Oke-Ido in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, was a beehive last Sunday when the 9th Agura of Gbaguraland, Oba Saburee Babajide Bakre, Jamolu II, ascended the throne.
The Agura stool, one of the four major traditional rulers in Egbaland, had become vacant following the death of the late Oba Halidu Adedayo Olaloko, who reigned from October 18, 1980 to July 12, 2018.
Barely a year after the last Agura’s demise, Bakre, a 59-year- old former Chief Superintendent of Customs, was selected by the kingmakers out of nine princes from the Egiri Ruling House to be the new king. The immediate past state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, had on May 21, 2019 presented the new Oba the staff of office after his administration (Amosun) approved the kingmakers’ choice.
Last Sunday, sons and daughters of Gbaguraland gathered to celebrate the official coronation of their traditional ruler amid pomp and pageantry.
At the colourful event, the people of Gbaguraland, religious bodies, associations and market leaders took turns to pay homage to the new Oba. Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, although not directly a Gbagura son but an Owu, took many by surprise when he prostrated to pay homage to the new Agura, drawing admiration and applause from the mammoth crowd of guests that graced the occasion.
Cultural performances from groups, and music by iconic juju maestro, Ebenezer Obey, himself an Egba son, added glamour to the coronation ceremony.
In his address, Obasanjo told the new Agura to act outside the box and eschew bad counsel in order to succeed as a monarch.
Obasanjo, who bemoaned disunity among the monarchs in Egbaland, implored him to pursue unity and togetherness for the development of Gbagura, and Egbaland generally.
Obasanjo, who noted that the world “is fast changing,” said the monarch would have to “act outside the box” to get some things done successfully as a traditional ruler. “You can’t just say, ‘this was how our forefathers did it’. Kabiyesi, everything has now changed,” the former President said.
In his address, the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, stressed that his administration placed a high premium on the Egba people’s rich customs and traditions “of which our traditional rulers are the custodians because they are closer to the grassroots.”
Abiodun told the new king that his administration “values traditions, and treasures feedback and wise counsel from the traditional rulers from time to time.”
In his acceptance speech, Oba Bakre promised to work for the unity and development of Gbagura and Egbaland.
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