BEHOLD THE OLOWO OF OWO PALACE

              


              Olowo  of Owo with his beaded walking stick


The palace has  over  100 courtyards  on 180 acres on  large expanse of land beautified with flowers of different species and colours . The environment   is decorated with green grass  and this is the work of an Horticulturist who exhibited his skill . The architectural design is a master piece inspite  the years of its design yet it can compete with modern day design .When viewed from afar off one appreciates the good topography and the beautiful landscape that gives the palace the aesthetic beauty of  work of arts. It is classical.
  Most of the  courtyards' wooden doors  though antiquated but  are rich in stories. Looking inside one could see  some strong but rustic iron roofing sheets though obsolete yet  very  strong.They have seen centuries.
 The wooden windows though Noachian but well designed with artworks engraved on them. The statues made of  special wood are strong and heavy, infact they are as strong as iron.
The doors leading from one room to another are well crafted and designed. Though  some of the buildings are  made of mud and are old  but the structures  had lasted over 100 years  and had endured the weather.
Yes, the official offices of His Imperial Majesty could compete with the best royal fathers' offices  in Africa as they are all decorated with  well designed  furniture of high class and taste and crafted objects that tell stories and befits the  status of a monarch. Framed pictures adorn the walls .These are another libraries as the pictures tell stories!. Each picture has stories to back them up.Here one could see pictures of ages!.
Kabiyesi has painstakingly preserved  all these for us to be proud of. He valued all these , maintained them and preserved them .Let us give him kudos.

 



                     BIGGEST PALACE IN WEST AFRICA

   The Palace of   Olowo of Owo  is the biggest palace in West  Africa.It has over 100 courtyards and no wonder  on 180 acres according to report . It was declared a National Monument by the Federal Government   in 2013 by the then Minister of Culture and Tourism .

Recently when  the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) came to Owo  during  his door to door campaign , the Monarch, His Imperial Majesty the Olowo of Owo , Oba David Victor  Folagbade Olateru- Olagbegi III (CFR) seized the opportunity to remind the VP about the cultural Heritage of  the noble ancient town and  for the federal government to  fulfill her promise and make it a reality and make the Palace a monument as approved.
 Describing how big the  Palace is  the HIM  Oba Olateru -Olagbegi III  wrote in his book, In the Wilderness of Life , (published in 2013) Chapter 3, page 30 to 31:My Journey to Life and Royalty...wherein he  described the palace thus '' ...As a young lad,  I had developed an unquenchable penchant  and flair for sporting activities , particularly table tennis  and lawn tennis , in which I developed significant talent. Thus, activities  normally shifted from inside the Palace to the courtyard . The palace is an expansive place , documented by many Historians as the largest palace in West Africa .It contains  more than two hundred Courts , and  is larger than the Yankee Stadium in New York or the White House and the Capitol  in Washington D.C. combined''
          
He continued ''Olowo Rengenjen , who chose the current site of the Olowo Palace , was a planner and architect with high degree of foresight , He was motivated by the desire to have a place strategically located in the centre of the community where all his subjects would have access to him and the structures of governance.In addition ,he wanted a palace befitting a high status of an Olowo. Thus, he wanted the palace and its grounds to include virtually everything occupants would need :orchard, swimming pool,courtyards, market,a library, restrooms,and playing ground , among others .The royal family would not need to venture outside the compound for anything...''



             KABIYESI's SPEECH.
The monarch   addressed the crowd and his message to the Vice President and Arakunrin Akeredolu , he  pleaded to the VP to make the palace a national  Monument  adding too that a Federal University should be sited in the town . 
Watch the video clip here

''.......We are pleading that  Owo, that has been pronounced once   as a National Monument ,  we want it to be reality, we want it to be legal so that the palace of Owo  will become  national monument ......''



Each courtyard had a specific function to play and dedicated to a deity some of them still have the artifacts , the verandahs were carved.
Owo  is in-between Ife and Benin .The Owo museum was  established in 1968.




       ARTWORKS,RELICS STORIES IN THE PALACE

 In the palace are  historical places, starting from the doors,windows,  roofs, wooden arts and crafts, rooms with good historical background, in fact,  each place has stories with facts and figures to write upon!.

                HISTORICAL ROOMS

    The monarch in his book narrated the story of Ajagbusi Ekun a blood thirsty and ruthless ruler who undertook 400 military engagements but lost  only one , he dedicated one room in the palace exclusively for his charms and amulets,. The room was locked for about 200 years and no Monarch has the effrontery to open it until the late Sir Olateru- Olagbegi II opened the room in 1950.



in his book, Oba Olateru -Olagbegi III wrote ''After his son's death, he dedicated one room in the palace exclusively to his charms and amulets .The room remained under lock and key for nearly  two hundred years because no successive Olowo could muster  sufficient courage to enter the sacred room .  It was Sir Olateru -Olagbegi II, Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE), of all Olowos , who opened the room in 1950''.


 Taking   shots of one of the ughas

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Beautiful all the way