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Save for providence, another ‘Game of Thrones’ akin to the melodrama currently playing out in Kano Emirate of Kano State is set play out in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital city.
However, one of the gladiators mentioned in the script, the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja, is said to be unfazed by the reported amendment made to the gazetted Declaration of Olubadan of Ibadanland by the Oyo State Government and believed only God can determine his fate.
Ladoja is the next in the line of succession to the current Olubadan of Ibadanlan, Oba Akinloye Owolabi Olakulehin, Ige Olakulehin 1, who was officially installed as the 43rd Olubadan on Friday, July 12, 2024.
It was gathered that Ibadan has a unique and transparent traditional succession route to the Olubadan throne, which sees an individual – either from military or civilian line – from the lowest rung of the traditional ladder rise to the peak and ultimately becomes the Olubadan.
The throne of the Olubadan is traditionally swapped between the military and civilian lines, with the 89-year-old Oba Olakuleyin occupying the throne from the military line.
With the ascension of Oba Olakulehin to the throne last week, Ladoja is currently the most senior High Chief from the civilian line waiting in the wings.
LEADERSHIP, however, got hold of a reviewed Declaration of Olubadan of Ibadanland issued by the Oyo State Government and signed by Governor Seyi Makinde since 2023.
The new document or gazette was part of the programme of events circulated during the formal coronation of Oba Olakulehin on Friday.
Section 4 of the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration which stated that, “The person who may be proposed as candidate by the line whose turn it is to fill a vacancy in the office of the Olubadan shall be the most Senior (High) Chief in that line.”
But, the attention of people in the state capital is now on Section 4 of the new Gazette, which states that, “The person who may be proposed as candidate by the Line whose turn it is to fill a vacancy in the office of the Olubadan shall be the most Senior Beaded Crown Oba in that line.”
The proviso in the Gazette currently causing disquiet in Ibadan is the replacement of “the most Senior (High) Chief in that Line” with “the most Senior Beaded Crown Oba in that Line”.
Recall that only Ladoja of the 28 other Ibadan High Chiefs refused to be elevated and wear a beaded crown to become an Oba while the rest Ibadan high chiefs were installed and recognised as Obas in their respective domains under the Olubadan, as part of reforms to the Ibadan chieftaincy law carried out by the late 42nd Olubadan, Ọba Mohood Olalekan Balogun, Alli Okumade II.
Consequently, except the new clause in the new law is vacated and save for providence, the hope of Ladoja of ascending the Olubadan throne may be elusive, a development that is already causing ripples in the ancient city and former capital of the defunct Western Region.
More intriguing about the development is the conspiracy theory that the Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, was allegedly behind the amendment as a payback for Chief Ladoja, who did not support the governor’s re-election bid in the 2023 elections.
However, the Oyo State government, through the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, has debunked the insinuations about any plan to stop or scuttle the ambition of anyone from becoming the next Olubadan of Ibadanland.
Prince Oyelade at a briefing to address the rumours in Ibadan on Thursday, said the State government believed that it is not only premature but also unfair and preemptive for anyone to start discussion on the next Olubadan when a new Olubadan had just been successfully installed barely a week ago.
“It is embarrassing that few days after the coronation and presentation of staff of office to the new Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, Ige Olakulehin I, some citizens are already looking over the shoulders of the new Oba and ascribing the government gazette that implemented the recommendation of the Ibadan Chieftaincy Review Committee to a ploy to disqualify certain individuals.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the last Olubadan, Ọba Mohood Olalekan Balogun, Alli Okumade II, set up the Ibadan Chieftaincy Review Committee to review and deliberate on the needed reforms of the Ibadan chieftaincy, the extant chieftaincy declaration and composition of the Ibadan land local government traditional councils and make the necessary recommendations.
“After extensive review and deliberation, the committee recommended among others that the eleven (11) high chiefs who are members of the Olubadan-In-Council be elevated and approved as beaded crown wearing Obas,” the Commissioner explained.
He further revealed that the immediate-past Olubadan, the late Oba Balogun, Alli Okumade II, in a signed letter to Governor Makinde on February 5, 2023, had proposed that the reform be incorporated into the Ibadan Chieftaincy Declaration of 1957.
“Few months later on 14th July, 2023 precisely, the amendments were gazetted,” Oyelade disclosed.
He stressed that the governor consented to the change not only because it was a legitimate prayer from the late Oba Balogun, but also in deference to the tradition and culture of Ibadanland.
The state government advised the people not to heat up the polity, pledging that government will continue to uphold what is right and the cherished tradition and culture of the people.
On the other hand, many believed that the former governor of Oyo State will not sit idly and allow the new clause in the amended law, which stands as an obstacle to what appears to be his life-long ambition.
A close source to Ladoja, who did not want to be mentioned because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, told our correspondent in Ibadan that the former governor believed that it was the responsibility of the indigenes of Ibadan to defend their culture and traditions.
The source said, “Baba said he doesn’t want to talk about it; that the matter is already generating controversy and he doesn’t want to add his voice.”
Speaking on the possibility of the Otun Olubadan to challenge the law, the source said: “I don’t know, and I can’t say. All I can tell you is that Baba is calm; he is not moved at all. He thinks that God rules in the affairs of men and women; that’s the way he feels.
“He feels that whatever will be, will be. It is God who determines who will get what, it is God who has the final say, not any human being.
“It now depends on the people of Ibadan to now rise up and defend their culture. Ibadan people should rise up and defend the customs of their forefathers. This culture has defined the way Olubadan has been emerging from time immemorial.
“So, if a governor now comes up and says he’s going to do otherwise, let the people determine what’s going to happen. It is left for the people of Ibadan.
“Baba is loved by the people of Ibadan and he doesn’t want a situation he would say something now, and they would say he’s inciting the people of Ibadan against the governor. Baba doesn’t want that. That’s why as an elderly man, he’s keeping quiet. He believes in God.”
Former Governor Ladoja and incumbent Governor Makinde were the best of friends as the former rallied some opposition parties for the latter’s election in 2019 until they parted ways in the build-up to the incumbent’s reelection bid in the 2023.