Crisis Looms In Iwo Over Imminent Installation Of New Magaji Of Adegunodo Ruling House

By Ayobami Agboola, Osogbo

A ruling house in Iwo, Osun state, Adegunodo ruling house has petitioned state government and law enforcement agencies over the imminent installation of new head( Magaji) of the house by Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi.

The princes and princesses of the Ruling House, which comprises seven component compounds namely: Mojibere, Modara, Mosikun, Mojiowa, Motunase, Mojiro and Mokoti called on Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo and Governor Gboyega Oyetola to prevail on Oba Akanbi from imposing Alhaji Semiu Oladimeji Fanta as new head of the family, while the present one is still alive.

Our Correspondent sighted a petition sent to the police chief, dated May 14, 2020, signed by the head of the family, Alhaji Najasi Alade, a copy which was made available to journalists on Monday, where he cautioned the monarch to mind his business and refrain from move that is capable of creating disunity within the ruling house.

He said any attempt by the monarch to impose Alhaji Fanta on them as the head of the ruling house while the incumbent Magaji , Prince Najasi Alade from Mojibere, who was unanimously appointed is still alive may lead to imminent violence, mayhem and bloodshed.

Also, at a press conference in Iwo on Monday, Secretary of the ruling house, Ganiyu Saheed said each ruling house elects a head based on the principles set by the family, while the Oluwo elects an overall head among the various heads of the ruling houses.

He said :”We call on the state Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, as well as various stakeholders in Iwoland to call Oluwo to order against disrupting the peaceful co-existense in our town.

“We are dismayed and grossly appalled that Alhaji Semiu Oladimeji Fanta from Mokoti Component Compound of Adegunodo Ruling House could descend so low to accept the appointment from Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, Oluwo of Iwo, when he knows full well that Alhaji (Prince) Najasi Alade, the current Mogaj is hale and hearty.

“We see the action of Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi’s towards installing Alhaji Semiu Oladimeji Fanta as Mogaji of Adegunodo Ruling House as a taboo, and an affront on our custom and tradition, particularly when Oluwo of Iwo is not the rightful person to install Mogaji for the Ruling Houses, coupled with the fact that the sitting Mogaji of Adegunodo Ruling House, Alhaji (Prince) Najasi Alade, is still alive.

“We have seen clearly that Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi and one of his cohorts, Alhaji Semiu Oladimeji Fanta, have resolved to destabilize Adegunodo Ruling House in their bid to have forced control over all the Ruling Houses in Iwo with the aim of entrenching
thuggery, hooliganism, and violence in our cultural heritage and distort history .

“To this end, the youth anf prominent members of Adegunodo Ruling House and other Ruling Houses here vowed to resist the installation of Alhaji Semiu Oladimeji Fanta as Mogaji of Adegunodo Ruling House by Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi on 15/5/2020 by the last drop of our blood if the Oluwo of Iwo insists on installing him.

“We hereby implore every critical stakeholder to wade into this matter in order to avoid violence, mayhem and bloodshed and particularly to prevail on Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, Oluwo of Iwo, to rescind his decision to install Alhaji Semiu Oladimeji Fanta as Mogaji of Adegunodo Ruling House. It is a taboo to say the least.

“We are a peace loving people, it is our right to decide or elect the head of the ruling house and we have one in place, he is hale and hearty. Attempt by Oba Akanbi to impose his stooge, Semiu Fanta on us, in a bid to take over control of the family will be resisted vehemently”.

Meanwhile, the monarch, while reacting to the allegation said he was not aware of an existing head within the Adegunodo ruling house after the demise of the last one, neither was he trying to impose someone on the ruling house.

He said the decision to elect a head for the ruling house is a collective one among all the lineages that make up the house, subject to his approval, adding that any dissenting voice could stagnate emergence of anyone.

“I am not aware of the existence of a head in Adegunodo ruling house since the demise of the last one. No one has been introduced to me by the ruling house. The decision to elect a head is a collective one amongst the compounds; my role is just to approve their choice except where they disagree, then they will have to wait until they resolve their differences”, Oluwo said.