Oba Akiolu’s stolen two million dollars!

The mindless violence, torture, kidnapping, and killings affiliated with the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad enraged many southern Nigerian cities and towns last October (SARS).

The country was rocked by unprecedented brutality, vandalism, and arson during the #EndSARS revolutionary protests.

The huge demonstrations in Lagos (Lekki Toll-Gate Plaza) were brought to an abrupt and gruesome end thanks to the bloody intervention of some zombie soldiers.

Dozens of unarmed demonstrators singing the national anthem and raising the national flag aloft were brutally murdered at Lekki Toll-Gate, while hundreds more were wounded. Of course, Lagos was the hardest hit, with the Lekki bloodshed causing days of confusion and anarchy. Property, both public and private, was vandalized, robbed, or burned down.

The fortified Bourdillon residence and corporate concerns of Lagos’ irrepressible invincible godfather and former Governor, Bola Tinubu, the so-called National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress party, were targeted or ransacked. Hundreds of billions of Naira in damages had been reported by the time the dust had settled.

SARS was dissolved, as was planned. The federal and state governments made compromises to appease the raging youths hell-bent on ushering in a new order free of Buharism and everything else it represented. It was a revolution that was either halted or delayed!

EndSARS episode two could happen again in our criminalized nation before justice is restored and merit is rewarded or promoted.

Following the Lekki massacre, a crowd assaulted the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu’s palace at Iga-Idungaran on Lagos Island. When ‘hoodlums’ ransacked the royal residence and stole everything they could get their hands on, the first-class king was practically expelled from his royal residence! Oba Akiolu narrowly escaped with his life. He owes it to his forefathers to thank them for saving his life.

During the #EndSARS uprising, police stations and prisons were assaulted, and many hostages and prisoners were quickly released. The federal system was shaken to its foundations by days of rage, nay, insurgency. The misruling elite received a loud and simple message of reform.

Since then, Oba Akiolu has returned to his palace. And he had a lot to say about what had happened to him. The Lagos royal father regretted the implications of the #EndSARS protests while speaking at the commissioning of the Glover Hall Memorial in Lagos last week. He’d stated:

“The extent of devastation in Lagos is much greater than anywhere else in the world…. Many structures, including vehicles used to produce revenue, were destroyed in the fire. I can now publicly declare that they stole $2 million and N17 million from my palace.”

Following Oba Akiolu’s perplexing disclosure, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Transparent Leadership (CACOL) released a statement last weekend urging anti-corruption agencies to look into the origins of the colossal amounts of money allegedly looted from the Oba of Lagos’ palace.

CACOL had a few questions for the Oba’s palace, including: “Has the Oba’s palace converted to a financial institution of some sort?” Isn’t this a breach of any laws already in place? Isn’t this essentially money laundering? … What is the source of that income, and what company is he running that brought in that much money? Is there a Bureau De Change in the palace of the Oba of Lagos?”

Given that Lagos is a wealthy state, Oba Akiolu may be a wealthy man. The state of aquatic splendour produces billions of Naira in revenue every day, and conventional institutions benefit in some way, shape, or type from these revenues. However, whatever he gained as a traditional ruler without authority is insufficient to justify his position as a millionaire in both Naira and dollars.

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In several respects, Oba Akiolu’s revelation was striking and breathtaking. How could a royal father have the audacity to tell Lagosians in particular, and Nigerians in general, about his misfortune without offering any excuse for the source of revenue? Or was the Palace secretly used as a Bureau de Change? Or a non-conventional bank that held money in various denominations?

Although we sympathize with his loss, we are baffled as to how and why such a large sum of money might have been discovered inside the Palace. Or was the Oba a businessman or a financier?

Traditional rulers should be the guardians of culture and tradition in their kingdoms and society as a whole. However, as Obas, Obis, or Emirs contend with Aliko Dangote in terms of wealth acquisition, moral issues arise.

Traditional institutions in Nigeria, like other state institutions, have been corrupted and distorted. Traditional rulers are more involved in politics than politicians themselves! You have people like the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Adewale Akanbi, who have a profile that makes decent men hate royal fathers.

Whatever the origins of the millions of dollars and millions of naira looted from the Oba of Lagos, we believe the “thieves” who stole the money committed a heinous crime. Those who died during the #EndSARS rally, however, must not be said to have died in vain.

Although the bandits who forced their way into Oba Akiolu’s official residence may have grinned to the banks (if what the old local ruler said is to be believed), the fact is that #EndSARS had both good and bad sides.

Oba Akiolu may have been a glorified material victim, but his death pales in comparison to the young and promising lives lost at Lagos’ Lekki Toll-Plaza. Let justice be given to their recollections!