By Remi Oyeyemi
The occasion was celebrative. It was a joyous moment. It was also historical. It was an opportunity for reflection. An opportunity to look at the past and learn a very serious lesson. An opportunity to examine what one has been doing and how it could be perceived by history. How the past could easily catch up either negatively or positively.
This mood also indentured placidity. It fostered obligatory abnegation. It stimulated stoicism. It abetted austerity. It foistered temperance. It induced impromptu self-examination. It was an occasion for unanticipated introspection. Everyone present was forced to stand in front of an imaginary mirror, to look at himself or herself, and decide how he or she would be remembered by history. About what legacy is being built.
His Imperial Majesty, Kabiyesi Owa Obokun Adimula and Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland, Oba Adesuyi Hastrup Ajimoko III was reminiscing on how his great grandfather, Owa Obokun Adimula Fredrick Kumokun Adedeji Hastrup Ajimoko I, brought the Methodist Mission to Ijesaland. He observed that being conferred with an Honorary Doctoral degree by the Wesley University of Ondo, is a way of showing gratitude to the efforts of Owa Kumokun Hastrup in fostering the growth and expansion of Methodist mission.
Oba Fredrick Kúmókụn Adédeji Hastrup (Ajimoko I), the 34th Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, was the first Christian Oba in Yoruba land, who reigned from 1896 to 1901 and helped bridge traditional Ijesa culture with modern influences, sponsored education, and played pivotal roles in the Kiriji Wars.
Kabiyesi, Owa Adesuyi Hastrup, Ajimoko III, pointed out that people would always reap what they sowed adding that effects of one’s action would always reverberate through generations. It was his assessment that the work done by his great grandfather has resulted in the honour being bestowed on him. He noted that this was the reason everyone must be conscious of his or her actions and must always ask – “What will history or posterity say about me?” He implored everyone to be conscious of what he or she does because of tomorrow.
He narrated how, as the Deputy Governor of Osun State he never took a kobo from all those who were trying to obtain traditional titles or whose cases had been on waiting list for about twenty years previously. Owa (Dr)Clement Adesuyi Haastrup recalled how his father, Looja Adeniyi Haastrup, was financially drained for four years by kingmakers before ascending the throne of his own father as Wasare of Ijana Wasare. He recalled how sluiced his father became and how the entire family had to live with threats of poverty because of the experience.
He informed the gathering that this was why he made up his mind not to collect any form of money from those who had become and would become traditional or honorary chiefs during his tenure. He described the practice of taken money from prospective chieftaincy title holders, traditional or honorary, as “exploitative” that should be erased from our chieftaincy installation process. He enjoined the traditional leaders in Ijesaland to try and stay away from such practices.
With his Olori Vicky Hastrup glittering beside him, Kabiyesi spoke of the grace and blessing of God in his life. He spoke about how he had only four thousand naira in his bank account on the day he left office as the Deputy Governor of Osun State. He pointed out that he has received the favour of and from almighty God, adding that no one needed to go very far to see the evidence of the presence of God in his life. And that his gratitude to God is limitless.
The honorary degree had earlier been conferred on Kabiyesi Owa Adesuyi Hastrup Ajimoko III by the Vice-Chancelor of the University, Professor Samuel Sunday Obeka, who proudly regaled the audience with the laudable feats that his administration has accomplished.
By Remi Oyeyemi
