•75th Birthday Interview
Erelu Abiola Dosumu, the Erelu Kuti IV of Lagos is one celebrity woman who has seen it all. Since 1974 when she was made the Erelu she has dominated the social and cultural scenes like a colossus. And over the last 40 years, she has remained relevant in the scheme of things both in Lagos and at the national level. She has taken the Erelu role to the next level, so much, so that whenever the title is mentioned anywhere it’s her name that readily comes to mind.
The big news is that she will be 75 in a few days’ time and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi has appointed her as the Yeye Oodua of The Source. In a one-page letter dated 11th May 2022, the Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula, wrote: “I write with great delight to inform you that the Royal Court of Ife under my supreme leadership has approved your appointment as the Yeye Oodua of the Source”
“This immeasurable honour is in recognition of your enviable human qualities which include leadership traits, philanthropy and being a great promoter of the prestigious Yoruba culture and tradition across the world, just like a wife to the late political sage; Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mama HID Awolowo who served as the Yeye Oodua during her lifetime.”
“As it is contained in the name (Yeye Oodua) status of the prestigious title is huge and beyond mere ceremonial appendage, hence, you are now obligated to undertake assignments in the areas of effective representation of the entire Oodua race worldwide, rallying our people for peace and prosperity as well as undertaking other core duties for the House of Oduduwa which I am confident that you will discharge optimally.”
“In line with the tradition of the ancient kingdom of Ife, please note that 14-day traditional rites to communicate with our ancestors shall be held, before the official coronation activities at the Ile Oodua Palace of Ife. Details of the 14 days’ traditional rites shall be communicated to you shortly”.
Already, invitations have been sent out and Erelu Abiola Dosumu has sent letters out to dignitaries. Her letter reads: “It is with joy and enthusiasm that I write to intimate you with the honour accorded me by the House of Oduduwa under the leadership of His Imperial Majesty, Oba Babatunde Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife by appointing me as the “Yeye Oodua” the “Mother of the Crown Heads of the Yoruba race.”
“As you are aware, I am the current Erelu Kuti IV of Lagos, the crowned Queen Mother and Kings Mother who created the second dynasty in the Kingdom of Lagos that gave rights to the sons of female Royals to be Kings in Lagos State both by tradition and the law. This fact confers on me the position of a first-class traditional ruler.
I accepted this immeasurable honour as “Yeye Oodua of the Source,” “mother of the crowned heads of the Yoruba Race” with joy and enthusiasm because it confers greater opportunity on me to better serve the Yoruba race and humankind as mentioned in His Imperial Majesty’s letter “to undertake the assignment in the areas of effective representation of the entire Oodua race worldwide rallying our people for peace and prosperity”.
The coronation activities shall commence at the Palace of His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife Oba Babatunde Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II. The traditional observance of prayers of our ancestors and cultural festival will hold on Thursday, July 28th 2022, at Ojo Oba, Adeniyi Adele Road, Lagos Island. The thanksgiving and grand reception will take place in Lagos on Friday, July 29th, 2022 at 2 pm at Harbour Point, Wilmot Point Close, Off Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Last week, City People visited the Erelu at her Victoria Island home in Lagos during which she spoke about the story of her life at 75 and how she has remained very relevant in the scheme of things.
We also found a beautiful woman who is at peace with herself and has continued to play her traditional and cultural duties as the Erelu Kuti IV of Lagos.
Of course, we met her resplendently dressed in her all-white royal outfit with a Hat to match. Nothing has changed about this great woman who opened a shop on Bond Street in London in the 70s to promote the sale of Aso Oke. She is still as beautiful as she was years back. She is very cosmopolitan in her ways and speaks eloquently. Royalty oozed all around her.
For 2 hours we spent quality time with this woman of substance who has continued to dominate the social scene since the 70s, and she is not slowing down.
Below are excerpts of her interview.
How do you feel about your new position as the Yeye Oodua of the source?
I am highly honoured and words cannot express the joy and fulfilment I feel most importantly my gratitude goes to His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife for considering me worthy to accord this great honour to me. I know many will want to be in that position and by the grace of God he has considered me worthy, I am grateful and I appreciate it.
I assure him that I am going to give it my best because whatever I do I put all of my efforts and being into it. I am going to make the Yoruba race proud. It goes beyond Nigeria and whatever value you can attract to the Yoruba race, we will leave no stone unturned.
You have also been known to be very much associated with Culture and Tradition, how have you been able to do this since you became Erelu?
I don’t know but when you ask that question I will probably say that I have been ordained by God because for me to be in this area of culture and tradition for well over 5 decades, it has to be the grace of God to have sustained one and to be able to give the best one can to it with great difficulties but tremendous success. It has to be the grace of God. He must have endowed me with the wisdom, capability and discerning mind to be able to wade through the hurdles of religion, tradition and life generally then to be standing at this point in time, I am marvelled myself as to the amount of grace I have enjoyed to be able to move ahead up till now. I just thank God and everyone I have come across including you Seye Kehinde that have stood by me through the storm and has helped me along the way to get here.
So I see it more as being an ambassador of my people beyond our shore. And I pray I will do credit to it.
At the time you became Erelu of Lagos, how did you adjust to the new responsibility that brought to you?
Strangely enough, when I look back, I just saw it as a duty and it did not make any difference to me. From the time I knew myself, maybe 2 years old I found myself sitting at the foot of my grandmother watching people praying to the Almighty with such devotion which made me believe that this supreme being must be the ultimate.
Seeing strong successful women every Friday singing and praising him with such concentration and devotion. So for me the greatness of God and mightiness was with me. Wherever I found myself I always throw myself into it and give it my best.
So when I was made Erelu it was more for me a call to duty because at that time you did not have the Local Government services in the palaces. Not like now that they give and maintain palaces, you get some kinds of palliatives and they even get some sort of money considerations monthly, it wasn’t like that. So it is any of us who is interested that contributing to the maintenance, upkeep and sustenance of our palace. For me, at that young age, I have always been keenly aware of my traditions and culture so doing anything for the palace, tradition, and culture became a norm. When I have 2 pennies I can spend one and half of them on culture and tradition and am willing to spend the remaining half of it on myself. So when I became Erelu it was just a continuation of what I was used to doing. I did not realise the gravity that it entailed some other things but I was gently broken into my duties, the culture and tradition. Also, I thank the people that were chiefs of Lagos at that time because the youngest of them was in his 70s so they were old wise men. While I was this young woman, modern in her approach and then some of them were sceptical about me but within the year they all felt I was some old woman from somewhere because I actually was the one pushing them to be more fastidious about upholding our tradition.
Our culture should not be seen as subservient, illiterate and dirty because it is something that we should all be proud of because it is our identity and it is the level that we take it to that will tell the world who we are. So for me, it has been a beautiful journey. I fell into it and there was no confusion about my belief in God and the goodness the Almighty expects from his children. I believe that all religions including traditional religions believe in the supremacy of the Almighty.
When you believe that you will not have any confusion about religion, you will know that we are all children of the Almighty.
There is a clear difference between good or bad and he expects us to do good and that is the area we must all follow. With all of that, it has helped me through all realities of life.
How have you been able to sustain your personality even though the decades you have remained consistently consistent?
There is no magic or anything extraordinary but observing what I have said before now. In all that you do, you must give your best, and seek Excellence all the time and I tell you in Nigeria it is very tough. If you are not careful you will be turned into an iron lady when you are seeking excellence from the bottom upwards. In striving for excellence you must also observe equity, justice, and love of your neighbour and that can be most difficult because most neighbours don’t love and you have to love that person but you must see them as your brother from the same father.
Even if you feel angered and bitter it is tempered because your anger will be tempered with that belief. So you have to be constantly aware that there is life after this and you are accountable to the Almighty in all you do. I think I have always observed that I try not to hurt anybody and try and forgive as much as I can. There is definitely no guile or vendetta in me because when you have these it destroys your humanity. Your humanity is your guide that keeps you on a straight and narrow path.
When you have humanity you will always strive for excellence and love your neighbour. What I am saying may sound mundane to you but believe me, it is the essence of life, not in material things but in peace of mind and being able to sleep well at night. With this, you tend to have peace of mind in the essence of having a good relationship with people. In Nigeria, God has endowed us mercifully and bountifully, if we exhibit this kind of love imagine where we will be. There is enough to go around but we have got to have a human wealth of kindness. If our leaders have kindness they will think of the people, our vision will be sharper to find solutions to evade the suffering of the masses instead pilferage and being unfair to others, if you achieve that way it will not last and it is should last it will not give you joy because most of the time you are trying to hide it. I believe in equity and justice because I believe that is where we will all be able to live in peace and joy. I hope the new people we are trying to bring on board will imbibe this quality for a better Nigeria.
How have you also been consistent with fashion and style?
Short of sounding like a broken record, everything I have been saying should result to peace of mind. I cannot tell you I have any special secret anywhere except that I pay attention to myself. I try to maintain a good standard of cleanliness, and extra medical support that people of my age needs and I don’t get to careless. Not like you take too many drugs, you have to do exercises, eat right and try to be in a state of stability and peace of mind. I can assure you, that you think I look so good but there are still some things I want in my life, that will not be at the front burner of my life. If it comes; wonderful, if it doesn’t I am grateful for what God has given me. It is a pure combination of lifestyle that keeps you going. When you are well and you have peace, you continue to be imaginative in your style. I think everything is predicated on contentment and being grateful and not undue stress for what you don’t have. At the end of the day, wherever you are, the Almighty knows where you are and He will come there to meet you and add value to your life. All religions will tell you that if you show gratitude for where you are you will get more. We have our own proverb: “Eni to ba dupe ore ana, a ri imi gba”. You must be constantly grateful to God for what He is because He is your father and He knows what you need. He may not give what you ask for because He thinks you don’t need it but what you need He gives if you are faithful and grateful. These are the principles of my life, I strive to observe these things every day. When I wake up and I find out I have plenty, I share because I like giving. That has been second nature to me because I grew up watching my grandmother cook and feed people. People who know me know I also love to do that. So if you want to be excellent you have to practice it every day. The colonialists came and captured our mind, culture and tradition by constantly pounding it in our heads that they were better.
Then we can use the same method to change our psyche for good. These are the principles that you have to imbibe in yourself. It applies to achievement in life, being dedicated, fastidious and do what is right every day, not once in a year. Like the politicians that few months before the election they come out shouting their manifestos to buy the people to give their support. This makes us weak people that will keep people in abject poverty.
Do you always mark your birthdays? Tell us about your 75th birthday this year.
Of course, I always mark my birthdays, I celebrate it with my children and grandchildren. I love birthdays so as a young person I would always look forward to my birthday because I get a new dress with lots of food for me and my friends.
So my parents know and they do it, then I got married and my spouse was always interested in it so I always celebrate my birthday. I will do a big ceremony and I have had a beautiful collection of birthdays in different parts of the world and Nigeria. This particular one might be big because it is coming with the appointment Kabiyesi has magnanimously extended to me. So the main joy is celebrating my new appointment.
How have you been able to sustain your love for White?
That is a result of being in a state of well-being because when your mind is sharp and active you continue seeking excellence. Anytime I come out in my white I don’t want to bore people so I have to make it look interesting.
It is a whole lot of versatile imaginative mind, that is what keeps my white stylish. I am just so used to it that I feel like any other colour wouldn’t do. Contrary to what people say I love white and long before I was made Erelu I have always worn white. Sisi Shade Thomas will tell you that as a teenager she will make loads of white attires very stylish for young people. So because I love it, I always make effort to make it nice even if I am using the same attire recycling to be one. I invest in making them white because white can be very disloyal.
So, you have to make it clean and if you have to bleach you bleach because if it looks discoloured it’s not nice.
How do you keep up with designing and styling them?
It is part of the joy of life that people emulate what you do, it means you are doing something right. I have always been a designer don’t forget I opened a shop in Bourne Street in London to promote the traditional Aso-Oke. When I see material and meditate on it, the right style for that material will come to me. I think it is the material that does the prompting for me. I design my materials with styles that enhance the beauty of the material. It’s a whole lot to design from the body of the wears to the colour of the wearer and other things. The occasion I go to determines the style I want to wear, the fabric and tone of the white I want to wear. When you do that constantly you find out your styles are new all the time.
Looking at that portrait on the wall there where you are wearing Lemon Green Aso Oke, you look young. What is the story behind it?
That is a long time ago definitely over 50 years So, I must have been 26 years old. Then they were only doing four primary colours. That was when I started working on the Aso-Oke to change it from the 4 primary colours of Alari, Soyan, Fuu and Olowu Dudu. This was actually different from the 4 primary colours. My husband was give Woye Leri of Ife by Kabiyesi Ooni Oba Aderemi. So I did not want the usual.
To know what is happening you have to watch the news and read the papers. When I am really tired and want a vacation, I link up with my grandchildren, they are fantastic. We go to nice places and I feel like one of them. When you feel like that it helps you in your brain matters.
They are all big with some in and out of the university. When your children are doing well it is also a form of therapy.
Do you have any regrets?
I will be ungrateful to God if I say I have any. That does not mean I don’t have my highs and lows. I thank God for my life, friends, families and environment. Even at the tough point, I have come out better equipped about life and that is a fact. Everything that happens, I always learn a lesson so I just thank God and have no regrets. Each time you hear “there is light at the end of a tunnel” it is a fact. Every time I have experienced challenges the Almighty makes me stay in a better position.
Are you working on any new projects?
I am constantly working on projects. For my foundation headquarters, all I had were little bungalows but now I am striving to make it into a world-class museum and destination place for research students for the Aso-Oke we were using and I had a treasure of aso-oke from my mother. They came in different combinations of blue, Alari and Sanyan. I went to my weaver Alhaja Odutayo to make aso-oke for me in colours of the rainbow and this was the first one that came. After doing that my husband felt it came out so well and I went to take that picture in the UK. There used to be a beautiful session there where you take pictures. It doesn’t exist anymore. That was the beginning of my revolution and after I got all the colours I opened a store in London. Someone was still telling me they still have some of the clothes I sold. I opened that shop in ‘82.
What do you do in your leisure time if you are not attending parties?
Before I used to play the piano and dance at any chance I get when I have parties at home. I used to entertain a lot of people in my house so when I organise parties to send them off or welcome them, I enjoy it. That was more like recreation for me, I play music privately, I walk, I play tennis and I read. When I got much older I reduced some of those things. I watch TV, there are some of these programmes I enjoy. It used to be Channels and now I watch Arise in the morning, I take from different parts of the world.
To support and add value to the lives of orphans, girl child, and others. The project is empowering the poorest of the poor of the dwellers in the riverine areas because the indigenous people are always the ones living in the riverine areas and they are the almost forgotten people. I just have a simple formula for that. Whatever they are doing now let us enhance it and it can be a better product in terms of value.
If he knows how to swim why can’t you teach him and export him to work as a lifeguard. Imagine how much he will be earning. If it is mat making, it is still locally produced but can be done in a mechanised way to find a greater market. We still need support and we have reached out to the government to give my foundation support because there is nowhere in Nigeria you don’t have a riverine area, even in the landlock areas riverine people are not too far away. What this means is that some people are being taken out of the labour market by enhancing their skills and earning capacity.
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