Tension is mounting in Oba-Ile, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, as youths and women in the community have kicked against an alleged attempt to alter the traditional procedure for choosing the next Oloba of the town.
As reported by Daily Independent, the residents, who staged a peaceful demonstration on Sunday, accused some individuals of taking the six kingmakers to the local government secretariat at Iju-Itaogbolu, where they allegedly conducted an election to determine the successor to the vacant traditional stool.
The protesters maintained that the alleged election was inconsistent with the age-long custom of Oba-Ile, insisting that the selection of an Oloba is not ordinarily determined through an open ballot.
They said the process traditionally involves spiritual consultation through the Ifa oracle.
They explained that the two recognised ruling houses had initially presented one aspirant each for consideration by the kingmakers.
According to them, the next stage should have been for the six kingmakers to undertake the required traditional consultation and accept whichever of the two candidates was identified as suitable for the stool.
The protesters alleged that the process was disrupted after the kingmakers were reportedly summoned or taken to the council secretariat, where they were asked to participate in an election.
They further claimed that an aspirant who had earlier been dropped by his own ruling house following the outcome of the traditional consultation was subsequently said to have emerged from the exercise.
Speaking during the protest at the Oloba’s palace, one of the youths, Pastor Fagoroye Omoboyede, said the demonstration was intended to prevent the presentation of a candidate whom the community did not recognise as having emerged through the accepted traditional process.
Fagoroye said, “The two ruling houses had done spiritual consultations for aspirants in their individual families and both presented one candidate each. What the kingmakers ought to do next is to embark on spiritual consultation on the two candidates and select the one considered better before presenting him to the people as the next Oba.”
He alleged that the kingmakers instead went to the local government secretariat on Friday for what he described as an unauthorised election, adding that residents were informed that an individual previously rejected by his ruling house had emerged from the exercise.
“We learnt that the person who had been dropped from the race by his own ruling house was the one said to have emerged as the winner of the election. That process is alien to our tradition and cannot be accepted by the people,” he added.
Another protester, Princess Oluwabusola Omodara, appealed to the kingmakers to return to the traditional procedure and ensure that the succession process was conducted in accordance with the customs of Oba-Ile.
The protesters also urged Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to intervene urgently, saying the dispute could degenerate into a crisis if the concerns of the residents were ignored. They appealed to the governor to prevail on the kingmakers to present the candidate identified through the accepted traditional process.
They explained that they opted for a peaceful protest in order to express their grievances and prevent suspected hoodlums from taking advantage of the disagreement to cause violence in the community.
Addressing the protesters at the palace, the Regent, Foluke Agunbiade, appealed for restraint and assured them that the kingmakers would take the appropriate steps to resolve the matter.
The protesters thereafter maintained that their demand was not for any particular aspirant to be imposed on the community, but for the established procedure for selecting the Oloba to be respected.
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