Ooni of Ife, Ọba Enitan Ogunwusi, Odole-Oodua of Ife, Sir Kesington Adebutu, former Governor of Ogun State, and the current Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, yesterday joined other dignitaries to commission the newly built palace of the Onirolu of Irolu-Remo Kingdom, Ọba Sikiru Adeyiga, in Ikenne Local Government, Ogun State, after 32 years on the throne.

The ultra-modern palace, which has apartments adjoining each other, contains a library with historical books on Irolu-Remo, the King’s quarter, Queen’s quarters, domestic staff quarters, inner rooms for meetings, a hall with air conditioning and CCTV cameras, a big generator, all equipped with top-notch facilities, to mention a few.

At the event, Apala Maestro, Musiliu Haruna Isola, treated the audience, including family, friends, indigenes, and well-wishers, with sonorous music, as Chairman, Palace Standing Committee, Col. Dele Oyefuga, Yeyemofin, Barr. Omotola Rotimi, Prince Adekunle Adeyiga, Prince Niyi Oyenusi, and Irolu Development Association (IDA) Chairman, Jimmy Akinsanya, expressed joy over the new palace.

Speaking, Ooni of Ife, Ọba Ogunwusi, who was represented by the Agbolu of Agbaje Ife, Oba Adekunle Adebowale, prayed that God would grant the 87-year-old monarch longevity to conduct activities from his forefathers’ throne in the palace, stressing that the palace would be a place of peace and blessings for the indigenes of Irolu-Remo Kingdom.
“Kabiyesi Ooni asked me to greet you, Onirolu, on your new palace. He said he would have come, but because it is his birthday today, he asked me to pray that you will live long to make use of the palace and that the people of Irolu-Remo Kingdom will continue to flourish,” he said.

The Odole-Oodua of Ife, Sir Adebutu, who celebrated with the Onirolu on the new palace, described him as a “selfless king” whose efforts laid the foundation of the new palace and who was persistent in making sure the dream of the new palace came through.

Adebutu also used the occasion to call on monarchs who are yet to get a befitting palace to start the project before writing letters to his office for assistance, expressing hope that the Ijebu State project pushed on the floor of the upper chamber of the National Assembly by Senator Daniel would come to fruition one day.

He said, “I greet you, sons and daughters of Irolu land. I celebrate with you for the kind of Ọba you have. A king that is selfless. I know how worried he was when the project was not ready, but we thank God it became possible.
“All your efforts for Ijebu State will come to pass (Daniel). This is my second engagement today, and I still have one more to go. This palace will not become hot.
“I take this opportunity to say that any Remo Ọba who wants to build a palace, I will always support him. My only condition is that such Ọba should lay the foundation first before writing letters to my office. I advise other kings not to be selfish when they receive funds and to use it for something tangible,” he noted.

On his part, Senator Daniel described Ọba Adeyiga as a forthright king who demonstrated the power of constituency to make sure the palace became a reality. “I just want to congratulate Kabiyesi for being a forthright Oba. Today you have demonstrated what the power of determination and consistency can achieve. Kabiyesi, I congratulate you.”

Lamenting his 32 years on the throne without a palace, Ọba Adeyiga said that he was the 13th monarch of the community who had ruled his kingdom with no palace for over three decades, noting that seeing the edifice, which he bought the land for N570,000 and built over seven years, was historic and a dream come true in his lifetime.

He thanked Sir Adebutu and other dignitaries, including sons and daughters of Irolu-Remo land, for giving him an ultra-modern and historic palace during his lifetime, saying that the palace would motivate indigenes at home and abroad to return home and discuss issues affecting the community and those that could bring development.

The Onirolu, however, said that one of the big projects he had in mind was to resuscitate the Irolu-Remo Community Bank to assist small business owners and traders with loans to operate their businesses, but regretted that it went into extinction five years ago due to poor management, while urging residents and indigenes of Irolu-Remo to love each other, live together in harmony, and shun anything that could cause disunity among them.

He said, “It was written in my acceptance speech that day that God, if you allow me to be the true Oba of this community, I would like to be the first Oba to build a palace in Irolu. Thank God, it took long, but it has come to pass. I am the 13th Onirolu. Each Oba, when they ascend the throne, stays in their home.
“The land where the palace is built was bought. I bought this place. It was money realised when we built a police station. We realised close to 700,000. I bought this place for 570,000. The rest, I used to survey the place. That was how we started.
“Where a king is without a palace, the work is not complete. So, when you have a palace, it is at that palace that the citizens of the community will have their meetings, to entice them and motivate them to come home. They know where they are coming. We will have a chance to discuss with ourselves. So, having a palace is significant in many ways, the need to have a palace.
“Yes, the bank is supposed to give loans to the indigenes for their businesses. When you say the microfinance bank, it’s meant for helping petty trade. That was it. When we had our own microfinance bank here with the dubious practices we were having then, we know how they siphoned all the money there. But that won’t happen. We have learned our lessons. Which year was that? The bank liquidated about five years ago,” he added.