By Babatunde Ajose De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I is the current Akran of Badagry. He is the paramount ruler of the Ogu race in Nigeria and th...
By Babatunde Ajose
De Wheno Aholu is one of the four Permanent Vice-Chairmen of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs, a body of traditional rulers with advisory duties.
The reigning monarch and paramount ruler on the ancient throne of the historical city of Badagry is our traditional father, His Majesty, De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I, OFR, LLD, DLITT, JP—the Akran of Badagry Kingdom.
Born on September 18, 1936, the fifth child of His Majesty De Wheno Aholu Ajiyon-Kanho, the 17th Akran of Badagry, His Majesty had his formal education at the Salvation Army Primary School, Lagos, Methodist School, Badagry, and Methodist Teachers’ College, Ifaki, Ekiti (1956–1957).
A royal figure of many parts, De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I was initially a teacher and taught at various schools in Badagry Division. His love for literary works and the dissemination of knowledge of the human race encouraged him to study journalism.
His career as a practitioner in the Fourth Estate of the Realm began in 1961 when he was employed at the West African Pilot newspaper. Over the next three years, De Wheno Aholu served as a diplomatic correspondent and chief reporter of the Post Group of Newspapers. When the Post Group closed down, he joined the Daily Sketch as a senior sub-editor and later transferred to The New Nigeria newspapers as a senior journalist, eventually becoming the Acting News Editor (South).
As a senior journalist, his outstanding performance earned him a grant from the International Press Institute to study at the University of East Africa, where he obtained a diploma with distinction. He also shared a prize on the Law of the Press with another journalist from Uganda. His Majesty has continued to support the growth and development of journalism in Nigeria and other African states.
His appointment as the Akran of Badagry was duly approved by the Executive Council of the Lagos State Government on October 7, 1976. He ascended the throne of his forebears during the coronation ceremony held on April 23, 1977, where he was crowned and assumed the royal title of De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I, the Akran of Badagry Kingdom, in accordance with tradition.
A frontline monarch and paramount ruler, he served as a member of the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission from 1979 to 1983, and as Grand Patron, Patron, and President of various social, charitable, and professional organizations.
De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I is the Chairman of the Chieftaincy Committee in Badagry Local Government and the Permanent Vice-Chairman of the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs. In October 1990, he was elected by members of the Council to represent it at the enlarged National Council of States in Abuja.
He was honoured with the national award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) on March 7, 1981.
His Majesty, De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I, the Akran of Badagry Kingdom, is friendly and hospitable—a great lover of his people—who has brought joy, peace, and happiness to them by encouraging community participation in rural development programmes throughout the Badagry area. He is a staunch advocate for Integrated Rural Development.
A keen sports lover who believes in the development of sports as a means of achieving a healthy body, mind, unity, and understanding, De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I (OFR) is, by divine providence, the 17th Akran of Badagry. His Majesty donated a large trophy for competition among journalists in the state.
On April 7, 1990, during his installation as the Chancellor of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nkpolu, Port Harcourt, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D - Honoris Causa). He is currently the Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt.
His Majesty later embarked on a pilgrimage to designated holy places in Italy, France, Egypt, and Jerusalem. During the pilgrimage, he was received in audience by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, at the Vatican in Rome. Having fulfilled Biblical injunctions, His Majesty, De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I, OFR, LLD, DLITT, JP, the Akran of Badagry Kingdom, ascended Jerusalem, the Holy City and capital of Israel, and was thereafter authorized to bear the title Jerusalem Pilgrim (JP).
The palace (Honme) of our royal father continues to be a haven for believers and visitors from far and near. Among the distinguished visitors to the palace were Mrs. Rosalyne Carter and her daughter Amy, wife and daughter of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, The Rt. Rev. Robert Runcie, who christened Badagry as the Canterbury of Nigeria.
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