By Joseph Ajayi – Lokoja
The Obajemu of Oweland, Oba Michael Ibinaiye and Kabba (Owe) Oke Meta Council of Chiefs may not be ready to shift ground on who to fill the vacant stool of the Ololu Obadofin of Oweland as they insisted on who the Ifa Oracle picked and sanctioned by the deity of Oweland, noting that any other nomination will be against the custom and tradition of the people, as such will not be good for the peace, order and development of the land.
This was disclosed yesterday at the monthly Onko meeting at the palace of His Royal Majesty, Oba Michael Ibinaiye, a principal selector, where issues bothering on the overall developments of the community were discussed.
In his address, HRM Oba Ibinaiye called on the people of the community to remain calm and peaceful as everything is being done to make sure that the custom, culture and traditions of Kabba (Owe) people are not bastardized, pointing out that the lingering issues on the selection of Obadofin of Oweland will be resolved in no distant time.
He said that, he is not new in such selections in the community, stressing that the actions of the Obaro on the issue are strange, hence he believes government will do the needful to correct the anomaly.
The meeting which called to question why the Obaro treated the Head of Odolu Ruling Group, HRH Oba Joseph Oshatuyi in a dehumanized way, noted that it will be the first time any traditional head in the status of Obaro of Kabba in Oweland will behave in such a manner hence the
traditional sanctions of the land need to be enforced or allowed to take their course, that, it is an aberration for him or any traditional head for that matter to use Police officers to publicly harass, intimidate or embarrass another traditional head inside Kabba territory for whatever cause.
The meeting further resolved that since both the reports of the committee of Odolu Ruling Group and Obajemu findings during his consultations with Ifa Oracle as one of the principal selectors confirmed that Chief Julius Arokoyo is the suitable candidate to fill the vacant stool of Ololu Obadofin hence they stand by the reports and appealed to the Obaro to put aside personal issues and focus on the general interest of the community so as to foster peace, tranquility and unity in Owe land.
They said it is not the exclusive obligation or authority of the Obaro of Kabba to nominate a candidate for the vacant stool, it is therefore an aberration to have even gone further to announce a candidate to the public. They also queried the unnecessary justification of Obaro’s erroneous claim of the Supreme Court judgment which concerns only the Obani of Oweland the Head of High Chiefs (Orota) pointing out that the judgment has nothing to do with the Ololus as it’s being insinuated and besides Owe has a tradition in respect to selection of Ololus, why does he need court judgment to rule over his people?
The Obajemu reaffirmed and dissociated himself once again from the purported letter anointing Chief Segun Are as the Obadofin Elect, stressing that all consultations with Ifa Oracle and Owe deity pointed at a different candidate as the suitable person to fill the vacant stool.
He warned that any other person nominated aside from the divination of Ifa oracle, will not be good for the community and the paramount interest of the people for peace and development of the land.
They reiterated their commitment towards the developments of the community, stressing that both Obajemu and Oke Meta Council of Chiefs do not have any personal problems with the Obaro rather they have issues with Obaro’s dictatorial process leading to the selection of the person that will fill the vacant stool of Ololu Obadofin, pointing out that they don’t expect him to go against the same process that produced him as the Obaro of Kabba.
Meanwhile, similar meetings were also held during the week at the instance of Kabba Elder’s Council led by Chief Benjamin Olowodola to resolve the lingering crisis on the Selection of the Ololu Obadofin of Oweland, as according to them, they are no longer comfortable with the way the situations are going in the community.
Chief Olowodola noted that the meeting was called in other to resolve the misunderstandings generated by the selection process between Oba Solomon Owoniyi, Obaro of Kabba on one hand and Obajemu of Oweland, the head of the ruling group Oba Osatuyi Joseph and Oke Meta Council of Chiefs on the other, to find a way for all stakeholders to have a common ground on how best to fill the vacant stool of Ololu Obadofin of Oweland.
