The proposed review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy Law has pitched Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi against some leading lights of the ancient town. The matter is now in court. But one of the parties, High Chief Lekan Balogun has withdrawn from the case. BISI OLADELE takes a look at the issue and traces how Ajimobi has been wading through such storm in the past six years.
When Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi inaugurated a judicial commission of inquiry on the proposed review the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration on May 19, all hell were let loose. Mnay criticised him for delving into an institution regarded as untouchable. Some believed the governor was over reaching himself, arguing that members of the Olubadan-in-Council, elders and others interested would take him on it.
Indeed, two members of the council, High Chiefs Lekan Balogun and Rashidi Ladoja, sued the governor and the panel, arguing that they do not have the power to intervene in traditional chieftaincy matters. But at every turn, Ajimobi reiterated that he has no hidden agenda over the matter.
The institution of the court case coincided with the celebration of Ajimobi’s sixth anniversary. As he moved round the state inaugurating projects, the governor emphasised that those opposing his move were only playing politics. He said he did not plan to prevent anyone from moving to the next rank on the Olubadan ladder.
He insisted that his administration was working on the possibility of producing some beaded crown-wearing Obas in the city to add more honour and influence to the throne of the Olubadan.
Last Wednesday, Ajimobi cart the carpet under the feet of those against the review.
Earlier, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) said it would not oppose the review if it does not demean the Olubadan throne. Its President, Chief Wole Akinwande, made the council’s stand known in an interview.
During a visit by members of the Olubadan-in-Council to the governor in his office on Wednesday, something dramatic happened. The team was led by the Olubadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji. But Ladoja was not with them.
Members of the council at the meeting were the Otun Olubadan High Chief Lekan Balogun, Ashipa Olubadan High Chief Eddy Oyewole, Ekerin Olubadn High Chief Abiodun Daisi and Ekarun Olubadan, High Chief Hamidu Ajibade.
Others were Balogun of Ibadan land High Chief Owolabi Olakulehin, Otun Balogun High Chief Olufemi Olaifa, Osi Balogun High Chief Tajudeen Ajibola, Ashipa Balogun, High Chief Lati Gbadamosi and the Ekarun Balogun High Chief Kola Adegbola.
After the meeting, the monarch told reporters he was in full supported the review because he has confidence in Ajimobi’s ability to take steps that would bring credibility to the chieftaincy positions of Olubadan and its council members.
Oba Adetunji said: “Our visit today is to put paid to the rumours and misgivings about the review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration.
“We have come to show our sincere support to the governor and to let him know that we are on the same page with him as the review is for the progress of Ibadan and its people.’’
The Otun Olubadan, High Chief Balogun, who joined Ladoja in the legal battle option, made a U-turn. He said the review was a welcome development, adding that his decision to choose the legal action was as a result of communication gap.
His words: “Change is the only constant thing in life. There is nothing that is above change. The entire furore which had resulted from government’s move was due to communication gap but that has been resolved now.
“Life is dialectical; things must be changing and we must all be growing with it. The government is quite right to have set up machinery to look into the law and see how it can be made better.
“We believe it is a welcome development, especially with the kind of governor we have who is keenly interested in the growth and development of Ibadan land.”
In the six years of Ajimobi as governor, he has dabbled into similar matters that are considered delicate.
First was his intervention in the crisis that engulfed the Oyo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) which had snowballed into full scale violence; claiming lives regularly and casting Ibadan and Oyo State in the mound of a state of thugs and political hoodlums.
The two immediate predecessors of Ajimobi failed in taming members of the union, a situation that made them look untouchable. Their factional leaders-Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (aka Tokyo), Mukaila Lamidi (aka Auxilliary) and Alhaji Lateef (aka Eleweomo) operated like heads of a republic within a larger republic. Popular motor parks such as Iwo Road, Gate, Molete and Beere usually recorded bloodbaths.
But when a reprisal attack on a faction in Iwo Road on the night of June 4, 2011 led to the killing of many innocent commuters, including a final-year medical student, Ajimobi wielded the weight of executive power by banning activities of the union. He boxed the union into a limbo and went after the three dreaded leaders.
Many residents and observers treated his reaction with disdain but Ajimobi stood by his decisions. He backed up law enforcement agents and ensured that none of the three factional leaders was able to perform his enterprise again. After the intervention of the national leadership of the union in 2012, the governor went for a neutral person in Alhaji Taofeek Oyernde (aka Fele) with a stern warning against any form of violence. His move finally sealed the much-needed peace within the union in Ibadan, the capital city since then.
After removing the much-feared Tokyo and banning him, the latter made frantic efforts to return to the seat but Ajimobi prevailed. Auxiliary was later arrested and jailed for a criminal offence.
In 2012, Ajimobi also challenged popular sentiment by forcing traders and commercial vehicles out of roadsides and unapproved locations to pave way for his urban renewal project. As expected, hues and cries pervaded the entire state, with traders and their sympathisers vowing to end the governor’s political career in 2015. They moved against him from several fronts, using the media and community channels.
They described him as an enemy of progress, arguing that traders operate in such locations even in developed countries.
Ibadan, the state capital, where the policy was most impactful, embarked on campaigns against Ajimobi and his urban renewal policy. Opposition politicians cashed in on the move and celebrated people’s ‘opposition’ to the governor.
But Ajimobi remained resolute. He, however, built modern markets for traders and modern parks for commercial drivers to ensure they do not return to the roadside, causing traffic and tainting the city’s supposed beautiful landscape. He sustained his policy as he battled sentiments left and right.
In the end, he succeeded, though his support in the city plummeted as shown in the result of the 2015 election. Ajimobi only managed to defeat Ladoja with about 3,500 votes, only a fraction of what his wide lead in the 2011 election. Today, however, the city has come to realise and appreciate the importance and beauty of the policy.
If there is any other sensitive decision Ajimobi has taken, it was the reform of education which saw each public secondary school have its own School Governing Board (SGB).
When the governor started the move for the reform last year, teachers, students and other stakeholders opposed him. They even staged violent protests, saying the governor wanted to sell public schools to his cronies. Teachers went on strike. School pulpits became hoodlums of a sort. Some opinion leaders bought into the sentiment and joined them to criticise Ajimobi. They asked him to back down but Ajimobi was unmoved. He went on with the policy with the argument that government alone could no longer fund public schools effectively.
Today, all stakeholders are hailing the new policy which creates a better future for public schools.
Another delicate issue Ajimobi dabbled into was the implementation of the creation of local council development areas (LCDA). The LCDAs were created by the Lam Adesina administration in 2002 but the idea was abandoned due to the stance of the Federal Government at the time over federal allocation issues surrounding the idea.
Successive administrations never ventured into the LCDA project until Ajimobi assumed office. Convinced that the project would expedite development at the grassroots, he went for it but drew the flak of opposing forces that included politicians and traditional rulers.
But Ajimobi had his way at the end.
Currently, there are 54 local governments and LCDAs in Oyo State instead of the original 33. This number excludes the LCDAs created in Oyo land over which government and traditional rulers are trying to find a lasting solution.
