At a period when venerable personalities that guide and guard the traditional institutions have come under searching questions, the late Attah? Igala, Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Ocheja Obaje commanded a compelling stature among his peers, constituency and larger Nigeria. There were good reasons for this. An unconventional icon whose vision transcended his immediate realm, the late sage looked beyond his constituency and saw a future that could ennoble his country. Little wonder the announcement of his death has provoked so much shock and sorrow.
Since the creation of Kogi State, Dr. Obaje ensured that the traditional institution did not remain just a respected symbol but ensured it met the yearnings and aspiration of his people. For the late sovereign, peace was paramount; flowing from the reasoned philosophy that peace is key to human development. There is more.
The late monarch attended the 1957 and 1959 constitutional conferences in Britain; a first and still standing record for any Nigeria royal father – living or dead. He was the longest serving Attah of Igala land – reigning for 56 years. He was also the oldest on the throne, dying at the ripe old age of 102 years.
He earned his deserved first class monarch status in 1967 and most significantly was the first Attah of Igala to convert to Islam. He lived out the convictions of his soul to the full. It is from this prism of quality of the man that Governor Idris Wada lamented that the revered ruler passed on when his administration most needed the stability, counsel and trademark foresight.
Easily known in and outside his realm as a foremost bridge-builder, peace-maker, visioner and courageous monarch, the level of pain and loss expressed by important Nigerian leaders, including President Goodluck Jonathan is simply indicative of the esteem in which the late ruler was held, he supplied.
Born in 1920, Dr. Aliyu Obaje was the youngest person ever to be installed as Attah Igala. He mounted the stool at the prime age of 36. The Attah’s palace (the seat of power in the Igala Kingdom) is located in the ancient city of Idah. HRM Aliyu Obaje ascended the throne on the October 20, 1956 following the death of his predecessor HRM Ameh Oboni. He was one of the longest serving monarchs in Nigeria then.
Obaje until his death was the chairman of the Kogi State Council of Traditional Chiefs. He was a household name among the Igalas and indeed the majority of Nigerians and held Nigerian national honour of CFR (Commander of the Federal Republic).
The late monarch’s death at once demonstrates the mortality of man and the great importance of leaving a good life. As history has consistently proved – great lives are indeed deathless. The greatest respect that could possibly be paid to the fallen icon is for contemporary Nigerian leadership to give real meaning to the imperative of governance, integrity and genuine human development.
Essentially, this was what the late Attah of Igala lived and died fostering.
?