Awori indigenes of Ojo Kingdom have cautioned indigenes
of Iba to stop laying claim to the ownership of the land on which the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo campus is sited.
They said the large expanse of land belongs to their forefathers and has not been ceded to any other kingdom.
This was their response to a remark by the traditional ruler of a neighbouring kingdom, Oba Sulaiman Adeshina Raji, the Oniba Ekun of Iba kingdom, who claimed that the land belongs to the Awori of Iba kingdom.
Raji had stated at the 40th anniversary and 26th convocation of LASU that the land belongs to Iba kingdom.
He was thanking Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the management of the university for the Honorary Doctorate conferred on him.
However, at a press conference at the palace of the Olojo of Ojo kingdom, Oba Galib Adeniyi Rufai (Ade-Ife 1), the Ojo Kingdom claimed that the indigenes had been bothered since the remarks by the Oniba and wanted to know if the land had been ceded.
The Otunba of Ojo Kingdom, Chief Sulaiman Obasa, said the palace of the Olojo Kingdom had been inundated with several calls seeking clarification.
He said the land is owned by the Awori indigenes of Ojo kingdom and had not been ceded.
Justifying his claim, Obasa quoted the Law of Lagos State Vol.5, part 1, setting up the institution, saying the law recognises it as LASU, Ojo.
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Obasa added that the law stated that the university will operate a multi-campus at Ojo, Epe, Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu and Lagos Island as may be determined.
To further buttress his assertion, Obasa said the immediate past monarch of Iba kingdom, Oba Yishau Goriola Oseni, had dragged the management of LASU and Ojo indigenes to a Lagos High Court over the ownership of the land and was resolved in their favour and that of LASU.
He said it was clear that the school is sited on a land owned by Ojo Kingdom and that this should not be a subject of controversy from any quarter.
“We hereby state unequivocally that the expanse of land on which the main campus of the Lagos State University (LASU) is sited is owned by the Awori indigenes of Ojo kingdom and has not been ceded to any other kingdom or individuals.
“In a nutshell, we wouldn’t have bothered ourselves glorifying wrong information as peddled. However, we felt it is imperative to correct the wrong impression, most importantly, since it was uttered by a respected and reverred monarch in the person of Oba Sulaiman Adeshina Raji, the Oniba Ekun of Iba kingdom.’’
Stating that the Ojo Kingdom holds the Oniba in high esteem and bears no grouse against him, Obasa said the kingdom felt it became imperative to straighten the records.
” We are also embarking on this “fact-stating mission” to avoid an occurrence similar to the most unfortunate bloody clash that erupted between Ife and Modakeke few years ago in Osun State, where several lives were lost and property perished,” he said.
Also, an elder of the Iloro Ruling House and the Apex Leader of All Progressive Congress (APC), Ojo Federal Constituency, Alhaji Raji Olorunfunmi, explained that the land was handed over to the state government in the early 70s before it was converted to the university in 1983 by the administration of the late Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande.
According to him, a river path,which is some few metres away from the back of the university, is the boundary between Ojo and Iba.