The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu has recounted how he got N165 million as gift from a few people two weeks after he became the 21st Oba of Lagos in 2003.
The traditional ruler made this known in an interview published by The Punch on Saturday to commemorate his birthday.
Born on October 29, 1943, the retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) will clock 75 on Monday.
Speaking about how he joined the police force and earlier days of his kingship, Oba Akiolu said:
I had always wanted to be a lawyer as a young boy. Also, back then, we used to see some policemen that looked so admirable. In fact, there was one of them known as Fine Country and he was a very active policeman. If you saw him, you would fall in love with police job, and there were some others like that. So, I told my brother about it. It hurts sometimes that none of my children want to join the police. I must say that being a policeman is one of the best jobs one could do in this life. It’s a honourable profession, but you must be truthful and you must be close to God. As a policeman, whatever is within your power to do to help others, don’t hesitate, and don’t always expect a reward for whatever help you render to people. It will shock you to know that within two weeks, I mean 14 days, after I entered the palace as the king, people contributed N165m for me as a gift. I used the money to buy shares and it has yielded dividends. As a policeman, you will meet people and if you are in it to impact positively on the society, you will certainly make headway. Also, if you are in it to take advantage of people, the reward is also enormous. And that is worse because if you put people in trouble for selfish reasons or because you want to make money, the result will be waiting for you. It has repercussions. So, police job is one of the best jobs. But these days, God should just help them to be wise because all they are after is money. As a policeman, if you want to succeed, you need to have the fear of God. Like I said, I will be so delighted if one of my children decides to join the force, but it seems late already because they have all ventured into different things. However, I will encourage and support any of my grandchildren who want to toe that path. I take deep interest in the well-being of my grandchildren and I don’t hesitate to assist when there is need to.
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