Ruling House Petitions, Kicks Against Emergence Of New Monarch In Osun

By Ayobami Agboola, Osogbo

Members of Ajadi Ruling House in Ara community, Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun State have petitioned Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun to wade into the controversy surrounding the selection of the new monarch in the town.

This was contained in a protest letter signed by sons and daughters of the ruling house and made available to newsmen in Osogbo, the State capital, on Thursday, in which traditional institutions in Yorubaland were urged to wade in and rescue the town (Ara) from ” imminent chieftaincy fiasco “.

According to the letter, which was signed by the head of the royal house, Prince Emmanuel Oladejo Olufoye on behalf of the princes and princesses of Ajadi ruling house “the process which led to the emergence of the new Alara of Ara, Iwindapo Olubayo was a development which negates the principle of fairness and tradition of the ancient town.

They accused Olubayo of conniving with head of kingmakers, Chief Bara of Ara and some other kingmakers to illegally perform the Oba initiation ritual and install Olubayo, who they described as an alien from Oyo state as the new Alara.

The princes and princesses however said it negates Ara chieftaincy declaration to install a non indigene of Ara as Alara of Ara.

“We members of Ajadi Ruling House wishes to intimate your Excellency with the disorderliness and undue processes being presently perpetrated in the process for the selection of the new Alara of Ara from Ajadi ruling house, the ruling house adjudged by the decision in the judgement of 23rd January 2019 to be the next ruling house to produce candidate to fill the vacant stool of Alara of Ara.

“It is pertinent for the Governor to know that by 5:30am of 28th of January, 2019 four days after the judgement of the Ejigbo High Court sitting at Ile-Ife on 23rd January, 2019, Chief Bara of Ara, the Head of Ara Kingmakers in connivance with some kingmakers illegally performed the Oba initiation ritual and installed one Iwindapo Olubayo, an indigene of Oyo state as new Alara of Ara.

“At the time Chief Bara installed this stranger, the judgement of the High Court was not ready for collection and there was no process in place for the filling of the vacant stool.

“There are six ruling houses in the Alara of Ara Chieftaincy by the 1979 Alara of Ara Chieftaincy Declaration , Ajadi Ruling House , the 5th is to produce the new and next Alara of Ara”.

The head of Ajadi ruling house, Prince Emmanuel Oladejo Ilifoye further maintained and declared that he saw and endorsed three (3) expression of interest forms obtained by Prince Gideon Olufemi Adegboye, Prince (Barr) Samson Oladunmoye Ilufoye and Prince Victor Oyekanmi Adegboye.

“That the alleged 4th form purportedly obtained by one Iwindapo Olubayo was never presented to the Head of the Ajadi ruling house let alone endorsing it. “The said Iwindapo is not known to the head of the Ajadi ruling family.

“We are concerned about the growth and development of our community, and obviously we want somebody that will continue where our late monarch stopped but not a person whose emergence to the throne is against customs and tradition of our land, anything contrary to due process is a taboo and we don’t want it”, he said.

The royal house then urged the state government to as a matter of urgency prevail on those it considered as dissidents to forestall imminent crisis that may erupt due to injustice, as it advised residents of the town to remain “calm and resolute in their bid to ensure a rightful man who is related to the Ajadi family emerges as the Alara of Ara.