arrister Ogunye's brief on why deposition and deportation are not the same thing makes a very interesting reading. I must confess that I am not a lawyer by training or certification. I am motivated to add this viewpoint first of all as a member of the royal family in Akure, and as a past Secretary to the Asodeboyede Ruling House which was later broken into two to give the deposed Deji and his lineage a chance to occupy the throne for less than 5 years in more than 150 years of Akure History. I am driven by my interest as a historian and as an Akure man and as an Ondo State citizen and a great admirer of Governor Olusegun Mimiko for the very thoughtful way he and his Government had risen to the challenge posed by the Deji's behavior once it suddenly became a national scandal hotly debated in the Nigerian Senate in circumstances totally beyond the control of the major players in the scandal including the deposed Deji and his estranged wife, a helpless victim of domestic violence.

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If the Ondo State Government had not acted sooner, Governor Mimiko would have been rubbished as too weak and confused to act as a leader and such a development would have damaged his reputation irredeemably. If the situation in the state capital has not been carefully handled, it could possibly have led to the PDP Federal Government declaring a state of emergency in Ondo State which means the Labor Government with little grass root support in the State, at the time, could possibly have been sent parking prematurely.

Mimiko had clearly seen the hand writing on the wall and he took immediate steps to get the situation under control by issuing a red card to the embattled Deji with immediate effect and automatic alacrity.

The then Chairman of the Council of Obas in Ondo State, His Royal Highness, Olowo of Owo, Oba Folagbade Olagbegi , a legal luminary by profession, was the first to show leadership by asking the deposed Deji to keep away from further participation in the Council's meetings until his name was cleared from the embarrassing scandal. By doing so, Oba Olagbegi had served notice to the Ondo State Government that he fully understood his role as Chairman and was not going to wait for the scandal to further damage the reputation of other traditional rulers in the State or Yoruba Land by looking the other way.

It was the right thing to do and the Olowo scored a home run in the court of public opinion by serving notice to the deposed Deji to appreciate and understand the seriousness of his shameful behavior.

Governor Mimiko followed the deposition with a deportation order in the interest of public peace. It was the right thing to do. If he has not done so, there is a chance that the aggrieved supporters of the deposed Deji might have reacted negatively which was understandable, given the nature of our society. It was true that the deposed Deji had more or less become a failure which is always an orphan in most human societies but there were still a few that were ready to swim or drown with the deposed Deji, if immediate preemptive action had not been taken to stop them. His banishment to Owo just 30 miles away from Akure and the home base of his estranged wife was initially seen as a mistake by the Ondo State Government, but it turned out well as it was easy for the deposed Deji to answer to the several pending charges against him in Court in Akure without involving the Government in too much expenses by way of security and travelling requirement. Banishing him to exile in Owo was also designed to cushion the effect of the banishment on the man as he was placed in one of the Government Quarters in Owo built by the Awolowo Government in the Action Group days. His Napoleonic fall from grace to grass was just to traumatic for anyone who has been to the mountain top but suddenly found himself at the bottom of the valley overnight.The idea was to cut him some slack and guarantee him some measure of comfort as he began his journey to total oblivion.

I think the Governor meant well by doing that because what happened to the Deji could conceivably happen to any man in power who has allowed power and lack of discretion to get the better part of him. The deposed Deji had made a horrendous mistake that must serve as a lesson to any person in position of authority in our society including his immediate successor.

The deposition justified the deportation order for 6 months to begin with and the extension by one year in the sense that it could help to curb any negative reactions to the deportation by a cross section of the people who might still be rooting for the deposed Deji by seeking vengeance. I am sure that the Governor and his Government must have been influenced by intelligence reports before extending the order. They are doing it to protect the deposed Deji and his successor and no rational court of Law in Nigeria or anywhere in the world would fail to factor that into their equation in passing judgment or assessing the fundamental human rights of the deposed Deji. It is therefore presumptuous of Barrister Ogunye to jump to the conclusion as he did, that the extension of the deportation order by the Ondo State Government was uncalled for and unconstitutional. It is not, in my own judgment and given the extenuating circumstance of the extension.

What I am much more concerned about at this point is not so much what the deposed Deji is doing or not doing or what the future may hold in stock for him. He has fumbled big time and his deposition or banishment is never to be compared to what happened to Oba Overamen of Benin or Sultan Dasuki of Sokoto, Emir Jokolo of Gwandu or the great Olowo Olagbegi of Owo or late Alaafin Adeyemi, the father of the current Alaafin of Oyo. If Barrister Ogunye fully understands history, he would be careful not to make such comparisons. I am much more interested today in what his successor, the new Deji has been doing and his modus operandi for now and the future.

The honey moon period for the new Deji is just about over, as far as I am concerned, and we are all waiting to see what is going to be different now that Deji Afunbiowo the Second has stepped up to the plate. Deji Adebiyi Adegboye Adesida has raised a lot of expectation by picking the name Afunbiowo. He has to rise up to the occasion and prove that he is totally different from the drifter he has replaced.

Setting up committees to advise himself on very important decisions that are waiting to be taken is the right thing to do. What is not kosher is doing so in a way that suggests he has no agenda or priorities of his own in seeking the title, to begin with. I very much support him and I like him as an Adesida descendant, but I am going to tell him not what he wants to hear but what he needs to hear. He cannot tell me he is not getting a lorry load of advice from far and near. What is important is his decision- making process and his ability to separate what is very important from what is not. He needs to make an impression and must not fritter away his current reservoir of good will by wasting precious time. 3 years ago who could tell you that the deposed Deji would be history in Akure. God is truly awesome and tomorrow is not promised to any of us. The new Deji must always remember that and make that his guiding principle. When he dances to Akure drums, he must constantly look back to see if the music is still on. That is the plain truth, No Deji in Akure History understood that better than our progenitor, Deji Afunbiowo the First.

The new Deji must be reminded that he stands to make more enemies by failing to act when he ought to. There are some decisions that could be made with precision and immediate effect in an executive order kind of scenario as the man on the hot seat. I am not opposed to consultation but endless consultation is a big sign of weakness. He must have the courage of his convictions to do what he considers right, and to do it while the iron is still hot. He must realize he cannot please everybody. No good leader anywhere in the world does that. To do otherwise is to begin to lose his moral compass and reservoir of good will. I give you one good example of how prevarication and delay can sometimes become very dangerous to a leader.

I recall that in 1991, the course of Akure History would definitely have been altered for good, had the Sunday Olukoya Military Administration in Ondo State failed to act on picking a new Deji before handing over to the incoming Bamidele Olumilua civilian Administration in Ondo State. The then Secretary to the Ondo State Government and Head of Service, the one and only, OmoOlorun Modupe now a New York Attorney and a good friend of mine, was the brain behind the Olukoya's Government decision to fill all the traditional title vacancies that had occurred on their watch before handing over to the new Administration.

If that has not happened, the reign of Deji Ataiyese Adebobajo Adesida the Third from 1991 to 1999 would never have seen the light of day. Governor Bamidele Olumilua using his big stick as Governor would never have picked another Adesida at that point in time for obvious reasons. I had to know because I was Secretary to the only Asodeboyede Ruling House in Akure at the time, and I knew Governor Olumilua very well. He was one year my senior in the Federal Public Service and Foreign Service and I considered him a good friend and a colleague.

Time is of the essence like they say in America. The new Deji must try and make haste slowly, but too much delay or too much caution is often counter-productive. There are some decisions that cannot wait. He must act like Afunbiowo the First with deliberate caution and wisdom but more importantly with calculated speed and accuracy which is the hallmark of great leaders all over the world.

Need I say more?

I rest my case.