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Tag: Ooni

  • Buhari, Akiolu congratulate Ooni

    Buhari, Akiolu congratulate Ooni

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday congratulated Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi on his emergence as the 51st Ooni of Ife.

    A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the President rejoiced with Prince Ogunwusi  on his  nomination  and confirmation by Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

    The statement reads: “As he prepares to begin the rites of ascension to the revered throne of his ancestors, President Buhari urges the Ooni-designate  to commit himself to carrying his subjects along to a new era of peace, stability and progress in Ife, Yorubaland and Nigeria.

    The President  called on Prince Ogunwusi to be prepared to put his new position as Ooni and principal custodian of the cultural heritage and traditions of the Yoruba to good use in the service of his people and country.

    He urged the Ooni-designate to dedicate himself to building on, and surpassing the legacies of his predecessor, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, and working with government and other traditional rulers to foster greater harmony, peaceful co-existence and faster socio-economic development of his people and Nigerians.

    The President prayed God to grant him the immense wisdom and courage required to oversee further progress and greater prosperity for his people.

    He wished the Ooni a long and highly successful reign in the service of his people and country.

    Oba of Lagos Rilwanu Babatunde Akiolu has congratulated the Ooni-designate, urging him to put the welfare of the people first and maintain a policy of honesty and loyalty to the government and the people.

    In a statement yesterday, Oba Akiolu advised the monarch to be careful of some “commercial Yoruba leaders parading themselves about.”

    Describing the Ooni as one of the highest ranking monarchs in Yoruba land, Oba Akiolu said he requires wisdom and objectivity to navigate. He advised the Ooni to deal frankly and honestly with all for the progress of the people.

    He said: “I must be frank and honest with you; you have to stretch out hands of fellowship to other equally qualified princes among whom it pleases God to bestow the highest royal honour on you. Do not arrogate to yourself what is not necessary, you are not a poor person  before you ascended the throne, you are advised to be very close to your God and be absolutely loyal to the government and your people and make known to them honest facts.

    “Do not say things to satisfy people or government, be very objective in your dealings towards the progress of your people, Yoruba race and Nigeria in general. Let them know you for what you are, like Caesar’s wife try to be above board, at the time you ascend the throne, Yoruba race and Nigerians in general were in dire need of frank, honest and peace loving Obas. Be very careful among the few bad commercial Yoruba leaders that are parading themselves about,” Akiolu said.

    The Oba of Lagos cautioned the Ooni-designate against greed and dictatorial tendencies.  “Do not grab what is not yours because you are now in a position of advantage, remember, it is all for a limited time. I do not have a reservoir of knowledge but I always remember Almighty Allah and I have feelings for others. Though I respect others, I fear no one. Once again, I congratulate you and wish you long life.”

     

     

     

  • Ogunwusi is new Ooni

    Ogunwusi is new Ooni

    King unveiled  at 2:49am

    The Osun State government this morning named Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (40) as the Ooni of Ife.

    He replaces Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who passed away in July.

    Ogunwusi’s appointment was announced by the government at 2:49am.

    A statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, reads: “The Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has approved the appointment of Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi of Giesi Ruling House as the new Ooni of Ife.

    “This choice follows the completion of the due process by the kingmakers and the communication of their decision to government.”

    Ogunwusi was picked 89 days after the death of Oba Okunade Sijuwade in London.

    Oba Sijuwade passed on after a brief illness on July 28, but his death was confirmed on August 10.

    Ogunwusi of the Ojaja Royal compound of Agbedegbede in the Giesi Ruling House, attended The Polytechnic, Ibadan, and obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accountancy.

    He went into business and became a property merchant.

    His profile on the website of Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited (a subsidiary of GTBank) reads: “Mr. Ogunwusi is a graduate of Accountancy and a certified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and of the Institute of Management.

    “He has been involved in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts locally and abroad for over 11 years.

    “He was involved in the development of the Northern Foreshore Estate, Cityscape International Limited’s Buena Vista project in Lekki, Primewaterview Limited’s projects, Westcom Limited’s projects, and the Ajaokuta Steel’s and Delta Steel’s resuscitation projects

    Before  Ogunwusi’s selection, there was anxiety in Ile-Ife amid plans by the government to name the Ooni.

    There has been heavy security presence in the town since Saturday following Friday’s judgment on a suit challenging the Ooni of Ife 1980 Chieftaincy Declaration.

     

  • Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi is new Ooni of ife

    Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi is new Ooni of ife

    Forty-year old  Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi has emerged  as the  new Ooni of ife.

    His appointment was announced in a press statement by the Government of Osun state early Monday morning in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti.

    The statement reads: “The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has approved the appointment of a new Ooni of Ife. He is Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi of the Giesi Ruling House of Ile Ife State of Osun.

    ” This choice follows the completion of the due process by the kingmakers and the communication of their decision to the Government.”

    Born to Prince Ropo and Late Mrs Margaret Wuraola Ogunwusi of Ile Opa family compound, Ile Ife , the new Ooni is a Higher National Diploma graduate from The Polytechnic, Ibadan.

    He is on the Board of Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited, (formerly GTHomes), GTBank Plc and FinaTrust Microfinance Bank Limited.

    He is a member of several professional bodies including ; Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), an Associate Accounting Technician and a certified member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria as well as Global Real Estate Institute (GRI).

  • Anxiety as Ife gets Ooni today

    Anxiety as Ife gets Ooni today

    Heavy security presence as govt, kingmakers fill stool

    There is anxiety in Ile-Ife amid plans by the Osun State government to name a new Ooni for the historic town today.

    There has been heavy security presence in the town since Saturday following Friday’s judgment on a suit challenging the Ooni of Ife 1980 Chieftaincy Declaration.

    The security measure is to forestall a breakdown of law and order when the Ooni is named.

    An Osun State High Court dismissed the suit.

    Following the verdict, the government, it was learnt, resumed the process of filling the stool.

    Sooko Adegoke and Prince Marcus Adebola Akimoyero on behalf of Lafogido Ruling House of Ile-Ife, had sued Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the Obalufe of Ile-Ife, the late Oba Solomon Omisakin and Lowa of Ife, Chief Joseph Ijaodola over the decision to allow only the Giesi Ruling House to present a candidate for the stool.

    The plaintiffs asked the court to set aside the 1980 Ife Chieftaincy Declaration which they said was “lopsided, unjust, unconstitutional and unfair.”

    Yesterday, a source, who asked not to be named, said a candidate from the Giesi Ruling House may be named before 10am today.

    According to him, two candidates were initially picked from the ruling house until one of them, a Lagos-based businessman, was eventually selected by the kingmakers after consulting the Ifa oracle.

  • Ooni: Despair as litigations becloud selection

    Ooni: Despair as litigations becloud selection

    With the web of litigations beclouding the process, many indigenes and observers are beginning to despair over the selection of a new man for the stool of the Ooni of Ife. BISI OLADELE examines the suits filed by individuals and ruling houses to make kingmakers and government to toe their paths

     

    When will a new Ooni of Ife emerge? This has become a recurrent question going by the number of court cases clouding the process of selecting the right candidate for the vacant stool.

    Since the Osun State Government wrote a letter to the kingmakers early September, instructing them to ask Giesi Ruling House to present candidates for the stool, two other ruling houses-Lafogido and Osinkola-as well as some individuals in the two ruling houses have filed a number of suits challenging the propriety of government’s decision to restrict right to present candidates to only Giesi.

    No fewer than four suits have so far been filed in court against the process. The four ruling houses in the town are Lafogido, Ogboru, Osinkola and Giesi.

    While Lafogido contends that Osinkola has been successfully divided into three – Osinkola, Ogboru and Giesi-to its own detriment, it should not be excluded from presenting candidates; Osinkola contends that all the four houses have the right to nominate candidates for the stool out of which only one prince will be chosen.

    Lafogido insists that the 1980 Ife Chieftaincy Declaration used by the government to pick Giesi as the next ruling house was allegedly “lopsided, unjust, unfair and repugnant to natural justice, equity and good governance.”

    It further posits that the complaint of lopsidedness had been presented before a judicial commission of inquiry in 1994, recalling that though the commission rejected its proposal to also split Lafogido to three, it (the commission) recommended that government should urgently convey a meeting of the four ruling houses to enable them to agree on whether or not to amend the declaration.

    It added that although the commission submitted its report to the government, it did not act on it until the stool became vacant again following the death of Oba Okunade Sijuwade on July 28, this year.

    Among others, Lafogido contends, in its statement of claim in the suit number HOS/16/2015, that “the 1980 Ooni of Ife Chieftaincy Declaration is fundamentally flawed in that it contradicts the culture, tradition and practice of Ife in the filling of Ooni of Ife vacant stool, in that it attempts to split Osinkola Ruling House into three namely Osinkola, Ogboru and Giesi ruling houses while the plaintiffs ruling house remained only one.”

    Consequently, Lafogido prayed the court for “a declaration that the 1980 Ooni of Ife Chieftaincy Declaration is lopsided, unjust, repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience;”

    It further prayed the court for an order setting aside the declaration, an injunction restraining Osun State and kingmakers from selecting the new Ooni using the 1980 declaration and an order directing the government and kingmakers “to revert to the old and ancient tradition of selecting the Ooni through the Ifa Oracle.”

    The court has since granted an order of injunction restraining the defendants from going on with its plan to select candidates from the Giesi Ruling House pending the determination of the suit.

    In another suit marked HOS/19/2015 by Lafogido Princes, the plaintiffs seek, in addition to the above prayers, inclusion of Lafogido and other ruling houses in the selection process and “a declaration that a press release by the kingmakers wherein they asked all other ruling houses to wait for their turn is not in tandem with the spirit and tenor of the 1980 Ooni of Ife Chieftaincy Declaration.”

    Relying on section three of the said declaration, Lafogido added that by the press release, the kingmakers “have become biased and acted against the spirit, tenor and proper interpretation of the 1980 Ooni of Ife Chieftaincy Declaration in shutting out other ruling houses from the race.”

    According to the 1980 gazette, the four ruling houses are arranged in the following order: Osinkola (then ruling), Ogboru, Giesi and Lafogido. Clearly, the arrangement took cognisance of the then incumbent Ooni, Oba Aderemi, who hailed from Osinkola Ruling House.

    The gazette, however, stated that in the event of the death of an incumbent, the next houses on the line should produce the next Ooni but that the second next can produce the king if the candidate of the immediate next ruling house is not acceptable.

    As for Osinkola Ruling House, its contention is that rotational ascension to the throne is alien to the history and culture of the people. It claims that there is only one ruling house for the throne. The ruling house, according to Osinkola, is the Ooni Ruling House, which it insists, belongs to one family known as the Ooni of Ife family. This family, Osinkola claims, has four branches known as the four ruling houses in Ile-Ife today. They are Osinkola, Lafogido, Giesi and Ogboru.

    For this reason, Osinkola posits that princes in the four branches are entitled to vie for the vacant stool instead of restricting it to only one branch as done by the government in its September letter to Ife kingmakers.

    The ruling house is seeking, among others, a declaration that the four ruling houses are branches of the sole ruling house of the Ooni of Ife; and a declaration that governor Rauf Aregbesola’s instruction to Giesi Ruling House to nominate candidates for the throne for kingmakers’ consideration is “discriminatory, inequitable, sacrilegious, untraditional, not in tune with the people’s custom, illegal, unconstitutional, ultra cures, null and void and of no effect.” It is also seeking the declaration of the 1980 Chieftaincy Declaration in the above terms. The suit is marked HOS/18/2015.

    There is another suit filed in the Ile-Ife judicial division by some members of the Lafogido Ruling House.

    The Chief Judge of Osun State, Justice Adepele Ojo, is hearing the two cases filed in Oshogbo. The judge expressed desire to consolidate all the cases since they are on the same selection of a new Ooni but it is not yet clear if all the parties and their lawyers want to accept the proposal.

    Given this web of litigations by the ruling houses, Ife kingmakers have their hands tied in continuing with the process of selecting a new Ooni.

    At the resumed hearing of two of the suits in High Court One, Oshogbo on Tuesday last week, some of the kingmakers in attendance expressed anger. While ruminating over the ongoing suits, some of them wondered why some princes and the ruling houses chose to stall the process through the channel of the court.

    But as the legal fireworks take shape, Southwest Report gathered that elders in the town were already mulling intervention to prevent an interregnum because of the importance of the stool to the Yoruba all over the world. If the elders successfully intervene, the ruling houses may end up shifting ground for a ruling house to nominate candidates for the stool. Otherwise, litigations may create a long period of interregnum.

    For now, indigenes of the town who are only expecting a succession may already be in despair as the news of much litigation surrounding the selection process fill the air daily.

     

  • Ooni: Aspirant donates transformers to residents

    AN aspirant to the vacant Ooni stool, Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi from Ojaja Compound in Giesi Ruling House of Ife, has distributed 50 300 and 500 KVA transformers worth N200 million to communities in the town.

    Represented at the distribution exercise by Prince Leke Ijiyode, the donor, however, told the beneficiaries that the gesture was not connected with his aspiration to the Ooni stool.

    Ogunwusi, who noted that the beneficiaries are not to determine who the next Ooni would be, said he was moved by the challenges  which various communities of the town are experiencing as a result of electricity problem.

    He said the economy of the ancient town and its environs has been adversely affected because “many residents, particularly those who use electricity to operate their businesses, have suffered a great deal.”

    Ogunwusi revealed that the the critical need of the communities informed the donation, saying the gesture was meant to support the government in alleviating the suffering of the people.

    According to him, the communities to benefit from the gesture included Parakin, Fasina; NTA area, Fajuyi, Ondo Road Sawmill, Irebami, Oke-Ogbo, Lokore Odin, Lowa Ate, Ife City, Gulf Area, Ikoyi Celestial and Olasode, among others.

    Saying his support for the people of Ife, particularly the poor would come in phases; he also disclosed that plans are on to provide succour for the people in the areas of youth empowerment, water supply and education under several initiatives and programmes.

    Ogunwusi maintained that he had been supporting the people of Ife before Ooni stool became vacant. He said: “I have been assisting students who are indigenes of Ife and often donate instructional materials to schools to aid teaching and learning. The distribution of these transformers is not to induce anyone so that they would make me the Ooni. In fact, the beneficiaries of these transformers are not the people that can make me the Ooni because they are just members of the community and not the kingmakers.

    “So, this gesture is not because of my aspiration to become Ooni. I am really committed to the development of Ife and I have been doing this even before the former Ooni died. We have challenges of epileptic power supply in Ife and this is a major problem.”

    Sawmills operators in Ife and some of the leaders of the communities that benefited from Ogunwusi’s gesture, including Mr. Olalere ýOlanrewaju, Mr. Adedapo Olayode, Mr. Adebisi Adegilye and Mr. Titus Elewude said the socio-economic activities in Ife, no doubt, would improve when the transformers are activated.

     

  • Ooni: Lafogido ruling house stakes claim

    Ooni: Lafogido ruling house stakes claim

    The Lafogido Ruling House has described the recognition of the Giesi Royal Family House as the ruling house to produce the next Ooni of Ife, by Osun State Government and Ife kingmakers,  as unfair. Insisting that it was its turn to produce the next Ooni, ‎the family said it is wrong for the state government and kingmakers to declare Giesi as the only ruling house that is qualified to present candidates for the exalted stool.

    Addressing journalists in Ile-Ife, the head of Lafogido Ruling House, Sooko Adeleke Adewoyin, accused the state government and kingmakers of ignoring the report of the 1992 Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin Panel of Inquiry into the Ife Chieftaincy. Adewoyin also disclosed that the Lafogido Ruling House has instituted a legal action to stop the selection process pending the determination of the case in the court.

    Adewoyin said that Lafogido reigned last as Ooni of Ife in 1930. He lamented that efforts of the Lafogido ruling house in the past to allow the state government and other stakeholders to correct the injustice to the ruling house had been futile.

    “In 1992 we made an attempt to call on the government to re-arrange and address the lopsidedness in the ascendancy to the throne of Ooni. Justice Babalakin in his recommendations on the review put it down black and white. He noted that there was conflicting information about the historical background of Lajamisan, that the best thing the government should do is to call all the ruling houses together and address the matter,” he said.

    Speaking further, he quoted the recommendation which read in part: “In view of all the researches that have been carried out in the Ife history, when the first declaration on the stool of Ooni was made, there would appear to be an urgent need for all the ruling houses in Ife to meet, discuss and agree on the number of Lajamisan’s children, the outcome of their meeting will dictate weather or not there is a necessity to amend the present Ooni of Ife chieftaincy declaration, the commission therefore recommend to the state government to cause this to be done. That is a document already with the government since 1992, after the 1980 which they are now relying on.

    “The Attorney General of the state at that time is still alive and he is Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, now the Asiwaju of Igbajo during the administration of Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke government. He will answer the question of what we have been doing since 1980 because the 1980 edict was hurriedly carried out after the 1976 when an Oba got to the throne. How then can we now rely on the 1980 declaration that has been discredited in 1992 by Justice Babalakin Commission of Inquiry?”

    Adewoyin expressed the fear that Lafogido Ruling House might go into extinction if it allows the injustice against it persist. He said they the Lafogido would continue to sensitise the public about the injustice in the interest of the people of Ife and Yoruba, lamenting that the wrong person should not be allowed to occupy the exalted Ooni stool.

  • As Ile-Ife awaits a new Ooni

    As Ile-Ife awaits a new Ooni

    The palace of the Ooni of Ife which had always been busy round the clock is now bereft of life and activities.  The signs are there for all to see.  The evidence showing that the palace was in deep mourning mood was registered in the minds of some prominent culture technocrats who paid a courtesy call on the palace and some top chiefs of the Ife Kingdom last weekend.

    Among the visitors were Akin Adejuwon, the Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Yusuf Usman, the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments and other top staff of the culture sector.  They were in town to commission a new private museum and to also felicitate with the palace on its cordial relationship with the National Museums which has its Ife office located within the precincts of the palace.

    Adejuwon, who until his appointment last years as the Artistic Director of the Troupe, had been resident in Ife for ten unbroken years was quick to observe this sudden change of mood in the palace and the sudden quiet that has now become the lot of the palace as the people await the announcement and coronation of a new Ooni.

    He said: “Yes, the D.G. of National Museum, had been angling to pay a condolence visit to the Ooni’s palace, because the late Ooni and the people of Ife, had been pivotal to issues concerning the museums and artifacts.  This is for obvious reasons, for Ife has some of the richest repertoires of artistic and historical elements in Nigeria’s history.  They have some of the largest collections of antiquities in Nigeria.  And so he thought by being in Ife for the opening of the dental museum, it would be proper also to be at the palace.  We got to the palace, we had to be admitted through an alternative entrance.  This was so because the main entrance was under lock and key and that in itself would tell you that the old palace is wearing a sombre look.”

    He went on:  “All entrances to palace were sealed at the demise of the Ooni.  So we had to go through the other door and the palace secretary and the representatives of the high chiefs were on hand to receive us.  After waiting for sometime, it was interesting to note that the whole palace looked like a ghost town.  There were no more people milling around the palace with one activity or the other.  I had been to the palace hundreds of times in my life and I had never, for once, seen the palace so quiet, so cold, so isolated and so bereft of social and cultural activities.  It then dawned on me and others that this is how a palace looks like when a new Oba is being awaited.”

    Adejuwon’s surprise did not end here.  He continued: “I have lived in Ife for ten years.  Yes, it is understandable if there is lack of movement, it would look so isolated.  Even then we were received in the Ooni’s large hall where the D.G. of National Museums thanked the chiefs for the total preservation of some of the national artifacts in Ife Museum.”

    At that event too, Ife Chiefs reiterated the importance of one of their most revered gods (deities) that would soon appear and no one would be expected to be seen in public.  The people particularly identify with this deity, very powerful in its role in the lives of the people.  Beyond this, the Ife artifacts have been part of exchange programmes between Nigeria, Spain, and some other European and American nations in the last few years.

    Above all, the rich Ife antiquities have shown the whole world that Africa and Africans had history and culture before the advent of the Europeans.  The visit was also topical in order to solicit the support of the incoming Ooni to keep the importance and prominence of Ife heritage ever aglow in national history and documentation.  The Ooni’s role in this regard can never be thwarted.

    The issue of making a bigger request and demand on the intending King was also brought to the fore.  It was heartwarming too to hear Ife Chiefs commend the management of the National Museums as they advised them on how to go about asking for more in the future.

    For a long time, the traditional Ife bronze with its remarkable facial marks depicting royalty and dignity has been adorning most art festivals world-over.  This symbol, along with others which showcase heroism in warfare, courage in traditional fanfare and lots more are some of the topical issues that the visit harped on.  In all, Ife historical and traditional properties in the National Museums and Monuments will continue to dominate the attention of those who love to make history an issue, indeed an enduring legacy.

  • Needless tussle over new Ooni (1)

    On Thursday, October 2, 2014, I was in the ancient town of Ile-Ife to attend the wake keep of Olori Beatrice Omosigho Adedapo Aderemi, the wife of late Prince Adedapo Morounfolu Aderemi, the first son of the late Ooni of Ife, the revered Sir Adesoji Aderemi. Prince Adedapo died in October 1963 at the young age of 39.

    After the wake keep which held at the Aderemi’s family house,  popularly known as Glass House  in Ile-Ife, I drove to Oja Ife (Ife Market or Oba Market) located some walking distance from the palace of the Ooni of Ife. I went there just to fraternise with Bunmi Adegoke, my childhood friend and old school mate, who retired from Union Bank as a Manager some years back and now into a distribution business. Few years ago, he bagged the traditional title of Sooko, which literally stands for the head of a branch of a ruling house in Ife. Sooko Bunmi Adegoke is from the Lafogido Ruling House in Ife. Altogether, there are more than 40 Sookos in Ife.

    That evening, as if I had premonition of what could happen, I had casually asked Sooko Bunmi if at all there was anybody or prince known to the Ife people, who could immediately ascend the throne of the Ooni in case of the eventuality of the reigning Ooni at the time, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, suddenly joining his ancestors. Sooko Bunmi said there was no such person in sight at that time. And like a soothsayer, I jokingly told him that they had better started planning for that because Oba Sijuwade was getting older by the day and was also getting visibly weaker. His reply to this was that if the throne becomes vacant and the chances are good, he could as well go for it.

    About nine months and 26 days later, specifically in the evening of July 28, the unexpected happened. Oba Sijuwade suddenly joined his ancestors. While the remains of the late Ooni were yet to be interred, the jostling to succeed him started in earnest. Almost everybody who had the privilege of the prefix “Prince” attached to his name in the ancient town became interested in stepping unto the vacant stool. As more and more people – the good, the bad, the flotsam and jetsam – signified their intention to contest for the vacant stool as if it was one political office open to all manner of people, so also was tension rising in the town.

    ‘One thing to note is that the stool of the Ooni is a very important position. It is so great that it is not something that should be trivialised or ridiculed for any reason whatsoever’

    It was in an attempt to douse the rising tension that the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, reached out to the Ife Traditional Council members and invited them to a meeting at the governor’s office, Osogbo, on Friday, September 11. The meeting was held behind closed doors with the governor leading four other government officials. The Ife Traditional Council was represented by 13 chiefs out of the 16 that make up the council.

    At the meeting, the governor made it known to the kingmakers that he did not know the process of installing the Ooni and he had nobody as candidate to fill the vacant stool. He said that all he wanted was peace in the ancient town and that the kingmakers should map out strategies to reduce or stop the growing tension in the town. The governor emphasised that he does not want any problem in Ife as far as the installation process is concerned and appealed to the kingmakers to quickly announce the next ruling house so as to douse the tension which the various security reports from the ancient town had indicated.

    J.O. Ijaodola, the Lowa-Adimula of Ife, made it clear that Ife has a subsisting gazette to install the Ooni and that there are four ruling houses in Ife, namely: Osinkola, Ogboru, Giesi and Lafogido. Oba S.F. Omisakin, the Obalufe of Iremo Quarters and the traditional Prime Minister of Ife, took over from there. He said Ile-Ife has laid-down procedures for installing an Ooni and it is very straight forward. According to him, the installation process and selection for the stool of the Ooni is quite different from that of any of the other obas in Yorubaland and that the kingmakers would endeavour to choose or select the right candidate.

    The governor then asked the representative from the state judiciary to read the registered gazette relating to the filling of the Ooni’s stool.  From the official gazette, it was clear that there are four ruling houses in Ife as stated above. His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adesoji Tadeniawo Aderemi was from Osinkola Ruling House, while His Imperial Majesty, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, was from Ogboru Ruling House. In turn,  the next Ruling House to occupy the throne is Giesi Ruling House. The meeting was then brought to an end.

    As a follow-up, on Monday, September 14, the Ife Traditional Council, held a press conference in Ife and officially announced that it was the turn of the Giesi House to produce the  Ooni of Ife. But if the governor and the kingmakers thought that the announcement would douse the raging tension in the ancient town, they were mistaken. As soon as the announcement was made, the Lafogido Ruling House headed to court to challenge the pronouncement. They got an injunction restraining the kingmakers, the Giesi Ruling House and the governor from going ahead with the process of filling the vacant stool of the Ooni.

    That morning, I spoke with Sooko Bunmi on the need to respect the kingmakers’ judgment concerning the succession process but he was unperturbed. Little did I know that he was the number one name on the list of the plaintiffs that instituted the court action. Anyway, I believe Sooko Bunmi and his co-travelers are just exercising their fundamental rights to justice and fair play (if any).

    The real fireworks have since commenced but it may end up as an exercise in futility. This is because there is a principle of rotation in place in the succession process to the Ooni’s stool. This process has passed through series of litmus tests culminating in several commissions of enquiry in the past. From the look of things, there seems to be an undue desperation in the attempts by some of the Princes in the ancient town to become the next Ooni and they will stop at nothing, including tinkering with history, to achieve this.

    Even in the Giesi Ruling House that has been pronounced as the next in line for the Ooni’s stool, the crowd of aspirants to the throne is unnecessarily unwieldy and untidy. They include two brothers of the same father where the younger one who is expected to step down for the older one as tradition demands, is being goaded on by their father who should know better. Not only this. The younger one has so much commercialized the whole process by doling out money, transformers and tarring roads in the ancient town in order to gain undue attention and advantage. This nauseating attitude has become too irritating to many Ife indigenes who are now saying that the Ooni’s stool cannot be for sale to the highest bidder.

    One thing to note is that the stool of the Ooni is a very important position. It is so great that it is not something that should be trivialised or ridiculed for any reason whatsoever. It is a traditional stool that commands respect and has endured for centuries. We are not talking about the Ooni of Ife alone; we are talking about the Ooni of the Yoruba race. Therefore, what is required is an Ooni with undiluted passion, the right vision and mission to develop Ife and the entire Yoruba race. Certainly, not any form of abracadabra!

     

    • To be continued

     

  • Ooni: Court restrains Giesi from producing candidate

    Ooni: Court restrains Giesi from producing candidate

    AN osogbo High Court has restrained the Giesi Ruling House from nominating a candidate for the Ooni of Ife.

    The Lafogido Ruling House had filed an injunction at the court restraining Giesi Ruling House following the announcement by the kingmakers that the latter would produce the next Ooni.

    The injunction, which was granted yesterday by Justice A. A. Aderibigbe is sequel to a suit filed by the Lafogido ruling house seeking the restraining order against the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola; the Obalufe of Ife, Oba Solomon Omisakin and the Lowa of Ile-Ife, Chief Joseph Ijaduola, pending the determination of the matter before the court.

    The matter was filed on behalf of the Lafogido family by Sooko Bunmi Adegoke, Prince Marcus Adebola Akinmoyero as plaintiffs and Governor Aregbesola, Omisakin and Ijaduola as defendants.

    The injunction read in part: “An order of interim injunction is granted restraining the defendants from accepting nomination, selecting candidates or taking any steps whatsoever in the process of selecting the new Ooni of Ife to fill the vacant stool pending the determination of the motion on notice dated September 15, 2015. Returns date shall be Thursday, September 23, 2015.”

    The kingmakers had on Tuesday addressed a briefing announcing the resolution of the 16-member kingmakers’ council, conceding the nomination of candidates to the Giesi Royal House, insisting that the 1980 declaration on the selection of the Ooni of Ife as gazetted by the old Oyo State remains valid.

    According to Chief Omisakin, the other three ruling houses of Ogboru, Osinkola and Lafogido should wait for their turn.

    However, the Lafogido Ruling House has criticized the decision, saying the declaration does not represent the true status of Ile-Ife royal system and that it should be reviewed before appointing the new Ooni of Ife.