Prince Dr. Ajibade Adedayo Adeladan is one of the frontline aspirants to the stool of the Alaafin of Oyo. He belongs to the Agunloye ruling house. He is a member of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a member of the American Board of Addiction Medicine. In this interview, the successful medical practitioner shares his blueprint for a more prosperous Oyo town and the larger Yoruba race.
What background produced you?
I belong to the Agunloye ruling house of Oyo town. I was born here in Oyo in 1961 at the General Hospital here. I also did my high school here in Oyo. There are two main ruling houses in Oyo. There is the Agunloye ruling house to which I belong and also Alowolodu ruling house to which the former king that just passed belong.
If I am to trace my roots to the Alaafin throne, I can start with Alaafin Atiba who founded the present Oyo. He had a number of children; two of them were Adelu Agunloye and Alowolodu Adeyemi. After the passing away of Atiba, Adelu Agunloye became king. After the death of Adelu Agunloye, Alowolodu Adeyemi I became king.
One of the sons of Adelu Agunloye was Lawani Amubieya Agogo-Ija who became an Alaafin from 1905 to 1911. He had a number of children; one of them was Siyanbola Ladigbolu Onikepe, who also became king after him. But because Agogo-Ija’s reign was short, people clamoured that his son should be made the next king. So his son, Siyanbola Ladigbolu Onikepe, became king. His brother was Lawuwo and he was the one who settled in the present Ilaka Lawuwo. So that is where my family came from. That is my connection; we are actually connected to Alaafin Lawani Amubieya Agogo-Ija.
The throne of the Alaafin is one of the most reputed among the Yoruba people. The head of the Agunloye ruling house already submitted the names of 48 aspirants to Baba Iyaji. But we find out that some people are still submitting names, indicating interest. Why is this so?
Like I mentioned before there are two main ruling houses recognised by the government: the Agunloye ruling house and the Alowolodu ruling house. This has been so for many years.
Alaafin Atiba had other children aside from Agunloye and Alowolodu. They have never been recognised as families that produce the Alaafin. But it is now that some of them are coming up and saying that they are related to Atiba; they want to be represented by putting up aspirants. But according to the government gazette of the Western region, only the Agunloye and Alowolodu families are recognised so far. It is from Agunloye ruling house that the next Alaafin will come from. Some people who are children of the female wing of the royal families have also presented their names for the throne. But they ought not to be considered. All the 48 who submitted their names went through the Mogaji of the Agunloye ruling house. The head of the Agunloye ruling house is Pa Adeladan. Those names which he submitted are the only ones recognised by the Oyomesi.
Can you let us into your professional life?
I completed my medical school at the University Teaching Hospital, Ibadan. I served in Kukawa Local Government Area in Borno State. I went to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital where I did general surgery; I became a general surgeon there. I became a fellow of the West African College of Surgeons.
Shortly afterwards, I travelled out of the country. I was in Jamaica; I worked as a surgeon there, and then the United States Virgin Islands. From there, I went to New York City. It was in New York that I changed my specialty. I went into psychiatry and neurology. I did psychiatry and neurology for four years, and I have been practising psychiatry and neurology since then. But I also did addiction medicine; I am also a specialist in addiction medicine. So, I am both a psychiatrist and neurologist, and addiction medicine specialist. I have practised surgery for many years, and psychiatry and neurology since 2008.
I have worked in various states in the USA. I worked in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dekota, Colorado, and now I have been working in California, practising as a psychiatrist and a neurologist.
How much developmental connection have you maintained with Oyo town since you started working abroad?
I have always been an Oyo man; I come to Oyo virtually every year. The only period that I couldn’t come was between 2020 and 2021 and this was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have been engaging with my people here on various levels, with the desire to know their needs and also assist in addressing some of them. Some of the private medical practitioners here in Oyo town are well known to me. One of them was my senior at the college of medicine, University of Ibadan. I have always gone round and therefore I have an understanding of what is going on in terms of health care in Oyo. That is one of the areas that I am going to be looking at as an Alaafin who is a medical doctor, a surgeon, a psychiatrist, and a neurologist. This is going to be very significant.
The late Alaafin Adeyemi was very committed to the development of Yoruba culture and tradition. For someone of your ilk, how do you intend to build on that when you become the Alaafin?
The late Alaafin Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi did excellently well in promoting the culture of Oyo. Because of him, a lot of people that didn’t know about Oyo, now know about Oyo. He did a lot to promote culture in his speeches, interactions. He made people appreciate the history of Oyo Empire. I expect to build on that.
But I am going to be starting from the area of unity. Unity is very important, first in Oyo town, its environs. We have a number of settlements and smaller towns around. There is Awe, Fiditi, Ilora, Jobela, and others. We need to come together and be very strong. These are all Oyo people. And then you can project to others who are outside.
Also, I intend to have a museum in Oyo town, perhaps in the palace. There are many Oyo people living outside Nigeria; there are people in Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, North America, South America. These people are very much interested in Oyo. They have read about it and they look forward to visiting. It is important to get ready. We want to have a museum where the history of the Yoruba, Oyo Empire will be showcased. People should be able to read of the rise, fall and rise again of Oyo Empire. These will definitely promote the culture of Oyo. The more people are interested and involved in this kind of things, the more they will want to promote the culture and tradition. It will not be only the Alaafin that will be pushing this, the people will also be interested and involved.
How would you build Oyo and its environs economically?
It is going to be a broad spectrum. I am already looking at a number of areas that I will be working on in terms of agriculture, infrastructure, health care, employment and others. When people are gainfully engaged, there will be no time for vices. I intend to use my connections.
For instance, there were some traditional industries when I was growing up here. People made aso ofi. We don’t see much of that anymore. Textile industries need to be revived. Whatever support the Alaafin can give in conjunction with the government will be useful. I am going to be working very closely with the state and federal governments in ensuring that all these small scale industries are revived in Oyo. The state government under Engineer Seyi Makinde has done a lot for the state. It is impressive. I follow him; I read about him. Working with him, we will be able to do a lot.
Improving our agriculture will also be very central to me. I worked in Nebraska in the United States. There are many agricultural states in the US but Nebraska is very significant. It is known that there are more cattle in Nebraska than people. They said that there are about 6.8 million cattle and the human population is less than two million. So they do a lot of agriculture; I know a lot of famers there. I can connect with people there who can help our local farmers there and actually visit Oyo. I lived there, so I know a lot of farmers, ranchers. There are many other industries that I am going to be looking at.
Also, we live in digital age. For me, there are a number of areas there to harness. People can be in Oyo here and be working for companies abroad legally. Youth empowerment is very important to me. It is a major recipe for finding peace in all parts of our country. It will address the problem of insecurity. When hospitals function, they will need workers. When agriculture becomes viable and doable, people will benefit tremendously from it. When small scale industries are alive again, many people will be employed.
Oyo is a university town already. There are two universities here: Ajayi Crowther University and Atiba University. Those universities need to expand. When they expand, more people will be employed. When people are employed and engaged, it will cut down the problem of insecurity.
Many have concluded that a large number of Yoruba traditional rulers in the South-West are not united. Considering the position of the Alaafin, how do you intend to use this to rally other traditional rulers and ensure that progress is achieved when you become the Alaafin?
It is rather unfortunate that there have been skirmishes lasting for decades. I will start with uniting the towns around and move up. We need to bring everyone on board. I know that traditional rulers hold meetings regularly. At those meetings, we will prioritise issues that unite us and not those that divide us. We will sit down and look at our people and see how they can be better off with our leadership.
