My mother didn’t pamper me even as the only son –Oba Adedapo Tejuosho, the Osile of Oke Ona Egbaland

Getting to interview Oba Adedapo Tejuosho, the Osile Oke Ona of Egba­land wasn’t a piece of cake that fateful afternoon. The reporter in a v-neck dress had approached the medical doctor royal father for an interview and he obliged, but not until she covered her neckline with a shawl. Oba Ade­dapo Tejuosho who clocked 25 years on the throne recently commented about his life gen­erally and the state of the nation.

Could you tell us about your childhood?

I had to attend Abeokuta Girls School at the age of 8 years for two years. Then, be­tween 1949 and 1950 I attend­ed Mrs Funmilayo Ransome Kuti’s school also in Abeokuta. That was where I met Fela and Beko. Fela was then a year ahead of us and Beko and I were classmates in standard three and standard four . We both took the entrance exams to grammar school and attend­ed grammar school. Unfortu­nately, Fela lost a year and Beko and I were ahead of him. I was admitted into secondary school at 13 years in 1951 and finished when I was about 18 years old in 1956 but my son Femi was luckier. He graduated from uni­versity at age 19, but I did that at 26 years.

How did your parents influ­ence your life?

I was born in Lagos but at the age of two, my parents were transferred to Zaria and at eight years I attended St Georges School in Zaria. My late sister was then six years old and later they took us to Abeokuta with my cousins. I was only eight and very harmless and when we were about to be difficult, God spoke to them and they with­drew us to another school.

As the only son in the family were you pampered?

I didn’t live with my parents for long. At eight years old, I left them in Zaria. At age 13, I was in boarding school and there­after, I lived with Mrs. Onatolu, wife of a bishop and my parents came home once in a while. We went on holidays twice a year in June and December. So, there was no op­portunity for me to be spoilt. I didn’t allow myself to be spoilt or pampered either.

When I finished secondary school, I stayed with my uncle and worked as a senior health officer at Kakawa in Lagos. Subsequently, I attended medical school in England and qualified. I have been kabi­yesi for 25 years now.

Who or what would you con­sider the greatest influence in your life?

The greatest influence in my life has been God. Everywhere I go, I carry God with me. I carry God with me because I have learnt a lesson that anywhere you go without God, you may be doomed. For instance, some­body was traveling in a car and they bade him farewell and he was told “Don’t for­get to carry God along.” The driver jokingly said “You can see that the car is full and there is no room, except if God can sit in the boot.” They left and lo and behold they had a car accident and they all died. When the boot was opened , there were six crates of eggs there and not a single one was bro­ken because God was left in the boot. If you carry God with you, you don’t see him, but in your heart of heart, you know you can’t do anything without Him. I can buttress this with a bigger one. Do you know the story of the Titanic?

Do you know what caused the ship wreck? It was the best ship made of steel for the first time in the world. The day they were launching it, the manufacturer gave a speech and said “We have built the first and greatest steel ship in the world. Nothing in this world can damage it, not even God.” God was quiet, God of course listened and then they started sailing and God did not touch their ship, but the ship hit an iceberg and that was the end of the ship. That was in 1912. Over a thousand souls perished in the shipwreck. The manufacturer dared God and God kept quiet. Anything anybody does and thinks that there is no God, that person is doomed. So, every time you go out, carry God in your pockets.

As a born again traditional ruler, how do you cope with cul­tural rites?

My advantage is that I am born again. When you are born again, Jesus Christ lives in you. That’s how it’s supposed to be, if you are a true born again Christian. Paul said in Galatians 2 vs. 21, “I am born again and it’s no longer I who lives the life that I am now living; it’s Jesus Christ that is in me that is living my life.” So, whatever you see me doing today, as a born again Christian, it is not me, it is not Dapo Tejuosho, it’s Jesus Christ in me, that is manifesting Himself. It’s not easy to conquer the flesh and without Jesus Christ you can never conquer your flesh. You would always go about thinking so much about the flesh and lust. The un­necessary exposure of your extremities because you have not allowed Jesus Christ to work on you. The first job Christ did on the cross was to unify the flesh and the spirit so they could become one. They are always at loggerheads. The spirit is pulling the soul towards the kingdom of God while the flesh is pulling it to the world. For Jesus to change this, He had to work on the ordi­nances on the cross. The flesh and the spirit became one.

As long as you allow your flesh to domi­nate you, you cannot say you have Jesus Christ. The first thing is that you must purge yourself and Jesus would live in you. That is when Jesus can live comfortably inside you. That is how you can become a living stone or brick that Jesus Christ can use to build his church.

What are some of the challeng­es you encounter on the throne?

When you face challenges you do not care about problems. They’re no longer your problems; Jesus Christ takes care of them for you. Imagine that this is Dapo in my palm and he is surrounded by Christ and God. First, you must get rid of God and then you still have Christ to contend with. There are problems in the world but Jesus Christ has conquered the world.

We are overcomers, we have nothing to fear again. If you have Jesus Christ in you, you would hardly have just any friend ex­cept a friend who also has Christ in him.

Boko Haram and other secu­rity challenges have been of concern to many. What’s your assessment of the situation as a Royal Father?

I have been warned earlier by God that these are trying times and things like this would come. That I should be firm and truthful and say things exactly the way I see and know them. What is more worri­some to any average Nigerian today than our security? You are interviewing me here, outside the palace, I am not at home to give you evidence of what I am talking about. You are here with your equipment (midget and camera) and firing questions at me. What can I do but to speak the truth? In all honesty, our problem is that we do not fear God in this country. Our problem in Ni­geria today is that we do not have the love of God at heart. Our greatest problem is that the leader is unfortunately not allow­ing himself to be guided. Proverbs 29 vs. 18 says , “Where there is no prophecy my people perish. As far as I can remember, I have read it , not once, not twice nor thrice, before the 2011 election , that President Jonathan should not contest the elections. It was stated very clearly then that if he contested and won, they would not allow him to govern the country successfully.

Maybe he didn’t believe it at that time, probably nobody would have believed at that point. But whether we like it or not, this is the third year of his regime and the ques­tion now is has he been allowed to govern? He has not. No sooner than he got into of­fice, Boko Haram started, and we have not been able to curtail that till today. So many lives have been lost. Okay, let’s grant him the fact that he didn’t know what was hap­pening then. He got in there and now the same group of people or another group has been warning again and threatening that if he gets there again in 2015, he has not seen anything yet. They are also saying that God would help him if doesn’t lose his life after the election, if he wins. If we care about the entity called Nigeria and Nigerians, then for Nigeria’s sake, if today he declares that he is not contesting, Nigeria would be com­pletely different, things would be better. Boko Haram people themselves may prob­ably say “let us throw in the towel.”

But today what we see is different; every­thing is geared towards our president con­testing again in 2015.

If he wins, God bless him. Those who have warned that they would not allow him to govern and have proved it for three years are a threat.

For the sake of the lives lost in the past three years, it’s enough for anyone to sacri­fice and say this must stop, if we have the love of Nigeria at heart. We need to make sacrifices for the nation.

I have said my own; I do not fear any­body who cannot kill my body, as well as my soul. I only worry about the person who can kill both. That is what God has led me to say.