Moshood Adebayo
Bode Mustpaha is a member of the Regency Council, Gbagura, Abeokuta, Ogun State, and the Balogun Ibadan-Gbagura, the homestead of the late business mogul, Bashorun MKO Abiola. He told Daily Sun why five out of the 12 kingmakers selected the new Agura of Gbagura, due for coronation this month:
‘’It is God that crowns one’s efforts in whatever one does in life. In Gbagura-Abeokuta, the Iddo township has the exclusive preserve of producing the Agura of Gbagura, no other township within the community contests that with Iddo. The remaining townships produce Osin, Egba, Odofin-Egba and other titles in Egbaland. These are properly gazetted. The three principal representatives of Gbagura in the Egba Traditional Council are Osi, Odofin and Oganla.
‘’For us in Gbagura, we don’t appoint new kingmakers during an interregnum. It is usually the surviving kingmakers while the Agura transited that usually select the new Agura through process of voting. The five surviving kingmakers of the 12 statutory kingmakers at the time Oba Sobekun joined his ancestors voted secretly in the presence of officials of the local government. I was not around though, but I was in far away England, but I was in touch with the process back home. Gladly enough, all of them voted unanimously for the new Agura, who is currently in Ipebi.
‘’On the day we presented the new Agura to the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Aremu Gbadebo and the Egba people at the Alake Palace, three of them went with us and confirmed to the paramount ruler that five of them voted for the new Agura. The Agura people, represented by kingmakers chose the best candidate among other candidates. I appeal to the aggrieved candidates to accept the new Agura as the will of God who is one of them for the progress sand development of the Gbagura Nation.
‘’I am not surprised at the emergence of Prince Bakre as the new Agura because 15 years ago, in a dream, the new Agura was walking towards me and I saw a shinning crown on his head. Immediately I shouted Kabiyesi, Kabiyesi, but he retorted immediately that he was not interested in Obaship, but rather he wanted to get to the peak of his career as a Customs officer.
‘’He added that God sparing the life of the then Agura and when it is the turn of the family, I should go and talk to Robi, his younger brother. Par adventure I had course to go to South Africa on business trip and I met with Robi and narrated what I saw in the dream and the reaction of his elder brother. His reaction was that I should not mind brother Jide the new Agura).
“Two months later, I had another dream during which a crown was being put on the new Agura. Later in the day, I called him (new Agura) on phone and he blew his top and I prayed that I should be alive when the time comes for him to mount the throne of his forebears. I am happy that my dream has come to pass.”
On the installation of the new Agura which some people saw as putting the cart before the horse. Mustapha responded: “It was not the Gbagura people, but the immediate past administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, that threw caution to the winds. I drew the attention of people to it that it was wrong.
“Yes after his selection and approval by government he should have gone straight to Ipebi. But the former governor bullied everyone into submission in the presentation of the instruments of office to the new Agura before he went into the Ipebi that will eventually lead to his coronation. As someone who believes in tradition, customs and methodology, I did not attend the ceremony after sending a text message to the Balogun Ojoo, who is also chairman of the Gbagura Regency Council, Chief Adio Baiyewu.
“My first advice to the new Agura is to invite all those he contested the throne with him. As a people, we don’t want a factional monarch. Naturally, there will be many people in a contest, but only a winner will eventually emerge.
God has chosen him as the head of all Gbagura sons and daughters, including those who contested the stool with him. I suggest that he should extend the hands of fellowship to his fellow brother-contestants for the progress of the Gbagura because the task of ruling Gbagura is enormous and he needs all hands on deck.
“It is also very important that the new Agura enjoys the co-operation of all other principal townships in Egbaland, namely, Egba Alake,(the Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland) Egba Oke-Ona, (Osile) and Egba Owu (the Olowu).
“He should also appreciate the fact that the primus inter parimous is the Alake of Egbaland. We do not need to be in confrontation with anyone or group in Egbaland. What is important is development of the Gbagura and Egbaland as a team. When we were growing up, we did not know Gbagura, Oke-Ona or Owu. We were all Egba and that is what I want to see happen with him and that is my advice to him.
“It is also my prayers that as the ninth Agura, his tenure will usher in prosperity, peace, harmony friendship between the Gbagura people and other quarters of the Egbaland. It is also my fervent prayer that his tenure will outlive people like me as an older person. It is my wish too that he will take the Gbagura Nation to heights that it has never been achieved before his tenure.”