Dons Eze
OONI’S EX-QUEEN, NAOMI, ON HUNGER STRIKE IN AGODI PRISON, SAYS MOTHER
Mrs Funmilayo Ogunseyi, mother of the former queen of the Ooni of Ife, shares with BIODUN BUSARI the excruciating experience of her daughter, Naomi Silekunola, after the stampede that claimed the lives of 35 children in Ibadan
What did the police tell you about the ex-queen’s detention?
The police have not told me anything about the matter. They did not tell me if she was going to be released or not. The reason for this is because the case is no longer with them. The case has been taken to the court. The case was taken to the court on Tuesday, December 24, 2024.
As we speak, the case is before the magistrate’s court. The magistrate said my daughter should be taken to a custodial facility in Agodi, Ibadan. That was after the case was adjourned till January 13, 2025.
There has been a debate on whether she was directly involved in the funfair or a collaboration. Whose idea was it?
The queen is the brain behind the programme aimed at helping Nigerians. She has a foundation. With her foundation, she has helped women not only in need of material things or foodstuff but also those who needed guidance and support. Basically, my daughter runs a non-governmental organisation.
She has been using this NGO to help the less privileged. She has organised this kind of funfair in different cities in the country, and she has been going from one town or city to another to celebrate the end of the year with children. She has done this in Akure, Akute, Ondo town, Ile Oluji, and many other places. So, this year, she decided to bring it down to Ibadan.
What went wrong in this particular one organised in Ibadan?
In all the events she had organised in the past, she always spoke to people on the ground in the town. These were the people who would tell her the necessary things to do. She could not do it alone and would approach people in the city or town to help in the organisation of the funfair. The same thing was applicable in the Ibadan funfair.
As of the time she was planning for Ibadan funfair, some of her team members told her about Agidigbo FM. The queen was told about Mr Hamzat Oriyomi who would help to publicise the event. The reason was that she had not organised such an event in Ibadan before. They had never met before.
We had earlier gotten a place in Moniya for the event, but Mr Oriyomi advised that the place was too small. That was how we got the venue we used at the Islamic High School, Basorun. It was a help that he rendered because he even paid for the place by himself.
From our observation, the place was spacious enough to accommodate what we envisaged. We had held programmes in schools before; so, we agreed to use the venue Mr Oriyomi suggested. As I stated earlier, in all the events we had organised, including a teens’ crusade we had some years back, there was no casualty.
Does it mean that you have enough information about the venue of the event?
On the eve of the event, when the queen came to Ibadan, she met with Mr Oriyomi for the first time. She appreciated him for his effort in securing the venue of the event as well as the publicity. Unfortunately, on the day of the event, my phone was ringing with calls to make enquiries.
They put my number on the flier of the event. People started calling me at around 4.30am. I was wondering why people called me at that time. They were asking if the event had been cancelled. I told them that the event would still be held.
By 6.30am, I began to hear the news that the place was overcrowded. I was told that the premises had been filled up with the crowd. Some people were throwing their children over the fence. All of these led to the stampede which occurred.
What was the next line of action after you received the news of the stampede?
When we heard about this news, my daughter went to a police station to report the matter. We called the police, we called the army, and we called other security agents to inform them about the incident.
Meanwhile, on the eve of the event, four security men came with us from Akure. We even asked the two of them to go to the field and sleep over there, because of the people who were decorating the venue. We also had two bouncers. It was at the station that my daughter was interrogated.
We were thinking she would go back home but unfortunately, she was detained. Then, she was taken to the court. However, we were not informed the previous day that she would be taken to court the next day. Our lawyer wasn’t aware.
So, that morning, we were told that they wanted to arraign her. She was taken to the magistrate’s court. At the magistrate’s court, the magistrate could not grant her bail because only the High Court would be able to grant her bail. The magistrate asked that the three of them: the queen, Mr Oriyomi, and the principal of the school be taken to the custodial facility.
Has there been any intervention from people close to the ex-queen to assist her in regaining freedom?
We are just begging everybody. We’re begging Nigerians to help us. The people should help us beg Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene in the matter. That’s all I need. We are just appealing to all Nigerians to help us beg the parents who lost their children at the event. We’re sorry. It was not intentional. We did not mean to kill anybody.
Have you reached out to the governor to appeal to him on the need to intervene in the matter?
I don’t have his number. I have not been to the governor’s office. I don’t know anything about the governor. I’m just appealing to Nigerians to help me appeal to the parents who lost their children during the event. We have not even brought anything to the venue. The event couldn’t be held that day. The security agents that were present had to send everybody away from the venue.
What effort is your daughter’s lawyer making to let her regain freedom?
I believe the lawyers know what they are doing. It is their job to know how to table the case before the law court. That is the job of the lawyers. Actually, we have explained to them how the whole incident happened. All the affected people at the venue of the event died in the early hours of the day, between 6am and 7am. The programme was supposed to start at 10am.
Have you reached out to the palace of the Ooni over this matter?
I cannot answer that question directly because it’s like a family matter. We are still in-laws. So, I know the palace must have been trying its best to make sure everything is controlled amicably.
We don’t even need to tell him that he should do this because the person in question is the mother of the child to the Ooni of Ife. So, I know he wouldn’t want his wife to be in prison. I want to believe he is trying his best to make sure she is not in prison.
What was the condition of the queen the last time you visited her?
She wasn’t feeling fine. She wasn’t happy about the whole incident. She loves children. The queen loves and helps children, single mothers, old women, and widows. She is still in pain that those children lost their lives because her intention was pure.
Organising this kind of event to help people is what she has been doing for years. She used to buy clothes for children at Christmas. She has emaciated in the custodial facility. She has refused to eat.
When I was there yesterday (Thursday), I persuaded her. She still did not eat. The place was not comfortable for her. She was sad about the children losing their lives.
Do you think this incident will make kind-hearted Nigerians continue helping the people?
I believe the government alone cannot alleviate the problems of the people. That was why the queen also started this initiative in the first place. Since what happened wasn’t intentional, I don’t think people would think negatively about helping others.
Again, I’m pleading with Nigerians to let me appeal to the government and all the parents who lost their children in this event. Please, forgive us. Pardon us. It wasn’t intentional. Things happen.
Personally, as the mother of the Queen, if I know those people who lost their children during this period, I am ready to go and visit them and talk to them and sympathise with them. That is where I stand. I am a mother, and I know what it means (to lose a child). I know how it feels.
