Although the then Matthew Adeniji Adeleye was born a blue blood into the Oloba Ruling House of Igasi-Akoko, Ondo state, he detested being seen in any flowing agbada. He’s at home with his shirts, trousers and three-piece suits that give him a corporate man image. As a pastor, he is more comfortable in his official attire. On account of this, the vacant stool of his hometown after the transition of the Oloje of Igasi, Oba Ezekiel Adeniji Ipinlaye in 2020, was not an attraction to him, and the race to it, therefore, made no appeal to him in his UK base. What his Yoruba ethnic group call destiny would, however, break the back of his nonchalance and lead him to the throne at his official coronation held on August 15, 2024. In this interview with TheTabloid.net, the royal father offers more insight into his journey to the palace. Excerpts.
Succession strife has become a tradition in Yorubaland perhaps except Ibadan where the ascendancy to the throne can easily be traced and monitored. Can you share experience of your journey to the throne?
It is correct that traditional stool always attracts struggles among the princes. That is not a crime. I mean, every prince is a potential occupier of the throne because the throne is his right. However, not all of us will make it to the throne because it’s just one stool. That is where power of destiny comes in.
What do you mean?
God through destiny determines who will eventually emerge and mount the stool. Any other factor you think helps one to the throne comes behind destiny. In fact, all other factors are within the person’s destiny.
Was this your experience?
That is the experience of every king you see on the throne. If they are not destined to be there, they won’t get near it. We have read stories of failed efforts to get there. We have also read stories of those who were brought to the throne from their farm.
Were you brought home from abroad?
Without sounding immodest, that was how it happened.
Can you let us into the details of how it happened?
I didn’t show interest despite the fact that I was qualified. On a lighter note, I didn’t like wearing agbada. I didn’t hate those who wear it either. I like to be in shirts and trousers and be free. Looking at traditional rulers in that heavy dress made me feel somehow. But when my people came and said I was the chosen one (you know what I mean?), I knew something was going to happen. Of course, before then, I was contributing my quota to the welfare of my people. I don’t like my people to suffer from lack of basic things. I dug boreholes when I felt they needed it.
Can we say this informed the kingmakers’ choice of you?
Don’t let us reduce the topic to that level. What is borehole in a matter of tradition? You know how they do their searches? They came and told me that it was either me or nothing else.
That is serious.
It was serious. But despite that, I still held to my principle of no.
Then what was the catalyst?
Thank you. With due respect to the people of my town who showed love to me, Baba Pastor Enoch Adeboye played a key role in what eventually happened.
How?
I informed him as expected, and he said that was what God created me to this world for.
Really?
That was what he said. He said that was the purpose of God in me; to go back home and lead my people who saw in me a light to illuminate the town. That sealed it, and I am most grateful to my people for the love.
In the past four months on the throne, what has changed in you?
To the glory of God, I have undergone some remarkable transformations, which have made me a new person in terms of social and traditional status. I am seeing things in a broader perspective now. I don’t see myself as an individual again; I see myself as a representative of a people, my people. They have reposed so much confidence in me as their royal father; that alone is a great transformation from being a private person to a public figure looked forward to by his people for direction and redirection.
The country is passing through a hard time, so to say, how do you see your coming to the throne at this challenging time?
My coming to the throne at this time aligns with what Baba Adeboye told me that God indeed created me to lead my people. I am not negative about the current situation in the country. I am not apolitical but I must give it to the government of the day; I must say it that the government is making meaningful efforts to reposition the country to the right path. That is how I see it. We shouldn’t be carried away by the illusion that it is a bed of roses abroad. This is my message to those struggling to japa by selling their property. There is no place like home. I have spent 40 years abroad in different countries to know what I am talking about. There are places abroad that are not better than what we have at home. We can support and show understanding to the government to take the country to a safe destination.
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