WITH the demise of the 50th Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, a leadership tussle has started brewing in Osun State as traditional rulers in the state are jostling to head the Council of Obas.
The headship of the traditional institution in Osun State became open and has snowballed into a simmering crisis as two first class monarchs are at each other’s throats to lead the council.
Prior to his death, Oba Sijuwade was the permanent chairman of the council. His exit left the headship seat vacant.
As a matter of fact, before Osun State was carved out of Oyo State, two prominent traditional leaders, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III and the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Sijuwade were locked in leadership tussle of the traditional council of Obas.
To ensure cordial relationship between government and the traditional institution, each state across the federation composed its council of traditional rulers, having chairmen, who head the council.
Chairmanship position
While some states often rotate the chairmanship position, others are permanent. Interestingly, while the 49th Ooni of Ife, Oba Adesoji Aderemi was alive, he was made the permanent chairman of the council.
The then military administrator of Oyo State, Major General David Jemibewo (retd), had in 1976, decreed the Ooni of Ife as the permanent chairman of the State Council of Obas and Chiefs.
After Aderemi was succeeded by the immediate past Oba Sijuwade and made the permanent chairman of the council by the Bola Ige-led administration in the old Oyo state, the announcement did not go down well with the likes of the Alaafin, Olubadan of Ibadan, the Soun of Ogbomoso and the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, who all wanted the headship of the council rotated.
Besides this, when Sijuwade became Ooni of Ife in December 1980, he inherited an ongoing supremacy dispute among the traditional rulers in Yoruba land.
The crisis, traced to 1967, was as a result of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s emergence as the leader of the Yoruba.
Infact, the crisis was as a result of a fallout between Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola during the First Republic, which led to a division among the traditional rulers.
Though the dispute calmed down when Osun State was carved out of Oyo State in August 1991, but ill-will persisted.
Fresh crisis
The dispute was however laid to rest with the creation of Osun State, while the Ooni of Ife became the permanent chairman of the council of Obas and chiefs in Osun State
Tussle re-enacted: With the Ooni of Ife stool vacant, a fresh crisis has emerged with notable monarchs in the state laying claim to the headship of the council.
A condolence advertorial allegedly published by Oba Aromolaran over the demise of the Ooni, reportedly ignited the feud among the monarchs recently.
It was alleged that in the advertorial, the Ijesha monarch was referred to as the acting chairman of the Council of Obas.
Also, in the said advertorial, Oba Aromolaran was alleged to have referred to the Council of Obas as Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers.
Another area of contention was the purported arrogation of the acting chairmanship of the Osun State Council of Obas to himself in the said advertorial by Oba Adekunle Aromolaran. A development which drew the ire of other traditional rulers in the state.
In an attempt to set the records straight, the Orangun of Ila-Orangun, Oba Abdul-Wahab Olukayode Oyedotun Bibiire declared that the Owa remains a co-Deputy Chairman of the council. Besides, he frowned at the Ilesa monarch’s alleged attempt to claim the position of acting chairman of the council.
Oba Oyedotun, who expressed disgust over the development, insisted that the publications were misleading, stressing that “Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers does not exist, neither is there any acting chairman in the person of Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran II”.
He also disclosed that until his demise, the late Sijuwade remained the bonafide chairman of Osun State Council of Obas, adding that no chairman had been appointed as his successor since then.
He said “while the late Oba Sijuwade was the permanent chairman and the position was officially proclaimed by Government, the arrogation of the position of Acting Chairman on the Owa Obokun of Obokun by himself is, to say the least, illegal.”
Obaship hierarchy
The monarch who stated that the Orangun of Ila position in the obaship hierarchy is superior to that of Owa of Obokun, lamented that “I am surprised to have found the name of Orangun of Ila below that of Owa Obokun in the publications which must have sent a wrong information to millions of Nigerians.”
He, therefore, drew the attention of the State Government, Nigerians and the entire Yoruba race to the fact that the Owa of Obokun position does not take precedence over the Orangun of Ila, insisting that Oba Gabriel Adekunle only attempted to “concoct, basterdise and subvert facts.”
For the Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Abioye Oluronke, drawing attention to what has been done wrongly by Owa of Ilesha does not indicate that there is a grouse among the Obas in the state.
He said: “We do not want the public and historians to take what Owa has done as correct in order not create the impression that he is right and use it as a precedence. He is on his own as far as the Obas Council is concerned. It is a distortion of historical fact to place Owa ahead of Orangun in hierarchical order.”
On his part, the Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, Lamimisa I, who noted that no Oba in the State was against the placement of the advertorial said “the Orangun of Ila was supportive of the move but there was a deliberate attempt to subvert a historical truth.”
He was quick to add that; “There is the need to correct the relegation of Orangun below his status. In the order of precedence, as the first son of Oduduwa, he must come before Owa in order of precedence. No Oba can arrogate the position of Acting Chairman of Osun State Council of Obas to himself.”
In an effort to set the records straight, he said; “No Oba can promote himself to any position; it has to be done by government since the Council of Obas is a statutory body created by the state government.”
Oba Rasheed Olabomi, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, for his part said: “This is the right time to sit down and correct the obvious lapses. Government needs to call a meeting following the demise of Oba Sijuwade who was the chairman to officially announce an acting chairman for the Council.”
The Orangun of Ila seized the opportunity, on behalf of the Obas, to condole with the Sijuwade family, traditional rulers, the people of Ile-Ife and the entire Yoruba race on the transition of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, whom he described as ‘ a great monarch.’
Tradition rulers in attendance at the briefing include the Olunisa of Inisa, Oba Joseph Fasikun; Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal; Elerin of Erin-Osun, Oba Yussuf Omoloye Oyagbodun; Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Abioye Oluronke and Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Rasheed Olabomi.
Until the king-makers in Ile Ife with the help of Ifa oracle choose the next Ooni of Ife, the headship of the Osun State Council of Obas and Chiefs, will remain in contention.
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