Olubadan: Grass to Grace Story of a Class Monarch

The late Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, Aje Ogunguniso I, led a life filled with good examples and worthy of emulation, writes Kemi Olaitan

The 41st Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, who joined his ancestors, yesterday, was born on August 26, 1928, at Adetunji compound, Popoyemoja, Ibadan, to the family of Olayiwola, a tailor and Alhaja Suwebat Adetunji. His father had five wives with the mother as the first and as the first born of his parents’ 17 children, he described the story of his parents as interesting. According to him, four years separated their ages and they both died within four years. While his father died in 1989, his mother died in 1993.

He though had no educational certificate, nor attended any school; he did not allow this to deter his journey in life as the lesson classes he attended prepared him for his foray into the world. Young Adetunji began to fulfil destiny, when he trained as a tailor under one Disu Alade Igbalajobi from Ijaye. According to him, “I sew both English and Yoruba dresses. My tailoring business boomed, because I displayed expertise in the profession. I had four sewing machines and employed four journeymen, who worked on shifts.”

Another phase in the life of the departed monarch, which he often regaled with excitement was his foray into the entertainment world. “ One day, I went with the late Badejo Okusanya on a business trip to Agarawu, Lagos. He used to trade in lock keys and padlocks. After the business of the day, he told me to look for a porter that would assist us in carrying the goods. I said porter ke? (Why porter). I told him the load was not heavier than what I could carry.

“So, I carried it on my head to his shop at number five, Orogiri Street, Lagos. When we got there, he called one of his staff, who was younger to me and asked him, ‘Who is older between you and Saliu? He answered, ‘Saliu is older.’ He again asked him, ‘The other time we went to Lagos to purchase some items, who carried it to the office,’ and the worker answered that it was ‘a porter.’

“Then, he told him that, ‘Saliu would be successful in life because of his humility: The rest is history now. Thereafter. He gave me some record discs to be playing for my customers so that they would not be in hurry to leave my workshop. While entertaining my customers with the discs, some of them expressed interest in getting copies and I obliged them in exchange for money, since I was not prepared to give them free, because Badejo gave them to me for a purpose.

“So, within a few days, I had sold all the record discs and took the money to Badejo in order to convince him that I actually sold them. When I got to him with the proceeds, he made a startling revelation, saying, ‘Thank God. This same business that I started with your father in 1940, but which he said he could not continue, because he was ‘not comfortable with living in Lagos is what you’re venturing into now.

“He then counted the money and ordered his apprentice to give me four and a half shillings as royalty on each record I sold. I used to sell one record for two pounds, 10 and 15 shillings. That was how I came into record disc sales and the business boomed. Thereafter, I built a rack to hang the records in my tailoring workshop. But when I was having conflicting interests in both trades, I left tailoring and embraced record disc sale,” Oba Adetunji said.

The late monarch began the journey to the stool of Olubadan in 1976 during the reign of Olubadan, Oba Gbadamosi Adebimpe (1976 – 1977) of Odinjo, Ibadan, when he became the Mogaji of Adetunji family, three years after he was first called to do so.

“ I can recollect that the late Balogun Olubadan, High Chief Sulaiman Omiyale, pressured me to become the Mogaji of my family, but I refused, because of my business. But he persisted and educated me that being a chief in Ibadan will have no negative impact on my business. I didn’t yield to his pressure until three years after when I succumbed. Since 1976, I have continued to progress steadily on the Balogun chieftaincy line, climbing the 23 steps according to the tradition of Ibadan chieftaincy, till Allah granted me the grace to become Olubadan.

“I was decorated as Jagunmolu Balogun in 1978 by Olubadan, Oba Daniel Tayo Akinbiyi (1977 – 1982) at Elekuro, Ibadan. For 40 years, I was elevated from one step to the other until I finally reached the pinnacle of the Balogun line, which qualified me to become the 41st Olubadan following the passage of Olubadan, Oba Samuel Odulana, Odugade I (2007 – 2016).”

His Battle with Ajimobi

One major battle that Oba Adetunji fought was his vehement opposition to the elevation of Ibadan High Chiefs to crown- wearing Obas by former governor of Oyo State, the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi. Ajimobi in 2017, reviewed the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration to allow the ancient town have multiple Obas and according to the new law, Olubadan would be referred to as His Royal Majesty and Paramount ruler of Ibadanland, while the Council’s beaded members were to be addressed Royal Highnesses. This, however, did not go down well with Oba Adetunji, who alongside the Osi Olubadan and a former governor of the state, Senator Rasheed Ladoja, kicked against the law.

The monarch and Lsdoja eventually went to court and got judgement against the state government, which was appealed by the government. Between 2017 and May 29, 2019, when the tenure of Ajimobi ended, it was royal rumble in the ancient city between the monarch and members of the Olubadan-in-Council, who were elevated. Indeed, Oba Adetunji rebuffed all efforts at reconciliation as he saw the government’s action as an insult to the custom and tradition of his people.

Apart from blaming the high chiefs for being overambitious, since all of them were also in line to becoming Olubadan, he stopped holding meetings with them or giving them traditional functions to perform. Oba Adetunji had through his Media Aide, Chief Adeola Oloko, said “There is nowhere in Yorubaland, where two kings sit inside a palace. It has always been the king and his chiefs. Aside violating our customs and tradition, there is no law that backs the wearing of illegal crowns in Ibadanland.”

The monarch died protecting the institution of his ancestors and did so with his shoulders high. History, definitely, has already settled his place.

Lekan Balogun: Unveiling the Olubadan-in-Waiting

The Otun Olubadan, High Chief Lekan Balogun, is the 42nd Olubadan-in-waiting, writes Kemi Olaitan

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, High Chief Mashood Olalekan Balogun, will succeed the late Oba Saliu Adetunji, as the 42nd Olubadan of Ibadanland, based on the laid down hierarchy of ascension to the Ibadan Chieftaincy throne.

The hierarchical arrangement in the Ibadan system has a two line approach of the Balogun system and the Olubadan (Otun) system. The Olubadans are appointed on rotational basis to occupy the stool on the death of a monarch while the next to Olubadan and most senior on both lines are the Otun Olubadan and Balogun.

With the late Oba Adetunji from the Balogun line, High Chief Balogun being the most senior on the Olubadan (Otun) line, is expected to be the next Olubadan-in-line, according to the rotational system.

A businessman and politician, Lekan Balogun, sits on the board of several companies with interests in oil and gas, distributive trade, management consulting, mechanised farming and export of non-oil items as well as travels and tourism.

A senator under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) between 1999 and 2003, he was an administrator/head, industrial relations, recruitment and scholarships, planning and development at Shell Petroleum Development Company.

He was also a Research Fellow with the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, a director with Triumph Newspaper, Kano; Editor of the monthly Magazine, The Nigerian Pathfinder as well as Management Consultant for Multinational Organisations such as Leyland, Exiat Battery and Nigerian Breweries. He is a renowned technocrat, author and philanthropist.

Born in 1942, he holds a Doctorate, Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in Public Administration; Public and Social Administration and Economics from Columbus International University, Brunel University and Manchester University all in the United Kingdom.

A former presidential aspirant on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), during the aborted third republic, he was also a gubernatorial candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State in the present political dispensation.

While in the Senate, Balogun was Chairman, Senate Committee on National Planning and member of many Committees that included Appropriations, Security and Intelligence, Police Affairs and Defence (Army).

He has written and published widely. Many of his publications included A Review of Nigeria’s 4 years’ Development Plan, 1970-1974; Nigeria: Social Justice or Doom; Power for Sale: published in Punch Newspaper; Arrogance of Power; Nigeria: The people must decide, among other publications.

The Olubadan-in-waiting has not been without his own share of controversy. Indeed, he was the arrow head of the High Chiefs, who got into a long drawn battle with the late Oba Adetunji, over their elevation as Obas by the former governor, the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi. For many indigenes, he was believed to have instigated the crisis between them, who deserted the Olubadan palace and the monarch.

High Chief Balogun while speaking at the height of the crisis on behalf of other High Chiefs elevated and members of he Olubadan-in-Council, once accused Oba Adetunji of denigrating the council by appointing Mogajis (family heads) and Baales (village heads) without any recourse to the council.

“Kabiyesi Oba Adetunji has turned the institution of Olubadan into personal affair, which can be run at his whims and caprices, which amounts to illegality. Contrary to their belief at Popoyemoja palace that Olubadan is an authority unto himself, we are telling the world that Olubadan only exists with his council,” he said.

While lamenting the crisis within the traditional council following the elevation of the High Chiefs, he said it was sad the Olubadan was destroying the system that enthroned him, stating that rather than recognise the Olubadan-in-Council’s position, Oba Adetunji conferred the duties of the entire council on one of his wives, who ruled by proxy.

His words: “We want to draw the attention of the people of Ibadan to some irregularities and illegalities embarked upon by the Olubadan. If Olubadan thinks we do not matter, we also can show that he doesn’t matter without us. He should not forget that, when he was to be made the Olubadan, he rose through the council. We (Olubadan-in-Council) made Olubadan out of him. He did not make us what we are, but we made him the Olubadan.”

In 2020, there were allegations that Balogun was at loggerheads with Governor Seyi Makinde. But he quickly refuted having a rift with the governor just as he maintained that the Ibadan Traditional Council had no grudge with him.

Now that he is the next in line for the coveted stool, perhaps, Balogun would allow Governor Makinde realise the dreams of his late predecessor, by upgrading the chiefs to Oba and rotating the chairmanship of the council, just to make his own stool more majestic. After all, he led the revolution against the late Oba and now, the ball is in his court.

List of High Chiefs next to the Olubadan in hierarchy.

High Chief Mashood Olalekan Balogun – Otun Olubadan

High Chief Akinloye Owolabi Olakunlehin – Balogun of Ibadanland

High Chief Tajudeen Abimbola Ajibola – Otun Balogun of Ibadanland

High Chief Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja – Osi Olubadan

High Chief Eddy Oyewole – Asipa Olubadan

High Chief Lateef Gbadamosi Adebimpe – Osi Balogun

High Chief Abiodun Kola-Daisi – Eekerin Olubadan

High Chief Salaudeen Hamidu Ajibade – Eekarun Olubadan