Save for providence, another ‘Game of Thrones’ akin to the melodrama currently playing out in Kano Emirate of Kano State, is set to play out in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital city.
However, one of the gladiators mentioned in the script, the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja, is said to be unfazed by the reported amendment made to the gazetted Declaration of Olubadan of Ibadanland by the Oyo State Government, as he firmly believes that only God can determine his fate.
While Ladoja was believed to be next in line to the current Olubadan of Ibadanland throne from the civilian wing, Oba Akinloye Owolabi Olakulehin, Ige Olakulehin I, has officially been installed as the 43rd Olubadan. The event took place on Friday, July 12, 2024.
Ibadan has a unique and transparent traditional succession route to the Olubadan throne, which sees an individual – either from the military or civilian line – rise from the lowest rung of the traditional ladder to the peak and ultimately become the Olubadan. The throne is traditionally swapped between the military and civilian lines, with the 89-year-old Oba Olakuleyin occupying the throne from the military line. With the ascension of Oba Olakulehin to the throne last week, Ladoja is currently the most senior High Chief from the civilian line waiting in the wings.
However, a reviewed Declaration of Olubadan of Ibadanland, issued by the Oyo State Government and signed by Governor Seyi Makinde since 2023, has surfaced. The new document or gazette was part of the programme of events circulated during the formal coronation of Oba Olakulehin last Friday.
Section 4 of the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration states, “The person who may be proposed as candidate by the line whose turn it is to fill a vacancy in the office of the Olubadan shall be the most Senior (High) Chief in that line.” But the new gazette now states, “The person who may be proposed as candidate by the line whose turn it is to fill a vacancy in the office of the Olubadan shall be the most senior beaded crowned Oba in that line.”
The replacement of “the most Senior (High) Chief in that Line” with “the most Senior Beaded Crown Oba in that Line” is causing disquiet in Ibadan. Recall that only Ladoja of the 28 other Ibadan High Chiefs refused to be elevated to qualify for wearing a beaded crown as a condition to becoming an Oba, while his counterparts were installed and recognised as Obas in their respective domains under the Olubadan, as part of reforms to the Ibadan chieftaincy law carried out by the late 42nd Olubadan, Ọba Mohood Olalekan Balogun, Alli Okumade II.
Consequently, unless the new clause in the new law is vacated, the hope of Ladoja ascending the Olubadan throne may be elusive, a development that is already causing ripples in the ancient city and former capital of the defunct Western Region. There is a conspiracy theory that Governor Seyi Makinde is allegedly behind the amendment as a payback for Chief Ladoja, who did not support his re-election bid in the 2023 elections.
However, the Oyo State government, through the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, has debunked the insinuations about any plan to stop or scuttle the ambition of anyone from becoming the next Olubadan of Ibadanland.
Prince Oyelade said, “It is embarrassing that a few days after the coronation and presentation of the staff of office to the new Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, Ige Olakulehin I, some citizens are already looking over the shoulders of the new Oba and ascribing the government gazette that implemented the recommendation of the Ibadan Chieftaincy Review Committee to a ploy to disqualify certain individuals.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the last Olubadan, Ọba Mohood Olalekan Balogun, Alli Okumade II, set up the Ibadan Chieftaincy Review Committee to review and deliberate on the needed reforms of the Ibadan chieftaincy, the extant chieftaincy declaration and composition of the Ibadan land local government traditional councils, and to also make the necessary recommendations. After extensive review and deliberation, the committee recommended, among others, that the eleven high chiefs who are members of the Olubadan-In-Council be elevated and approved as beaded crown-wearing Obas,” the Commissioner explained.
He further revealed that the immediate-past Olubadan, the late Oba Balogun, Alli Okumade II, in a signed letter to Governor Makinde on February 5, 2023, had proposed that the reform be incorporated into the Ibadan Chieftaincy Declaration of 1957. “A few months later on July 14, 2023, the amendments were gazetted,” Oyelade disclosed.
He stressed that the governor consented to the change not only because it was a legitimate prayer from the late Oba Balogun, but also in deference to the tradition and culture of Ibadanland.
The state government advised the people not to heat up the polity, pledging that the government will continue to uphold what is right and the cherished tradition and culture of the people.
The source said, “Baba said he doesn’t want to talk about it; that the matter is already generating controversy and he doesn’t want to add his voice.”
Speaking on the possibility of the Otun Olubadan to challenge the law, the source said: “I don’t know, and I can’t say. All I can tell you is that Baba is calm; he is not moved at all. He thinks that God rules in the affairs of men and women; that’s the way he feels. He feels that whatever will be, will be. It is God who determines who will get what, it is God who has the final say, not any human being.
“It now depends on the people of Ibadan to now rise up and defend their culture. Ibadan people should rise up and protect the customs of their forefathers. This culture has defined the way Olubadan has been emerging from time immemorial.
“So, if a governor now comes up and says he will do otherwise, let the people determine what will happen. It is left for the people of Ibadan.
“The people of Ibadan love baba, and he doesn’t want a situation. He would say something now, and they would say he’s inciting the people of Ibadan against the governor. Baba doesn’t want that. That’s why, as an older man, he’s keeping quiet. He believes in God.”
Surprisingly, until recently, former governor Ladoja and incumbent Governor Seyi Makinde used to be best of friends, a relationship which made the former rally some opposition parties for the latter’s election in 2019. Shockingly, both friends parted ways in the build-up to Makinde’s re-election bid in 2023.
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