13 years of Kusenla: How Oba Elegushi rise to prominence birthed new breed of traditional influencers

A great ruler, by history’s standards, is one who lives to serve; one with the capacity to harness his people’s potential and turn it into a beautiful thing to behold.

The Elegushi Kingdom has become a pearl in the beautiful city on water, Lagos. This is not because of its prime location, but because of the matchless investment of its ruler, His Royal Majesty, Oba Alayeluwa Saheed Ademola Elegushi, Kusenla III.

13 years after his installment as the 21st Elegushi of the Ikate-Elegushi kingdom, Oba Elegushi is not the oldest, or most powerful of all the Nigerian kings. But his antecedents have put him in the comity of the great kings history recognises and will remember in generations to come.

In this country of kings, Kusenla III already stands out for many reasons.

His destiny to become one of Nigeria’s great kings was set in stone when he was born on the same date that is his father’s birthday. It would be remembered that his father, the late Oba Yekini Adeniyi Elegushi, was the first crowned king of Ikateland.

As one not just entitled, but deserving of the royal mantle he was born to, he spent his early life devoted to his educational pursuits and subsequently built himself through tutelage into the knowledgeable king that Ikateland needs.

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With a university degree and two prominent Masters degrees, he proceeded on a journey of learning, service and discovery.

Asides from his work in the private sector as an administrator and business development strategist, Oba Gushi as he is fondly called served meritoriously as Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos State under the now President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu from 2003 to 2007. When Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola succeeded Tinubu as Governor of Lagos, Oba Elegushi was again on ground, ready to serve as Senior Special Assistant (Special Programmes/Duties), a position he held till he was again called to ascend the throne of his father in service to the people of Ikateland in 2010.

As the youngest king in Lagos State, he became a beacon of youthful energy properly positioned towards traditional excellence.

Reputed as a king with a deep understanding of the need for progress and forward-thinking professionals, Oba Elegushi became a self-appointed destiny helper to many kings, youths and the older generation alike all around him.

In the last 13 years, he has grown richly in power and influence, such that many from far and wide journey to Ikateland just to pay homage and see the king of wonder who transformed the land of his people into the pearl of Lagos State.

Not one to rest on laurels, Kusenla III no longer wears the mantle of Lagos’s youngest monarch, instead, he rides on his influence as a modern traditional ruler, cranially adept at fashioning initiatives that serve not just Ikate residents in the present, but generations to come.

Today, he is no longer just a traditional ruler, he is a critical Yoruba leader many generations look up to. Such is the prize that Elegushi is to the people of Ikate and Lagos.

His achievements as king is perhaps most apparent in the different awards and honours he wears. In October 2018, he was appointed as one of the patrons of the Nigeria Olympic Committee. In November 2019, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Nigeria, honoured him, alongside former Nigeria President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan with Honoris Causa in Public Administration, for his “contributions as a Traditional and Cultural Icon, Outstanding and Visionary Leader, Developmentalist, Generational Role Model and a National Builder. This is without forgetting his Peace Achievers Awards in October 2019, by Peace Ambassadors.

In any count or numerological form, 12 is considered the end of small, and the number 13 is the beginning of full maturity. It is therefore right to posit that not only is Oba Elegushi a fully realised king at the 13th anniversary of his ascension to the throne of Ikate-Elegushi, but he is also a ripe example of the new age Yoruba thought leaders who are charting a course into a bright future that Nigeria was promised by its past leaders.