Ninety percent of Ibadan indigenes at home and in the Diaspora
are in support of last Sunday's mass coronation of Ibadan high chiefs and some
Baales (village heads) to their new-beaded crown wearing status by Governor
Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) has
said on Tuesday.
Criticism has continued to trail last Sunday's traditional exercise,
as Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, did not only dissociate himself
from the elevation of the chiefs but had also staged a roadshow last Monday
around Ibadan metropolis to display to Ibadan indigenes and residents alike
that he remains the "only consenting authority on Ibadan chieftaincy
system."
But addressing a press conference on the perceived misgivings
over the crowning of the new Obas in the city, the CCII President General,
Chief Yemi Soladoye, said there is a history of chieftaincy reforms dating back
to the 19th century in the city, noting that the flawless succession system in
Ibadan was the result of several reviews.
According to Soladoye, high chiefs, who have been
elevated to the position of kings in Ibadan have always been accorded the
status of second class kings by the state government. He stated that the new
kings had no domain, meaning that Ibadanland remains under the Olubadan
authority.
He said: “The CCII wishes to confirm that the
change that has just taken place was desired, initiated, supported, applauded
and appreciated by the generality of Ibadan indigenes worldwide.
“Constant changes and reviews are in fact the
ingredients that have sustained our well-organised and rancour free ascension
to the throne of Olubadan of Ibadanland in almost 200 years of our existence.
During the time of Lagelu, our progenitor, up to the perishing of the second
Ibadan, we were using various titles including Olubadan and since the emergence
of this third Ibadan around 1820, tittles like Basorun, Balogun, Aare have been
used to describe our leaders.
“Nobody has created any new ruling house (with the
new system). The former high chiefs can now physically carry the authority of
the Olubadan for development in their communities and create flamboyancy around
the Kabiyesi at public functions. The new kings are not kings of anywhere as
they are still on the queue to become Olubadan and the imperial power over the
entire Ibadan land still resides with the Olubadan of Ibadan land.”
Soladoye explained that the Baales that were
elevated to king status were from satellite towns that were subdued by the
Ibadan warriors many years ago, adding that it was not an attempt to divide
Ibadan into several parts.
“The fact of the case is that satellite towns like
Ijaiye-Orile, Erunmu, Lalupon had in fact existed before the present Ibadan but
having defeated them in wars, so we demoted their kings and annexed them to
Ibadan. The new arrangement is a manifestation of the usual magnanimity and
hospitality of Ibadan people but they wear the coronet from the Olubadan and
not their ancestral crowns in the new dispensation. Some of the crowns are also
granted to protect our border towns,” the CCII boss noted.
In the same vein, one of the newly promoted Obas and
former Governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, has said the state
government has shown beyond reasonable doubt that he is the prime target of the
review of Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration by asking him to either “join in the
mockery of obaship and agree to be made a government-appointed oba” or forfeit
his right to the throne.
Ladoja, who spoke through his media aide, Alhaji Lanre
Latinwo, said he remained the Osi Olubadan of Ibadanland and would neither
agree to be a government-appointed oba with no domain, chiefs and subjects nor
“support attempt at desecrating the Olubadan throne.”
No comments:
Post a Comment