Concerned indigenes and elders of Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State have called on the state government to overhaul the grading of traditional institutions which has led to the marginalisation of some traditional rulers in the state.
A petition signed by 15 prominent indigenes from different districts noted that grading and regrading done by the state government in the past four decades had consistently sidelined traditional rulers in Moro.
It cited the instance of two traditional rulers, the Ohoro of Shao and the Oba of Jebba, who were graded third class Obas in the 1983 grading exercise but this was withdrawn in 1984 by the succeeding military administration.
“Kwara State has 16 council areas and it is interesting that only Moro and three others – Asa, Ilorin South and Ilorin East, have been consistently sidelined and left out of the recognition and grading benefits. In some cases, the monarchs have been degraded after having been graded.”
According to them, prior to the creation of Ilorin Division, consisting of Moro, Asa, Ilorin West, East and South, Igbomina/Ekiti division and Oyun Division, the only recognised and graded traditional ruler was the Emir of Ilorin. However, in 1976 arising from Local Government reforms of the Muritala/Obasanjo regime, Ilorin Division gave birth to Moro, Asa and Ilorin local government areas, despite opposition from the Ilorin ruling oligarchy. The petitioners said they struggled for decades to free themselves from the yoke of feudalism and its attendant oppression.
The petition reads: “The people of Moro counsil have been victim of certain alien Emirate system imposed on them. It was in order to disengage ourselves from this oppression that we demanded for and got a separate local government in 1976. However, what we have got is mere cosmetics and window dressing as the basic elements of autonomy is being denied us.
“A typical and most potent aspect of the continued exploitation of the people in clear deviance to the spirits of the various local government reforms in general is the unabating practice of depriving the people of having a say in the choice, selection and appointment of their monarchs as oligarchy keep sending their choice from Ilorin as district heads (representative) to usurp the power of our rulers.