With this assertive statement, the Olubadan of Ibadanland and chairman of the council, Oba Samuel Odugade 1, declared open the meeting of the traditional rulers, at the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Ibadan, on Thursday.
The immediate past chairman of the obas and Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, was absent at the meeting that was attended by 14 royal fathers as well as baales and chiefs.
Those at the meeting included the Soun of Ogbomosho, Oba Jimoh Oyewunmi; the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Salau Adekunle; the Onitede of Tede, Oba Rauf Adebimpe; the Alajaawa of Ajaawa, Oba Joshua Adewusi; the Onjo of Okeho, Oba Rafiu Mustapha; the Onikoyi of Ikoyi Ile, Oba Abdul Yekeen Ayinla; the Onilalupon of Lalupon, Oba Rabiu Olahanloye
Others were baales, the Balogun of Ibadanland, the Osi Olubadan and other chiefs.
The meeting was the first under the chairmanship of the Olubadan since the administration of Chief Alao-Akala signed the bill making the chairmanship position rotational biennially, with the Olubadan as the first beneficiary.
The chairman said God had answered the prayers of the people of the state, with the rejection of Chief Alao-Akala and the enthronement of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who, he said, had promised to uphold the tradition and culture of the state.
He added that the issue of the chairmanship of the council had become a subject of litigation and would not want to dwell much on it.
The paramount ruler of Ibadan said he had not been attending the meeting of the obas before now because Ibadan was not accorded its rightful position at the council meetings.
The Olubadan, thereafter, called for prayers to avert “another war,” while describing himself as the only surviving member of the constituent assembly that was in place in 1951.
But shortly after the opening remarks, the Onpetu of Ijeru, Oba Sunday Oyediran, raised an objection to the coverage of their proceedings by journalists, describing it as an aberration.
“I asked them to sit and cover the meeting. Whatever I command as the chairman of this meeting stands,” replied the Olubadan.
“This is not autocracy; it is not an Ibadan council meeting. It is a meeting involving Oyo State,” responded the Onpetu.
Olubadan replied, saying that “I know you are an agent of disunity. If you do not agree with what I have said, it is either you keep quiet or walk out of this meeting. The press men must stay.”
Irked by the raised voice of Oba Oyediran and the way he addressed the Olubadan, the Osi Olubadan, Senator Lekan Balogun, told the Onpetu: “That was very rude. You dare not address the Olubadan like that. You don’t shout. It is unacceptable and unbecoming of a traditional ruler like you.”
Also speaking in the same vein, the Otun Olubadan, High Chief Omowale Kuye, pleaded with the Olubadan to tell the journalists to take their leave and be called for a briefing after.
He said “I want this meeting to be peaceful. It is very wrong for you (Onpetu) to address the Olubadan anyhow. You stood up and folded your fists as if you wanted to box the Olubadan. By all standards, you and your ilk are not our coevals. Where do you think you are?”
A source told the Nigerian Tribune that the call for the reconstitution of the council by the Olubadan, following a new law governing it was rejected by the Onpetu, who also opposed the adjournment of the meeting, saying there was no agenda drawn for the gathering.
The Olubadan was said to have objected the opposition of Oba Oyediran and simply said “this meeting is closed.”
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Oba Oyediran said the hot exchange of words between him and the Olubadan as well as his chiefs boiled down to the use of language.
“I was called a dissident and I do not think that is a good adjective. As it is common with the people of Ibadan, whatever the Olubadan says is final and we won’t accept that. This is Oyo State council meeting. At the end of the day, good reasoning prevailed.
Asked if the meeting was stalemated, he said: “the chairman declared the meeting closed despite my counter motion. It is not the duty of the chairman to end the meeting like that. I am an administrator myself and I know how things should be done. A lot of work still needs to be done here. How can we say we want to re-constitute the council which should be a continuity? Does it mean all the meetings held from 1959 are a nullity?”
He attributed the low attendance of traditional rulers at the meeting to the resolve of some of them to “fight from outside,” saying that it was better to “fight from inside.”
Senator Balogun, in another interview, said the meeting was not deadlocked, although he admitted there was no proper agenda for the meeting.
He said the meeting was adjourned to the second Thursday in August and was not strictly a continuation of the old meeting, since it was under a new chairman and a new governor.
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