De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I (OFR,LL.D, D.Litt, JP), The Akran of Badagry Kingdom, was born in Lagos Island on 18th September, 1936. He is the fifth child of the 13th Akran of Badagry, His Majesty De Wheno Aholu Ajiyon-Kanho. He holds sway over a swathe of territory covering Badagry town and 70 adjourning villages and districts spread across the mainland and islands in Southwest Nigeria.
The Akran of Badagry, ascended to the throne of his fore-father in 1977 and before then, he was a journalist whose exploits in the pen profession started in 1961 in the then West African Pilot established by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and spread across several platforms including Daily Sketch and New Nigeria where he rose to the position of Acting News Editor, South.
Before him, Badagary had been ruled by 14 paramount rulers, since the days of Akran Gbafoe in 1425.
Akran Menu-Toyi 1 is the permanent Vice-Chairman of Lagos State Council of Oba’s and Chiefs.
Badagry is the cradle of West African civilisation starting from 1839 when 500 slaves were liberated from Sierra Leone by the British and they were brought to Badagry to enable them go to their homes
The first educational system of Nigeria as a British colony started in Badagry where the first primary school was established by the Wesleyan mission (Methodist Church) in 1843 and named Nursery of Infant Church which later became St. Thomas’ Anglican Nursery and Primary School, founded by Rev. Golmer of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1845, inside the first storey building in Badagry.
The Wesleyans in the same year 1843 then went to central Lagos and founded Olowogbowo Methodist School and Ereko Methodist School in 1869. Olowogbowo Methodist School is still waxing strong located just behind Wesley Cathedral Olowogbowo while Ereko Mehodist School was relocated to Berkely Street and is also still waxing strong. The first secondary school in Badagry was built over one hundred years later called Badagry Grammar School in 1955 due to misunderstanding between the Missionaries and the natives that made them leave the town unceremoniously
De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi 1 was honored with the National Award of the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) in March 1981. On 7th April 1990, he was installed as the Chancellor of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt and also on the occasion, he was awarded the Doctor of Laws (LL.D) Honoris Causa. On May 15, 2010, the Late President of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua, approved the appointment of His Majesty, De Wheno Aholu as Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt and on Saturday, 15th May, 2010, during the 26th Convocation of the university, he was installed as the Chancellor and again conferred with the Doctors of Letters (D.Litt) Honoris Causa.
The Akran said he could not also forget in a hurry what he considered as his most embarrassing moment in life as he recalled: “One day in 1978, when Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (retired) was the military administrator of Lagos State, he came to Badagry on an official visit and we prepared for him because it was just about a year after my coronation.
“We arranged for cultural displays and did all we could to entertain him. We just heard all of a sudden that he would not be coming to the palace again as the tradition demands. He actually came to Badagry, but he did not visit the palace. It was disturbing and quite puzzling, but few days later, we knew the reason for his action. We were told that some people informed him that I am stubborn and headstrong, and that I should have come to welcome him at the Badagry Roundabout. They went further to inform him that I disliked his administration and that I was promoting sectionalism.
“Ebitu Ukiwe agreed with the misconception and lies when he did not see me at the roundabout to welcome him. He saw me as an enemy of his government. He was very angry with me and he cancelled his scheduled visit to the palace. It was a story that was promoted by the media. It took the intervention of my senior colleague at the Daily Sketch who was the press officer of the then Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Nwokoye, who did not only intervened, but implored the Head of State to intervene.
“It was Gen. Obasanjo who then educated the governor on the tradition in Yorubaland that any visiting president or governor must visit the palace of the paramount ruler before they can now go with him to other places of interest in his domain. He told the governor that it is not done in Yorubaland for a royal father to leave his palace to receive a visitor outside. Ebitu Ukiwe argued that when he was in Niger State, the Emir came to the airport to welcome him. But the head of state told him that the traditions were different and advised him to contact me so that we could resolve the matter amicably.
“The administrator did not get in touch with me until three months later. When he contacted me, I went to him and we talked it over. I was greatly embarrassed by this incident because I was expecting the governor with all my chiefs and notable people in the kingdom. It was a great embarrassment.’’
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