At 85 I Have Nothing To Do With A Roysroll
One of the longest serving royal fathers in Nigeria Oba Tijani Adetunji Akinloye have reinstated his determination towards elevating the status of Eti-osa and Ajiran in particular.
Speaking during a press interview in his Ajran palace the world class industrialist turned traditional ruler reveals that he has no interest in purchasing a roysroll or a private jet rather he is interested in positioning his domain on the world map through innovations that will rewrite history. Excerpts:
Q: Kabiyesi: You are one of the longest serving royal fathers in Nigeria and you will be celebrating 85th years of landmark accomplishments what have been your success story, experiences positively and otherwise?
A: Thank you for that question, I give all the glory, honour and adoration to God almighty because longevity is not by connections, resources and wisdow but it is by the grace of God.
Life is full of experiences, for someone to celebrate 85th birthday anniversary on earth, thirty three years on the throne as a royal father it is a big experiences but someone must continue to appreciate God for he has given us the wisdom to manage crisis and also withstand storms.
The only thing that is constant in life is change and someone must continue to adapt to change, globally the whole world is currently witnessing economic challenges and Nigeria is not an exceptional but God have given us the wisdom and grace to manage economic challenges.
However, talking about my experiences as a traditional ruler that is a very long story but what I can say is that I will continue to forgive those who has wronged me one way or the other for peace to reign.
Yes, I have tried my best towards ensuring that Eti-Osa is positioned on the world map, our best may not be enough but we have not rest on our oars.
I established a vocational training center for the youth to learn vocations of their choice as this will equip them to be self-sustaining and further add value to the economic prosperity of their fatherland.
We will continue to mentor our youths so that they will see themselves as not just leaders of today but they will be able to see themselves as agent of position changes and change the narratives proactively.
Q: Alayeluwa do you intend to celebrate your birthday with a new roysroll and a private jet?
A: What am I going to do with a roysroll or a private jet, do you no what it takes to manage a private jet in dollars?
I have nothing to do with a private jet or a roysrol, where am I travelling to, I don't have any global business, I am the custodian of tradition and culture in my domain and it is my duty to preserve, protect our tradition so that it will not go into extention.
My prayers to God at 85 is that he should give me good health and long life to obliged my constitutional responsibilities as a monarch.
Q: Some guarters have been agitating for the creation of Lagoon state which will encompass Epe, Ibeju-Lekki, Eti-Osa, Ikorodu and inland local government what is your position on this?
A: I have not being informed officially about the creation of lagoon state, all the local government you mentioned are the Ijebu's and Awori to form a state.
Ethic boundaries is not a challenge in Nigeria the only challenge that is militating against the development of Nigeria is corruption, in a situation some people empty the treasury to their personal accountant how do you expect development to take place.
State creation is a good development because it will allow development to reach the grassroots people but in an atmosphere where corruption is the other of the day, God bless Nigeria.
Q: There are several housing estates in Eti-Osa but when it comes to industrialization Eti-Osa is laying behind what do you think is the way out?
A: For industrialization to take place there must be an enabling environment 24hours power supply, motorable roads among other infrastructures which must be provided by the government.
When it comes to revenue generation, Eti-Osa paid the highest revenue to the coffers of government but when it comes to project implementation Eti-osa is not on the map of Lagos state.
Yes, Eti-osa industrials estate is a good idea but there are several other factors and perimeters one has to consider raw materials, exchange rate and Eti-osa is low land area which makes it prone to flooding.
Ibeju-Lekki is gradually growing in the area of industrialization with the establishment of the Dangote refinery among other white elephant project like the free trade zones, Airport among other.
Q: I discovered that all road networks in Ajiran are motorable what has been your secret sir?
A: The access road to Ajiran was as a result of community impact before the state government took it upon itself to reconstruct it in 2002, it must be on record that whenever it rains the entire road government submerged with water which means there is an urgent need for the road to be upgrade and upscale to 21st century road network with drainages and solar streetlight.
Several letters have been written to the government stressing the need for action to be taken on the reconstruction of the road including other road networks in the community and we are hoping that the current administration n the state have a listening ear and they will come to our rescue.
Q: Kabiyesi what are your future prospect for Ajiran and Eti-osa in general?
A: I will continue to protect the interest of the people of Eti-osa more importantly the youth, we will continue to do everything possible to ensure that the youth are positioned on a vantage position we intend to collaborate with critical stakeholders to upgrade our vocational center and father give scholarship to the youth.
God will continue to give us the required resources to flourish on the throne and continue to intimate ideas that will be of great significance to the people of Eti-osa and Lagos state at large.
