Nine out of the eleven ruling houses in Oyo have called on the Oyo Traditional Council, also known as the Oyo Mesi, to apply fairness and inclusiveness in the process of selecting the next Alaafin of Oyo.
The agitations that have been trailing the selection process took another turn at the weekend when nine families claimed they have been marginalised over the years.
They said they have agreed to present a single candidate to the Oyo Mesi for consideration to the stool of the monarch of the ancient town
A member of the Adelabu Atiba Family, Prince Ahmed Adelabu, who spoke on behalf of the nine families, made the call while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
According to Adelabu, only the Alowolodu and Agunloye families had been taking turns at reigning in Oyo for centuries and had sidelined the other nine ruling families.
He said the aim of the agitation of the nine families was not to antagonise anyone but to ensure everyone did the proper thing so that people’s rights are not denied them.
The ‘sidelined’ ruling families at the briefing include: Adeitan, Lanite, Adesokan Baba Idode, Adelabu Baba Ibadan, Iteade Abidekun, Adediran-Ese Apata, Adesiyan, Tella Okitipapa and Agbojulogun.
The Agunloye and Alowolodu ruling houses are said to have been taking turns to ascend the throne in the past years, marginalising the remaining nine ruling houses.
The immediate past Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III came from the Alowolodu ruling house, while his predecessor, Oba Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II was from the Agunloye ruling house.
The nine families said the crisis that has been rocking the ascension to the throne for centuries can be solved by the Oyomesi, before the enthronement of new monarch.
He said the kingmakers are supposed to play neutral roles among all the 11 sons of Atiba, who founded the present Oyo Kingdom, adding that the correction that the kingmakers must make is to ensure that the new Alaafin comes from one of the nine royal families that have been purportedly sidelined for centuries.
Adelabu said “What we are agitating for is nothing less than to allow all other Princes to be included in this chieftaincy matter. Our aim and objective is inclusiveness because they have marginalised us for centuries.
“So we want to leave a good legacy for our own children. So we implore the Bashorun and the Oyo Mesi, as a group, to live up to expectations, to be upright and make sure that they choose from the 9 other princes that have been marginalised for long.”
He urged the Oyo Mesi, which he said had a huge responsibility, to unite and use the opportunity of the death of the last Alaafin to do the right thing concerning the Alaafin stool, saying the Basorun of Oyo, High Chief Yussuf Ayoola Layinka, who is the regent, is in the position to correct the anomaly that had been going on for centuries.
The Oyo Prince noted that it is the Oyo Traditional Council that has the overall power when it comes to the selection of the Alaafin and the government cannot impose anything on it, charging the council to come together and with one voice right the centuries-long wrong that had embedded the selection of the Alaafin.
“The issue on the ground is that the new Alaafin should come from one of the sidelined families. We the nine sidelined families are ready to present one candidate for the Alaafin stool because we are all united,” Adelabu added.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
