Prince Olusola Olurotimi Enioluyan Arowojolu belongs to one of the ruling houses in Mahin Kingdom, Ondo State. In this interview by WOLE EFUNNUGA, he speaks on his desired developmental goals for Mahin Kingdom and why he wants to be king.
How do you describe the oral evidence that makes you lay claim to the throne that you seek to ascend? What is your ruling house?
I am a son to the late High Chief Vincent O. Arowojolu who was the immediate past Asaron of Mahin Kingdom and head of the Alagwe Ruling House. Our ruling house- Alagwe is now to produce the next Amapetu of Mahin Kingdom after the demise of His Imperial Majesty, Oba Lawrence Adetemi Omowole from the Akinneyin ruling House whose final traditional rite was just concluded only two weeks ago
What are the objectives influencing your desire to be a traditional ruler?
My interest grew from my relationship with my father. He was seen in the kingdom as the “Moses Of the entire Alagwe dynasty”. As young as I was in the 80’s, by the way I’m now in my early 40’s, I watched my father going to court championing the cause that recognised the Alagwe as a ruling house in Mahin. He corrected the trajectory of History that deprived our ruling house for close to 450 years. He was the one who presented the sole and singular memorandum before the Olayiwola Chieftaincy review Commission set up by the Ondo State government following the recommendation of the Morgan Constitution to review the claim of the Alagwe Ruling House. OLayiwola Chieftaincy Review Commission finds that Alagwe was the first Oba in Mahin Kindgom in order of successions. The outcome of the Olayiwola Commision was that Alagwe was asked by the government to present a candidate for Amapetu stool which Oba Oluseyi Noah Omomowo Ogbolo ,TheAagweVI. filled in 1992.
Again,I see this as an opportunity even in leadership capacity to serve my people. It’s a predestination to serve the good people of Mahin Kingdom irrespective of the adjustment of relocating from the United Kingdom where my immediate family reside. When you are destined to be something, the decision is not actually yours, it’s a decision God took on our behalf before the foundation of the world.
Looking at the domain over which you intend to superintend, what are the gaps that you intend to fill?
Having been around from the United kingdom since 2 weeks ago, I have been to the numerous towns and villages that make up the Kingdom even as deep into the riverine inter-land,–Igbokoda,Ode- Mahin,Aboto and all that. I can tell you reliably that these towns are seriously begging for developmental intervention. I have produced a document detailing the intervention strategy tagged The Kingdom Development Blueprint (TKDB) as a compass to guide the people during the reign. It details strategies that focus on the youth and youth empowerment. Strategic partnership and collaborations will entail bringing various levels of government and government bodies, persuasion with the corporate bodies and those that we would recognize as the “friends of the Kingdom” who would have a shared and common belief and support our cause and idea.
What is the developmental agenda that you are bringing to your domain?
I welcome the fact that the present government led by Arakurin ‘Rotimi Akeredole recently flagged off the 51km Araromi Seaside coastal road connecting Ondo State with Akodo-Lekki in Lagos. The project will reduce travel distance from 4 hours to 45 minutes from Ilaje major towns to Lagos.
As a Chartered Accountant, I understand what it is to link state to metro. I have a dream, I can see people working in Lagos and leaving in serenity of Mahin Kingdom just as a replication of the much published Banana Island in Lagos. I want to preserve the old, historical Ode Mahin and make it a tourist attraction. But I want to build a new Mahin. We will appropriate some lands and have a global summit to bring in indigenes to come and invest. I will make our waterways a tourist delight. Mahin has the second largest bitumen deposit in the world. We will invest in this. We will also create employment opportunities for our youth.
Give us a brief historical description of the town you are going to rule.
Mahin is a kingdom, consisting of towns and villages too numerous to mention. We have Igbokoda, which is the seat of the Ilaje Local government, Atijere, Aboto, Mahintedo and others. Indeed Mahin kingdom is the largest in terms of territory and geography in the entire coastal suburb. Amapetu has overriding jurisdiction over many of the coastal enclaves in Ondo state.
What sort of parents did you have and what are your qualifications and the areas of endeavours in which you have succeeded?
As mentioned to you earlier, my father was a selfless man who devoted all his energy, resources to mankind. My father believed in education as a tool of liberation, that explained why all his children are today graduates and highly placed in all areas of their endeavors.
I qualified as an accountant in 2005 having completed the final professional examination of the institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and I am also a Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of England (ACCA).I have worked as Accountant, and Controller on different projects in various organizations in Nigeria and UK ranging from insurance, banking, manufacturing and oil and gas sector.
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