…Expect All Round Development, Transformation In My Time
Contrary to negative reports on the emergence of HRM Oba Saliu Babatunde Saliu, the newly installed Oloworo of Oworo, in Kosofe, the monarch, while speaking with newsmen on Tuesday, 6th of July, 2022, cleared the air on several controversial issues that trailed his emergence as king of the land. Here are excerpts from an interactive session with the representatives of Kosofe Inside-Out, amongst other news mediums, during the 21 days celebration of Oba Saliu’s ascension to the Oworo throne. Enjoy…
Newsmen: Sir, please tell us your full name, for record purpose.
HRM: My name is His Royal Majesty Alayeluwa Oba Saliu Babatunde Saliu, Elebo II, Oba of Oworonshoki, in Kosofe
Newsmen: Alright Sir. Today makes it the 21st day for you, how do you feel today, sir?
HRM: I feel great, I feel too excited and I feel good. My kingdom has been peaceful, it has been calm, business activities have been going on well, there is no report of any form of criminality, no fights and everybody is happy. It makes me feel really great.
Newsmen: Okay sir. How would you describe your first 21 days on the throne of the Oworo Kingdom?
HRM: Well, it has been a beautiful and smooth journey so far and it is an issue of the man celebrating certain days on the throne. On the third day which is eta, the seventh day which is eje, the ninth which is Esan, the fourteenth which is erinla and the twenty-one that we are celebrating today.
Newsmen:: Alright Sir. As it is, your royal family is a very large family, and information reaching us that some people were complaining, now, God has brought you to the throne. What are you going to do to those who initially were not pleased with the situation? Are you going to be king over a certain section of the community or you’re going to draw everybody together to be their king?
HRM: Well, I think people have been misinformed and I do tell journalists that when people send certain information to you, you shouldn’t write about that thing. If someone tells you a place is not peaceful or they give you a report on certain things, it is your own duty to go and verify the information before putting it on the internet or before passing them out as information, you need to balance it. If you go round the whole of Oworonshoki, you will see how happy the people are and one person out of a million cannot say because he is not satisfied that the community should stand still. It is not possible. And ever since I ascended this throne, the community has been very peaceful, the people have been so happy. Go round and do your verification, you will see that the people are so happy, the Igbos, the Yorubas and the Hausas. Saliu family like they said is a large family, but every other member of the family is fine and happy. I didn’t make myself the king, I went through the normal process, the process of selection. We have seven king makers, I have four and the other person has two, one person remained neutral. We have elders of Oworonshoki, amongst them, not even one person is against my selection as the Oba of Oworonshoki. We had meeting among the statutory realms because we have only one ruling house in Oworonshoki, which is the Bashiru Oloruntoyin Saliu realm. Not Salami Ogijo or Alagbe. It is only one ruling house. This simply implies that only the children of Bashiru Oloruntoyin Saliu that can become the Oba of Oworonshoki. In our dad’s declaration, it is properly stated that whoever is going to become a king must be literate because that is what his father cherished most and he gave us every avenue and everything to ensure that we have that education to the best that we can.
Newsmen: Alright sir. Now that you are the king, the making of Oworonshoki road map, what are your developmental programmes?
HRM: Oh, they should expect full scale development. We are exposed, we are experienced. I have the intellectual capacity; I have the connections needed to rule this community and I am capable. They should expect nothing less than development, just give us few years and they will see the kind of transformation that will come to this Oworonshoki, Inshallah. For those that read about the dislike, there is no way everybody in the kingdom will like the Oba, even some family members, either one or two people will disagree. The palace is open, we have stretched out our hands of fellowship, we want everybody to come back and we will take everybody back. Together we can build this Kingdom. Everybody is welcomed in the palace; it is supposed to be a collective responsibility.
