Without any shred of doubt, no one thought that the Friday, July 24, 2015, departure of Oba Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II, to the UK for medical attention, will, in a five-day time-bracket, trigger a series of events and revelations directly and indirectly related to the Ooni of Ife throne itself. On Tuesday, July 28, 2015, the revered monarch passed on in far away London.
A series of the necessary traditional rites in consonance with the requisite Ife culture and tradition followed. After the late Ooni was finally laid to rest, the succession tussle by eligible aspirants took centre-stage. There was palpable tension in the town.
As a means of diffusing the tension, the Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, met with members of the Ife Traditional Council in Oshogbo on Friday, September 11, 2015. It was at this meeting that the 1980 registered gazette was read and its official position that there are four ruling houses in Ife was conveyed to the members of Ife Traditional Council.On Monday, September 14, 2015, the Ife Traditional Council held a Press Briefing where it officially presented the Giesi Ruling House as the next in line to produce the next Ooni. However, while the Giesi Ruling House went wild with unrestrained joy, the other ruling houses (Oshinkola, Ogboru and Lafogido) did not find the official announcement sanctifying and conducive to their own aspirations.
Consequently, on Friday, September 18, 2015, the Lafogido Ruling House challenged the decision to request only the Giesi Ruling House to present the candidate(s) to fill the vacant Ooni throne. The Oshinkola Ruling House is also believed to have joined the legal fray with the sole purpose of asking for judicial interpretation of the requisite succession laws and make a declaration in respect of the Ooni stool. Rather comically, a section of the Ogboru Ruling House (which has just taken its turn on the Ooni throne) also asked to be considered for the stool.
The Lafogido Ruling House has successfully obtained an injunction barring the Giesi Ruling House, the Ife Traditional Council and the Osun State Government, from proceeding with the succession procedures. The emerging legal and traditional tussle for primacy in the race for the occupation of the Ooni stool, took a turn for the unexpected and widespread repugnance as one of those eyeing the stool was alleged to be involved in the forgery of some documents, fraudulent conversion and obtaining the sum of N400m by false pretence in collusion with his firm, Nigerians were shocked to the marrows with the scoop “Contestant for Ooni’s Stool in alleged N400m fraud, forgery”, carried on the frontpage of a respected national daily newspaper edition of Friday, October 2, 2015.
The crux of the story has to do with the investigation of a petition sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), by a legal firm on behalf of their client, Sijuwade Holdings Limited (SHL). The coup de grace was the alleged ingenious forgery of a Certificate of Incorporation and the selling-off of eight duplex units accruing to SHL for the sum of N400m.
The historical legacy of Ife as the Cradle of Civilisation and the source of Yoruba Learning cannot be understated. The Ooni’s stool epitomises the lores, tradition and culture of the Yoruba people. It is one that has elicited respect, adoration and foundation by Yoruba both at home and in the Diaspora.
As the original abode of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba Race, Ife is widely-regarded by all Yoruba as the melting-pot and cradle of civilisation. Series of diplomatic and cultural shuttles embarked on by many past Oonis,- especially the last two occupants of the stool – have put the ancient town on the world map. With the foregoing as a backdrop, it is painful to associate the incidence of fraud, forgery and uttering of documents or any other form of misdemeanour with either Ife or any aspirant to the Ooni throne.
As if the unfolding drama has not acquired a distinct character of its own, the dramatis personae, powering a desperate segment angling for the Ooni throne and intent on employing any Macchiavelian weapon has turned the traditional slugfest into a theatre of the absurd.
It is therefore, imperative that the anti-graft agency should be allowed to perform its statutory duty. To make matters worse, the Secretary of the Giesi Ruling House, Prince Adelowo Ogunleye, recently said that the EFCC should have written to the Ruling House over the issue.
In his words, “if he is qualified, we will present him to the kingmakers. Nobody informed us of nay case against him”. It is very clear that the EFCC has no business with any of the ruling houses but only with the court of law. That settles that. In all senses possible, platitudinous observations and the twisting of logic and reasoning about the Ooni selection processes, are geared towards achieving a goal.
As things are now, only the pronouncement of a law court on this serious criminal matter can save the institution of Ooni from being occupied by a charlatan.
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