 |
| Governor Seyi Makinde and Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III |
Written by Oladotun Oladele
It is very important to examine what are the far reaching implication(s) of the vacancy of the Paramount and most revered traditional throne in the entire Yoruba land. Be it as it may, Old Oyo Empire is the source of the name "YORUBA" and it is also the national language of the empire. There are other languages too which are predominantly subsets or branches of the mother language of the empire just as we have "English language" as the national language of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a result of the incidence of colonial masters exploits in Nigeria from whom we got independence in 1960.
We can't look at the throne of the Alaafin of Oyo without a recourse to the history of how it came to be. As much as we would not want to delve into the history of Oyo, the Alaafin and it's successions, the current intrigues playing out after the last Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III joined his ancestors have called for the need for people of great minds to actually ask so many questions which have hitherto been unanswered and this have stalled the expected progress that ought to have actually taken place, which is the installation and coronation of the Alaafin of Oyo.
We are in the twenty-third month since the throne have become vacant and purportedly there are princes who are jostling to occupy the most prestigious and highly exalted throne of the Alaafin. As we speak there seems not to be a headway and the people who are supposed to make the decisions for the entire Yoruba race seems so oblivious of the damages they are doing to the institution which had long existed long before their own forefathers by their not coming together to select the Alaafin of Oyo.
Our situation looks like we are all held captive in perpetuity by the Oyomesis the traditional cabinet of the Alaafin who are saddled with the responsibility of selecting a successor when the throne is vacant for continuity. Today, there are only five living high chiefs (5 Oyomesis) and by number they are seven high chiefs. In the absence of the others, the law allows the nomination of warrant chiefs to make up the numbers. The bone of contention is, why can't these 5 high chiefs and the warrant chiefs they have or will be appointed come to a logical conclusion in the selection of an Alaafin? This is one big question that is actually leaving every right thinking friends, families, lovers and indigene of Oyo stupified.
How long will the people of Oyo Alaafin, Oyo State, Nigeria and the world in general have to wait before the selection of the new Alaafin remains a thought in limbo or best put absolutely evasive. No one seems to have an answer to this very pertinent question.
The reason(s) is not far fetched, there are reports that there is a division amongst the kingmakers who up till this moment have not actually thrown physical punches at each other but the information in the news only informed everyone that things are not well amongst members of the ancient towns' kingmakers which have continued unabated and from all these chaos there seems to be someone or some people who are actually profiting from this eventual chaos.
Who is actually benefiting from these whole panorama going on? The former occupant of the throne was known for promoting the traditional institution as the consenting authority. Over 30 traditional rulers in Oke Ogun became beaded wearing traditional rulers as their consenting authority. When a traditional ruler passes on, the kingmakers from the towns where the Alaafin is their consenting authority come to Oyo to break the news and there are very unique and important parts that the Alaafin do take in the burial of these traditional rulers and when it comes to their ascension to the thrones of their forebears.
The existence of a Baale presupposes there is a King to whom owes allegiance. It is a traditional ruler who presents a Baale to the traditional council for upgrades this seems to have been overridden by new amended chiefs laws of Oyo State. Up till the eventual departure of the Alaafin, there were hierarchy and who knows what hierarchy exists since the government have been empowered by law concerning awards of crowns.
For the government, they are on holiday because history has it that until the passing of the late Alaafin, there was no traditional ruler who have taken the government to court and won against them like Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III who is reputed for his courage and boldness. The Alaafin of Oyo like the Lion King is the King of the jungle and every animal is a potential lunch and when the King is in active capacity he leads the Pride. Without any iota of doubt, the influence and impact of the late Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III based on incontrovertible evidences at his disposal aside the facts that his forebears founded the longest empire ever founded by a black man, he was reputed to be highly cerebral.
What do we have today, after his departure, we had 119 applicants for the throne. 80 were invited for screening, 60 candidates were interviewed, there is the claim that the Mogaji of the ruling house who was given the letter for the submission of names of eligible candidates for the throne submitted 49 to Baba Iyaji and others went to submit individually without regards to the coordination of the Mogaji of Agunloye ruling house whose turn it is to present the next Alaafin.
To make the situation more precarious, there was the allegations of a choice candidate and the letter was been circulated online but there was no evidence of such letter having been submitted to the government offices at Atiba local government with stamp showing receipt and the office of the Governor of Oyo State through the office of the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy matters at the Secretariat which should be on an official letter head which should be as a result of the report of the meeting held with the minutes of the adoption. Who acted as secretary and how it was adopted.
Everyone is wondering how is it that it should be done? From even the foregoing, the Oyomesis who instituted the law suit against the government over an alleged candidate that they claim they had appointed and presented in writing brings so many doubts to the entire processes that they say they (Oyomesis) actually conducted. Many are asking, what are the interests of the Oyomesis in the candidate that they sued the government over? Anyone who occupies the throne of the Alaafin, the Oyomesis are meant to work with him and not be fighting for a candidate even if they have an/any interest in any candidate that is contesting for the exalted position. The question that is begging for answers are, do they have any precedences to what they are doing by taking the government to court over the government not announcing the name of a candidate that they purportedly said they submitted to the government? We are all still waiting to see the duplicate copy receipt from the registry of the local government and state governments whole waiting for the outcome of the litigation in court between a faction of the Oyomesis and the government.
Oyos believe in due processes and they do say that when you make an assertion you must prove it. Search is still on to see if there are certified true copies of the purported letter signed by the Oyomesis that was given to the government showing it was registered with date, time and signature of the person who received it. In this age of educational advancement even people who are not lettered understand the importance of certified true copies even with cases in court, who knows if there is an end in sight for this?
A few days ago in Oyo Alaafin, there was the purported execution of a court judgement by the people of Awe town on Kieseni and some villages instead of alternative dispute resolutions because information reaching us was that the lawsuit that was actually adjudicated over at the Supreme Court didn't include Kieseni from the beginning. If an Alaafin had been on the throne at least the Baale of Awe (Alawe) is still under the Alaafin who is the consenting authority. I don't know if the new law of Oyo State permits local government to make someone a Baale? Anyone that will become a Baale must be installed by a king and his promotion is subject to the king who is his consenting authority.
As the endless waiting for the selection and enthronement of the new Alaafin continues to linger, the traditional institution continues to suffer great erosions and setbacks because the institution of the traditional rulers is not on the exclusive list of the government as the government seems to be deciding it. Is it possible for the federal government of Nigeria to impose a traditional ruler on a state or the nation? The federal government duty is to appoint politicians into offices to work together and not traditional rulers. The place of the government is the recognition of the traditional rulers after the due processes have been followed for emergence and installation. The issue of litigations is not new when it comes to traditional rulers after ascension to the thrones. The eligible princes from the ruling houses know that only one of them will eventually emerge but for the records, whether they emerge or not, they strongly believe that it's their inalienable right to vie for the vacant throne.
What will become of the traditional institutions after the departure of Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III is only in the imaginations because "Aise Dada Araiye, Loje Ki A Ma Ranti Awon Baba Wa L'Orun" (The misbehaviours of the people of the earth, makes us remember the times of our forebears or forefathers in heaven). When we look at all that is happening, it looks like the eventual prayers of those who want to destroy the traditional institution of the Alaafin are been answered and unbeknownst to them, their institutions would be destroyed also because strike the shepherd, the flocks will flee and they will all become expeditions for those who have long dssired to pocket them. At this stage the government if they are serious should intervene and convey a meeting where they would resolve this imbroglio just like it happened during the era of the late Alaafin Oba Adeyemi III in which the process was done again. What is uncertain is that, the candidate for which these Oyomesis sued the government, what will become of that lawsuit, "Ai lo ile ejo, ka pada wa di ore" (you don't go to court and come back as friends is the adage).
Comments
Post a Comment