Contrary to our newspaper report in the February, 2016 edition that the next royal family to produce the next Oba of Igbogbo, Ijaolu has already submitted three names to the four kingmakers in the town, for them to pick the qualified person based on what the Ifa oracle revealed, the kingmakers have denied the report and vehemently asserted that they have neither requested nor received any list of candidates for the coveted throne from any of the five ruling houses.
This assertion was made in reaction to the protest letter written to the kingmakers by one of the ruling houses, Oshinbokunren Royal family, accusing them of not carrying them along in the process of filling the vacant Obaship stool, due to the report in Oriwu Sun newspaper.
At a meeting, which was held at the Adeboruwa Palace in Igbogbo on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, and attended by the kingmakers, traditional Chiefs, Oriwu Sun newspaper, represented by the news editor, Mufutau Jimoh, and a host of members of the Oshibokunren royal family, High Chief Tajudeen Onasanya, the Odofin of Igbogbo, who spoke on behalf of his fellow kingmakers, stated that the clarification became necessary in order to set the record straight to prevent the report from generating unnecessary controversies capable of causing tension in the peace -loving community, and to also allay the fears of members of the Oshibokunren royal family that they were working against their interest in the Obaship race.
He said that the kingmakers were embarrassed and confused when they saw the report and wondered who could have been behind the source of such an objectionable and untrue information.
Chief Onasanya stressed that he and his colleagues have not at any time requested or received any list of contenders from any of the ruling houses for consideration.
He explained that the kingmakers had only written to the state government informing them of the vacuum in the Obaship position of Igbogbo and are yet to receive response from the state government on the next line of action to be taken.
The Odofin said he understood that Oriwu Sun is doing its professional job of keeping the people abreast of the situation surrounding the vacant Adeboruwa stool but however appealed that further reports on the Obaship process should be confirmed from the kingmakers to avoid publishing stories capable of generating controversy and tension in the town.
He also urged members of the Oshibokunren royal house not to further entertain any fear over the report as the kingmakers are committed to making the process of producing a new oba fair to all the ruling houses.
In the same vein, High Chief Jelili Adesola Oduntan, in his own brief reaction, said the report would not have generated any controversy if the writer had contacted the palace for clarification before going to press. He appealed that the paper should always contact the kingmakers on any report concerning obaship matter to ensure balance and fairness.
Oriwu Sun news editor, Mufutau Jimoh, while making a brief remark on behalf of the publisher, Chief Monzor Olowosago, said the paper had published the story with regard to its professional responsibility of keeping the people in the know about the development surrounding the making of a new Oba in Igbogbo and not otherwise.
While stressing that Oriwu Sun does not have any vested interest in who becomes the next Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, he stated that the paper had attended the meeting to hear the grievances of all the parties on the report and publish it to set the record straight.
A key member of the Oshibokunren royal family, Alhaji Mubasiru Hassan, in his short remarks, commended the kingmakers for deeming it fit to call the meeting to clarify the controversy surrounding the newspaper report.
He said the clarifications made by the kingmakers were satisfactory to the entire members of the Oshibokunren royal family and expressed their confidence in them to make the Obaship process devoid of controversy.
And while corroborating the statement of Alhaji Hassan, the family head of the Oshibokunren royal family, Elder (Chief) Ayodele Osho-Ashafa explained that the family had alleged the kingmakers of complicity in the report because they did not inform his family that they have received list of contenders for the throne from any of the ruling houses despite attending all meeting called by them until they read about it in Oriwu Sun. He said, this was an attempt to shut them out of the race for the throne despite being entitled to contest as one of the five main ruling houses in Igbogbo, hence, the reason for the protest letter.
Elder Ashafa however said the meeting called by the kingmakers to deny the report has reassured him and his family that they knew nothing about the report and that they have confidence in their ability to be fair to all the ruling houses. Also, he told the kingmakers that apart from writing a protest letter to them, the family, through their counsel, had also written a letter to Oriwu Sun newspaper to protest the exclusion of the Oshibokunren ruling house from the four ruling houses mentioned in its report, adding that the family is seeking a redress to the report.
But in a swift reaction, Chief Onasanya expressed his dismay over the letter written by the Oshibokunren royal family to Oriwu Sun, insisting that the family should have waited for the intervention of the kingmakers on the matter before taking such step.
And when the representative of Oriwu Sun at the meeting asked the kingmakers about the veracity of the claim by the Oshibokunren royal family that the family has been included as one of the main ruling houses in Igbogbo as inferred in the protest letter to the paper, Chief Onasanya answered in the affirmative. He explained that although, there are only four ruling houses (Ijaolu, Fadugba, Ayangolu and Rademo) recognized in the 1957 Chieftaincy Declaration, which was the customary law that was regulating the appointment of the Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, the inclusion of the Oshibokunren ruling houses has however increase the number to five.
Chief Onasanya added that the last letters by the state government to the ruling houses, through the kingmakers, on the Obaship matter were addressed to five ruling houses instead of four and this according to him, confirmed that the state government recognizes the Oshibokunren ruling house as one of the main ruling houses in Igbogbo.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview with elder (Chief) Ayodele Osho-Ashafa, Head of Oshibokunren Royal family, he explained that the controversial 1957 chieftaincy declaration came into being during the reign of Late Oba Omolaja Ogunlewe and Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Oba of Igbogbo and Governor of Western region respectively, to ensure that the succession arrangement to the Obaship throne in the region was of devoid controversy. He, however, claimed that the existence of the declaration was not known to anybody in Igbogbo town until seventeen (17) years after, when Oba Ogunlewe died and another Oba was to be crowned through the provision of the declaration.
He said the entire town, particularly the Oshibokunren royal family, protested against the use of the declaration to select the next Oba because no enquiry was set up before it became law, but the protest could not achieve the desired result because of the military government that was in power then and as a result of that, the declaration was used to select Oba Omolaja Odugbose from the Ayangolu ruling house in 1975 and his successor, Late Oba Johnson Fatola (JP) from the Rademo ruling house in 1977. He added that even though his family was more concerned about their exclusion, the protest was also about the selection process for the Olisa and Aro titles in the declaration.
Elder Ashafa further explained that the first enquiry on the declaration, which was set up by the government in 1994 due to their persistent protest, was however truncated by a court injunction instituted by Late Chief Nurudeen Alowonle, who was a member of the Fadugba ruling house of Igbogbo.
He stressed that the resolve of members of the Oshibokunren royal family to seek redress for the injustice done to them by the exclusion of their family from the 1957 declaration made them to write the Lagos State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, urging them to represent the declaration at the tribunal after the court injunction was struck out in 2004/2005 by Justice Kayode Ogunnekan.
Elder Ashafa, however, said the Late Oba Fatola, in a bid to ensure a peaceful settlement to the controversy surrounding the 1957 Declaration, appealed to the Oshibokunren family not to wash the dirty linen of the town at the tribunal and consequently, called a peace meeting of all the four ruling houses and the Oshibokunren family, where it was agreed that the Oshibokunren family should become the fifth ruling house in Igbogbo.
According to the family head, the resolutions from the peace meeting, which have now became the new chieftaincy declaration of Igbogbo, were drafted by the duo of Barrister Akin Duyilemi (Esq) and Barrister Olu Otayomi (Esq,), who were counsels to the four ruling houses and late Oba Fatola respectively, and signed by all the representatives of the five ruling houses and the drafted document was forwarded to a Tribunal chaired by Justice Olasehinde Silva in 2007 by Oba Fatola, while the report of the tribunal submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in 2009.
Elder Ashafa claimed that by the order of arrangement in the new declaration, the next ruling house to produce Oba after the Rademo ruling house is the Oshibokunren royal family and also added that it is only his family, of all the ruling houses, that has not produced an oba while all other ruling houses had at one time or the other produced a king.
He said the entire Oshibokunren ruling house was shocked to read from Oriwu Sun newspaper that the Kingmakers have received a list of three candidates from the Ijaolu ruling house for consideration.
According to him, the report contradicted the outcome of the last meeting held on December 18, 2015 between the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and all the five ruling houses, where it was resolved that all the ruling houses should go back home and settle the issues amicably.
The head of the Oshibokunren ruling house stated that his family had since written a protest letter to the kingmakers demanding a clarification on the newspaper report and were happy that they had denied receiving such a list.
On the claim by the Ijaolu ruling house that they are the next to produce Oba, Elder Ashafa said since the family has not denied Oshibokunren royal house as one of the ruling houses, there is no way the family, which is number one (according to the arrangement in the new declaration) would produce the next king when the family in number five (Oshibokunren royal family) is yet to produce an Oba.
He described the argument by the Ijaolu family that the new declaration cannot be used in selecting the next Oba since it has not been approved by the state government as unfortunate, adding that the unanimous agreement made by the five ruling houses is a law and should be binding on all parties involved whether it is approved by the state government or not.
Elder Ashafa stated that the failure of the state government to approve the new declaration since it was submitted over seven years ago should not be used by any party as an excuse to destabilize the rotation arrangement agreed upon by all the ruling houses.
He urged both the state government and kingmakers to ensure that the next Oba of Igbogbo emerge from the Oshibokunren ruling house based on the arrangement in the new chieftaincy declaration of the town for justice and peace.
On whether the Oshibokunren ruling house has any qualified candidate for the coveted throne, Elder Ashafa said the family has already lined up two qualified persons but is only waiting for the controversy on which ruling house is next to produce the next Oba to be resolved before revealing their identities to the public.