A new Oloola, Ilara and the necessity of proficiency in leadership

BY AKEEM JIMOH

One of the crucial deficits of effective governance and public administration in Nigeria is the question of leadership – whether at the top or the bottom of the pyramid of social organisation and management. It is possibly the singular most critical factor in the attainment of vital social outcomes, and the ability of the society to regenerate or enhance itself.

Hence, developing the capacity for leadership is as vital as it is necessary, since the country needs efficient managers to achieve its potentials.

The local level is the pivotal and most essential space of leadership – and what it is capable of. And, this is the level where leadership recruitment is fundamental to the shape of things to emerge, both in terms of the more modern and traditional structures of governance and authority. It is the level in which the new Oloola of Ilara Kingdom, Oba Mutiu Adedimeji Oyede-Lawal, has had more than adequate leadership preparation, towards taking on the reins of customary administration, in a manner that would become distinguished and is guaranteed to be of utmost benefit to the people of Ilara Yewa, and Ogun State at large.

Since his selection was confirmed by the Kingmakers and Regency Council of Ilara Yewa, a border town in Imeko/Afon Local Government area of Ogun State on the 28th of May, 2024, after a rigorous and competitive process, Oba Oyede-Lawal, who is primed for service, has been perfecting his plans for improving the lot of his community. Though his appointment took effect from the 16th of July, 2024, in accordance with Section 22(1) of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State of Nigeria, 2021, he is to receive his staff and insignias of office from the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, in a coronation scheduled for the 7th of September – which is in a few days’ time.

Oba Oyede-Lawal, who until recent was the Deputy Registrar in charge of the School of Postgraduate Studies at Crescent University, Abeokuta, has had a career defined by quite a number of pioneering roles, in which his leadership capabilities shone through early. From being a teacher and then forerunning Principal at Fatokun Memorial College, Ilara, to his stints at Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, where he served as a computer trainer at Southwest Resource Centre, Abeokuta, and then the various pioneering roles at Crescent University, Abeokuta.

As he put it in a recent interview, “In every position I’ve held, I’ve consistently served as a leader. I have held various leadership positions, such as President of the Students Union in Ilara, Principal of a school, Deputy Registrar, President of Crescent Cooperative (CRESCOOPS), and CDA Chairman in my community at Olateju Olosun Abeokuta.” Hence, for Oba Oyede-Lawal, “All of these leadership positions have undoubtedly given me enough experience and skill to lead effectively wherever I find myself.”

It was such innovative leadership capability that enabled him secure a N10 million grant from the World Bank on behalf of the Olateju Estate CDA at Olosun Community, off Ayetoro Road Abeokuta, during his tenure as Chairman. This was utilised in the purchase of a transformer, the construction of culverts and opening of a road to ease the burden of motoring.
With his appointment as the Oloola of Ilara, Oba Oyede-Lawal has not only become a first category king in Ogun State and member of the Yewa Traditional Council, he would also be the third person from Crescent University to become a traditional ruler within six years. He has followed in the path of precursors like Oba Abdulkabir Obalanlege (Lanlege Ekun II), the Olota of Ota Kingdom, and HRM Oba Olusola Idris Osolo (Otenibotemole II), the ruler of Ado-Odo.

Born as the fifth son in a family of 25 children to Alhaji Ibrahim Oyede Lawal and Alhaja Silifat Abike Lawal, both of blessed memory, he attended Roman Catholic Mission Primary School, Ilara, between 1983 and 1988, where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate, after which he proceeded to Community High School, Ilara, from 1988 to 1993, for his Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSSCE). Thereafter, he did tutorials in Brightway Computer and Continuing Education Centre, Abeokuta, and then studied Mathematics/Computer Science at the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, where he graduated from in 1998.

Oba Mutiu Adedimeji Oyede-Lawal earned his BSc (Ed) degree in Accounting from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, with a strong second-class upper division (4.31), in 2002, and subsequently a Master’s degree (M.Ed) in Educational Management at the University of Ibadan, where he is also in the final stages of his doctoral programme in education economics. In between, he participated in a Train-the-Trainer Trainer programme at NBC Academy in London in 2004, under the sponsorship of the Ogun State Government, after a year’s youth service (NYSC) at the Ebonyi State College of Education, Ikwo, Ebonyi State, from 2003 to 2004.

While he has worked in a number of post-primary educational institutions – as mentioned earlier, such as the Fatokun Memorial College, Ilara, and Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, where he helped set up the computer laboratory, it was at Crescent University that his career and leadership abilities blossomed and attained significant fruition. A pioneer staff who also held pioneering roles, he was initially with the College of Information and Communication Technology as the College Officer, with administrative functions, before transferring to the Establishment Office of the university. In this newer position, he was the administrative officer and head of the office, who reported to the University Registrar.

Thereafter, while evincing his full leadership skills, Oba Oyede-Lawal became the Assistant Registrar, working in the Academic Planning unit of the university, and the huge impression he made on the founder of the university, the late eminent international jurist, Prince Bola Ajibola, led the university management to expand his remit to that of Assistant Registrar in the Academic and Admissions Unit of the Registry. There, he replaced the Deputy Registrar, and later assumed that position, as zenith of his 13 years of service in the university.

Having taken on leadership roles early in life and his career, he further had the greater desire to contribute to society in more fundamental ways, and had initially thought of seeking political positions, such as that of the Governor of Ogun State or even the Nigerian Presidency, still all his good works aligned and Providence took over.

Even though he had never considered becoming a traditional ruler, yet at the celebration of the Ilara Ogudo Day in 2018, he then realised that his family, the Faningbe, was one of the ruling houses in Ilara, and he was also informed that it was the turn of the Faningbe/Igbaka ruling houses – which were the families of his mother and father – to produce the next king. This was what sowed the seeds of the possibility of an ascendance to the throne in him.

As Oba Mutiu Oyede-Lawal stated in an interview, “I never signified interest from the outset. However, the day I returned home to express my condolences to the town and my maternal family, a thought occurred to me: following the demise of the late Oloola, also known as Oba Samuel Alabi Adeluyi, I could become the next king of Ilara.” And, also, “It happened that the late Oloola was the immediate elder brother to my mother, and when we sat at Igbaka, my grandmother’s house, someone mentioned that it was the turn of the Faningbe/Igbaka ruling house to produce the next king.”

Importantly, as Providence has a hand in the affairs of men, he straddled both ruling families whose turn it was, “and in the event that the two families were arguing on who to pick from either Faningbe or Igbaka,” there was the likelihood that his name could come up as “a possible consensus (candidate) because I belong to both families. It would be straightforward for them to choose me. That was the beginning of the entire process, culminating in my fortunate enthronement as Oloola of Ilara,” Oba Oyede-Lawal observed.

Ultimately, when the decision-makers in his father’s family – the Faningbe – met, the majority of them agreed to nominate him for the vacant stool, as he was in the best position to be the next king, due to his level of educational achievement and exposure.

Getting on the throne was, however, no easy walk in the park or effortless task, as it took close to four years to achieve, from when the selection process started in 2020 till the resolution of a lawsuit that was instituted, in 2024. In the initial instance, one of the nominees had used thugs to disrupt the convening of the election committee, involving representatives of Imeko/Afon Local Government, the kingmakers and members of the public in the palace. While in the other, another nominee had litigated against the merger of the two compounds to form one ruling house.

All this finally resolved, and Oba Oyede-Lawal was elected to the throne in 2024, following which he has sought to appease and unify all those who had being in contest with him, towards a unity that was necessary for the town’s advancement.
Significantly, as he ascends the throne of the 7th of September, the Oloola, Oba Oyede-Lawal is switched on pressing his leadership skills towards improving the lot of his people, in terms of the resolution of social deficits like the lack of a network of good roads, stable electricity, shortage of teachers in public schools and re-orientating the people from a narrow focus on trade and merchandising, to seeing the value in education as the essential springboard for success in a knowledge-driven world.

Of his very key interventions on coming into office, he pointed out that, “as Oloola of Ilara, I will consistently urge the current government to assist us in making all our roads motorable, thereby facilitating the simple transportation of farm produce to the hinterlands. The issue of stable electricity is a general menace in Nigeria, and I believe the incumbent government will try their best to solve it.”

More so, the welfare of his people is essential to the mandate of his traditional leadership, and, “I will undoubtedly establish the Oloola Human Capital Development Foundation, with the primary goal of empowering my people through education, artisanship, and business, and assisting them in their personal growth and sustainability. My vision and mission will be to educate, enrich, expose, and contribute to the town’s development for all my subjects.”