Oba Oladunni Oyewumi: Cloth weaver who became powerful king

Femi Ogunlana

Soun, Oba Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungade III, was born great but more than that he attained greatness by his sheer personality. Greatness enticed him and he charted the path towards attaining it. He brought to bear bravery; he deployed courage; boldness was his forte; wisdom and diplomacy were natural to him; patriotism to the realm he reigned over boiled over in his veins; he was a genius; he mounted on the wings of ambition and was propelled by unswerving doggedness. Legends were woven round him, he was a true legend; friends and foes alike quivered at his name, he evoked fear and respect; he was not the type to be intimidated by any power; he always evinced confidence, assuredness and conviction.

Were he born in the age warfare was fashionable he would have been a redoubtable warrior in the tradition of his forebears.

From the beginning he knew what he wanted and he painstakingly went after it and so when it came within his grasp he knew what to do and this he did implicitly and exclusively and with ruthlessness. He brooked no opposition, he reigned alone, he reigned supreme, he towered high, the banner of his name fluttered magnificently solely in the firmament in his realm.

Like a true colossus he did bestride the narrow world, he was the king who civilization did not constrain to thrust southward and westward the territories of his realm, he was the monarch who dared the powers that be to have the prestigious beaded crown on his pate to the eternal glory of his successors, by his will and foresight a mere stool got transformed into a behemoth throne of great reverence.

That is the Soun throne; beneath him it reached the apogee of greatness, first rate, among the finest, shoulders to shoulders with the most revered. Incontestable is the fact that growth and development of a nation are independent of the individual’s efforts. But without him the development of Ogbomoso would have been slower and the city assumed a less impressive character and status.

Rightly and deservedly, he ranks among the great men of the world, not only by reason of volume of his inspiring deeds but of what he was. The remarkable thing however is that he began his story as a cloth weaver, who traveled kilometers to buy fiber for his trade. His death really unveiled his mightiness. The mighty and the powerful in the country, including the President of the Federation, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) through his Vice, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; former President Olusegun Obasanjo; state governors, and many others have either written tributes or visited the family on condolence.

A truly great man is partially known by the accompanying reactions at his or her death. By both his accomplishments and reactions arising from his death, he has proven to be a great and powerful king.

. ogbomosoinsightonline.com.ng.