodge mid-that night, before the Monday 1st July 2019 arrival of the main visitor, the Deji.
And the Deji arrives
A report by The DEFENDER is quoted to have headlined, “Deji of Akure arrives Sokoto, accompanied by Falae, Ondo SSG Abegunde, Chief Imam Akorede, Origunloye, others”, which is significant. According to the report, the Deji of Akure Kingdom, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Odundun II, joined the league of nation building the traditional rushership way as he made his decision to visit the Seat of the Caliphate as royal guest of Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, beginning from Monday July 1, 2019.
Accompanied by 19 members of the Kingdom including the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF) and Minister of Finance, Chief Olu Falae, the Secretary of to the Ondo State Government (SSG), the Chief Imam of Akure Kingdom, Sheikh Abdul-Hakeem Yayi Akorede and the Edemo of Akure, High Chief Afolabi Fayehun.
Others on the entourage of the Deji included prominent sons and daughter of Akure like Professor Abiodun Ayodele, Dean-elect Faculty of Science and currently Head of Department, Botany, University of Ibadan, Lagos business moguls Olumide Origunloye, Engr. Sunday Falae, Honourable Kemisola Adesanya, Mr. Ayo Ajayi, Prince Adebisi Adeniyi, Engr. Engr. Tunji Light Ariyamo among others.
The plane, which conveyed the Akure monarch and his entourage on the historic visit, touched ground at the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport Sokoto at 2.46 pm.
Deji Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi walked in his usual humble but majestic manner into the warm arms of two senior Council members and District Heads, Sarikin Shuni and Sarikin Gabas Durbaw, who received him on behalf of the Sultan and led him in a convoy of 10 cars including a luxury 18-seater Ulma Bus straight to his Lodge in the Sokoto State Government House.
Asides the Oba of Benin, Ooni of Ife, Oba of Lagos and Alaafin of Oyo, an ostensibly impressed source told The DEFENDER as the glamorous events began Monday 1stJuly that, the kind of honour showered on the Deji by the Sultan is not often witnessed.
“This is despite that the hospitality and love for visitors on the part of Sokoto’s Sultanate, government and people are not in doubt at any time, but what we witnessed today (Monday), to me, is an indication that Akure Kingdom means something particularly different to the Seat of Caliphate and I must confess to you, this is memorable, wonderful, impressive and historic”, he said.
Officially, the activities kicked off Tuesday 2nd July with a courtesy visit to the Sultan’s Palace where the Deji of Akure addressed a special meeting session of the Sultanate Council presided over by the Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman, Nigerian National Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar.
The Sultan, in reciprocating the respect coming from the Deji, invited and gathered all District Heads of Sokoto State from the city to the Illela districts in receiving the Akure monarch during the visit. That was followed by courtesy call on the Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Honourable Aminu Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. Other activities in honour of the Deji included the visit to the History Bureau, a stop-over at Bishop House to say “thank you” to the Bishop Kukah at the instance of the Sultan’s Palace and a gala night organised for him in the Government House by the state government. On the last day of the three-day visit, Wednesday 3rd July 2019, he paid a farewell visit to the Sultan, which this time was on a lighter mood with a more of interactions, sharing of jokes, smiling and laughing among both the host and the hosted on the occasion that was also attended by Yoruba Communities in Sokoto led by Oba Yoruba of Sokoto, Alhaji Coker.
The long convoy drove from the Sokoto Palace straight to the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport Sokoto for departure to Lagos enroute Akure and that marked the end of the visit.
Treated to glamorous Gala Night
As one of the activities lined up to make eventful the visit to the Seat of Caliphate by Deji of Akure Kingdom, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi Odundun II, the Government of Sokoto State under Rt. Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, threw a Gala Night event in the night of July 2, second of his three-day visit as guest of Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar.
The gala night came three hours after a ‘thank you’ visit to the Bishop House where the Deji was received by Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Fr. Matthew Hassan Kukah.
Rev. Kukah, it will be recalled, delivered Ulefunta 2018 Lecture as a major event marking what has today become the globally known annual festival during which period sons and daughters of Akure gather to showcase their cultural heritage with their traditional rulership iconised in the Deji.
Gala Night is held for monarchs in the category of the likes of Ooni of Ife, Oba of Benin, Oba of Lagos and the Alaafin of Oyo. Holding it in honour of the Deji of Akure shows the depth of rating and appreciation by the Sultanate, Government and People of Sokoto of the Akure Monarch’s visit to the Hausa/Fulani community at a time much negative and destructive stories are being peddled, mischievously, around in traditional and social media against the peaceful place among other Northern communities.
Of importance is that the Sultan, who does not attend gala night events, breached his own protocol to be present as mark of reciprocation of the Deji’s deep love for him coming down from Yoruba Land to establish cross-ethnic and cross-religious connectivity with his Sultanate for the love of Nigeria.
Governor Tambuwal, who has been described by the visiting Akure monarch and members of his delegation as “very respectful and humble” particularly to the Sultan, not only attended the event held at Gidan Gowon (Presidential Lodge) Sokoto but also made his remarks.
It will be recalled that the governor, while receiving the Deji in a courtesy call in Council Chamber of Government House earlier in the day, warned political and national leaders to desist from making unguarded utterances capable of tearing the country apart.
Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar, in his remarks, reiterated his statement made earlier in the day while responding to the Deji of Akure’s address at the special meeting session of the Sultanate Council he presided over in the Council Chamber of the Sultan’s Palace.
He told the world that the notion of ”Born to Rule” is a deliberate attempt to spite Sokoto as, according to the Nigeria’s number one King, a more acceptable motto for the place is “The Seat of Caliphate”, adding that “You are not greater in the sight of Allah because you are Sultan of Sokoto, Ooni of Ife, Oba of Lagos or President or because you are from Sokoto or Akure or anywhere. The one who is greater than the other among you by Allah’s rating is he that has piety.”
The Sokoto monarch reiterated his commitment to ensuring sustained relationship between Sokoto Caliphate and Akure Kingdom one of which he displayed by accepting to visit Ondo State in September to deliver this year’s Ulefunta Annual Lecture at the instance of Akure Kingdom.
More significant in the last 365 days is that, Bishop Matthew Kukah, who delivered last year’s Ulefunta Annual Lecture is a Christian leader from Sokoto Diocese of Catholic Mission and, as fate would have it, to improve on what is on ground, chief guest speaker to speak at the Ulefunta 2019 Annual Lecture is Leader of Muslims in Nigeria, beyond and Sultan is also of Sokoto.
The Deji was accompanied to the gala night by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae and 18 others of the 20-man high powered delegation visiting.
Responding on behalf of the Akure monarch, Falae, himself an Olu (of Ilu Abo) under the Deji-led Akure Kingdom, thanked the Sultan and Governor Tambuwal for the honour.
Chief Falae, a former Nigerian Presidential Candidate and Minister of Finance, declared that his kidnap and hostage in the bush for four days in the past was not by any ethnic or religious group but by criminals. He then called for holistic and concerted effort to solving the problem of insecurity, therefore, in the country.
Troupes of Sokoto State Cultural Group, Yoruba cultural group and Hausa artist, Oruma, among others performed to the admiration and cheering impression of the gathering.
Our lessons from Sokoto
Not only the Deji of Akure but also Chief Olu Falae, the Secretary to the Ondo State Government Ifedayo Abegunde fondly called Abena, business magnate on the entourage, Mr. Olumide Origunloye and another business magnate and Chairman of Ulefunta Committee 2019, Prince Adebisi Adeniyi had a lot to share of their experiences in the Seat of Caliphate. They talked of the respect from the Governor to the Sultan and the love displayed by the Sultan for helping develop and not leave the job of state development to government alone and, above, the hospitality that was said to be naturally inherent in the nature of entire Sokoto people from the Sultan, the governor to the people, which they said was yet to be matched by any people they had related with in Nigeria. They concluded that Sultan should henceforth see Akure Kingdom as a dependable ally in the United Nigeria Project that he embarks upon tirelessly.
