Ola Ajayi
6 January 2009
Ibadan — THE FOUR Ibadan high chiefs who are seeking elevation to the status of crown-wearing kings yesterday shunned the meeting summoned by the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana.
Oba Odulana had invited all the Mogajis (community heads) and village heads in his domain to attend the meeting where the fate of the chiefs who were clamouring for elevation would be decided.
The affected chiefs are Baale of Ido, Chief Benjamin Ishola; Onijaye of Ijaye, Chief Oladejo Egunjobi; and Onilalupon of Lalupon, Chief Akinmoyede Olahanloye and Baale of Latunde, Chief Ladosun Latunde.
However, at the meeting, the Olubadan-in-Council vowed to depose the chiefs if they persisted in wearing the crowns despite the warning of the monarch that the rules guiding the chieftaincy titles in the ancient city did not give them room to do so.
The meeting had all the members of the council, Chief Bode Amao, Chief Omowale Kuye, Ambassador Olu Saanu, Senator Lekan Balogun, Chief Theophilus Akinyele, Alhaji Azeem Gbolarumi and other important sons and daughters of Ibadan in attendance.
The council called on Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to prevail on the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Hosea Agboola, over the alleged unnecessary division of Ibadanland to municipal and less city.
The council also for the umpteenth time condemned the plan by the government to give approval for the elevation of the chiefs.
The statement which was signed by the Secretary of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes, Chief Gbade Lana, advised the government not to disorganise the arrangement of Ibadan chieftaincy titles.
It reads, "The recent attempts by a number of baales to seek approval of the state government to wear beaded- crown should be rejected. The approval of the beaded- crown for any baale constitutes an assault to our valued custom and tradition."
The action, if carried out, it said, could pitch the chiefs against the monarch.
Senator Balogun alleged that the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs was only giving undue recognition to the chiefs to limit the influence of the Olubadan.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
