Politics
THE CENTRAL Council of Ibadan Indigenes, CCII, has assured residents of Ibadan that the ongoing face off between Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Oba Saliu Adetunji, Olubadan of Ibadan, over the installation of 21 monarchs would not degenerate into crisis.
Yemi Soladoye, president general of the CCII, said the apex body of the Ibadan socio-cultural groups and elders were already making moves to end the crisis.
It is common knowledge that Adetunji is not favourably disposed to the review of the chieftaincy laws that allowed government to elevate high chiefs and some baales to become Obas in the town.
But the CCII at a press conference in Ibadan, on Tuesday, August 29, disclosed that more than 90 percent of Ibadan indigenes asked for a review of the Olubadan chieftaincy laws and appealed to the monarch to accept the people’s verdict.
The CCII president general said: “this change was initiated by the members of the Olubadan-in-Council, the CCII, the Ibadan elders and the civil populace of Ibadan land based on its desirability.
The CCII said it had watched with what it described as ‘measured caution’, the public reaction to the series of media misinformation on the subject matter and wished to put the record straight.
Soladoye said that the change that had just taken place in the ancient city was not only desired, initiated, supported but also applauded and appreciated by the generality of Ibadan indigenes worldwide.
Justifying the review by tracing the history of ascendancy of the Ibadan monarchs, the CCII president general recounted that during the time of Lagelu up to the perishing of the second Ibadan, various titles including Olubadan, Bashorun, Balogun, Aare were used to describe the leaders and kings in the city.
While noting that the city reverted to the title of Olubadan in the 1930s but without a crown, Soladoye noted that Ibadan monarch started wearing crowns during the time of Oba Gbadamosi Adebimpe in the late 70s, adding that the use of appellations after the name of Obas was also part of the changes that started in the late 1990 with Oba Yinusa Ogundipe.
He said: “The CCII was involved in the process by the time government set up the panel for the review and when the report came out, the CCII approved it and I can tell you that 90 per cent of Ibadan indigenes asked for the reform and supported it based on the issue we have been having.”
He lamented that an ugly bye-product of the unique ascension to the Olubadan throne is that many of them gets to the throne at the tail end of their lives. And which has resulted in the death of many High Chiefs who were so close to the throne.
He recalled that five members of the Olubadan-in-council had been lost in the past 20 months.
Stating that the council is not unaware of political coloration that crept into the progressive change at the eve of implementation, he noted that Ibadan remains a city where politics and public service are the largest industries
Soladoye, however, assured that the CCII would continue to mediate and consult the relevant stakeholders connected to ensure that the matter is settled amicably before it degenerates.
– Aug 30, 2017 @ 17:53 GMT
Tags: CENTRAL Council of Ibadan Indigenes Governor Abiola Ajimobi Oba Saliu Adetunji Olubadan-in-Council Yemi Soladoye
