Oba Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin, the Orangun of Oke Ila, recently battled and survived COVID-19. In this interview by SAM NWAOKO of Saturday Tribune, the first class Osun State monarch shares his experience, what he thinks the government and the citizenry should do and other issues. Excerpts:
Your Majesty, we understand that you recently had COVID-19, what was your experience like?
A lot of people know that in Osun State, I am a stickler to all the protocols of COVID. My people in Oke Ila Orangun, Osun State know this very well and even among my colleagues in the Traditional Council, they know me with this. It was then a surprise that I was caught up in the COVID web. I wondered how? And I didn’t know until I got to the hospital, at the intensive care unit. I could still smell. I noticed that I started getting weak and tired. I felt it was necessary for me to rest. My students knew that I wasn’t eating. I was telling them to allow me to rest, that I needed to rest. And this was the case until they started to look at it differently. I didn’t know until I left the hospital in Osogbo. There, I treated malaria twice, because malaria is usually my greatest ailment. That was how I got to the intensive care unit of the hospital in Osogbo, where I was well-treated. I must confess that I was well treated and properly taken care of. I also acknowledge the fantastic work by the Babcock University; their teaching hospital did a wonderful job. They have compassionate and skilled workers. I pray we have more of them in Nigeria and I know we can. There, I saw it again that we need a lot to do to make Nigeria a better place for all of us.
About the COVID itself, a lot of people told me to keep it private and I said I would not. I can’t. I am a traditional ruler, why must I make it private? A lot of our people don’t believe that COVID is real. A lot of our people will tell you that there is no corona virus. Even in the palaces, they would tell me “Koro o si l’aafin” (there is no Coronavirus in the palace). I see the way our people walk around and I get scared. I’m scared of the possible carriers and the effect of their non-challance on public health. Health is wealth and I am not sure the extent to which we understand that cliché in Nigeria. Health is wealth and public health is important. That is why I felt that I should tell my story.
You have expressed fears because of the attitude of Nigerians to this pandemic because despite your personal and general measures, you still got the virus. What would you attribute this to? What do you think went wrong?
I think we just need to be extra careful and probably build and fortify our immunity and all the other things that need to be done. Again, all the protocols must be strictly adhered to. I say this because I was not 100 per cent stuck to the protocols and you can imagine that a lot of people come to visit me in the palace. The visitors when they see me wearing my face mask and face shield, they would say ‘ah, Kabiyesi there is no COVID in the palace’ and so on. They will say “please, for us your followers, it is like you are saying… please remove those things. There is no Coro in the palace!” You know, I think we need to be very careful. We must be extra careful now. A lot of our doctors and public work workers should go all out because if you know the extent to which we still celebrate and party, it’s scary. We have to point it out that we have a second wave and we are not even bothered. Our people are oblivious of the fact that Ilera l’oro (health is wealth). I was not in Oke Ila throughout February. In February, I was in intensive care unit in Osogbo for about eight days, I was in Babcock for 12 days and I had to recover. I am grateful to God.
The government has been making announcements on the need for us to obey the protocols and stick to the rules and other measures because prevention is better than cure. Do you think the government is doing enough in terms of sensitising the people?
I’m one of those who believe and espouse the contention that government alone cannot do everything. We are the government. We are in a democracy, and we know that there are shortcomings. We should own governance and we should not leave government alone to do everything. We should not totally depend on government to make us better citizens. Our lives are important, extremely important and we need to complement government to make our life better. We need to complement government, we need to assist the government. Government is doing its best but we know that we can’t get it all. If we get 51 per cent we are lucky. Again, either 51 per cent or 49 per cent, we need to support the government. This is very important.
In our lending support to the government, one of the areas that might inspire us is the efforts of the government. In which area do you think the government needs to increase its efforts and step up action?
They need to increase public awareness. This is not enough, especially in the rural parts of Nigeria. People don’t believe that there is COVID. People will tell you that COVID is a disease of the elite, the rich; whereas very many people are carriers. When we scratch the surface, we would find that people just fall sick and die now, it is scary. We don’t care. We are just lucky as black people.
Outside your COVID experience for which we are grateful to God, there are other things you are doing, chief among which is the Abolarin College. Abolarin College is making waves, especially from its humanitarian standpoint…
… Beyond the humanitarian standpoint, to the glory of God, we are using Abolarin College to celebrate diversity in Nigeria which we are not doing as a people. We are trying to promote togetherness in Nigeria. We are trying to bring diverse people together. We may not be as big in terms of population as what we want right now, but that is where we are going. Poverty in Oke Ila Orangun is the same thing as poverty in Zamfara. Poverty is a common denominator in Nigeria. If we sort out ourselves and know what diversity is all about, we will get a lot of things done in Nigeria. So, Abolarin College, apart from the humanitarian angle, is trying to build a properly so-called Federal republic of Nigeria.
What inspired you to start the Abolarin College in Oke Ila Orangun?
Don’t forget that I live in the midst of people. Don’t forget where I am coming from. Don’t forget my political background. Don’t forget that where I live, I should be able to make a meaningful impact. I see poverty. My parents were middle class and so, I didn’t experience poverty as such. But I know what poverty is and I also know the importance of education. My father was a primary school headmaster and as a teacher, I know what human capital development is all about. And again, I know that until you take care of the children of the poor, we will continue to miss it in Nigeria. To the glory of God, I’ve established the brilliance of these children with the first set of our results. These are brilliant children, why must they be abandoned? If our out of school children are this massive in number, there cannot be peace. And that is the crisis we are facing. I am saying that government alone cannot fix it, but government must encourage the Nigerian people to take interest in the development of our future. So, in our own little way that is what we have been able to do. That is what we are doing and we thank God. We see these children and we are happy and give glory to God.
We know that students are admitted from all the states in the country. In the light of the current ethnic tension and security challenges, are you worried for the country and perhaps, the college?
Indeed, we are worried. But we cannot stop ourselves from taking a leap forward. We cannot stop what we are doing because of insecurity, we must move forward. If we are not, then we are not ready to make the country move forward at all. We are worried. However, once there is a challenge, or there is a problem, it should be tackled headlong. All hands must be on deck. For those of us who are privileged to be where we are, what else are we looking for in life? And we are here for just a while. From my experience in the intensive care unit and from my experience at the Babcock Hospital, I know that we are here for just a while. So, why don’t we use what we have for the uplift of humanity? Yes there are security problems but it is important that we face it headlong. That is what we are not just doing at all, and that is the carelessness of the Nigerian political elite. I’ve not been happy with the Nigerian political elite – political, traditional and the business elite. We are a self-serving people. We cannot see beyond the immediate and it is so sad. You can’t see beyond the immediate, you cannot see that nation building is a process; we cannot see that when you start small, it turns big. We cannot see beyond the fact that we cannot get it all done at a go; that organisation is key and that equity and justice is important. In Nigeria, it’s so difficult for us that we are many ethnic nationalities and that even the smallest ethnic nationality is as important as the so-called major ones. So, what is the problem? We are just missing it because we are not preparing our young ones for succession; we are not just preparing the young ones for leadership. In terms of preparation, you must adequately prepare the young ones for it. Patriotism is embedded in there, but we are just messing up.
You served as a teacher and you made name in the profession. How do you feel when you look back, do you feel fulfilled?
Looking back and seeing my students doing well gives me joy. That is my joy. And that is what building and developing human capital is all about. I am not a rich man but to the glory of God, I see my ex-students and they make me happy. They are all over the world and that gladdens my heart.
What other activities is the Orangun Abolarin Aroyinkeye Foundation looking at, apart from the Abolarin College in Oke Ila Orangun? What are the areas of interest of the foundation?
I look after the interest of the aged, at least in my locality. I make them feel good. I lay emphasis on the aged in my domain and this is because I do not subscribe to the contention that the aged are yesterday’s men. I actually don’t like that cliché. This is because these men and women are now weak and need support because they once supported us in some way or the other. Why must we not support the aged? They were like us at some point. So, I am interested in the aged just as I am interest in the young too. I give the support because I am in the privileged class and that is what my royalty is all about. My royalty is ministerial; it is a big ministry with the aim to see what I can do to help humanity.