PMParrot/Parrot Xtra’s correspondent, EMMANUEL ADENIRAN recently had an encounter with the new monarch of Ifaki Ekiti Kingdom, Oba Adegbenro John Falore, Ajigbade III. He shared his view on how he will improve the economy of the town among many salient issues… Excerpts
Our esteemed Readers will like to know more about you Kabiyesi…
My name is His Royal Majesty, Oba Adegbenro John Falore, Ajigbade III. I attended AUD Primary School, Otun Ekiti, after which I proceeded to the Unity Secondary School in Usi Ekiti. Later, I went to Ofa Commercial College to write my SSCE examination after which I did a Diploma in Social Work in UNAD now EKSU.
Furthermore, I obtained my first degree in Sociology and I did my National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) in Enugu State. Later, I was enlisted into the State Service Academy in Lagos as a public servant before I ascended the throne on 25 December, 2021.
During the selection process, what was running through your mind and how will you describe your emergence?
During the selection process, we had issues because many people came on board and there were a lot of screening exercises that was organized. They looked at our profiles, credentials, job history, marital statuses and at our professions.
At the end of the series of interviews, the town decided to pick the person they believe could represent them well. You know life is all about contest and we are living in the world of natural competition. In a competition such as this, it is natural that some people will win while some people will lose.
Nevertheless, we do not have a winner or a loser. This is because we are all from the same Ruling House and because of that, the leaders of the town decided to screen it down.
We have three Ruling Houses and they are the Ajigbade Ruling House, Alade Gbamiru Ruling House and Akanle Ruling House. For over 97 years, it is on record that the Ajigbade Ruling House has not been able to come to the throne.
However, this time around, it was narrowed down to the Ajigbade Ruling House. We were about eight (8) contestants but during the screening process, the number was reduced to three contestants at the final stage before I later emerged.
Can you give us a brief historical background of Ifaki Ekiti Kingdom?
I learnt that the journey of Olufaki started from Ajero who was one of the descendants of Oduduwa and when he got to Ijero, he decided to settle down. History told us that during his old age, he usually delegate part of his duties to his first son and when the king died, the son was expected to take over the throne of his ancestor but the kingmakers rejected him. The kingmakers decided to choose the third born.
Afterwards, the first-born left Ijero to seek greener pastures and on getting to Ifaki Ekiti with his royal entourage, he was crowned as the king.
Can you vividly describe the level of infrastructural development in Ifaki Ekiti town?
Appraising it, the level of infrastructure and development is not that bad. We have light, pipe borne water though with little challenges with the water level. The source of our water is directly from Ero dam.
In addition, our road infrastructure is relatively okay, we only need to upgrade the existing ones. The town is blessed with numerous primary and secondary schools and we once had a tertiary institution named University of Science and Technology Ifaki Ekiti (USTI) that was later merged with EKSU.
We are actually hoping and working towards attracting investors to the town in order to boost our economy and health care facilities.
There is a notion that you were pressured to work for the APC gubernatorial candidate against Chief Segun Oni one of the prominent sons of Ifaki in the forthcoming election in the state…
(Cuts in) No, it is an erroneous doctrine. We have the political and the traditional institution and they both work hand in hand. The political institution cannot work without the traditional institution vice versa. Just as we have political leaders, we also have the traditional rulers. That is why they said in Yoruba interpretation, ‘ijo awon Oba’ meaning the congregation of Kings.
That is why democracy put government ahead of the traditional system. We both work hand in hand because none can work in isolation.
What are the plans of the community to ensure that the newly approved Nigeria Law School, Ekiti campus does not slip away from its hand?
We appreciate God for giving us the school, we all know that the first reading, second reading, the third reading was in our favor, and we are following it up logically.
We have allocated a portion of land for the take off of the temporary and permanent sites of the school and we are enjoining all stakeholders in the sector to make sure that we have it permanently.
How will you react to the insinuation that some prominent indigenes of Ekiti are agitating that the campus should be sited in Ilawe town instead of Ifaki Ekiti?
It is just a political gimmick. We all know that Senator Opeyemi Bamidele influenced the approval of the Federal College of Medical Sciences to his hometown, while Senator Olujimi also did the same during the approval of the Federal College of Education, Omuo Ekiti.
We were happy and we supported the decision when these infrastructural developments were granted approval because it was coming to our state. Now that our son too is also bringing the law school to our domain, we are happy to support him.
What are the commonly celebrated festivals among the Ifakis?
We have so many festivals. We have Okorobo, Ogun festival and Ikosi festival among others. The celebration usually starts around June.
What specific message do you have for the residents of Ekiti State regarding the governorship election on June 18th, 2022?
I want to implore people to live and co-habit in a peaceful manner despite their political ideologies and religious differences. I want to urge our people in Ekiti State to learn how to abide by the rule of every game since we are not in a lawless society.
There are rules and regulations in every society and politicians with their followers must learn to respect and obey the law. I realized that one major problem we have in Nigeria is indiscipline. If we are ready to imbibe the act of discipline, we will have a better Nigeria. For instance, if you go to the ATM machine, and you meet 10 people on the queue learn how to stay behind the last person and not jump the queue.
I want to urge the people of Ekiti State to be patient and follow the prescribed rules and regulations. Our people need to be patient and be ready to be law abiding so that there will not be any form of crisis in the state.
