Olusegun Obasanjo: 3 Times ex-President Respects Tradition, Bows before Kings in Photos
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, sent the social media into a frenzy on Sunday, August 22, after a photo and video of him kneeling down before the newly crowned Olu of Warri kingdom, Ogiame Atuwatse III, went viral.
Utieyinoritsetsola Emiko, 37, was on Saturday, August 21, crowned the 21st Olu of Warri kingdom following an acute battle that saw a 500-year-old crown stolen by some suspected princes.
Source: Instagram
On Sunday, the newly crowned 37-year-old Olu of Warri held a thanksgiving in an elaborate service that attracted top guests across walks of life to the Itsekiri kingdom.
Among those who paid the new king a homage on his throne was the former president who donned a white agbada and red cap.
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The highlight of the moment was when Obasanjo, a high Egba chief himself, knelt down before Ogiame Atuwatse III in a show of respect to the tradition of the kingdom.
Reason for prostrating
Speaking on Obasanjo's action, Kehinde Akinyemi, special assistant on media to the former president, said his principal captured bowing before the Itsekiri throne was because he is a “Baba (Father) of Africa.”
“Obasanjo is the Baba of Africa and he can pay homage to every exalted traditional seat,” Akinyemi told our correspondent on Sunday.
“It was not Baba’s first time; he also once prostrated before Gbagura,” Akinyemi told The Punch.
This is not the first time for Obasanjo
The former president's homage to the new king of Warri kingdom was not the first time he was captured bowing down for monarchs who are younger to be his (grand)son.
1. Agura of Gbagura
In 2019, the Jagunmolu of Egbaland attended the coronation of Oba Saburee Bakre as the Agura of Gbagura in Ago-Oka, Abeokuta, Ogun State, where he also paid homage to the then-new king.
Obasanjo, then 83-year-old, prostrated before the king as a show of respect to the culture.
2. Ooni of Ife
In 2015 when Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwisi, Ojaja II, left Ipebi (a secret place where traditional rites are done for a would-be king), former president Obasanjo was one of the high-ranked personalities to welcome the new king.
He prostrated before Oba Ogunwusi despite the age difference.
The former president would later repeat the same gesture when they met again at an occasion.
Source: UGC
Osinbajo pictured holding umbrella for people
In another humility story, Legit.ng reported that Vice President Osinbajo demonstrated a praiseworthy example of humility that is rare in the Nigerian political panorama despite the grandeur and glamour that come with his powerful seat.
The VP recently rode into the heart of many Nigerians after he was sighted holding an umbrella by himself in what appears to be in the rain.
In a picture that has become the talk of the social media space, the vice president, dressed in ash cloth adorned with his symbolic Awo cap, held the umbrella covering two other officials.
Source: Legit.ng
