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NEPHEW: How Zik prevented Oba Adeniji-Adele from becoming first Senate President

Perhaps one of the most flamboyant traditional rulers of his era, late Oba (Sir) Musendiku Adeniji-Adele was a man of many parts who excelled in many vocations and endeavours that he ventured into. Apart from the fact that he was a traditional ruler, the late Oba of Lagos who reigned between 1949 and 1964 is reputed to have impacted positively on his subjects in Isale-Eko; he was also a nationalist of note who played a pivotal role in a series of efforts to free Nigeria from colonial rule. His nephew, Pa Farouk Adele, took us into the life and times of the colourful monarch in this interview with OLAOLU OLADIPO. Excerpts:

What are you to the late Oba of Lagos, Sir Musendiku Adeniji-Adele?

He was my uncle.

Was your late father senior or junior to him?

My father was his younger brother. They were both sons of late businessman, Ibrahim Adele.

You knew the late traditional ruler so well. To many, he was a very flamboyant and charismatic traditional ruler being an Oba of Lagos. As someone who lived with him, who was Oba Musendiku Adeniji-Adele as a father, husband and uncle?

My uncle, Sir (Oba) Adeniji-Adele was a very straightforward man. Being educated he was very passionate about issues relating to education. He loved education so much. He was fond of telling the people of Isale-Eko (Lagos Island) and the people he came across while alive to ensure that they imbibed the love for education and to always seek knowledge as a means of securing an all-round development. As a Muslim, he took it upon himself to tell fellow Muslims during Eid prayers and other festivities to go to school. He usually used such platforms to remind his people how important education was. When looking back, one would conclude that his advocacy on education is now paying off for the people of Lagos Island. One thing I would never forget about him is an incident that occurred in the ‘60s when a school, St. Peters Primary Scholl, collapsed on the children killing eight of them. He took it upon himself to approach the then Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, to appeal to him to rebuild all the primary schools on Lagos Island. He did because the structures were all very old. The Prime Minister obliged him. It is to the credit of the Prime Minister that all the secondary and primary schools on Lagos Island were rebuilt. He (Oba Adeniji-Adele) offered part of his palace to be converted to classrooms when some of the structures in the schools were being rebuilt. When the reconstructions were taking place, the students and the pupils had to be relocated elsewhere. Some of the students were relocated to the palace and they were there until the schools were completed and they moved back to their various locations. This I will always remember about him.

What kind of father was he to his children, his nephews such as you? What kind of husband was he to his wives?

Kabiyesi loved his children so much. He did not love only his children, he loved his nephews too because I lived with him when the new palace was built. He asked me to move with him to the new palace when it was completed. I lived with him until he passed on in 1964. He was a very lovely and caring father. He was always around for members of his immediate and extended family.

As a traditional ruler and politician he must have been a very busy man. Could you let us into an insight as to what his typical day was like starting from the time he woke up and went to sleep?

He usually came downstairs to see us when he woke up. His main office was downstairs and he was usually at his desk by 9 am. He would be there until about 2pm in the afternoon. While there, he attended to visitors who came to see him. People came from Isale-Eko and from afar.

What about his breakfast?

He took his breakfast in his room. In the inner recess of the palace, that is around eight in the morning.

You said he entertained guests in his office, what kind of visitors came to see him?

There was a small living room just outside his office where he received important guests both from Lagos Island and beyond. His guests included personalities such as religious leaders, educationists who also came to see him. Many of these people were proprietors of schools who usually come to seek his help by begging him to intervene for them with the government.

What about politicians of those days, did they come to see him too?

I will say Kabiyesi was a politician himself, so, naturally he would play host to politicians too. Don’t forget that he was instrumental to the formation of the area council sometime in 1960 or so. He even contested an election into the council as a councilor and won.

Who did he contest against?

I can’t remember because I was too young then. I remember that he won. When he went into the council, he wanted to become the first mayor of the council but he failed because his party didn’t have enough number of councilors to see that through.

Which party did he belong to?

He formed the Lagos Area Council as a political party. That party later formed an alliance with the Action Group.

Apart from this, could you recall any other political engagement that he involved in?

He later formed a party called Mabolaje Grand Alliance when he broke away from the Action Group.

Could you tell us why he broke away from the Action Group?

I can’t really say but I think it had something to do with the agitation by the people of Lagos to exercise their identity as a distinct Yoruba people. There was a controversy that was stirred up by leaders of the Action Group to suggest that Lagos was an integral part of the Western Region. He (Oba Adeniji-Adele) led the agitation against it. He stated that Lagos was not originally part of the old Western Region. He was against moves to make it part of the Western Region. I think this is part of the reason why he left the Action Group.

Everyone knew that he was very religious, he was at a time the President of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Nigeria. What was his religious engagement like?

Sincerely, I don’t know much about that because I was too young to know and recollect. I was only five years old when he ascended the throne.

Could you tell the circumstances that led to his emergence as the nation’s first deputy senate president?

He used the Mabolaje Grand Alliance and later was in alliance with the NCNC. If you remember, the NCNC and the NPC formed the Federal Government at Independence. The Action Group was in the opposition. When they wanted to elect the Senate President he put himself forward but the Nnamdi Azikiwe led leadership of the party said no! The NPC sponsored him but the NCNC elements said no. Dr. Azikiwe would not allow that to happen. He (Azikiwe) preferred Dr. Nwafor Orizu to him. He (Orizu) was a member of the NCNC.

So, he eventually became the country’s first deputy senate president?

That’s correct.

Did his engagement as deputy senate president conflict in any way with his duties as the Oba of Lagos?

No! Not at all.

How was he able to function effectively in those two roles?

He wasn’t going to the Senate everyday unlike what they do these days. It was a part time legislature.

Do you remember any event that occurred during the time of Oba Musendiku Adeniji-Adele as the deputy senate president that you would always remember?

I can’t.

How did the people of Lagos Island feel when they realised that their Oba had become the deputy senate president?

His supporters at the Mabolaje Grand Alliance were obviously happy at the time but it wasn’t a pleasant development to his opponents in the Action Group. Everyone knew Kabiyesi to be very flamboyant and charismatic. Do you see him as such? Yes! He was very charismatic and flamboyant. I have never seen any Yoruba traditional ruler that possessed his dress sense and style.

Was there any particular reason why he was like that?

I think he took that from his father who was also my own grandfather, the late Buraimo Adele.

His reign in Lagos was said to be peaceful and the people of Lagos Island still have fond memories of him. As a nephew, does his name open doors to you in very high quarters?

Of course it does. At a time in Lagos, everybody wanted to be Adele. Those who didn’t wanted to get very close to us. Many people grew up with us in the palace.

What’s the relationship between you and your cousins, I mean the children of the late Oba?

We are very close and we will continue to be very close. As I said before, we all lived in the palace together. In fact, we all grew up together in the palace as one big family. We love each other so much. Kabiyesi never discriminated against any one. For instance he took me as his child and he accorded me all the privileges that he accorded his biological children.

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