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| Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III |
Our correspondent went into Oyo town to see what was happening in the great ancient town since the passing of the erudite traditional ruler who is also the foremost traditional ruler in Yorubaland. Information gathered is that there are many trending issues in tbe great town and some are highly controversial but they all seems to be kind of interwoven. The title of this report is a very knotty matter in Oyo metropolis and there have been controversies on it and it had dated back a number of decades.
Up until this recent peace moves as championed by the Basorun according to some sources, the world would not have know that there were some internal disputes in Oyo Alaafin according to some people who spoke to us on condition of anonymity. Oyo Alaafin is a very popular ancient town with an ancient throne which history have shown that it bequeathed civilization to the Yorubas. The Alaafin is the head of the Yoruba Empire called Oyo Empire which covered from parts of the current Niger State to the entire western region into Dahomey, Atakpame in Ghana.
Today we are where we are because of politics and politicians. There have been desires by successive governments to whittle down the power of the Alaafin but that can only happen if the old Oyo Empire and history of the Yorubas were abolished made never to have happened. The powers of the Alaafin may not be as it was in those days but there are certain powers that still remains as it is. History have it that the Oyo that exists today is that of Alaafin Atiba. We are not going into that history but we wanted to give a bit of the background after the fall of the Old Oyo Empire.
It will be thirty years (30yrs) by the end of this year in the month of November 1992 when the late Chief Amuda Olorunkosebi was gruesomely murdered and that created the vacancy of the title amongst the Oyomesi. It is a fact that the late Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III may have dispute with a chief but it is not on record that after he had installed a chief he would uninstall the chief all because they do not have the same ideology or there are disputes despite the facts that he is their consenting authority.
We are looking at the title of Ashipa of Oyo and the current circumstances that seems to be surrounding it vis-a-vis a number of things that had taken place in the past or that is taking place now. Records have it that for many years it seems that some people from Isale Oyo have not been favorably disposed to the late Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III after the untimely death of the late Ashipa of Oyo. Incidentally, the mother of the late Alaafin, Ayaba Ibironke Adeyemi was from Isale Oyo in the today's Atiba local government.
We have no intentions of delving or cataloguing incidences that had taken place in the past pre-Ashipa Amuda Olorunkosebi but we want to look at the position of things and where things stand today. A few days ago, a meeting was held in the house of the Alago-Oja and it was widely circulated in the media with lots of publicity. There were various rumors and factional stories that was said to have led to the meeting.
It is on record that Isale Oyo have produced Federal Honorables like Hon. Segun Taiwo, Hon. Kamil Mudashiru Akinlabi both are from Isale Oyo with support from the late Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III and there are many projects that have been facilitated by Hon. Akeem Adeyemi who is the honorable representing Oyo Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives in Abuja in the last two terms. There is no time or record that any of the projects or transformers that have been facilitated by Hon. Akeem Adeyemi have ever been rejected by the Isale Oyo community. There could be areas of disagreements but all who are from Oyo Alaafin and all who live in Oyo know and agree that Oyo is one room where all are all one and same family. Some even say Oyo Alaafin is a room and parlour. The bottom line is that Oyo town is one family. Hardly have there been reports of these brothers or family at daggers drawn, rather they do have different opinions which is human nature and everyone can't all be on same side.
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| Hon. Akeem Adeyemi (MHR) |
A rumor had it that before the purported visit to the Alago-Oja by the Basorun and Lagunna members of the Oyomesi, the Alago-Oja was said to be threatening to take the people of Obada market which the late Alaafin established to court that they are occupying his father's land and he was going to get an injunction from the court for them to vacate the land. The other rumor was that the Basorun of Oyo who led another Chief Lagunna of Oyo both members of Oyomesi to the house of Alago-Oja were said to be returning a visit which the Alago-Oja had earlier paid to the Basorun of Oyo. In the entire video that is widely circulating on the internet of the visit, there was no mention of any of the rumors that were said to have taken place sequel to the visit.
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| "I was misled to confront the Alaafin" Akala |
The genesis of where we are in Oyo metropolis or at Atiba local government was that at the tail end of the tenure of the Ogbomoso born politician and now late former governor of Oyo State, Chief (Dr) Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala after losing the 2011 elections to the now late Ibadan born politician, Senator Isiaq Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi thought of ways to spite the Alaafin of Oyo and to possibly ridicule the Alaafin as he believed he lost the election to the Alaafin not to Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala explored two strategies, he hurriedly went to the Oyo State House of Assembly and have them hurriedly pass a bill for the rotation of the seat of the Chairmanship of Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs of which Alaafin was the Permanent Chairman between the Alaafin, Soun of Ogbomoso and Olubadan which was challenged in court and it is still at the supreme court without judgement and till today the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs have not reconvened since then. Actually it is on record that the late Alaafin of Oyo was the one that presented the Olubadan and Soun of Ogbomoso for them to be promoted and to adorn beaded crown from been a Baale to a traditional ruler with a beaded crown which is the most coveted paraphernalia of office of a traditional ruler.
The second strategy was to cause disaffection in Oyo between the people of Isale Oyo and the Alaafin as the governor created a title called "Alago-Oja" which is not in the government gazette or chieftaincy declarations in Oyo State with no precedence and installed a traditional ruler to be ruling in Oyo making more than one traditional ruler in Oyo town. This was also challenged in court because "the existence of a Baale presupposes there is a king to whom he owes allegiance." The court ruled in the favor of Alaafin and the Alago-Oja was stopped from parading himself as a traditional ruler, he was subsequently sent out of the court of Ashipa.
There is an Ashipa family from where succession of Ashipa comes from. Initially the Alago-Oja had occupied the Court of Ashipa and he was driven out with an armoured personnel carrier stationed at the entrance through-out the tenure of late Governor Abiola Ajimobi to enforce the court order. With the departure of the Alaafin and the peace meeting purportedly held by Basorun where it was said by some people that the Basorun wanted to make peace between Isale Oyo, the family of the late Ashipa and the Alago-Oja. Eventually from inference of the Alago-Oja speech at the meeting, where he claims to be the landlord of this present Oyo and he would continue to possibly rule because he can now breathe a fresh air now. It now looks like the title of the family or title of Ashipa may be or it has gone into extinction as the Alago-Oja will not want to back down as a traditional ruler.
It is on record that as at the time of the visit of the Basorun to the palace of the Alago-Oja there were six Oyomesis alive namely Basorun, Agbaakin, Samu, Alapinni, Lagunna and Akinniku. It was only Basorun and Lagunna that went and from some media report monitored where it was said afterwards that there were insinuations that the Oyomesis are divided, the crux of their matters is actually unknown maybe it is connected to the recent visit or other things. Today the Alapinni of Oyo who is a member of the Oyomesi have become vacant on the sudden departure of the occupier of the title due to ill health.
The selection process for the new Alaafin of Oyo amongst the Agunloye Ruling family was ongoing when the visit of Basorun of Oyo to Alago-Oja took place. No one can tell if the visit was at the instance of the ruling house looking to succeed the Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III or possibly it was the last wish of the late Alaafin Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III or it could be efforts of the Basorun and Lagunna. According to the speeches that were made at the palace of the Alago-Oja as speakers were harping that they record and transmit the visit for posterity, that there was a Basorun of Oyo named High Chief Yusuf Akinade Olayinka I who visited the palace of the Alago-Oja for a peace meeting.
The begging questions remains:
1. What is the position of the law on the ruling giving by the court of competent jurisdiction on this case of Alaafin and Alago-Oja?
2. Does the visit of the Basorun of Oyo validate the chieftaincy title of Alago-Oja as a traditional ruler in Oyo metropolis?
3. The title of Ashipa amongst Oyomesi is it still amongst Oyomesi titles or it has been replaced by Alago-Oja since the Alago-Oja traditional ruler claims ownership of Oyo?
4. Whose responsibility is it to organize the peace meeting: Alaafin, Basorun or Alago-Oja?
5. What will the new Alaafin of Oyo do on the issues Alago-Oja and Asipa of Oyo after ascending the throne?
These are questions that are begging for answers. Kindly leave your thoughts in the comments section of this writing.
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