Prince Goke Olateru-Olagbegi, son of late Oba Olateru-Olagbegi, the former Olowo of Owo in Ondo state, says his father was a trail blazer when he was alive.
The Owo Prince stated this in a heartfelt tribute marking the twenty-five years remembrance of the late colorful traditional ruler.
Goke, in the tribute tittle “twenty-five years of the passing of “The Solomon of our time”, described the late Olowo as a man like no other.
In his words “Alaye, It’s been twenty five years that you left us. A man like no other, A trail blazer, an high achiever, education lover, philanthropist, an avid reader, a great ruler.
Kabiyesi, I heard it was an unforgettable day in Owo the day you breathed your last. There was severe lightning and thunder that had never happened in that magnitude ever in Owo history.
The heaven welcomed you and your arrival was announced and pronounced.
Kabiyesi you ruled Owo and heralded unsurpassed development to the town. You were the last President of the Western State House of Chiefs before the military coup.
You treaded easily where others could not.You were a very bold man I have ever seen in my entire life. You took on problems with equanimity. You were a great man and still great till date. I believe fervently that no other person was created when God created you.
People have attested to that fact. You were a co- founder of the Action Group party in the first republic with Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the party was formally launched in your palatial palace, the largest in Africa where you made the highest donation. Even though some of the people were part of the ones that stabbed you in the back. It is well.
I am very fortunate and priviledged to be very close to you. I know a lot of things about you others don’t. I am bold and brave to say that. Kabiyesi, I miss you a lot, we shared some private moments together as father and son and I will never forget all that we shared in those moments. I still shed tears when I’m in my private moments when I think about you. It has become a norm for me. I just cant get over your passing. It hurts too much.
Kabiyesi, you loved Owo more than life itself. When most major cities in Western States didn’t have modern amenities, you facilitated electricity, pipe borne water, teacher training college, Technical college, textile mill (which was later moved to Ekiti in your absence), you asked your people that built on major roads to give allowance for setback, the ones that listened are today praying for you and the ones that didn’t have their houses demolished now that there is road expansion.
You were futuristic. You turned your palace to one of the most modern palaces in Africa. Aside from the Palace being the largest in Africa, you changed the frontal to the replica of the great Buckingham Place of London with orchard, tennis court, swimming pool, the best flower garden in our country at that time, squash court, mini zoo, soccer field and track field.
You were dethroned by the people that were envious of your strides and your rise to stardom and some of them were the ones you made. You succeeded your successor, a rare feat that had never happened anywhere before.
You were a lover of sports and you encouraged all your children to participate in sports especially Lawn- Tennis. You sponsored Lawn Tennis and Billiard tournaments nationally. The late Chief Molade Okoya Thomas once said you gave him his first wooden racket.
One of the leading lights in Nigeria King Wasiu Ayinde, Kwam I, Olori Omo Oba Ijebu once told me many years ago at Osto Restaurant in London where we frequently met that when they were little boys, himself and his friends usually targeted the days you played Tennis at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos to meet you there.
He said you usually gave them money and advised them to strive to be the best they could. Today he is one of the best. He loved you so much that he mastered one of your Igogo festival songs. I was surprised when he serenaded me with the song in one of his concerts in Atlanta.
Kabiyesi, you were a man like no other. You made friends all over across every ethnical boundary.
You feared and respected God. You facilitated the founding of the Methodist church in Owo when you went to England to meet with the President of the Methodist Church in England.
You were Knighted by the Queen of England for your frontline participation in the attainment of the independence for Nigeria and you attended all the pre- independent conferences.
Nobody has surpassed you in caring for your family and taking care of your children’s education. You just didn’t bring children to the world to create liabilities, you did your best to educate them. You once said ” I want to make a nation within a nation” yes you have.
Your family, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are growing in leaps and bounds unsurpassed by numbers.
Your forgiving spirit is astounding. You once told a General that had a hand in your deposition when they brought him to beg you for forgiveness, that you had forgiven him a long time ago. You said he didn’t have the power to do what he did but it was God that needed you to have a break so he could do great things in your life. I was amazed.
Kabiyesi there is a lot that I can say boldly about you due to my closeness with you. You will be forever missed and your stature in life will never be diminished because of the legacies you left. Continue to rest with your Lord.”
Your son
Prince Goke Olateru-Olagbegi
