The installation on the 22nd September 2023 of Abiodun Oladimeji Lasile as Orunto by Oba (Prof.) Saka Adelola Matemilola, the Olowu of Owu Kingdom gives cause for reminiscing. It jugs our collective memory of the events that led to the Olowu being the first monarch endowed with an Oduduwa crown.
Following the acquirement of that priceless crown, the Olowu had to leave Ife to go and found his own Kingdom elsewhere. His grandfather volunteered six of his trusted Chiefs to accompany
Asunkungbade and his parents on that journey of relocation. Orunto was one of those 6 traditional Chiefs.
The holder of that office in Ife is titled Obalufe. Orunto is merely his pseudonym and therefore both titles appear 
interchangeable at Ife but not outside of it. The holder of that office outside Ife cannot justify being referred to as Obalufe. Of necessity, he has to settle for the more comfortable ‘Orunto’. The office is in the high-chieftaincy class.
interchangeable at Ife but not outside of it. The holder of that office outside Ife cannot justify being referred to as Obalufe. Of necessity, he has to settle for the more comfortable ‘Orunto’. The office is in the high-chieftaincy class.In Ife, the Orunto (i.e. Obalufe) heads a key wing in the Ife administrative set-up. He and Lowa (another sectional head) stand shoulder to shoulder and enjoy a pride of place in the Ooni cabinet.
In Oyo, the Orunto is one of the major Eso Chiefs – as is the Eruuku, the Esiele and the Gbonnka – all of them Chiefs of note. In this position, he is assigned a high- ranking security responsibility under the formidable security architecture devised to provide protection for His Majesty the Alaafin, as well as for the entire landscape that constituted the Oyo capital city. In Owu Kingdom, the Or unto combines membership in the body of high chiefs saddled with the duty of selecting a new Olowu with that of protecting the safety and interest of the Olowu at all times.
One of the Oruntos who made his mark while he served the Owu in Abeokuta was Chief Simeon Orisabade Lasile of blessed memory. He was educated and that helped him to excel as an Orunto.
Orisabade lived long and at the time when the first candidates from the Lagbedu Royal Family were presented for screening at Abeokuta, only two kingmakers were alive – he and Chief Joju Adeyemi, the Obamaja. Chief Lasile’s warmth, openness and humility endeared him to the Owu people. Are we on the threshold of having another quintessential one?
The future holds the answer to that question
Abiodun Oladimeji Lasile shows promise as someone who has inherited a worthy legacy but he has to prove it 
through honest, patriotic and committed service to the Owu people. The Owu expect of him nothing short of these sterling qualities. His loyalty to the Olowu is expected to be total – like that of the Orunto who was in Asunkungbade’s entourage when he left Ife. To be honest, the position of an Orunto is not a sinecure; it is a call to service.
through honest, patriotic and committed service to the Owu people. The Owu expect of him nothing short of these sterling qualities. His loyalty to the Olowu is expected to be total – like that of the Orunto who was in Asunkungbade’s entourage when he left Ife. To be honest, the position of an Orunto is not a sinecure; it is a call to service.In days gone by, an Orunto would wake up in the morning and go and sit down in the palace with the other Kingmaker-chiefs for the whole day.
May the arrival of Abiodun Oladimeji Lasile in the Owu cabinet be a blessing to the Owu rank and file. And may he enjoy a tenure long and fruitful. So shall it be.
