By Job Osazuwa
Most of the time, when you think of a king, the image that comes to your mind is a mature man with grey hairs of wisdom. But that is not always the case in reality. In Nigeria, there are kings just out of diapers.
As observed in many communities in Nigeria, many of the kngs are old, but there are still some young kings who rule their dormains in different parts of the country.
In times past, many underage monarchs, including two and a half years old, have been entroned as kings over their subjects, some of whom were old enough to be their great-grand-fathers.
“The gods have spoken and their decisions are not to be questioned”. This is usually the submission of the people.
Lovers of history can’t forget the posers and puzzles that were raised when Benjamin Ikechukwu, Keagborekuzi 1, Dein of Agbor in Delta State, was to sit on the exalted throne after the death of his father, James Obika Ikechukwu, in 1979.
Born on June 29, 1977, the same year Nigeria hosted the world under the aegis of the second edition of the World African Festival of Arts and Culture, (FESTAC), he was later to set a global record as the youngest monarch in the entire universe at his installation in 1979, at a mere 28 months. This is just as many people submitted that Ikechukwu was certainly neither unaware of the mandate he was given nor what he was expected to do with it.
As he admitted in an interview with a national newspaper in 2019, when asked to recall some of the things that happened at that stage of his life saying: “No, I don’t. I can’t remember anything. I am happy I cannot recall because in some of the pictures I saw, I didn’t look too happy. So, only God knows what was going through my mind at the time, like, what are these people doing, what are you putting on my head? It must have been a very interesting period. It was God’s decision and we followed it.”
Therefore, it was not surprising or out of place when the 28-month-old monarch and a select few from the royal family relocated abroad where the Dein Keagborekuzi 1, lived for the first two decades of his life. He is now 45, full of wisdom and deeply admired by his people.
In some states, particularly in the southern part of the country, kingship is passed to another king simply by inheritance. This means that if the father dies and the son is a year old, he may be crowned king at that age and the prime minister would oversee the kingdom until the king comes of age.
On the other hand, in some communities, the kingship is based on rotation, passing from one family or village to another in the same community, as the case may be, and the people choose who they wish to represent them and be their king.
No doubt, Nigeria is very famous with a number of ancient kingdoms. A kingdom or monarchy differs from place to place. There are usually peculiarities of customs and traditions distinguishing one kingdom from another. In one way or the other, the enthroned royals play a significant role in Nigeria’s affairs.
Dein Keagborekuzi I is described as the youngest Nigerian king. He was named the world’s youngest crowned monarch in 1980s edition of Guinness World Record Book.
He is today described as one of the most exposed kings, in terms of trans-cultural interaction, liaison and activism. He has been guest of honour/ guest speaker, Belgium King’s Day celebrations; guest of honour at Spanish Day celebrations and guest of the German Embassy, during the visit of the German Chancellor to Nigeria. He was also one of the monarchs invited by the Federal Government to receive the Queen of England during her visit to Nigeria. He is an Officer in the Order of Belgium.
In 2006, the Obasanjo presidency named him the chancellor of a university thus making him at 29 the youngest chancellor of any university, public or private, in all of Africa. As if to consolidate his all-round appeal and relevance, the Delta State government once named him vice-chairman, Delta State Traditional Rulers’ Council, thus becoming, at his age, the youngest traditional ruler to hold such a position.
He has introduced many reforms to drive his kingdom, safe and sound, into the next millennium. He has instituted cultural and traditional reforms such as would enhance the cohesion of the kingdom, hedge up its competitiveness, raise its visibility at national and trans-national fora, and increase its relevance in the increasingly important traditional institution in Nigeria’s dynamic polity.
There is no gainsaying that he loves his people. In an interview, he said: “It has always been a problem for me over the last 19 years, seeing that the country is actually going backwards. We are not actually where we should be.
“For me as a monarch, it is extremely frustrating. I have electricity because I can afford to buy diesel for my generator. There is electricity here now but I can tell you that the whole neighbourhood is in darkness, so, definitely, I cannot be comfortable with that. I don’t know how any leader can be comfortable living in luxury while their people are suffering. I can’t understand it at all; it has not been the best experience for me because, as long as Nigerians are suffering, I’m suffering as well.”
However, Dein Keagborekuzi I is not to be mistaken for the youngest king in the history of the world, as there are several others in history who became kings even before they could crawl: Shah Shapur II of Persia (before birth), Alfonso XIII of Spain (a day old), Ivan VI of Russia (two months old), and Henry VI of Britain (nine months old).
Akubuisi Okonkwo is said to be at the moment the youngest king in Nigeria. He was crowned king of Iyiora Anam Kingdom in Anambra State at the age of 10 in 2020.
He took over the throne following the death of his father, His Royal Highness, Igwe Onyeachonam Okonkwo. His father, also, when emerged the king, was the youngest at the time and ruled till he passed on.
His father, Igwe Akuebisi, the Olame 1 Of Iyiora Anam, Anambra State, was buried in December 2020 and the boy became king on Thursday, January 7, 2021.
He is addressed as his Royal Highness (Igwe) Olanme II of Iyiora.
Oloyede Adeyeoba Oloyede was made the of Awujale Okeluse, which is in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, when he was 15 years old in 2020.
Oloyede was still in secondary school when he was made the king of his town. He is the only surviving son of his father.
The appointment was among the three ratified by the council, presided over by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
HRH Obi Chukwuka Noah Akaeze was the youngest king in Nigeria after the death of his father. He previously held the title of the youngest king in Nigeria.
He assumed his position as a king when he was just 18 years in 2016.
He is a king in Aniocha Local Government in Delta State. He graduated from the higher institution in the year 2019 in United Kingdom, where he studied law. The king is now 23 years old.
After independence, Nigeria became a sovereign state and later a republic. Traditional rulers lost almost all political power, but they continue to serve as dormant rulers with government.
Indisputably, Nigerian traditional rulers are cherished, from time immemorial, with economic and social effects on Nigerian society. Love or hate them, they often run the country, indirectly or directly exude great influence on virtually all the decision-making bodies of government.
Nigeria’s traditional rulers are regarded as the custodians of customs and traditions. The country is known for keeping its traditions and monarchical system, despite the recent wave of western civilization across the length and breadth of he country.
For Yoruba kings, they are described as the ‘Igba keji Orisa,’ which loosely means one who deputises the oracle. It is believed that the king speaks for the gods. This system has been in order before the advent of modern government; a king was the ultimate authority before the presence of civilisation.
Other tribes in the country also have their traditional rulers who are highly placed. An Igbo king is generally regarded as ‘Eze’, which literally means king, while the Hausa call the king, ‘Sarki’.
Although you would be be right to say kings no longer enjoy the sweeping political power they were known to wield in the past, they have continued to command respect from their people and have considerable influence.