Aggrieved nine out of eleven royal families in Oyo Town have urged the Oyo State government to discontinue the ongoing processes of selecting a new monarch for the throne of the ruler (Alaafin) of the ancient town.
The royal families are; Tella Okitipapa, Adediran Ese Apata, Olanite, Adelabu Baba Ibadan, Adesiyan, Adesokan Baba Idade, Iteade Abidekun, Adeitan and Tella Agbojulogun royal families.
It can be recalled that the kingmakers recently announced that 86 aspirants were shortlisted for the throne.
While making submissions at a press conference attended by the family heads of the affected families, Prince Afolabi Adeshina who spoke on behalf of others said the state government should allow the courts to determine their exclusion from the processes.
He alleged that after the demise of immediate past Alaafin, the state government wrote a letter dated August 9, 2022, to the kingmakers to choose a crown Prince from the Agunloyes family and present it to the Oyo Mesi without considering the other nine families who are yet to taste the position.
Afolabi reiterated that all the affected families are agitating for fairness, equity and justice in the installation of the new Alaafin.
“Our lawyers have written several letters to the governor and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state but none of our requests were granted. Engineer Seyi Makinde must do the needful because history will not forget him.
“We were exempted from the ongoing interview due to the 1961 declaration which is not valid anymore, we seek discontinuation of the process of choosing new Alaafin which excluded other nine royal families as contained in the Commission of Enquiry of 1976.
“What caused this uproar is the marginalisation of other nine royal families, in those days, there was never any declaration or discrimination among the children of Alaafin Atiba, we choose the king with love among ourselves, and whoever emerged used to become our father.
“In 1961, upon the dethronement of Oba Adeniran, Alaafin Gbadegeshin of Agunloye ruling house made a declaration, declaring only two ruling houses to benefit from the stool out of the 21 main children of Alaafin Atiba.
“The declaration was attached to the customary law of Yorubaland which stated that every member, the children or the descendant of a founder of a town can occupy a stool of his forebears which negates Oba Gbadegeshin’s declaration of 1971.
“With petitions and protest registered to the then Western government upon the take-over of the then government by the military, our fathers were urged to be patient and for them to choose a king out of late Gbadegeshin’s declaration, and upon that, a panel of enquiry would be constituted that would listen to the yearnings and aspirations of all other children of Alaafin, this was done by late General Adeyinka Adebayo who was the then military governor of Oyo State.
“He constituted the panel headed by Justice Ladehinde Adekunle and they looked into the matter affecting the children of Alaafin Atiba, every family made a memorandum.
“Upon the decision of a panel of enquiry in 1976, they declared all the existing ruling houses non and void and constituted the Atiba ruling house which includes all Atiba descendants.
“The 1976 Commission of Enquiry declared the section of Alaafin of Oyo 1971 declaration defective, this was done by Justice Adekunle Ladehinde Commission of Enquiry, subsequently, in1993 Oloko Commission of Enquiry upheld the decision of the 1976 Commission of Enquiry, that there should be a single ruling house in Oyo regarding the stool of Alaafin to be called Atiba ruling house, which is to include all the descendant of Alaafin Atiba.
“Another was in 2001, where the then governor of the state, Alhaji Lamidi Adesina gazetted the issue through his government’s Secretary, Chief Michael Koleoso. Chief Koleoso is still alive today. He can confirm it.”
Credit: oyoecho.com
