‘Gov Ajimobi won’t last beyond 7 days if he dares depose Olubadan’

 Chief Wale Oladoja is the spokesperson of the authentic Mogajis (family heads) who are opposed to Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s elevation of some high chiefs to the status of beaded crown kings in Ibadanland. In this interview, Oladoja gives reasons why the family heads in Ibadan are opposed to Ajimobi’s action. Daily Trust: Why are you […]

 Chief Wale Oladoja is the spokesperson of the authentic Mogajis (family heads) who are opposed to Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s elevation of some high chiefs to the status of beaded crown kings in Ibadanland. In this interview, Oladoja gives reasons why the family heads in Ibadan are opposed to Ajimobi’s action.

Daily Trust: Why are you and some others opposed to the Oyo State government’s stance on the elevation of high chiefs to beaded crown kings in Ibadanland?

Chief Wale Oladoja: We are not against that government policy; we are only defending our tradition and the Olubadan stool. The Mogajis are against neither Ajimobi nor the Oyo State government, but as the head of the families, we have to preserve our culture and the Ibadan tradition. 

We are defending the uniqueness of Ibadan custom of ascension to the Olubadan stool. We are proud of how our king emerges in Ibadanland, which is usually rancour-free. After the demise of one Olubadan, the next one must have known he is next. It is unique and the most democratic in the whole world, and has never attracted any controversy since the 18th Century.

So, we are fighting for the preservation of the process of becoming the Olubadan. Since I was born, I have never seen a governor interfering that much in the Ibadan chieftaincy affairs; it is a process that other people want to emulate. 

It is not acceptable for someone to just come from nowhere and believe he can change the pattern and the process because he is in government. People should ignore government’s propaganda on the issue of the Olubadan. 

DT: But Gov Ajimobi’s administration said the new process would hasten the actualization of Ibadan State…

Oladoja: That is a fraud! If the Ibadan people want more kings, that is not the way to go about it. Let’s look at it from this perspective: High Chief Lekan Balogun, High Chief Ajibola Abimbola from Agbeni, High Chief Eddy Oyewole from Ifoko, please, Oba (king) of which town do we call them? If anybody becomes the Olubadan, we all know he’d be called the Olubadan of Ibadanland, but in the case of these mushroom Obas, where are they governing? 

Even the government had shot itself in the foot with the elevation of the high chiefs. With the new oba titles and status, if one of them eventually becomes the Olubadan, where does such person drop his first crown? 

On the issue of Ibadan State, we cannot allow anybody to play on our intelligence. We know the process involved if the federal government wants to create more states. Let him tell that to the fools, not the intelligent people of Ibadan.

DT: There was a 1957 Declaration that empowers the governor to review the Chieftaincy Law, so why this crisis?

Oladoja: Thank God the declaration is available for all to see. The government is not for Ibadan alone, why start from Ibadanland? Let him go and start from other zones or wait for the outcome of the court ruling. 

DT: How can you describe the recent attack on the Olubadan’s palace?

Oladoja: It is unfortunate and absolutely unacceptable. We have never heard of an attack on the palace of a king, even when the crisis between Ife and Modakeke was at its peak.  Nobody attacked any palace. Palaces should be a place of refuge for people. It is a sacred place. It is a place of honour. It is a home for all indigenes. How could a vagabond attack such an important place? Does that mean that those people wanted to assassinate our royal father? Or was their plan to get rid of journalists who are giving us fair reportage? 

DT: Was there any unfavourable security report prior to the attack?

Oladoja: We were caught unawares. 

DT: The governor maintains he has crowned the chiefs as kings for life, so what do you intend to do about that?

Oladoja: If the government is adamant about it, we will embark on a peaceful town rally where all Ibadan sons and daughters, home and abroad, will converge to show our grievances. We will embark on a peaceful mass rally to tell the Oyo State government that our royal father cannot be a subject of ridicule. We will cry out to the whole world what we are going through in the state.

DT: What do you envisage as the consequence of the governor’s insistence?

Oladoja: He has a family house at Oja Oba here in the heart of Ibadan. When it is time, we know where to go. This is a man who begged the Olubadan to make his younger brother, Wasiu Ajimobi, the Mogaji of his family. He also told our royal father to elevate him four steps ahead of others, which baba did. 

He solicited for a chieftaincy title in Ibadanland and baba gave him. What else does he want the man to do? Now, he wants to remove the ladder he used to climb up. We want him to know that the consequences of his action might not be today. Ibadan people may not forgive anybody who disorganizes their traditional inheritance. 

DT: What is your take on Governor Ajimobi’s statement that he has the power to depose the Olubadan?

Oladoja: He cannot do it. If he does, we know how to deal with him. He can only threaten.

DT: And what would the Mogajis do if he did?

Oladoja: He can’t, and if he behaves funny, he can only last in office as a governor for seven days. We will follow a due process to sack him in that office as our governor. Sovereignty still belongs to the masses who voted him into office. Ibadan people are not cowards; we only exercise patience before taking action. 

DT: Even the rank of the Mogajis is factionalised; would you agree the governor has successfully weakened that rank to render it useless in the fight against him? 

Oladoja: The other ones called ’recognized Mogajis’ are a weapon of the government. They are a government stooge.They are ignorant of tradition. They don’t believe in tradition and destiny. They are not true sons of Ibadanland. 

DT: How many Mogajis do we have in Ibadanland?

Oladoja: At the moment, the total number of Mogajis is 315, and this include the authentic and ‘recognized’ members. The authentic Mogajis are 192 out of the 315. Some of our members are above 90 years of age; they have been appointed Mogaji for over 40 years. 

DT: Some say past administrations in the state had tried to review the Ibadan Chieftaincy Declaration but lacked the will…

Oladoja: Yes, but they didn’t implement it. When former Governor Akala tried it, these high chiefs kicked against him. Let all of us, including the governor, wait for the outcome of the court judgment. What the governor did was fundamentally wrong and we will prove it in court.

DT: You said you are worried over the attack on the Olubadan’s palace. What is your worry all about?

Oladoja: We are worried that two weeks after the incident, despite Governor Ajimobi’s claims that he knew those who attacked the palace, the suspects are yet to be apprehended and brought to book. Yet, they are talking of a peace meeting with the Olubadan. Would they be talking about peace if the invaders had terminated the Kabiyesi’s life?