Otunba Olusegun Runsewe: The Peacemaker

Say what you will about great men, one must always consider the fact that there are exceptions to the rule of John Acton that they are almost always bad men. We know for a fact that individuals like Otunba Olusegun Runsewe are beacons of hope because of their greatness. And from time to time, their acts of goodness provoke the people around them to be just as good and just as great.

For those in the know, the residents of Journalists Estate, Phase One, Arepo, Ogun State, have been having issues with the palace citizens of the Olu of Arepo, Oba Solomon Atanda Oyebi. The issue nearly devolved into a full-blown war on many occasions, but there was always someone who mediated and saved the Journalists Estate residents from the king’s cudgels and party from the journalists’ pen.

Recently, the DG of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Runsewe, decided to wade into the issue and bring it to a close. Accompanied by the President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chris Isiguzo, and the Chairman of the NUJ Lagos Council, Adeleye Ajayi, Runsewe mediated for peace. Considering the aftermath and the smiles on the faces of the formerly contending parties, Runsewe’s gambit appears to have paid off.

The matter of the journalists versus the monarch reportedly has to do with the renaming of a road or something of that nature. The main point is that neither the journalists nor the king’s party which the journalists insisted consisted of thugs and the residents of Ebute under the name Beachland Estate Residents Association (BERA)) wanted to back off. Until Runsewe arrived at the scene.

It is obvious now that Runsewe is not only a genius at getting outsiders to pay attention to Nigeria’s historical and cultural uniqueness. He is also a peacemaker who has the best interests, physical and mental health included, of all and sundry in his heart.