I Never Thought I’d Be King - New Timi

The new Timi of Ede

Alhaji Muniru Adeola Lawal, a crown prince from the Laminisa ruling house, was recently announced the new Timi of Ede in Osun State. He was decorated with the traditional akoko leaves by the kingmakers, thus starting the rites for his eventual installation. During his confinement, he spared some minutes with WALE ADELE, speaking on his first reaction when he heard that he had been chosen as a king, his life as a teacher, and what he will miss as an oba. Excerpts:

Kabiyesi, congratulations. What was your first reaction when you heard that you had been picked as the new Timi of Ede?
Thank you very much, the moment I heard the news on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), I was so happy that I didn’t know what to do. I started running up and down within my room, because I was so confused I just didn’t know how to express this.

Where were you?
I was in my room when I heard the news on the NTA Osogbo...

In your house here in Ede or where?
In Ede, here.

Who were the first set of people that came to you?
The moment I heard about the news, I called my wife (because we were in the same sitting room together). I called her attention to the news; I said come and here the news. Then people outside, my neighbours, started coming in, because they also heard the news on their television sets.

And so, something must have run through your mind that what your first fathers had missed just came to you on a platter of gold...
The moment I heard the news, it was a big surprise. But come to think of it, this is what the Laminisa ruling house had been fighting for since all these days. Many generations from the family had struggled and died without realising that dream. So, I will say it is a dream come true. When the news came, I saw myself coming from the Laminisa house, then I promptly concluded to dub myself Laminisa 1.

In certain instances, people would say they had a premonition that they would be king one day. Did you have anything of such?
I had never thought of my self as a king. Some of my colleagues at the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, were even baffled, because I had never used the word “Prince” in my life. I had no premonition of it at all. It came so suddenly. I think it is the work of God; it has been destined.

And you are from a ruling house, you never used the word Prince?
Believe me, honestly; because if you go through the history, you would see Laminisa had never been given a chance to produce the king. None of us heard this; but the moment the declaration of 1979 gave us the opportunity, we were hoping that at long last, the family would one day be there. But as a person, I never thought of myself as being a king in waiting all the while. I had never thought that it would be within my own generation.

Within your family ( Laminisa family), how many other people rose with you for the throne?
Definitely, as a member of a house, everybody is entitled to it. So, many people came out. I cannot even give you the exact number; we were so many.

But once you were picked, everybody started rallying round you or was there any acrimony?
We were many; but the moment I was picked, all other contestants came to me to greet me. And since then, we have been working together. We have the same common purpose: to make Ede to become a city among the cities, and we have been working together to achieve that. If you had come earlier, you would have seen some of them here.

Until your installation, you were a lecturer at the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree. Will you miss that place?
Definitely, I will miss that environment, because it was an environment where I was so loved by my colleagues and my students. In fact, I will definitely miss the students tremendously. I will miss them. I was so loved by the students. Even see the day of my installation, so many of them from various places came down to rejoice with me despite the fact that the school had been closed for some time now. Some of them came from all over the places to come and see the installation. They arrived in large numbers as early as 7.30 am in the morning.

What would you want Ede land to look like during your reign?
Every Ede indigene loved the late Timi, because we knew where Ede was when he came in and we knew where we were when he left the place. And I am telling you that people expect me to start from where he stopped; so that Ede will be taken to an enviable height. They want beautiful things. They want industries. They want schools. They want universities and I am praying fervently that during my own reign, all these good amenities will come to Ede town.

One would say that this town, Ede, is very lucky, in the sense that we have some other towns in Yorubaland where when one Oba joins his forefathers, some four, five years, even 10 years are spent in resolving succession problem. What is the magic?
It’s the work of God. The credit should be given to the governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, for his effort to have a Timi as quickly as possible. Also, I have to thank members of the state executive council, the deputy governor, the Chief of Staff, Elder Peter Babalola; the Secretary to the State Governor, the Commissioner for Justice, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Speaker – all of them worked round the clock, just to see that we have the new Timi as quickly as possible. Also, the good people of Ede, especially the kingmakers, also worked together to see that we had a new king.

How soon do we expect the official coronation?
I think the coronation date would have been announced if not because the governor is not around. The governor is away. Immediately he comes back, he will definitely give us the date.