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Dr. OLUWAKEMI ONANUGA, The Only Female Aspirant
When the news broke a few weeks back that there is a lady amongst those contesting for the Awujale Stool, it came as a big surprise. A woman Awujale? Many just couldn’t understand this piece of news. Can a woman become Awujale? Has it happened before? Many questions came up. This made us go in search of Dr. Oluwakemi Onanuga, a beautiful Lagos lawyer and Public Policy Advocate who is from Ijebu-Ode.
Last Friday, we got her to talk to us about her move to become the next Awujale. She has scaled all the hurdles so far and her name has been forwarded to the kingmakers, along with other contestants. She is one women who can’t be intimidated. She is a combination of beauty and brains. She is a stunning beauty, blessed with a height that can intimidate any man who is not sure of himself. She is also very intelligent, with a very formidable profile.
She is very eloquent and speaks English so well that you will love to keep listening to her. Interestingly, she also speaks her Ijebu dialect so well, like a native.
She told City People that she is eminently qualified to contest. She told City People that if chosen, she will be the 4th female Awujale in history. So far, there has been 3 female kings in Ijebu-Ode. She is from the male line. “I decided to join the race because we need someone who is eminently well qualified to step into the large shoes the late Awujale left behind,” she told City People.
“At 63, I would rather sit in my house and mind my business. But we can’t do that. We can’t abandon the Awujale throne. It is a prestigeous stool. The last time it came to our family was about a hundred years age. It’s been long. I am from the Fusengbuwa family, I am from the Oduba family. I am a valued member of the Oduba Descendant Association. I have a rich pedigre. I have a proud history behind me. There is a lot we can do with the Awujale throne. We can create wealth for our people. We know how. We don’t need stolen money, stolen gains from people. It is not a fancy aspiration. I work in a thriving law firm. But right now, duty calls and I have a role to play. I won’t stay away from it.
For 2 hours, this brilliant woman told us never heard before stories about the Awujale stool. Read on.
Since you joined the race for the Awujale stool, many people have been wondering whether women are contest for the Awujale stool?
Yes, many have found it strange, absolutely. And I thought, oh my goodness, I’m the first one. We did research and these are my colleagues, Mr. Akin Savage and Mrs. Sumbo Adebeshin. We deal on data. I come from a scientific background, so I don’t deal with hearsay and I’m a lawyer.
We did some research, deep research and we found out that three women had been Awujale of Ijebuland. And if I have my notes here, I can tell you their names. The first one is Oba Gbadegun in 1644. She was the first female of Awujale. 1644. So what you’re saying is right, that there’s been no woman in recent times, but there has been three in the past. So, when I emerge I’ll be number four.
Oba Gbadegun in 1644. She was on the throne for 10 years. And then, Oba Orejeje was there for a year. She ascended the throne in 1749. That was when Orejeje, the second Female Awujale became an Oba again. And the tombstone is in Ijebu Ode. I understand from hearsay, sorry to say that, that they’re buried in the same compound, the three of them.
Until Orejeje became king in 1749, she was on the throne for one year. And then Sapennuwa Arubakoye took over in 1750 and she was on the throne for five years, till 1755. Don’t forget that life expectancy wasn’t that long in those days.
So, when you look at the whole hierarchy of Obas in Ijebu, we trace our first Oba back to 1401. The Ijebu kingdom is older than the British monarchy.
How did your people react when you came out to contest for Awujale?
The same reaction: surprise and excitement. There were conversations on the streets. People are saying we should even support women this time. It is their time. The men have been there, and we didn’t get anything. The adage says, “Train a woman and you train a village.” What you give to a woman has a propensity to filter into the community. Our men were not coming out. What are our kinsmen doing? Is that what Nigeria needs today, or do we need development? I go to Ijebu all the time. The roads are appalling. I have to ask people, is this the same road people pass to Ojude Oba, especially people from the Diaspora? It is the same road where two of Anthony Joshua’s friends died. We pass there almost every day. Safety is not the absence of danger. It is only God that protects us. It’s a travesty. There must come change. And if women are the answer, then let the men go and rest, and let’s put our egos down for a change and see what they can do.
My coming out is to challenge other women in other spheres of life and politics. If we don’t advocate for an opportunity to stand and be counted, it will not be handed to us. It’s not normal that they hand anything to a woman. You must fight for it. So those are the three female kings that have ruled Ijebu successfully. And today, record bears us out that they were there. So why not another one? Especially a descendant of one of the most prolific Obas in Ijebu history, Tunwase the First, Aboki. They called him Aboki because he was like a giant, and as you can see, the genes passed down. I’m also a female giant.
We were made to understand that anybody that will become the next Awujale will emerge through the oracle or Ifa because you mentioned wealth, influence, education, etc. Is that true?
Because we’ve heard that people are trying to manipulate what the outcome will be. We’ve heard. I can’t substantiate it. And as a lawyer, I don’t build my opinion on hearsay. I build my opinion on facts. Even now, through social media, somebody has been told to appear with police.
All those things are going on. But thank God, the Afobajes (kingmakers), Owoyemi, came out and said I’ve not taken a penny from anybody. And my experience with him is true. Because his house was the cynosure of all our activities and meetings when and before they handed the files over to the kingmakers. I submitted an 80-page application, which will end up in a museum in Ijebu one day, whatever the outcome of this race. Because there must be a standard.
Because development is coming. Dangote has taken over all the waterfront in Eba to build seaports. And we know he’s got a successful track record. He’s done the refinery single-handedly. So I’m excited. I want to be Oba when that takes place, so I can resource him and give him all the support.
Because it’ll create jobs for our people. So, who’s thinking about making the average Ijebu man eat garri three times a day? We can turn Ijebu land into an aerohub like Atlanta or New York. We are only 30 minutes on good roads from Lagos.
Why is Lagos’ GDP far above Ogun?
Why is Lagos’ GDP going through the roof and Ijebu is at the bottom when they are just 30 minutes apart? I read a book called Why Nations Fail by Acemoglu and Robinson. I highly recommend it. Two towns side by side, one was thriving, and one was failing. Why? Institutions.
Why is Ijebu’s GDP on the floor? Like places that are more remote and farther out of Lagos? When we are also a seaport city. Because some people can’t think and they think it’s Agbada and Fila that will be used to select the new king.
The whole of Ogun State’s GDP is 16 billion, while Lagos’ GDP is over 67 billion. The whole of Ogun State is 16 billion.
When I was young, Ijebu was 30 minutes away. And I went there every weekend with my parents.
I actually grew up in Ijebu as one of the elite. I’m not shy to say so. But are we Anglo-sized? Yes. How do you think I can understand and still speak Ijebu fluently without living there? But because they’re so used to Ijebu’s being dark-faced and bent over, they don’t know that an Anglo-sized and well-rounded person can also be Ijebu. And that’s the Ijebu we saw as kids. The chief Okunowo was with resplendent Damask. A queen coming from England to visit. The Odutolas, the philanthropists in education and industry. What’s going on? The Ogunbanjos in Erunwon building churches and erecting beautiful homes as edifices and a testament to the success of an Ijebu man. The Baloguns, all his houses including my great-grandfather’s hall, are built after the similitude of FCMB. Lovely columns. We can do it. You know, let’s partner with those who want us to be progressive and create jobs for our people. Then foreign direct investment can come in. Then the West will be confident to bring money in. A seaport will bring not only money, but goods. It will move people. If you can ferry from Isonyin to Marina in 10 minutes, people will live in Ijebu Ode and work in Lagos. And we’ll make sure there’s light.
Tell us a bit about your profile.
I started from Ladi Lak Institute as a young girl. Yeah, but I’m a Lagosian of some sort. You know, our parents moved everywhere. If you go online, you’ll see The Nation released the first publication. That will give you all my CV. The schools I went to, guess how old I am. I’m 63. You know, so I’m right there in the middle of who can qualify because we don’t want anybody too old. Let us even do 30 years there. We had a good turn. Ladilak Methodist Girls High School. Did a few years of university here. I left because it was tedious and hard. And I was a beautiful girl. I went abroad and started working there. When you’re abroad, a 29-year-old doesn’t live in their parents’ home; you earn a living. So I started working at a hotel called Jarvis Embassy as a maid in the UK. I still have my name tag, Jarvis Embassy Hotel, as a maid. I was sweeping floors and making beds. And then I rose and I rose, I became the head housekeeper. From being a maid, I moved aside and got another job. Because, you know, you go to the West as an immigrant, they don’t hand you anything on a platter of gold. You sweat for it. The men become minicab drivers. We do maid or care. Let’s just be real.
So even as a Nigerian princess, I didn’t get a fast turn. I got on the queue and started with an agency as a maid. The hotel is called the Jarvis Embassy International Hotel on Gloucester Road. It can be referenced and verified. My supervisor’s name, who managed the contract for that hotel, was Derek. I can’t remember his last name. So my background is I worked my way to the top. I eventually ended up at Coventry University in the UK to study law. As an adult student, I’d worked for about 30 years to bring up my children. Because nobody’s gonna hand me cash. When you grow up abroad, you don’t wait for money to be handed to you.
That’s the way of life. That’s why the people in the West have successfully built their country. So it’s time Nigeria stopped waiting for freebies, waiting for salvation from the government. It’s time the private sector rises up and takes over a lot of what we’ve devolved to the public sector. They can’t do everything. And it’s time that the government itself thinks of the devolution of powers to the private sector and makes laws and policies that enable the private sector. I’m a partner at Olisa Agbakoba, and a lot of what we do is public policy advocacy. Because as you know, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba started as a human rights lawyer and went into maritime law, and we’re now doing commercial law. But we’re still very strong in public policy because public policy is advocating for the people. And I’m the head of real estate because real estate was my background. I was an agent before I became a lawyer. I was selling two square meters, three square meters. A man’s gotta eat. No chief married me. And I didn’t sit in any chief’s office looking for money. I worked bloody hard too. And that’s why I can talk about your advocacy work. Yes, that’s why I can be here today working. If you go and read my CV, you know that I’m an advocate naturally. I’m wanting to advocate for Ijebu land now. I’ve been advocating for many things before. I advocated for good trade policies for Africa. You know, you’re buying cocoa for one Naira, and you’re going to sell Bournvita for one million. Give us a share of that one million now. So that our farmers can continue to replant. Meanwhile, the West will complain about the quality of our products, but you’re buying them for cheap. You’re buying them for pennies. So I was big on the advocacy of the African Growth and Opportunity Act in the US, advocating for the United States to shift from the historic position of paying pennies for our commodities.
How did you learn to speak Ijebu so fluently?
How did I learn to speak Ijebu? Both my parents are Ijebu, so Ijebu was a language spoken at home by my parents, not to us. But the pride of the elitist family when we were growing up was for your children to be able to speak Yoruba fluently. It’s been turned upside down today, where the more English you can speak, the more elitist you look. Not in our days. We went to school abroad anyway, so English was our first language. We were born there. Yoruba, there was a pride in being able to speak our native dialect. And because I could speak Yoruba from a very young age, Ijebu wasn’t hard. Because I heard my mother and her sisters speak Ijebu. My parents, my mom and dad, my father is from Odogbolu up the road. My mother is Ago, Ijebu Ode. So I’m fully an Ijebu indigent. Hence, I speak the language so fluently. And I’m comfortable in the tradition.
At what stage is the race for Awujale now?
That’s a million-dollar question. Frankly, I don’t know. And I say that because after the nominations, which were about three weeks ago, 95 candidates were nominated—one person nominates, another person seconds—and it was conducted in the town hall, Olabisi Hall. If you do your research, you will get the full name of that hall in Igbeba. We were all duly nominated, and our names were published. We were very excited at that time because we thought now that we’ve been nominated, they were going to package all our applications. As I said, my application was 80 pages. I included all the commendations I had from governors in the United States. You can’t beat my record. You must try. From the governor of my state in the U.S. to the attorney general, I put everything so they can see my land and breath. I ran for political office in the UK in 2002 as a councillor of Islington. I sat on two presidential campaign committees at the last election in 2023. I’m not a rookie to politics or governance. And I’m not a rookie to Obaship because of my lineage. I was born into it. So we thought as soon as the nomination was done, the package was going to be given to the Afobajes, which was done. It was televised. It was all over social media in padlocked Ghana. We thought thereafter, in a week, a shorter list would come—maybe 23 names, 25, or whatever they could have done internally to whittle the names down.
And we got an invitation from the Afobajes to meet them for the first time face to face at the palace, which I attended. That morning, we received another communiqué that we were to branch at the DSS office for vetting, which I think should be done because we don’t want an unsavory person to emerge as Awujale, and I’m glad they’re being knocked out one by one without mentioning names. The seat of my fathers is not a machine for misuse of influence or a money laundering site. And that’s the sort of personality we’ll need on the throne. If not me, then somebody of equal transparency. Well, I will emerge by the Grace of God. So lo and behold, the next day, the governor halts the process by spurious allegations of money taking and bribery. I mean, the invitation sent to the Olisa by the police shows an example of what the accusations are. As I said, I don’t want to tarnish anybody’s name. It’s all hearsay. It’s what we’re hearing. That some people took money and they took favors and they took cars. Well, I hope it’s a rumor and it’s not true.
