His Royal Majesty Oba Festus Oluwole Makinde is the Olu of Igbeyinland in Mowe Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. His domain covers about 300 communities. In this interview, the 81-year-old monarch explains why he built a multi-million naira palace among other issues.
You clocked 81 years recently. How has it been, being the King of the community?
I celebrated my 80th birthday last year and my 15th coronation anniversary will be on September 10, 2019. Before I became a King, I was a Baale at both the township and homestead of Igbeyin. It is during the period that we zoned Igbeyin into sections. We are trying to move forward. I have tried to see that the zones are functional. Among the zones is Ofada and now, there is a King at Ofada. Among the zones is Ibafo and Arepo, and now there are kings in each of the zones. There is also Mokoloki and there is a king there too. I am the overall king of the zones.
Before I became a King, there was no palace so I established one and donated it to the community. Any king that comes after me will use the palace.
There is a lot of progress especially with the present government administration. After I became the king, I called on the government to give us a local government and they eventually gave us Mokolokin Ofada development area with secretariat situated at Imowe.
You single-handedly built a palace in your community what brought about that?
When I came on board I did not meet a palace in my community and to be productive and progressive within the committee of Obas, I thought we needed a palace and that is why I built one for the use of the Obas even after I have gone as well as for the progress of my community. There are halls in the palace and an archive. There is a Magistrate Court which commenced operation on April 1, 2019. The court was commissioned April 4, 2019. I donated one of the halls for the court because of the challenges our people go through. Our people go as far as Ishabo where the High Court is and I don’t want our people to risk their lives anymore, so I donated the court to the Ogun State Judiciary Commission, and the High Court have also been apportioned a land to build on. It’s also good to note that the palace has a museum where some of Yoruba arts are displayed. We just built a hall named after the current Alake of Egbaland, His Royal Hisghness, Aremu Gbadebo and some other notable Egba sons and daughters also have a place in the palace.
What are the tourist attractions and economic empowerment in Igbeyin community?
Part of the tourist attraction is the Lisabi forest which is at Oba in Obafemi Owode Local Government. It is an important place both to Igbeyin and Egba in particular. We have a place at Orile Igbeyin where we have the Iyaloja tree. We call it, Iyaloja idipetere. The tree is more than 200 years old and it is always fresh. There are snails and other animals inside the tree. Nobody can steal them or kill anything in the forest, that person will die. Orile Igbeyin is our first settlement and an old place. There is a Baale managing the village.
Also, the popular Ofada rice is one of the contributions of Igbein to the food security project of the federal government. Ofada was originally produced at Ofada village under Igbein domain.
What are the prominent cultures of Igbeyin?
Our culture includes worshipping Egungun, Igunuko, and many other deities. In particular, Igbeyin is noted for its celebration of festival of Ogun [the God of Iron] and it is done every year. It is an important festival which we categorised into ‘Ogun Ile’, and ‘Ogun Ita.’ Our fathers and forefathers set up that festival for us.
What is the essence of the Yoruba Heritage forum, where the Ooni of Ife is the chairman?
The forum is for all the Obas in the Yorubaland. The Ooni is the overall head of the forum. He is a peace-loving man, very progressive and he is a man we have to emulate and follow suit in our domains. I am sure if we follow the footsteps of the Ooni every Yoruba community king will be very happy and we will be united. The forum was inaugurated about three years ago and within those three years, we have made progress in terms of uniting our traditional rulers and I foresee a very united forum, very peaceful community and the government will see us as traditional rulers that are united and they will learn from us. I foresee a very laudable progress, unity and development within our communities through the forum as well as the Yoruba community in general.
Where did you derive the name Igbeyin?
We migrated from Ife, passed through Oyo, then Ibadan through Odo Ona before we came to settle at Egba Forest. We dispatched from Egba Forest to where we now refer to as our settlement. We had three homesteads before finally settling at Orile Igbeyin. The ancient town is very close to Owode. It is along Ewekoro at Shagamu expressway. After we settled there, we now later moved to Abeokuta before settling finally at our homestead.
Do you do any Oro rituals?
It is part of our rituals we celebrate. Also, we do celebrate Igunuko. Also, our Ogun rituals are constant too.
What is its significance to the Igbeyin populace?
It means progress for us. If there is no rain for instance, we know we have to give rituals to Iyemoja and thereafter, whatever we are asking for, will be answered before we get home. That ritual and others meant a lot to our people. That is why there is a place reserved for the Alaale [ancestors] in my palace. Anything we want from the ancestors, we tell them and we get it. When we started building the palace, we told the ancestors to assist with erecting a magnificent edifice for our community. We respect our forefathers in the way they worship and behave. Just as someone can’t forget his or her parents, so also we can’t forget our rituals.
Do you have any forbidden place that anyone dare not enter?
We have a forbidden place, particularly at Orile Igbeyin. There is a place there that nobody should go or enter. It is only the worshippers that can go there. If anybody goes into that bush, such a person will disappear. We call it ‘Obalufon’ forest.
If there is a war for instance, and the worshippers enter the forest, once they call unto the ancestors, there will be no problem. Though it is a forbidden place but it is for protection.
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