The chairmanship of the Traditional Council in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area of Ekiti State is causing tension among three first-class monarchs and their subjects. The crisis has snowballed into a street protest and exchange of words among them. However, the final decision is being expected from a panel set up by the state government to look into the dispute. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports.
Royal fathers and traditional chiefs are known for their peace advocacy. In their respective domains, they are expected to halt any insurrection or protest against any constituted authority. But how would one describe a scenario where royal fathers and traditional chiefs call out their subjects for placard-carrying street protest against a “constituted authority?”
This played out in what may be described as a “royal rumble” among three traditional rulers in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area of Ekiti State over the chairmanship position of the traditional council in the area.
The royal squabble is among the Ologotun of Ogotun-Ekiti, Oba Samuel Oyebade, and on the other side of the divide are the Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi and the Arajaka of Igbara Odo-Ekiti, Oba Edward Jayeola.
The Alawe and the Arajaka are united in their quest that the Ologotun, who had occupied the position for 20 years (since 1997) should step aside and allow another brother monarch to occupy the chair.
The two monarchs and their chiefs claim that the instrument of law that established the council provided for a rotational chairmanship of the traditional council.
But the Ologotun would have none of that. He claimed that there is nothing like rotational chairmanship in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area Traditional Council on the grounds that he is the only Pelupelu Oba (foremost or supreme Oba) among the three.
The claim of being the only Pelupelu Oba in the council area further aggravated the raging fire of the supremacy battle as the Alawe, who also spoke on behalf of the Arajaka, accused the Ologotun of “deliberate distortion of history” in an alleged bid to make his chairmanship of Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area Traditional Council unending.
The traditional chiefs of Ilawe and Igbara Odo upped the ante by staging a public protest against the Ologotun over what they called his “undue monopoly” of chairmanship of Ekiti Southwest Local Government Traditional Council.
The placard-carrying chiefs, both males and females commenced the protest from their communities and marched to the local government secretariat in Ilawe where they submitted a protest letter to the council chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju Omolase.
They accused the Ologotun of breaching the law creating the local government which prescribed that the chairmanship of Council of Obas in the area be rotated among the three paramount rulers, the Alawe of Ilawe, the Arajaka of Igbara Odo and the Ologotun.
Some of their placards read: “All we are saying, rotational chairmanship,” “Fair play should be adopted in Ekiti Southwest Council of Obas,” “Victimisation, tyranny is uncalled for in Ekiti Southwest Obas Council,” and “We in Igbara Odo are opposed to perpetual chairmanship of Ologotun,” among others.
The chiefs said the three monarchs had rotated the chairmanship among themselves mutually and without acrimony until it was the turn of Ologotun in 1997.
The Elemo of Ilawe, High Chief Gbenga Agbona, expressed regrets that Ologotun had refused to step aside for other Obas to take their turns “using all manner of tricks and tactics.”
Agbona said: “At first, he capitalised on the incapacitation of the immediate past Alawe and instability in Igbara Odo occasioned by succession tussle.
The Asamo of Igbara Odo, High Chief Banji Olowofela, said the chiefs yielded to the clarion calls of the people of their communities to call on Ologotun to step aside and allow another monarch to occupy the seat in the interest of equity and justice.
Olowofela said: “We can no longer tolerate Ologotun’s monopoly of the chairmanship at the expense of and to the detriment of Ilawe and Igbara Odo monarchs and their people.
“Until we get justice, the two Obas should not sit or attend any meeting in the local government where Ologotun is going to preside as chairman.”
Local government chief Omolase said the matter was already receiving the attention of Governor Ayo Fayose whom he said set up a panel chaired by his deputy, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, to resolve the crisis.
He revealed that the panel had summoned the three monarchs to submit their memoranda and would soon be invited to defend their papers after which a final decision would be taken.
But the Ologotun, Oba Oyebade, maintained that he remains the authentic Chairman of the Council in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area as guaranteed by law and the State Chieftaincy Declaration. He described the protest by Ilawe and Igbara Odo chiefs as “unfortunate and an insult to Governor Ayodele Fayose who had set up a five-member panel to look into the crisis.”
Oba Oyebade challenged the Ilawe and Igbara Odo communities to present records to prove that their monarchs chaired Ekiti Southwest Traditional Council. He described the Ologotun throne as a “prestigious one in Yoruba land” as he is the only Yoruba monarch that can see the inside of his crown.
Denying the sit-tight allegation levelled against him by two brother monarchs and their communities, Oba Oyebade said he remains the only member of the highest traditional council named Pelupelu in the council area as contained in the Chieftaincy Law 3 of 2000 enacted under the Adeniyi Adebayo administration.
He urged the two monarchs to get themselves acquainted with the report of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers Committee Resolution of June 19, 2001 when similar case reared its ugly head. He advised them to stop making infantile demands.
Quoting a copy of the report, Oba Oyebade said: “In 2001, under Adebayo’s government, the Ilawe Improvement Union wrote a petition to the government raising similar protest. The Aladejana Panel report says we have 31 Grade ‘A’ Obas but only 16 of them are Pelupelu and you don’t attain Pelupelu by promotion. It’s by tradition.
“Ologotun, being a Pelupelu Oba should be the permanent Chairman of Ekiti Southwest Traditional Council as it is the case in Moba, Ijero, Ikole and Ido-Osi.”
According to him, he ascended the throne in 1985 after there was vacancy since 1976 when his predecessor joined his ancestors. He challenged the feuding monarchs to tender any document to confirm the existence of traditional council at the local government before 1997 when he assumed the position.
“Part of the resolutions at that time was that the chieftaincy edict allowed only the 16 Pelupelu Obas to rotate the traditional council at the state level and at the local government level and that is what is in operation in all the 16 local government areas.”
Oba Oyebade presented a document dated July 20, 2004 and signed by one Wole Faleye of the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs on behalf of the Permanent Secretary where the issue of elevation of some monarchs was approved.
“Despite the approval, another letter signed by Wole Faleye and dated August 13, 2004 warned that such approval must not affect the supremacy of the Pelupelu Obas”.
Continuing, he said: “Another letter signed by Special Adviser to Governor Kayode Fayemi, Chief Aderemi Ajayi on September 17, 2014 upgraded Olosi, Alawe, Arajaka and Olojudo of Ido-Ile to be part of Pelupelu and I protested the inclusion of Alawe and walked out of the meeting.”
But the Alawe, Oba Alabi fired back at Oba Oyebade, accusing him of “showing a shallow sense of history.” He disputed the claim of the latter that he (the Ologotun) is the only “Pelupelu Oba” in Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area.
He insisted that he and Arajaka of Igbara Odo-Ekiti, Oba Jayeola are also Pelupelu Obas and are also favoured by history to occupy the chairmanship of Ekiti Southwest Local Government Traditional Council which has been held by the Ologotun for 20 years.
Oba Alabi said: “Ologotun showed a shallow sense of history by claiming to be the only Pelupelu Oba in Ekiti Southwest. This is because Alawe and Arajaka were Pelupelu during the colonial days and the number 16 was never sacrosanct; it varied.
“The number ‘sixteen’ was not sacrosanct as Obas in Ekiti joined the Pelupelu at different times hence by the time the Council was dissolved in 1958; its membership had risen to 20. There have been some misconceptions that only 16 Obas were in the group.
“At its formation in 1900, members were 16 but by 1901, it had reduced to 14 with the exit of the Owalobo of Obbo (in present-day Kwara State) and the Oore of Otun to join the Northern Province.
“The Deji of Akure, who was among the original members also left the group to come back before his final exit in 1945. The Attah of Ayede and the Elemure of Emure joined in 1920 and 1929 respectively while the Alawe, the Arajaka, the Olosi of Osi and the Olojudo of Ido Ile joined in 1947.
“As far back as 1955, the six Obas in Ekiti South District namely the Ogoga of Ikere, the Arinjale of Ise, the Elemure of Emure, the Alawe of Ilawe, the Arajaka of Igbbara Odo and the Ologotun were rotating the chairmanship position of the council.
“In fact, the Declaration with which the Elemure was installed in 1965 was signed by Alawe Akinola Adefolalu as the Chairman of the Obas Council in Ekiti South. With the creation of Ekiti Southwest Local Government in 1976 with headquarters in Ilawe, the instrument of the creation of the local government, Ondo State Law Number 12 provided that the chairmanship position should be rotated among the three Obas-Alawe, Arajaka and Ologotun.
“The rotation was in vogue until now that the incumbent Ologotun wants to be permanent chairman hence the current problem in the Local Government Traditional Council. The three Obas in the local government are Grade ‘A’ Pelupelu Obas recognised and accorded the status by colonial government and at independence by the government of Western Region, Western State, Ondo State and even Ekiti State.
“Therefore, it is a sign of shallow knowledge of history on the part of Ologotun to claim that he is the only Pelupelu Oba in Ekiti Southwest.
“Ologotun will be deluding himself to think that Ilawe will be the headquarters of the local government and its monarch will be denied the right to chair the traditional council.
Southwest Report investigation at the Bureau of Chieftaincy Affairs, Governor’s Office revealed that the defence of memoranda submitted by parties in the crisis has been postponed as no date has been given for the exercise.
It was revealed that the Ilawe community has commissioned two of its sons who are Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana and Mr. Dele Adesina, to defend their community’s memo while the identity of the lawyer hired by the Ologotun is still kept under wraps.
