The regent of Irokunland in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, Princess Adeyinka Abejoye, has narrated how her father spent just three days on the throne, after a 19-year kingship tussle.
The regent disclosed this during an interview with the Punch.
According to her, the death of her father occured three days to his coronation after being in the kingship tussle for 19 years.
“My father was a teacher who retired as a vice principal. My father had two wives; my mother was the first wife. I have many siblings. I am the eldest among 13 children. I was not groomed to become a regent. I would say that God made it possible. If a prophet had told me that I would be a regent this year (2023), I would have doubted it.
“The late Kabiyesi, who was my father, had been in the struggle for 19 years, from when I was still in primary school, to become a king. It came to pass last year in November (2022). The late Kabiyesi was one of the kings recently installed by the Ondo State government because our kingdom has been without a king for so many years.
“His coronation was on November 17, 2022, but unfortunately, we lost him on November 20 of that same month,” she explained.
Speaking on how she felt after being selected to occupy her father’s stool, the regent said: “When I was called to become the regent, I told them I was not interested because it was not in line with my doctrine. I am a Christian, a worker in the Redeemed Christian Church of God. They begged me for about two weeks and told me if I didn’t do it, there wouldn’t be anybody else to appoint as the regent of the kingdom.
“They wanted the regent to come from the late Kabiyesi’s bloodline. The high priest and every member of the kingdom begged me. I’m the eldest child of the family and I have five undergraduates in the university. I thought over everything, and that I had a lot of responsibilities to perform.
“I prayed about it and the journey since it wasn’t what I expected and I was told to go into it and by God’s grace, I’m the regent.”
While sharing her experience on the throne, the female monarch said “People only asked me how I would cope because it is a big task, coupled with the fact that as a regent, I am also like a king, so taking a man’s position might make some of them think that I might not be respectful to my husband.”
When asked how she was coping with her marital responsibilities, she noted that the post had not deterred her from performing her role as a good wife to her husband.
“I don’t allow my position to make me lose respect for my husband. I go to the market myself and I cook for my husband. People give me a funny look whenever they see me buying things in the market but I want to please my husband and respect him.”
Speaking on the circumstances surrounding her father’s death, Princess Abejoye said “Concerning my father’s death, people who heard about it saw it as a very spiritual issue, like it was not ordinary, but when I asked the family doctor if my dad had an underlying illness, he only said that he had diabetes.”
