Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday told traditional rulers that their first duty is to keep their domains peaceful and rally citizens for rapid development. Speaking at the installation of Oba Peter Ogunbayo as the new Odemo of Isara in Ogun State, Obasanjo said monarchs are constitutionally placed to complement government by improving grassroots lives. He praised Governor Dapo Abiodun for approving the choice and reminded the monarch that the throne is a call to serve, not to rule. "There is no reason why we install a traditional ruler other than to enhance the peace and further development of their various domain," Obasanjo said. He urged Oba Ogunbayo to be a father to all, heal any rifts left by the contest for the stool and keep mobilising residents for socio-economic growth as he had done before his enthronement.
Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Michael Ajayi, also charged the new king to reconcile with rival claimants and place the community's progress above personal interests. Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat, said the selection followed due process and asked the monarch to back the state's anti-land-grabbing campaign. In response, Oba Ogunbayo promised an inclusive reign, unveiling a Royal Economic Advisory Council made up of indigenes to drive a "blueprint for growth, unity and sustainability."
Obasanjo's lecture to Oba Ogunbayo carries a sting: the ex-president praised the new king's pre-throne development work, then warned that the stool is worthless if it fails to convert tradition into measurable progress for Isara residents. The subtext is clear—royal prestige now hinges on spreadsheets, not just beaded crowns.
The ceremony exposed the quiet bargain Nigerian governors strike with monarchs: keep villages quiet, deliver votes and curb land disputes, in exchange for state approval and stipends. By asking the Odemo to enforce anti-land-grabbing laws, Ogun State quietly outsourced policing duties to a palace that lacks statutory powers yet commands village-level loyalty.
For Isara farmers and small traders, the practical question is whether the Royal Economic Advisory Council will translate into paved feeder roads, functioning primary health centres and security from land grabbers, or remain another committee issuing communiqués. If Oba Ogunbayo succeeds, he could become the template for how traditional institutions survive in a Nigeria where citizens increasingly measure legitimacy by results, not ancestry.
Across the South-West, similar councils are springing up as monarchs scramble to justify relevance amid shrinking state allocations; the race is on to prove that palaces can still be venture-capital hubs for rural economies.
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