Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun yesterday broke 28-year-old Obaship jinx in Ijebu-Igbo, with the presentation of certificate and staff of office to the newly crowned Prince and Orimolusi of the ancient town, Oba Lawrence Jaiyeoba Adebajo.
He advised him to make himself accessible, receptive and responsive to the yearnings of his subjects.
For a people that had endured almost three decades of Obaship interregnum that left Ijebu-Igbo with stunted growth, there was a tumultuous excitement, which erupted from the indigenes, who converged on Abusi Edumare School playground, venue of the ceremony, to witness the historical moment, as Governor Abiodun presented the instrument of office to Oba Adebajo.
He succeeded the late Oba Samuel Adetayo, Ikupakude IV, the Orimolusi, who joined his ancestors in May 1994.
Abiodun, who noted that Ijebu- Igbo would begin to witness upward swing with the installation of the new Orimolusi, said he was always traumatised beyond words each time he heard of Ogun youths’ involvement in killings and dismembering of human beings for rituals.
He solicited the support of traditional rulers to stop the scourge through preaching and acting as good moral compass and mentors to children and youths.
Noting that money should not be the sole determinant of success, the governor urged the monarch to continue to champion efforts that would enhance peaceful co-existence with other royal fathers in Ijebu-Igbo and its environs, to justify the mandate and trust reposed in him by the state government.
He congratulated Ijebu-Igbo indigenes, who had waited for almost three decades for the new monarch, and the entire people of Ijebuland on the coronation, which, according to him, had opened a new phase in the traditional lives of Ijebu-Igbo people.
Abiodun also hailed the Prof. Ademola Adedeji-led 11-member kingmakers/warrant chiefs, for carrying out a process that was open, transparent and credible.
The governor recalled that “this is the third interregnum the stool of Orimolusi has witnessed.”
He said: “The first one was between 1887and1889, the second happened from 1905 to 1928, while this one lasted from 1994 to 2021.”
Abiodun added: “All of us must have learnt one or two things in the intervening period and realised that together we can achieve more.”