In this interview with BUKOLA APATA, the Onojie of Ewu Kingdom, His Royal Highness Abdul Rasaq, the Isesele Ojiefo III, talks about the power play and the challenges the Kingdom has faced after the demise of the Onojie, his grandfather. He highlights the challenges of his kingdom and suggests the way forward. He spoke with journalists who visited his palace in Ewu, Edo State after his victory at the court.YOU just got a victory at the court over the rulership of Ewu Kingdom. How has it been'Well, it is very challenging. Life is full of challenges anyway, but this particular challenge is unique. It is unique in the sense that it is an issue that is supposed to be a family affair, but as may be God would want it, it went to court. My uncle went to court challenging or disputing my being on throne. But Alhamdullahi! All praises be to Almighty God that I have finally won.Well, really I have always told people it is not something I am very proud to talk about. Because like I said, I believe it is a family matter and it is something that should have been resolved within the family. We are all a family and I do not have to go and start dancing in the market square or making so much noise and merriment about it.But for the fact that the throne is for the royal family, you will agree that it has become a public issue. Because of the dispute that was associated with the throne, it has gone to the public domain. So, I think it is really for information purposes, not for merry making.Now that the dust has settled, what is your starting point' Will you be able to unify all the different communities and make Ewu a vibrant and purposeful kingdom in Edo State'Well, this is my 14th year on the throne. I was installed by the kingmakers of Ewu Kingdom on the 3rd of November, 1997. I was officially coroneted and presented with the staff of office on the 4th of July, 2004. So, you can see that it has been quite a while. I have been ruling my people and we have been able to achieve quite a lot.When you talk about segregation or people going their own ways, it is normal in every society. People must have different views to issues, it is part of living. The most important thing is how to harmonize the views to make them something that will move the community forward.We have seven big villages in Ewu and Eguare which is the seat of power. The Onojie's palace is the headquarters. What really caused division in the community was something that was not supposed to be. But we have been able to resolve it. It was the issue of benefit and flourmill, because the entire community was not happy how the company was being run by the management . So, the flourmill tried to play politics of divide and rule, but at the end of the day, my people came together and they saw what was going on and they were able to settle it. We have settled the matter and the community is moving forward.What would you say is your relationship with the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on bringing development and making the presence of government felt in Ewu Kingdom'The comrade governor is the executive governor of the state like you rightly mentioned. He is the number one citizen of the state. And as a royal father and a traditional ruler, I should have a very cordial relationship with him. Don't forget that we operate a system where the traditional rulers are recognized under the state laws. So, he presents the traditional rulers with staff of office and official recognition. Well, he has been doing well.But we are all human beings. There are areas for improvement, but in a nutshell, he has tried his best. When it comes to Ewu, we still have some challenges here. But I must commend his effort in instructing the local council to repair one of our major roads here. The Idunwele-Eguare road is so bad, but I think what they are doing there now is to control erosion.There are still other areas where we also want him to assist us in Ewu. We know that the state's funds are limited. I mean, they have to go round, but like the Esama would say, 'Everybody prays that rain will fall on his farm'. So, we are praying that the rain in Edo State should fall in Ewu in particular.What are those specific challenges in Ewu that need urgent attention of government'Well, number one is infrastructure and when I talk about infrastructure, I would zero it down to roads. Ewu's topography is the sloppy type, the entire Ewu kingdom. When you are coming from Irrua, once you get to the Bendel Feed and Flour Mill, you discover that the road slopes down all the way to Agbede. That is how the entire terrain of Ewu is structured. So, whenever it rains, you know, flood, if not controlled, can cause havoc. These roads in Ewu were built by the late Prof. Ambrose Ali in the early 80s and since then, there has been no major restructuring or maintenance carried out. Now the roads are over 30 years old. Certainly they have failed. Most of the drainages have been blocked.After road, the second major challenge is water which is not peculiar to Ewu. In fact, it is peculiar to the whole of Esanland. The only person who gave us water in the 60s was the late Chief Anthony Enahoro. May God bless his soul. Since then, no major water works have been done. In Ewu for instance, St. Benedict Monastery tried bringing in water to the community but today, the scheme is not functioning properly. I would also want to beg that this area should be properly looked into. We beg that since the governor has started sinking boreholes in Esanland, he should extend the same gesture to Ewu. These are the two basic needs now.Given the judgment that was passed, what does the victory mean to the entire community'Well, it is a victory for everybody. It is not just a victory for the Onojie of Ewu; it is a victory for Ewu Kingdom. Because whether you like it or not, coming or going to court every day distracts you from making some development efforts.Ewu is blessed, a place that has a company as big as Bendel Feed and Flour Mill, we should not have complained at all. Ewu is strategically located on the Benin/Abuja highway. The state university in Ekpoma is less than 15 kilometres from here. We are bordered by major towns like Irrua and Uromi. We have to make use of this opportunity. We have arable land also for farming.So, we have to look inwards and see how we can revive agriculture as well. I also want to see a situation where we will partner with government or the private sector to set up a fruit processing industry in Ewu. This can create employment in Ewu so that those people in the streets could be taken off the streets.As a first stakeholder in this community, what do you think are the challenges of the flourmill and how do you think the company could be restructured to bring back its lost glory'Well, I have to be blunt. The flourmill over the years did not live up to its expectations. The way and manner the company was run was horrible. When Bendel Feed and Flour Mill, Ewu was producing optimally, you could see there were a lot of economic activities in Ewu.I am aware now that they are having something with UAC. I just hope and pray that they will allow UAC to manage the place properly so that the community which has over the years been very supportive of the flourmill, will have some benefit from the company.What is your message to your subjects'Well, like the proverbial adage, ' South, East, West and North, home is home'. Ewu people are very successful in their endeavours, especially those in the diaspora. We are reaching out to most of our subjects on and offshore to come and see how they can contribute meaningfully to the advancement of Ewu Kingdom. Specifically, we want to address the issue of unemployment and infrastructure.
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