OLUBADAN SUCCESSION TRADITION SHALL PREVAIL

Letter seeking a hold on new Olubadan of Ibadanland’s appointment is a windless storm, writes Bolaji Adebiyi

As the world celebrated the brand-new year on its first day, Oba Saliu Adetunji, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, joined his ancestors. Being of the ripe age at 93 he had been under the weather for a couple of days due to age-related health issues. Family members said he put up a good fight even at his age. He was a calm king whose reign featured peace and tranquility in a city almost perpetually hunted by its origin as a camp for accomplished warlords of the Yoruba race.

Even in the face of extreme provocation by the immediate past Oyo State administration of Abiola Ajimobi, which was perceived to have undermined his authority by balkanising his territory with the elevation of his high chiefs to the status of kings, Adetunji, who took the appellation of Aje Ogunguniso II, remained calm and preached conciliation instead of the town’s customary resort to violence to settle scores, preferring to submit his grievances to the due process of the law. No wonder there has been mourning in the land with everyone asking Allah to forgive his sins and grant him Aljannah Firdaus.

Even as the Ibadan people mourn, the media space has been agog with conversations on Oba Adetunji’s successor. Relying on the rich ancient city’s enviable and globally acclaimed succession tradition, the media had no problem in projecting Lekan Balogun, the Otun Olubadan and senator of the federal republic, as the Olubadan-designate even before a formal declaration by the Olubadan-in-Council, the city’s kingmakers. The healthy conversations and didactic media analyses would soon be polluted by an open letter from Michael Lana, a former attorney-general of the state, to Seyi Makinde, the governor, advising against the appointment and installation of Balogun or any of the high chiefs as the Olubadan.

He argued that the high chiefs having been elevated to kings by the Ajimobi administration could no longer by law ascend to the throne of Olubadan. He cited no specific provision of the law he was referring to though. Secondly, he said, given the pendency of two lawsuits on the 2017 review of the 1959 Ibadan Chieftaincy Declaration by the Ajimobi administration it would be impossible for the state government to appoint a new Olubadan pending the resolution of the suits.

The letter understandably generated interest in the media giving the impression that there exists controversy over the impending succession to the throne. Although the intention of the communication to the governor was not clear, especially as Lana did not state if he was representing any party to the said suits, it is apparent that the intervention is useless and unfortunate as it seeks to create a windless storm.

The Olubadan-in Council as well as its legal team have already responded and dismissed Lana’s letter as an unnecessary misrepresentation of facts and the law. What they did not add is that he is probably nothing more than an attention-seeking meddlesome interloper seeking to revive an obviously sagged professional and political career. An unknown quantity before his appointment as attorney-general by Adebayo Alao-Akala, the one-term governor of the state, Lana must, in his sober moment, be ashamed of his effort to disrupt the age-long orderly succession tradition of the ancient city that happens to be his hometown. For he, as a lawyer, ought to have known, except for mischief, the position of the case law as well as the law on the matter at hand.

The succession process for the Olubadan throne is well laid down in the 1959 Ibadan Chieftaincy Declaration, which establishes ascension by rotation between two lines, the Olubadan (the civil) and the Balogun (the war). It states that the most senior high chief from the succeeding line shall be nominated to fill the vacant stool except if the said chief is disqualified by law. The most senior high chief for the Olubadan line is the Otun, while the Balogun is the foremost in the Balogun line. Herein lies the uniqueness of the Ibadan succession process as the next in line is always known even while the Olubadan is alive.

However, in 2017 the Ajimobi administration did what many other administrations before it was not bold enough to do. It reviewed the 1959 declaration and elevated the 11 high chiefs and 13 Bales (village chiefs) to king. This gave Ibadan 24 kings. The Olubadan under that review was elevated to an emperor, taking the appellation of imperial majesty while the high chiefs-tuned kings and Bales were addressed as royal majesties. Meanwhile, nothing in the review disrupted the order of succession and the high chiefs-turned kings remained the Olubadan-in Council and were to retain the pre-existing succession process. Ajimobi made this clear in his speech during the installation ceremony.

“I wish to state categorically that we are not changing history, we are not changing tradition, we are not changing the culture of Ibadanland,” he said, explaining, “Rather, we are elevating and consolidating our traditional institution, the exalted position of the Olubadan of Ibadan as the Imperial Majesty in Ibadanland, the Olubadan-in-Council and the Chieftaincy Institution without altering or tinkering with the traditional succession and ascendancy system of the Olubadan Chieftaincy structure.”

But perceiving that his influence had been reduced and territory circumscribed, Oba Adetunji protested the review. He was supported by many prominent and majority of Ibadan citizens who did not appreciate the purport of the review. Yet, it was a deft political move to increase and expand the influence of Ibadan chieftaincy within the Oyo State Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs.

Until 2017 Ibadan had only one king in the council and despite the calibre and sphere of influence of its high chiefs, they had no voice in the council. It was so ridiculous that they sat behind kings of lesser territories and could not speak at meetings attended by these small rulers. For instance, the Olubadan presides over 13 of the 33 LGs of Oyo State. Yet at the State Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs, he has only a vote as Onifiditi of Fiditi with less than an LG. Meanwhile, the Otun Olubadan that presides over the South-east LG with a population and expanse of land more than double even Oyo town with its two LGs has no speaking talk less of voting right in the same council. These were the complaints of the Ibadan high chiefs all of whom were highly educated and politically influential men of means and wealth. At the head of this agitation to right, this perceived wrong at the time was the then Otun Olubadan, Chief Omowale Kuye, prominent lawyer, industrialist and a former federal super permanent secretary.

So, Ajimobi, an Ibadan high chief himself, was only responding to pressure from his own people. Unfortunately, as in the ways of big government people, he made little effort to market the policy. The result was the revolt, ironically and initially led by Senator Lekan Balogun, who became Otun Olubadan after Kuye’s death.

Nevertheless, many lawsuits followed with the Court of Appeal upholding the High Court of Oyo State’s decision to set aside the Ajimobi review with the incumbent Seyi Makinde administration preferring an out-of-court settlement rather than approach the Supreme Court for a further review.

Although there are two suits challenging the out-of-court settlement, Lana as a lawyer ought to have known that whatever the outcome of those suits, they would not override the Court of Appeal decision. So, what was the point of his letter?

Adebiyi, the managing editor of THISDAY Newspapers, writes from bolaji.adebiyi@thisdaylive.com