OSDU: Soun and philosophy of 'peace through strength'

OSDU: Soun and philosophy of ‘peace through strength’

Femi OGUNLANA

The Soun of Ogbomosoland His Imperial Majesty Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye Orumogege III surprised not a few Tuesday with his move announcing the formation of a new umbrella association for Ogbomosoland named “Central Council of Ogbomosoland Sons and Daughters Universal (CCOSDU),” alternatively, “Ogbomosoland Sons and Daughters Universal” with short form “OSDU.” The Oba highlighted the new apex socio-cultural organisation would be the community’s mouthpiece henceforth, disclosing it got necessary endorsement by traditional rulers and chiefs from across the five local government areas making up Ogbomosoland. “We discussed the formation of the new body, and they all agreed to – and approved of it, that l have their backs,” the Soun said while unveiling its establishment to a large audience at his palace. With that he proclaimed a dissociation of the Soun Palace from erstwhile umbrella organisation, “Ogbomoso Parapo.” Unambiguously and with much emphasis Oba Olaoye said what he now knew and recognised was OSDU. Though the world has changed, a King still has some authority. This he has exercised as the custodian of the city’s culture, tradition and heritage and whose forebears took leading role in birthing what’s Ogbomoso today.

Meanwhile, this action has further reflected his personae, the precepts his character is patterned after. This bears similarity to when he chose an Imam for his palace when dispute arose over the position of the Chief Imam of Ogbomosoland, and when he declared that any traditional ruler that was not willing to cooperate with him on his drive to recreate Ogbomoso in the dreamed image desired by everyone he would ignore and leave behind. Indubitably, this has been producing results, positive results at that.

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Now, with the Ogbomoso Parapo issue of which a faction of the national exco had dragged him to court over the dissolution he announced earlier, it is easy to deduce and define his principle – Peace through strength! Not deployment of overwhelming force in the original use of the policy but peace through avoidance of escalation of conflict. The basis of his principle is sidestepping escalation of conflicts that could inevitably distract him from his avowed goal and vision. He had unleashed a 25 year-development agenda to transform Ogbomosoland and he is impatient to achieve it, two years are gone already, he can’t afford to fritter away time, energy, while focusing on conflicts. He is not even ready to be held back, dwelling on scathing comments and campaigns of calumny or slanderous remarks aimed at him. His position is whatever anyone says he is unperturbed, he will remain unwavering in his determination that abuses are mere market cacophony of noises. His path is set and he sees engaging in endless diplomacy to broker settlement and rapportment as a waste of time and resources.

Most times people are stuck to their positions, bellicose, intractablly, unwilling to yield, and trying to make each party sees reason may drag on till eternity and nothing will be achieved. Thus, critical elements that could have been channeled to establishing the needed change are deployed into efforts to finding settlement and engaging in ding-dong meetings, hoping against hope it will succeed which eventually usually doesn’t. Critically looked at, it makes each party to become swollen headed and borne by a vain sense of self-importance. The one with mission eventually loses vital time, opportunities and drive because instead of walking forward towards his obsession with passion, he is stuck, stagnates as passion drifts off to seeking rapprochement that might not eventually happen. The mind can only seriously harbour an emotion at a point and when it is persistently to settling scores or conflicts, or for vendetta, focus is lost.

This philosophy is deeply entrenched in United States of America, it is the basis of its foreign policy. It is regarded as the theory of deterrence – Peace through strength. Some countries like Israel also embrace it. They believe a strong military would deter escalation of crises or keep enemies in check, thereby fostering peace and promoting stability. The US used it against the Soviet Union during the cold war era, and it is using it against China and Iran in contemporary times. Israel when the opportunity presented itself on October 7, 2023, following the unprovoked Hamas’ invasion of its country leaving killing, destruction and hostage taking in its wake, it spurned diplomacy and activated its military machineries and today it has decimated its adversaries spread across the Middle East and there is a high degree of peace and stability. If it had chosen the path of endless diplomacy the crisis could still be lingering and festering. But instead there is calm today in the volatile region.

The Soun’s formation of a new umbrella socio-cultural association is thus strategic. It is a form of peace through strength, avoidance of escalation through strategic moves. Oju orun to eye for lai fi ara kan arawon (the sky is wide enough for all manners of birds to fly without bumping into one another). He has a vision and tried to reinvent Ogbomoso Parapo so as to weave it into the equation towards actualizing the dream, he took a decisive step, but in the end he got hamstrung and instead of dragging the matter, he created a new platform. It is plausible demonstration of strength, not shrinking from testing his ability (or let’s say popularity among his subjects). If his vision cannot be realised through a previous body why not create another one! There are millions of Ogbomosoland’s sons and daughters across the globe, all what is needed is the will to present an alternative platform and even if it resonates with only a few people the dream will be kept alive. It is better than wasting time and veering off, trying to seek a settlement that may be elusive. Interestingly, OSDU is catching on like a wild fire, it is being embraced, it’s garnering wide support – the 25 year-development plan is on, the show of strength by the people is re-assuring.

The Soun did not fire any salvo that could aggravate contentions during the proclamation of OSDU, rather he presented it as an alternative, he never declared it as the sole organisation or attempting to decreeing out the existence of Parapo. When some at the event mentioned the word “defunct” to describe Ogbomoso Parapo, the Oba strongly rebuked them asserting, “Anyone who wishes to continue to be part of the previous association can do so. Nobody is being forced to register with Ogbomoso Sons and Daughters Universal. It is a matter of choice.”

Afterall, before Parapo, there was Alongo. Life is dynamic, it responds intermittently to the dictates of time. Nothing is static, everything oscillates in response to prevailing circumstances.

OSDU is the path Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye Orumogege III has chosen to follow. He has ditched Ogbomoso Parapo, which came into existence in 1912. The organisation played significant roles in the development and evolution of Ogbomosoland with landmark, unforgettable achievements.

The challenge now is for OSDU to harness contemporary resources, harmonize differences and unravel surpassing accomplishments. But the challenge is enormous – Ogbomoso Parapo has unrivalled grassroots appeal, spouted great legacies like establishment

of schools, institutions, represented Ogbomoso at the highest levels at different times, stood for the city at critical moments coalescing the city’s agenda and many more. But everything has a lifespan. It now embodies a goal at variance with the Soun. Meanwhile, it is instructive to note that it has been tottering for long, leading to the establishment of Ogbomoso Community (which metamorphosed into Ogbomoso Community Foundation) and other groups. But the solid backing by the Soun didn’t put the sail out of it all this while. But with an agenda now at variance with that of its soul, fiercely opposing its mainstay, dismissing it as a mere appendage, what happens?

Is a new era here? Is it the dawn of a new epoch in Ogbomoso? Time will tell.