The Nation Newspaper

Tag: monarch

  • Grandeur as monarch marks coronation anniversary

    Grandeur as monarch marks coronation anniversary

    Ilawe-Ekiti, headquarters of Ekiti Southwest Local Government Area of Ekiti State, was agog for the fifth coronation anniversary of the Alawe, Oba Adebanji Ajibade Alabi. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports that the presence of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, added colour to the event. 

    All roads led to Ilawe-Ekiti, one of the major towns in Ekiti State as the residents celebrated their monarch, the Alawe, Oba Adebanji Ajibade Alabi, who marked his fifth coronation anniversary.

    He was crowned the Alawe and received his staff of office on April 27, 2012 from the former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and succeeded the late Oba Adeyemi Ademileka.

    Before ascending the throne, Oba Alabi was a career diplomat who served in many Nigerian embassies and high commissions in many parts of the world.

    Since his enthronement, the community had witnessed social, economic and infrastructural development with the monarch using his local and international connections to attract development to his kingdom.

    The week-long activities featured football competition and free medical mission in which over 500 residents of Ilawe were treated of their ailments free. The medical mission was personally sponsored by the Oba.

    A massive crowd thronged the sports field of Corpus Christi College, Ilawe; venue of the coronation anniversary, with the rich cultural heritage of the town on display.

    A long queue of cars parked along Ilawe Road because the owners could not find parking space inside the Corpus Christi College. It was an indication to passers-by that something unique was going on in the town.

    Security agents had a hectic time controlling the surging crowd that trooped to the venue from within and outside the town.

    Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) who was the Chairman of the Anniversary Planning Committee was on top of his game to ensure that things went on smoothly.

    Some eminent personalities who witnessed the event included the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Asiwaju Oyedeji Olajubu, who was chairman

    of the day; traditional rulers, politicians and community leaders.

    The event featured cultural dances by various groups in the community. Chiefs, women, youths and non-indigenes resident in Ilawe paid homage to their king.

    It was also an occasion for those who are indigenous to the town to take stock of the development of the town and also envisage better things to offer their homeland.

    The Ooni of Ile-Ife, Oba Ogunwusi, advocated unity in Yoruba land to facilitate the development of communities, towns and states in the region.

    He said traditional rulers should play pivotal role in the development of their communities by using their positions to attract social and economic development to their domains.

    Oba Ogunwusi, who spoke in his capacity as the royal father of the day, emphasised that unity and peace are needed for sustainable development. He urged the Yoruba to co-operate with their monarchs in order to realise the dream.

    He said: “I want to appeal to all Yoruba wherever they are to be united and I want them to always embrace peace because nothing can be achieved in an atmosphere of crisis.

    “We need peace to ensure development and when we join hands together, we are going to achieve many things. It shall be well with us in Yoruba land and it shall be well with us in Nigeria.”

    Two natives of the town, popular musician, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz and a medical doctor, Lamide Orekunrin, were honoured with Award of Excellence.

    A Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) was among the personalities who bagged chieftaincy titles at the coronation anniversary. Adedipe was honoured with the title of Otunba Gbaweluyi.

    Others who received chieftaincy titles included Prof. Idowu Odeyemi (Atunluse), his wife, Prof. Sola Odeyemi (Yeye Atunluse), Engr. Akin Abereowo (Otun Bobasua), his wife, Modupe (Yeye Bobasua), Captain Jacob Ajao (Fiwagboye), Mrs Aduke Asaolu (Iyalaje) and Mr. Ndubuisi Okemini (Kajewolu).

    The Alawe, Oba Alabi paid tributes to his predecessors for their heroism which made Ilawe to be a reputable town that was jealously defended from invaders.

    The incident, according to Oba Alabi, occurred in 1925 during the reign of Oba Afinbiokin who fought back colonial overlords who wanted to turn Ilawe people to slaves in their homeland.

    According to him, Oba Afinbiokin was sent on compulsory exile by the colonial warlords that year and he remained there till his death four year later To Oba Alabi, that tragedy was Oba Afinbiokin’s legacy as a freedom fighter for the Ilawe people and a sterling contribution to the emancipation/liberation struggle for the people. He also paid tribute to another Alawe, Oba Adefolalu.

    He also recalled an incident in which some people burnt down his house in the town in 1995 while he was out of the country on a diplomatic service as a result of the revelation by the Ifa divination that he would be an Alawe in the future.

    Oba Alabi explained: “It happened on April 28, 1995, and was a most unfortunate. I just returned from Cameroun where I was serving on foreign mission then. It was my first big money and my wife had planned to use the money to build a nice house along Igede-Ilawe Road instead of squandering it on frivolities.

    “You know there is always this phobia for royalty. We wanted to be removed from such acrimony. In fact, I refused to use any of the lands belonging to our royal family. I was not even around from the beginning of the contraction till its completion.

    “I only came around when the house was completed, but the house had become the talk of the town. It was a small but classic structure.

    But then, just three months after its completion, some people razed the building down.

    “The incident gave me and my family serious trauma and was a major setback for me. My family and I had to relocate to Abuja after the incident. I had all my things in that house when it was razed.

    “A lot of investigations went into the incident and it was discovered that it had much to do with what I would become later in the future. Some people had found out through Ifa that the owner of the house would one day sit on the throne of the Alawe and were angry with that.”

    Speaking further about what distinguishes Ilawe among other communities in Ekiti, Oba Alabi said, apart from the town’s rich cultivation of huge and nutritious bananas; there are traditional

    festivals that have great significance for the survival of the people of the town.

    Of the several festivals usually organised by the people to celebrate their deities, Ajagbo, Orinlase and Olofin are most significant.

    Ajagbo Festival, according to Oba Alabi reveals secrets of people who have perpetrated evil deeds and thus helps the community to checkmate activities of such wicked people.

    The royal father said: “With Orinlase, a deity that protects the people of Ilawe from robbers, no robber or thief that intrudes into Ilawe would escape from the town without being caught, especially if he kills a native of the community.”

    Speaking on the Olosin Festival, Oba Alabi said: “It is the most unifying festival of the town. It is the Oba’s festival, celebrated every June, July and August of the year, according to what time it falls in the calendar.

    “The Oba, during the festival, is expected to come to the public, dance round certain culturally significant spots in the town, changing his regalia. In the past, it used to be for seven times, now

    we have reduced this to only three times.

    “ It is such an elaborate ceremony that many people are invited and masquerades display in various ways.”

    Oba Alabi expressed delight at the achievements recorded during his reign, even as he also highlighted some of the challenges the community experiences.

    He said: “We have recorded several achievements in the past five years. We are getting more united as we have been navigating through disputes, some of which predated my ascension to the throne, and we are settling them. Several of our sons and daughters have excelled in their careers. We are proud of them.

    “In terms of physical developments, we can see the contraction of modern and beautiful edifice and structure springing up at every nook and cranny of the town. Some of these include the Lakeview Resort along Igbara-Odo Road, Provincial Headquarters of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, along Igede Road and the Federal Government College along Ikere Road.

    “We now have internet facilities courtesy of my efforts on ascension to the throne, and our Youth Empowerment Fund which I instituted has seen some of our indigent young scholars through their education.

    “We equally have better school facilities as recorded by the administration of former Governor Fayemi and the incumbent Governor Fayose is building a dual carriage way as part of the township roads.

    “We also have given the palace a new, more befitting modern outlook by rebuilding it to taste. We wish to appeal to Governor Fayose not to forget the promise to construct the Ilawe-Ikere Road which is very dear to us.”

  • Delta monarch relives palace’s desecration

    Delta monarch relives palace’s desecration

    HRH Odjevworo Akpomeyoma Majoroh, Ojeta 11, Ovie of Oruarivie-Abraka, was regal in  a  red frock with a matching beaded  red crown as he sat on a luxurious couch, to receive the  leadership of the apex Urhobo socio-cultural organisation, Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU). They came after an attack on his palace by irate youths.

    But beneath this façade, the king is sad and visibly worried by the events of the past few weeks in his kingdom. He is at a loss why his subjects will turn against him unleashing violence of the most unimaginable proportion against the exalted throne of his ancestors.

    All is not well with Abraka community, Ethiope East Local Government Area, host to the  Delta State University. It is embroiled in crisis following the beheading of an indigene allegedly by Fulani herdsmen.

    The occasion was a fact-finding visit, earlier this week, by the Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU) led by Chief Osiobe Okotie, its first vice-president.

    The royal father described kings in Urhobo land as “an endangered species”, adding not everyone is happy in a system where monarchy is rotational.

    His words: “Kings in Urhobo Land are an endangered species. People are extremely jealous of their status, especially in areas where kingship is rotated, everybody is not happy.  This was an excuse for them to do what they wanted to do.”

    He said he felt pained by allegations that he had not done enough for his people, adding: “It is unfortunate that my own people will say I am not doing enough. I know what I have done. I know my contributions to the community.”

    He said the most disturbing aspect of the whole episode was the deliberate attempt to desecrate the throne by bringing a corpse to the palace, as it is a taboo for a king to see a dead person.

    His words: “The youths knew that traditionally it is taboo for a king to see dead bodies and that dead body is forbidden in a palace.”

    He said following the desecration of the palace grounds by the actions of the youths , he had to stay indoors for the whole day until the palace was ritually cleansed

    According to him, trouble started in the morning hour of the fateful day after he was briefed by the President-General of the community of a murder of his subject allegedly by Fulani herdsmen.

    He said: “What happened was on that day which was a Tuesday at about 10.30a.m the president-general briefed me of yet another incident at our farmland Ovre that Fulani herdsmen killed someone. I directed that he got the President of that community and incident the case at the Police Station. I did not get the details that day as I was heading to our ancestral shrine as it is our traditional market day. Upon my return I was briefed on the matter. I ordered that they should get the police and recover the corpse for safety reasons; before I knew it my personal assistant came in to inform me that the youths from my community were moving en masse to the palace with the corpse of the boy. I called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to come with reinforcements. I also put a call to the president-general and the youth leader who informed me that they were outside the palace fence. The vigilante group was also on ground outside the palace. After a while I heard protests outside and the protesters started hitting the gate .I was calm and thinking of the next course of action when I heard the protesters breaking windows panes in the palace. My entire living room was filled with splinters of glasses and guns were booming outside.”

    The monarch said the protesters destroyed vehicles parked in the palace grounds, and were in the process of setting the palace, including him and his guests on fire, when the military intervened.

    He said after the youths fled they split into two groups, adding that one group headed towards the Hausa quarters and attacked its residents.

    He said a major grouse of the youths was that he has refused to supply them with ammunitions to fight the herdsmen ,adding “ Some persons want me to provide ammunitions for them, but I ask am I involve myself in illegality to solve this problem”.

    The royal father accused security agencies of being aware of the activities of the herdsmen, but did nothing to check their activities.

    He said he was awaiting government action following the intervention of the state government, adding that he hoped that meetings between the Hausa/Fulani leadership and his community and government would provide a workable solution to the problem.

    President-General, Abraka community, Dr. Tedwins Emudainowho described the Ovre-Oruarivie forest as “Sambissa Forest”, claiming that with over 2000 herdsmen committing various atrocities ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes the situation was a keg of gunpowder waiting to explode.

    He said the immediate cause of the crisis was the beheading of Solomon Ejoor who along with three persons attempted to rescue their mother trapped by Fulani herdsmen in her farm, adding that since 2012 no fewer than 18 persons have been killed in the community.

    Chief Osiobe Okotie thanked God for sparing the life of the monarch, adding that the UPU was in the process of convening a forum to sensitise youths to respect constituted authority.

    He urged the Federal and State governments to “do something urgently about the Abraka situation before it gets out of hand.”

    His words: “We want to use this opportunity to send a message across to the federal/state government to do something urgently about the Abraka situation before it gets out of hand. We cannot sit and watch our people being slaughtered .The UPU is using this medium to send a message to President Muhammadu Buhari to take appropriate action because information getting to us is that the area where this dastardly act occur there are over 2000 herdsmen fully armed raping our women, our daughters. They have taken over our lands .We do not know their mission. It is the responsibility of the government whether federal or state to ensure that the lives of its citizens are protected .The government should as a matter of urgency step into this matter so that people will not be forced to either protect themselves or do anything otherwise, so we want to avoid that .UPU is watching, our eyes are on Abraka.”

  • Court to rule on suit challenging monarch’s installation

    An Ogun State High Court, sitting at Ipokia, has reserved till May 11 its ruling on the notice of preliminary objection filed by Ogun State Ministry of Justice on the stool of the Onihunbo of Ihunbo in Ipokia Local Government Area.

    Justice S. M. Owodunni said the adjournment was necessary, following the administrative lapses observed in the court clerk’s record, which stated May 1, instead of April 27, for the hearing of the matter.

    The Agbotejoye Ruling House is challenging the government’s installation of Oba Sunday Olamide Joseph, of the Inakankan Ruling House, as the Onihunbo of Ihunbo.

    The claimant joined the Ministry of Local Government in the suit.

  • Ondo monarch’s kidnapper begged victim to pray for him to renounce criminality

    Ondo monarch’s kidnapper begged victim to pray for him to renounce criminality

    •Second–in-command abducted alongwith Oba Daodu relives trauma

    The last may not have been heard about the kidnap of Ondo State monarch, Oba Sunday Daodu, last weekend.

    This is as the second-in-command, Chief Olugbenga Giwa, who was kidnapped along with the monarch has revealed how the leader of the kidnap gang regretted his involvement in criminal activities and begged his astounded victim to pray for his “deliverance from the spirit of criminality.”

    Giwa said: “There was a time inside the bush that the leader of the kidnappers approached the monarch to pray for him to renounce his criminality.

    Oba Daodu consented and prayed for him.” He debunked the claim that they were targeted for abduction,stressing that they were only victims of circumstance that could happen to any passenger on the highway.

    Giwa said the hoodlums held them after shooting and deflating two tyres of the vehicle they were travelling in. He said they became so apprehensive immediately the kidnappers shot their tyres that it didn’t occur to them to pray for divine intervention.

    After immobilizing their vehicle, Giwa said the gunmen grabbed them and pushed him and the monarch into the bush where the journey to an ‘unknown’ land began. According to him: “The abductors were not Yoruba going by their postures and intonations.

    “They look more like Boko Haram insurgents. We were inbetween life and death because of the brutal treatment they meted out to us.” The monarch and his second-in command were abducted last weekend near Oba-Akoko on Owo-Ikare Road around 4.30pm.

    Giwa, who is the Shaba of Iyani-Akoko, drove the monarch’s car before they were seized by the kidnappers.

    Notable personalities have continued to visit the palace of the monarch to rejoice with him. Former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly,Dr Bakitta Bello, said he was disturbed that public highways in the country were no more safe for passengers.

    He urged the state assembly to “enact a law that would curtail kidnapping and armed robbery.” On his part, the Chairman, Akoko Northwest Local Government Council, Morakinyo Ajayi, who paid a congratulatory visit to the freed monarch appreciated Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for his efforts in ensuring the safe return of Oba Daodu from the kidnappers’ den.

  • Monarch urges security in community

    The Ologudu of Ogudu in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State, His Royal Majesty Oba Waidi Ayinla Fashola Fagbemi 1, has appealed to the Lagos State government to provide pedestrian bridge and security personnel to protect lives and properties of the residents.

    Oba Fashola, who made the appeal during his10th year coronation anniversary held at his Ogudu Waterfront Area, noted that loss of lives caused by road accidents is recorded regularly was giving him concern. He spoke through his palace public relations officer, Chief Ibrahim Durojaiye.

    The monarch said: “This event has afforded me the opportunity to call on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to consider the provision of good road network, neighbourhood security outfit, water and job opportunities for the youth in Ogudu community so that they can be useful to themselves and the society as well as discourage them from engaging in criminal activities.”

    He added that the Lagos State government should provide more security personnel at Ogudu bus stop to monitor activities of hoodlums who attack innocent citizens who are either waiting for bus or passersby.

  • Monarch hails FRSC’s efforts

    Monarch hails FRSC’s efforts

    The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, has hailed the Federal Government for approving the initiative of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on the installation of speed limiters in commercial vehicles.
    He spoke when inaugurating the road traffic cautionary signpost donated by the RS.2 Special Marshals of the Corps at Onipepeye, on Abeokuta-Sagamu Expressway, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
    The monarch thanked the FRSC for its efforts to reduce accidents, saying the cautionary signpost would remind motorists to reduce their speed and embark on defensive driving, as the area is accident prone.
    He said: “The Abeokuta- Sagamu Expressway is one of the major corridors linking Ogun State with the rest of the country. This road has claimed lives. We should not allow this ugly trend to continue.
    “In January 2008, Ogun State lost its Secretary to the State Government, Otunba Olumayowa Olukoya, in a road crash here at Onipepeye. Other personalities have also died on this expressway.
    “We must debunk the popular notion that crashes on this expressway have spiritual undertone. There are rumours that deities or spirits are responsible for the crashes recorded on this axis. This is false. The accidents are not unconnected with the speed of drivers, coupled with the condition of the road and the vehicles.’’
    The traditional ruler urged motorists to comply with the “slow down” warning on the signposts.
    The FRSC Ogun State Sector Commander, Clement Oladele, said the command through its special marshals erected the speed caution signposts at the Siun – Kobape blackspot to warn motorists and reduce crashes.
    He said the high rate of crashes on the Abeokuta – Sagamu expressway despite the relatively low traffic calls for concerted remedial efforts. The expressway accounted for 53 crashes and 10 deaths during the year 2016, most of the crashes took place between Siun and Kobape, he added.
    FRSC Boss Oladele appealed to other public hearted organisations to assist in erecting similar signposts in other crash prone areas in the State.
    He said FRSC has been fighting an age-long battle to eliminate speed and its associated crashes on Nigerian roads through public enlightenment, improvements in public literacy, heightened road safety awareness and enforcement of traffic laws since the establishment of the Corps in 1988.
    He said in 2016, a total of 270 persons died in the 383 crashes recorded in Ogun State. 1,366 others sustained various degrees of injuries and were rescued to various hospitals in the State. These figures represent a reduction in total crashes, fatalities and injuries respectively by 11%, 12% and 9%.

  • Abia monarch who is in love with Buhari

    Abia monarch who is in love with Buhari

    His Royal Majesty Isaac Ajonu Ikonne is 88, and has reigned for 44 years. The former chairman of Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, who is the oldest and longest serving traditional ruler in Abia , does no look any inch his age.

    Eze Ikonne thought because of his fame and age, the immediate past government in the state would heed his advice. But no. Still, he continued to bear his mind.

    In 2015, during the electioneering, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government then made it a sort of official policy not to allow any other presidential candidate to campaign in the state, except Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. That was why when the then All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari came to Aba and was denied access to the Enyimba stadium.

    However, Eze Ikonne not only received Buhari in his palace, he also gave him the chieftaincy title of Ogbuagu 1 (lion killer). He presented him a walking stick and machete with which to clear the enemies on his way.

    This fatherly gesture never went down well with officials of the immediate past administration in the state and some of his colleagues.

    For committing this “sin”, every attempt was made to sanction the free-minded monarch, but as the Igbo would say, “a long and strong human excreta is good to be used as a club, but the problem is who will lift it from the ground”.

    The APC chairman in the state, Hon. Donatus Nwankpa, condemned the attack launched against the traditional ruler then. In a statement he said: “Did His Imperial Majesty, Eze Ikonne commit any criminal offence by giving chieftaincy title to Buhari? Was what he did in anyway unconstitutional? What part of the constitution did he breach? Eze Ikonne has the right to invite other traditional rulers and his friends to an occasion of such magnitude without the permission of anybody. Buhari is a former head of state and the presidential candidate of the APC who was in the state for a political campaign and to show that he has respect for the traditional institution paid the monarch a visit.

    “The monarch and his cabinet as a means of reciprocating the gesture in turn conferred on him a chieftaincy title. Buhari is not the first person the monarch is conferring a chieftaincy title and I wonder why the chieftaincy on Buhari should be generating such ripples in the state. This has gone a long way to show you how desperate people can be. They don’t have any right to suspend him. Let them bring the constitution that empowered them to suspend him. To me, His Imperial Majesty Eze Isaac Ikonne remains the Enyi 1 of Aba and that is our position.”

    The threat never perturbed the ebullient monarch who kept saying that as a traditional ruler and father to all, he would not discriminate against any of his “sons” more over when the person that was involved was a man of high integrity who should be supported to succeed.

    Eze Ikonne’s support for Buhari has ever since remained as solid as the rock of Gibraltar. When Buhari was away on a medical vacation in London, the traditional ruler who is a leading figure of the Brotherhood of Cross and Star continued to pray for the president’s recovery. When Buhari returned, Eze Ikonne said: “I am using this opportunity to thank the President of this country, Muhammadu Buhari, Ogbuagu 1 of Aba, you are welcome. God has done another great thing in your life by sparing your life when you went abroad for medical treatment. I, on behalf of my family and entire community thank God that you came back alive. Anybody that is a child of God has nothing to do with untimely death.

    “Despite what some people are saying, Nigeria would not have been the same if you had died. It was not all Nigerians that are not happy with him, but few who believe you stand on their way and not allow them to milk Nigeria the way they have done in the past, but they’ve been put to shame. Majority of Nigerians of which we are among cried and prayed to God not to allow the devil had his way through that sickness. I thank God for bringing you back safely and it is my wish that you will stay alive and see to the end of your administration because you came to save Nigeria.”

    Eze Ikonne urged the president to soldier on in his fight against corruption, stating that nothing will stand on his way in his resolve  to make Nigeria great again.

    “When president Buhari came to Abia in 2015 during the campaigns my palace was the first place he touched his foot on and I prayed and blessed him. While wishing him victory at the polls then, I gave him the chieftaincy title of Ogbuagu 1 of Aba (meaning lion killer) and he indeed conquered his opponents at the polls. In the same manner, with the Ogbuagu feather on his cap, he will surmount the problems of this country which I’m happy he had started tackling frontally.

    “While thanking the doctors who treated the president in London, the monarch said Buhari’s sickness and his return to the country alive has gone a long to show that God loves the president more than we human beings and prayed God to give the president long life and good health to carry on with his fight against corruption.”

    He was of the view that Nigerians should support Buhari as he has something good in mind for the people although things might be a little bit difficult, but the citizens shall laugh last and laugh best.

    The monarch wants the president to visit Abia now that he was back so that the “people of Abia State who saw him last when he came in 2015, will see him again so that those enemies who are still doubting whether he actually came back will put their faces in down in shame.

    Eze Ikonne commended the vice president, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, who held fort for the president while he was away, saying he was a dependable ally.

    The revered tradition ruler also had sweet words for Abia Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

    “I want to thank the governor for the quality job he is doing particularly on Faulks Road that leads to Ariaria International market. I am not surprised at this because when he came to my palace also. I gave him the title of Ogbuhere Uzo (one that opens the path) and I urge him to continue in his bid to open up Aba,” he said.

    He commended the governor for the articulate presentations in made when the vice president visited Abia as part of his visits to oil producing states which he said unearthed many things the Federal Government never knew before. He added that the meeting would go a long way in checkmating youth restiveness in oil producing communities of the state.

     

  • Monarch advises people on land

    The monarch of Orimedu community in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government of Lagos State, Oba Amusa Atiku, has advised people on how to go about the land in his domain.

    He said they should guard against buying land from hoodlums and land grabbers.

    The traditional ruler, at a news briefing in Lagos at the weekend, said the land at Orimedu had been surveyed “and no part of it is left unsurveyed.”

    He said: “The Orimedu community implores licensed and unlicensed surveyors and any person intending to survey any part of the land that all land within the jurisdiction of the community, both excised and unexcised, to take note.

    “Transactions affecting Orimedu land must be carried out in my palace and in my presence.

    “Any action or move by any person(s) or group(s) of person contrary to these shall be deemed to be null and void.”

     

  • Monarch gets staff of office

    Monarch gets staff of office

    For several hours penultimate Saturday, friends and well-wishers from far and near joined the people of Ota Awori in Atan/Iju/Ilogbo Local Council Development Area of Ogun State to celebrate the coronation and presentation of staff of office to Oba Oluwasegun Joel Fasina as Onikooko of Kooko Ebiye land. Governor Ibikunle Amosun did the presentation to the monarch.

    It was gun salute galore. Gbedu and Bata talking drums and Yoruba cultural dancers were present to make the event a colourful one.

    The presence of the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Man “O” War, among other security agencies, mounted in strategic places around the community, especially the king’s palace ensured hitch-free event.

    The monarch succeeded the late Oba Semion Olatunji Fashina, who died on October 28, 2008.

    Born on January 5, 1953 to the ruling family, Oba Fasina retired as a Police Area Commander of Ilaro Command in 2011, after serving in various capacities for 35 years.

    Governor Amosun, represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Olajide Ojuko, urged the monarch to maintain loyalty, peace, orderliness and ensure that the welfare and traditional ethos of the citizens were maintained.

    He urged other contestants to the throne who lost out to sheathe their swords and embrace peace, spirit of sportsmanship and co-operate with the king in all his projects to move the town forward.

    He appealed to the monarch to rule without rivalry and involve his opponents in bringing peace, harmony, development and progress to the town and state.

    Oba Fashina thanked Amosun for the justice, equity and fairness exhibited during his selection. He pledged to serve his people and rebuild Kooko Ebiye land.

    He sought the support of his people both at home and in the Diaspora, adding that only the best advice and ideas would promote peace, oneness and the betterment of the land.

    The monarch said his determination was to unite and promote peace, respect for constituted authority and the traditional institution. He announced that he would have zero-tolerance for thuggery, disrespect for law and order and violence in the town.

    He urged the Governor to mull fixing the road leading to the community from Atan, Coker/Ibogun, among others, pencilled for asphalting for the rapid development and socio-economic enhancement of the state.

    The monarch pledged his co-operation to other monarchs and chiefs to boost development that would make Awori land stronger and more united.

    He warned the citizens against land grabbers, even as he condemned the attitude of omo onile who disturb people working in their sites. He warned those parading themselves as chiefs, using illegal plate numbers, inscribed with different titles to desist from such act, saying it would no longer be accepted in the town.

    He appealed to the police, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other law enforcement agent to ensure that the directive was carried out.

    Present at the occasion were political leaders, captains of industry, chiefs, monarchs, and traditional groups, among others.

  • Seven years after, Eruwon gets new monarch

    Oba Adebayo Jonshon Okubena has been installed as the Elerunwon of Erunwon in Ijebu North East Local Government of Ogun State seven years after the last occupant.

    The installation took place at the Epiphany Primary School, Erunwon, Ogun State.

    While presenting the staff of office to the monarch, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who was represented by Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Chief Jide Ojuko, urged the traditional ruler to see his appointment as a call to serve.

    He noted that the Amosun administration regarded the traditional institution as partner in progress.

    “Our administration regards the traditional institutions as a partner in progress in seeing that all our efforts at developing Ogun State percolate down to the grassroots. To this end, we urge the traditional ruler to mobilise his people to support our administration particularly in the prompt payment of approved taxes, rates and levies on which the government relies to bring these dividends to the people of Ogun State, “Amosun said.

    He urged the monarch to see himself as the rallying point for his Dedenigbe ruling house and Erunwon community.

    The Awujale and Paramount ruler of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona, appreciated the Amosun administration for its respect for the traditional institution.