Almost immediately after the demise of Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade the 17th Olubadan of Ibadan, Tuesday, January19, tussle for succession got intense and the question on every lip is who becomes the next king (Olubadan) of Ibadan? AGBOOLA BAYO brings to light the intrigues, jostles for the throne and complex arguments by the disputing parties.
Ibadan, also referred to as the political headquarters of all the Yoruba speaking states is in the news again with the demise of its paramount ruler, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade on Tuesday, January, 19 at the age of 101 years.
According to palace sources, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade who was born on April 14, 1914, became the Olubadan in July 2007.
Died at about 8.00pm that fateful Tuesday in his palace in the Monatan area of Ibadan will remain the oldest Olubadan to have reigned in recent times after the reign of Oba Yesufu Oloyede Asanike 1 from Idi-Aro who spent 10 years on the throne 1983-1993.
Oba Odulana hailed from Aremo area and was the 17th Olubadan since the title was elevated from Baale Ibadan to the Olubadan in 1930 with Oba Okunola Abass who reigned from 1930-1946 being the first traditional ruler to bear the new title.
Ibadan, unlike other ancient cities and towns in Yoruba land had its own unique succession system in which even the reigning Oba knowing his successor to be the most senior High Chief from either the Balogun or Otun lines in the Olubadan-in-Council, the kingmakers, thereby making the succession less competitive in most cases.
But this time around, reverse seems to be the case with the on-going crisis arising from the claim to the Olubadan throne by the head of the Seriki line, Chief Adebayo Oyediji whereas, if the age long Ibadan traditional succession system is to be adopted, the reigning Balogun Ibadan land, High Chief Saliu Akanmu Adetunji who is now the most senior among in the Olubadan-in-Council should be named the new Olubadan
However, feelers on a possible succession crisis to the Olubadan throne arose few weeks before the demise of Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade with the Seriki line chiefs of Ibadan land threatening to install its own parallel Olubadan immediately after the demise of the incumbent, if the Olubadan and his council continue to take laws into their hands by defying court judgments and orders of injunction by filling vacancies restrained by court injunctions not to fill, saying this would be in order for them to appoint and install their own Olubadan, since they had de jure power and entitlement to fill the vacancy.
The Seriki line in the petition to Governor Abiola Ajimobi, dated January 7, 2016, and titled “Urgent notification of pending court injunction” and petition in a bid to set aside the elevation of nine high chiefs in Ibadan land who were recently elevated and described the elevation of the High Chiefs as illegal added that going by the Supreme court judgment.
it was the turn of the Seriki chiefs to produce the next person that would ascend the throne as Olubadan of Ibadan land, after the demise of the present king, Oba Samuel Odulana.
“We are basing this claim of ours on the fact that the consent judgment, as far back as December 1, 1989, has provided that it is the turn of the chiefs in Seriki line to fill successive vacancies in the Ekerin Balogun and Ekerin Olubadan chieftaincies”.
The Seriki line stated that if the Olubadan and his council had done the right thing which they ought to have done since, the Seriki chiefs would have risen to the post of Olubadan long before the installation of the incumbent Olubadan, and that their patience had been tried beyond the point of endurance to the point of being accounted to be fools in the society and that as such installing a parallel Olubadan administration in Ibadan will not be an illegality.
“Now, we have sought legal and other counsel from experts in the field and we have been advised that since legally speaking, Seriki line is the next line to fill the stool of Olubadan of Ibadan after the demise of the incumbent and since the powers that be have continued to deny us of our rights to do so, we would not run foul of any law if we set up and appoint our own Olubadan immediately after the demise of the incumbent Olubadan of Ibadan land and we have resolved to do so”.
Also, the Seriki chiefs in the petition stressed that they have an high court order which granted them an order of injunction to restrain the governor and the Olubadan from appointing or approving the appointment of anybody to fill any vacancy in the nine chieftaincies, with the orders, including an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the governor of Oyo State, the Attorney General of Oyo State and the Olubadan of Ibadan from selecting, appointing or promoting any person into any vacancy that exist now or may later exist in the Ekerin Olubadan, Asipa Olubadan, Osi Olubadan, Otun Olubadan and Olubadan chieftaincies, pending the hearing and final determination of the originating summons filed in a suit delineated I/421/07.
The Seriki chiefs, through their counsel, Barrister A.G Adeniran Esq, had sent a petition dated January 4, 2016 to the Governor Abiola Ajimobi intimating him of the order given on November 21, 2008 at the High Court 19 sitting Ibadan, which granted an order of interlocutory injunction in favour of the Seriki chiefs, restraining Oba Samuel Lana, the governor and the Attorney General from filling some positions and an order restraining them from appointing, selecting and promoting some chiefs.
Hours after the demise of Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade, the Seriki line renewed their agitation with the head of the line, Chief Adebayo Oyediji, at a chat with newsmen insisting that he is the next High Chief to be installed as the new Olubadan and not the Balogun of Ibadan High Chief Saliu Adetunji in accordance with the Supreme court judgment of 1999 and that he has already filed a motion before the Chief Judge of Oyo state, Justice Muktah Abimbola seeking an order of the court that it is the turn of Seriki line to produce the next Olubadan.
Chief Oyediji in the motion dated January 19, filed through his counsel, Barrister A. G Adeniran, High sought a declaration that “by the provision of the consent judgment delivered by the High Court in suit No. I/313/88, it is the turn of the claimants (Seriki line) to produce the next Olubadan of Ibadan on both the Olubadan line and the Balogun line”, an order “setting aside the purported appointments made by the 1st defendant (Oba Odulana) to fill vacancies existing in the chieftaincy titles of Ekerin Olubadan, Ashipa Olubadan, Osi Olubadan, Otun Olubadan and Balogun Olubadan of Ibadan since November 21, 2008 up till the last appointment he made on January 1, 2016”, as well as an order “setting aside the purported approval granted by the Governor of Oyo state on January, 2016 or thereabout to the appointments made by the Olubadan on January 1 2016 to fill vacancies existing in the chieftaincy titles”.
Chief Oyediji claimed that the Olubadan-in-Council had since 1989 when the Supreme court judgment was obtained in favour of the Seriki line refused them opportunity of being admitted into the Olubadan line and that the Seriki line has suffered marginalization since the death of the last Otun Seriki, Late Chief A. M. A Akinloye who was denied the opportunity in 2007, adding that the problem reared its head with the making of the 1959 Ekerin Olubadan Chieftaincy declaration which put Seriki under Ekerin Olubadan of Ibadan and provided for the first time that Seriki can only be promoted to Ekerin Balogun only if there are two simultaneous vacancies occurring in the Ashipa and Ekerin Balogun titles
According to Chief Oyediji one of the Seriki’s motions would be heard on January 28, 2016.
But on Thursday, January 21, the Olubadan-in-Council faulted the claim by the Head of Seriki Line in Ibadan land, Chief Adebayo Oyediji, that he is the next qualified candidate for the vacant Olubadan stool, saying, “Chief Oyediji, who is laying claim to be Olubadan, or that he is competent, is only Osi Seriki”, and not a Seriki, who is the head of his own line, saying, “ he has not been promoted by the Olubadan.
Speaking through the Ashipa Balogun of Ibadanland, High Chief Abimbola Tajudeen Ajibola the Olubadan-in-Council stated that there was no Seriki and that nobody could present himself for installation unless the Council does so to Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
“It is undisputed that the current High Chief qualified to be Olubadan is High Chief S. A. Adetunji. That is the authentic one. No other one. Any other one is a counterfeit. You know in this our institution, we have lines and there are only two lines recognized so far, both by law and otherwise. It is Otun Olubadan line and Balogun line, and that is all. There is no third Line.
Nobody is competent to say he can be Olubadan. He cannot appoint himself; he cannot put himself there”.
The Olubadan-in-Council spokesperson added that the council “is not aware of any Supreme court judgment on the Olubadan stool as claimed by Chief Oyediji.
“We are not aware of any judgment that Chief Oyediji is claiming because at the moment there is no Seriki or whatsoever. Even, the 1959 declaration law which he quoted says if there are two vacancies in one line’. No other judgment can overrule the law.
That is the law, basically. So, we have no Seriki now. The only Seriki we knew then was Akinloye and he died long time ago. There is no execution, there is nothing, no awareness. How can they say they want to be Olubadan? Who is going to sign for them? It is under the tradition that we have two Lines: the Otun Line and the Balogun Line. All members of the Council would sign for whosoever to be proposed.
Who is going to sign for them?.
The Council stressed further. that “the governor will not even sign for them” and that “whoever we present to be Olubadan as kingmakers is what the governor will follow. Are they going to sign for themselves? They are not part of our meetings. We have never had any meeting with them. They have not been promoted”.
“What they should do, they should do it right away in time. They have not asked the Olubadan before he was deceased to promote them.
So, who is laying claim to what? There is nobody competent so far. It is a fake news. Chief Oyediji, who is laying claim to be Olubadan, or that he is competent, is only Osi Seriki”. He has not been promoted. He should apply to Olubadan to promote him first before he starts arguing. He has no locus standi. He won’t present anything to the governor.
The governor would not listen. The governor knows the right thing. There is a system for everything. There is no Seriki to sign for him. We are not to join issues with them because we don’t recognize Seriki things. That is the principle so far”.
As Governor Abiola Ajimobi announced Friday, February 12 date for the burial of the late Olubadan, the question now is whether or not an amicable solution could be found to the ranging succession crisis on who the crown of the next Olubadan of Ibadan land fits. Time will tell.
