By Bisi Oladele
Members of the Olubadan-in-Council have written a letter detailing their grievances to the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, signalling that the royal rumble is not yet over.
The high chiefs were elevated as obas in 2017, a development which is still a subject of litigation.
In the letter to the monarch, they accused Oba Adetunji of taking unilateral decisions, which they said is against the rules of the traditional leadership system in Ibadan land.
They said that the monarch rendered them irrelevant by taking decisions and thereafter invited them, only to witness implementation of his decisions.
The high chiefs accused Oba Adetunji of speaking from both sides of the mouth on the consent judgment obtained by the Osi Olubadan, Sen. Rashidi Ladoja, on their elevation.
The November 2019 consent judgment had set aside the gazettes that approved the elevation in 2017 and 2018.
They accused Oba Adetunji of blowing hot and cold at the same time over the judgment, stressing that his utterances could not serve the cause of fair play, equity and justice.
The letter titled: “Our Grievances”, was signed by the high chiefs except Ladoja.
The 2017 elevation created a frosty relationship between the monarch and his high chiefs because the former did not support their promotion. The newly promoted obas boycotted the palace, holding their meetings at the Mapo Hall.
The letter said: “As members of the Olubadan-in-Council, it is our responsibility to hold sessions with you on the day-to-day running of the Ibadan traditional system, including appointment and promotion of traditional chiefs from Mogaji up to the highest chieftaincy title as well as award of honorary chieftaincy titles among several other functions our positions entail.”
Declaring that their experience under the monarch is unprecedented in the history of the Ibadan traditional system, they said: “Sadly, our current experience in the palace under your leadership is unprecedented in the history of Ibadan traditional institution and to worsen the matter, attempts on our part to check the trend have been rebuffed.”
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On the raging controversy over their promotion as beaded and coronet wearing obas, they described the controversy as ‘needless,’ pointing out what they described as ”the lacuna in the way and manner by which the palace has interpreted it without prejudice to the two suits already filed challenging the consent judgment recently obtained by Osi Olubadan, Sen. Ladoja, to set aside the two gazettes that contained the promotion exercises carried out in Ibadan and the entire
state traditional council, following the recommendations emanating from the said review, which Your Imperial Majesty, your members of Olubadan-in-Council as well as some of our brothers in the less city benefitted from, it is curious that the palace has been selective in its observance of the said court judgment.
”In observance of the setting aside of the two gazettes as contained in the consent judgment, the palace recently elevated some mogajis to the position of Jagun and other titles in defiance of the recommendation contained in the gazettes that Ikolaba title should be the entry point to the Olubadan stool.
”The palace also recently proclaimed that “the three
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