The Regent of Erio Ekiti in Ekiti State, HRH Adejoke Adetoyinbo-Ojo, reflects on her elongated tenure in office, Akeem Lasisi writes
When her father died over two years ago, she had to travel home for his traditional burial. Alongside her husband, siblings and the people of the rustic town of Erio Ekiti, she gave the departed monarch, the late Oba Benjamin Adetoyinbo, befitting burial.
But when she was preparing to return to her base in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, where she was a businesswoman, the elders of the land beckoned at her that she had a duty to perform in the palace. She had to be the regent, occupying the throne till a new king would emerge.
Although she is the only daughter of the late Oba, Adejoke Adetoyinbo found the plea or offer puzzling. She says she never dreamt of becoming a regent. One of the things that crossed her mind was her business. Did she have to put everything on hold? But when the kingmakers assured her that she only needed to spend six months on the throne, she obeyed the clarion call, especially since her husband, who is also an Ekiti indigene, though based in Ibadan, supported her.
More than two years after the promise of a short tenure, however, the new king has yet to emerge. While she is still prosecuting the assignment, Adetoyinbo-Ojo can hardly hide her mixed feelings again. She says she is eager to see the king emerge so that she can go back to her normal life.
During an encounter with her in Erio on Friday, she says, “My husband is not complaining. My children too are not complaining. I had to transfer them to a boarding school. But I must say that I have had enough. The regency is affecting my business. It is going to three years now. I am into buying and selling. I can’t travel the way I used to travel again.”
As a regent, she goes to parties she considers worth attending. But she does so in her royal regalia, while she is also restricted from doing “like others”.
On other challenges she is facing, Adetoyinbo-Ojo says the town does not have a palace yet. That is why the Erio Day, billed to hold on Saturday, will be explored to raise fund for the completion of the palace. Besides, she says, some monarchs and governments do not accord regents enough recognition.
She stresses, “We the regents have made our minds known to relevant authorities on this. The Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs knows about what I am saying. There is the need to recognise the fact that we are all royal fathers. They need to give us respect as due to other royal fathers.”
Part of her consolation, however, is that monarchs in Ekiti do not discriminate against her personally. While other regents may not enjoy this leverage, she adds, the kings treat her well, in reverence to her late dad, who, she believes, must have been very good to his colleagues when he was alive. Besides, the people of Erio love her.
She adds that the way some former regents are said to have misused the office affected the regards the authorities would have been according the incumbent ones.
Asked what she misses most as a regent, however, the regent cannot help remembering that she is a woman in every sense. She tries hard to be metaphorical in her explanation, but all her poetry points to the fact that, as the pidgin expression goes, ‘Body no be wood’, suggesting that she is greatly missing romance and the ultimate – sex.
“Am I not a woman?” she asks rhetorically. “I miss my husband.”
She adds that tradition forbids her husband from visiting her in the palace. Although she does visit the family in Ibadan occasionally, she can’t stay long. More importantly, she gives the indication that a regent cannot ‘see’ a man when she is still in office.
“That is my situation,” she adds.
The regent says the state government remunerates her and her colleagues as it does the royal fathers. Yet, asked what she will miss most at end of the assignment – perhaps the perks of office – she maintains that although she will always be happy to have had the opportunity to serve her people, she will not miss anything really.
“I won’t miss anything. Atelewo eni kii tanni je (A person’s true progress lies in the strength of his palms). I will be happy if I can just be released from this bondage.”