Oba Oniru @80: Battles fought by the king with a golden heart

Mere looking at His Royal Majesty Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru’s larger than life demeanour, one can only envy the king and wish for a life as splendid as his. At 80, the king is known as a monarch with a golden heart and this singular attribute has endeared him to both his subjects, Nigerians and the world.

However, life has not always been a bed of roses for the amiable king. Born 80 years ago in the city of Lagos to an itinerant farmer cum traditionalist, Late Chief Yesufu Abiodun Oniru, his royal majesty’s battle in life began early. However, most of his battles in life has always been to liberate his people.

Out of 16 children delivered by his mother only two survived; His Royal Majesty and his younger brother. Sadly, he lost his brother last year making him the only surviving child of his parents.

From his hay days at the Eko Boys High School, Oba Oniru, showed brilliance and exceptional leadership qualities this made it less of a surprise that he was always ahead of his class. He subsequently enrolled at the Tottenham Technical College after his high school where he bagged a degree in Building and Civil Engineering.

With his certificate in hand, he felt it was only appropriate to come back home and use his knowledge to improve his community and nation as a whole. Upon his arrival to Nigeria he decided to tour the country in order to broaden his horizon as well as intimate himself with his fellow countrymen. 

His journey to various part of the country was not in vain as he learnt about several cultures and languages. This knowledge later would help him as a king. Oba Oniru’s sojourn availed him the opportunity to understand the geographical structure of Nigeria- a knowledge that earned him the nickname, Wazobia man’.

When the king returned to Nigeria as a young prince, history would have been made with him becoming the first white cap chief to become a king in Lagos but it was stalled thus his second major battle in life began.

For over a decade, His Royal Majesty frequent the court to uphold his legitimate entitlement to the throne of his fore fathers. This prolonged battle to the throne made him miss an historical moment but it did not stop him from being an historical figure and in 1994, in the presence of the world, Iru sons and daughter, Royal Majesties, movers and shakers of African economy, he was crowned as the king of Iru.

Just when many would think it was time for this amiable king to heave a sigh of releif, another battle reared its head. This time it was in form of the government’s land acquisition scheme that affected a large portion of Oniru’s land which strectched from CMC Cathedral through Ahmadu Bello Way, Bar Beach and some other parts of Victoria Island.

While some monarchs would readily take on the government in what some might call a barbaric manner, his Royal Majesty in his wisdom decided to take the battle to the legal ground. All through the time the case raged on, His Royal Majesty solely defended his people. Eventually the Privy Court in England stopped succeeding administrations in Nigeria from further encroachment.

Unfortunately, by that time some of his subjects had been rendered homeless and was forced to squat with family and friends. In the abundance of his heart, the king built 200 habitable apartments for his subjects inside the Oniru Private Estate. Today these people are home owners.

Fully aware of the need to adopt the current module of what a community and city should be like, His Royal Majesty built an world class estate with the Oniru private estate 20 years ago. The estate houses Land beach, British International School, which is one of the best schools in the world with an intake of about 41 students from all over the world. 

There is a service company, Landbridge Ltd. that services the need of the people of Oniru private estate. This service company drains the septic tank, provides water, clean the environment and provided every other service the estate residents need. They don’t have a problem of flooding any longer because the drainage systems are properly channelled.

During the toll gate saga in Lagos, those that bore the brunt were residents of Iru and this was unacceptable by the king who hates to see his people suffer. He took it upon himself to construct an alternative route to ease the burden of his people. Although the project gulped millions, the king did it with smiles on his face.

Just when you would think the Kabiyesi has done enough, he spearheaded the struggle for the creation of some local governments in Eti Osa including Iru Victoria Island Local Council Development Area. Little wonder there is no other LCDA that has an indigenous name except Iru, even, Ikosi and Kosofe, are names of areas and not personalised local governments.

In his benevolence, Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru would be the first individual to give land free of charge to the Lagos State Fire Service, the Nigeria Police, PHCN and other federal and state agencies, for the inhabitants of Iru Kingdom and its environs for the benefit of his people.

Years down the line as a monarch and he has shown his skills and knowledge as a structural engineer because his domain is regarded as the heart of business hub in Nigeria and Africa. The kingdom now accommodates virtually all the corporate organisations in Laos, Nigeria.

Besides being an engineer, Kabiyesi is a proud farmer who preaches the gospel of agriculture to anyone who cares to listen. Till date, he works on his farm and after former president, Olusegun Obasanjo’s farm, kabiyesi’s farm ranks second in the country.

Although one might be deluded with the illusion that a king conferred with such powers and authority would be high handed but the reverse is the case with Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru who is regarded as a very jovial man. Any one close to him knows that the strict disciplinarian has two major dislikes and they are stealing and lies.

Moreso, those close to him know that the king is always free to relate with anyone and is eager to put a smile on a distressed face. However, if you have anything to do with the king especially in his palace you have to be properly dressed without revealing any skin.

Although born a Muslim, Oba Idowu Oniru is a traditionalist to the core and he takes traditional religion very seriously. He is a very jovial monarch who can dine with anyone. He is very strict especially with his family members. Interestingly, all his children are graduates in all spheres of life.

Mere looking at the life of Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru, it is evident that the reward of goodness is nothing but goodness as recorded in Al Quran 55:61