Nine royal families in Atiba ruling house in Oyo Town have called on the state government to allow equity, justice and fairness through the discontinuation of installing a new Alaafin of Oyo, pending the determination of the matter surrounding it by the court of law.
The call was made on Monday, September 12, 2022 at a press conference in Oyo Town.
The nine royal families are direct descendants of the Atiba Ruling House and were present at the conference, with Prince Afolabi Ademola Adesina, as their spokesman.
They included Princes Makanjuola Adediran (Adediran-Ese Apata); Adebowale Adesiyan (Adesiyan); Adediwura Lamola (Olanite); and Adetunji Adesokan (Adesokan Baba Idode).
Others were Princes Agboin Olayiwola (Adelabu Baba Ibadan); Afolabi Ademola Adesina (Adeitan); Remi Azeez (Tella Okitipapa); Adekunle Bello (Iteade Abidekun); and Tella Agbojulogun (Agbojulogun) who was away in Lagos but was said to have given his consent.
The 45th Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, of the Alowolodu Royal Family, joined his ancestors on April 23, 2022 at the age of 83 years, which prompted the prompted the process of choosing a successor to the royal stool.
A total of 119 candidates from 10 royal families who all belong to the Atiba Dynasty had applied for the vacant stool.
However, nine ruling houses, one of which Prince Adesina belongs to, were reportedly marginalized.
Prince Adesina said that it was unprecedented that there would be discrimination among the children of Alaafin Atiba.
“In the olden days, upon the demise of a king, we would choose anyone among us with love, and he would become our father,” Prince Adesina said.
He however pointed out that the recent marginalisation of the nine royal families had negated the oneness, as only the Agunloye royal family was cleared towards the installation of a new Alaafin after the recent death of Oba Lamidi Onaolapo Adeyemi III.
Going into past history, Prince Adesina said: “In 1961, upon the dethronement of Oba Adeniran, Alaafin Gbadegesin of Agunloye Ruling House made a declaration for the clearing of only two ruling houses to benefit from Alaafin stool, out of 21 male children of Alaafin Atiba.
“It will be recalled that 1963 constitution asked the jurisdiction of the court to challenge any chieftaincy matter upon the fact that the so-called declaration by the late Alaafin Gbadegesin was tied to the customary law of Yorubaland which stated that every member – the children or the descendants – of a founder of a town can benefit from the stool if his forebears.
“This does not correlate with what Oba Gbadegesin declared in 1961. This brought petitions and protests to be registered before the them Western region government when the military took over.
“When the Oba Gbadegesin died in 1968, and everyone was running for the stool of Alaafin among the children of Atiba, they urged our fathers to allow them choose a king and said they would also constitute a panel of enquiry that would listen to the yearnings and aspirations of all other children of Alaafin Atiba.
“This was done by late Col. Adeyinka Adebayo who was the military governor of Oyo State. He constituted the panel headed by Justice Adekunle Ladeinde to look into the matter affecting the children of Alaafin Atiba in relation with the stool.
“After this, the children of Alaafin Atiba, even those who had benefited in the past, were told to present memorandum. After this, the panel made a recommendation.
“It is against this background we have called this press conference. The 1976 Commission of Enquiry, headed by Justice Adekunle Ladeinde, declared the section of Alaafin Oyo 1961 declaration defective and declared the 11 royal families to be the descendant families of Alaafin Atiba.
“Subsequently, in 1993, the Oloko Commission of Enquiry also upheld the decision of Justice Ladeinde that there should be a single ruling house regarding the stool of Alaafin to be called Atiba Ruling House which include all the descendants of Alaafin Atiba.
“There was another development in 2001 when the former Governor Lam Adesina gazetted into law the white paper and the decision of Oloko Enquiry that Atiba Local Government should make amendments which would include all other nine excluded royal families, through the State Secretary of Government, Chief Michael Koleoso.”
Prince Adesina stated further that in 2004, there was a negative development which was not to the knowledge of the nine royal families.
According to him, “the late Oba Adeyemi went to court to make Oyo State Government remove the sections of his consenting authority in Volume 26 of 2001 Gazette. This happened without our consent and we were not even given a copy. We were not, in any way, part of the court decision. The lawyer representing the Oyo State Attorney General in court stated categorically that the Oyo State government had withdrawn the consenting authority which had been issued on the volume 26 of the Gazette. And Justice Moshood Abass who presided over the matter said that once that had been dismissed, as a friend of the court, what did the lawyers of both sides want him to decide on. The lawyer from the Ministry of Justice asked Justice Abass to dismiss the case while the lawyer representing late Oba Adeyemi insisted that all their prayers should be granted, including the cancellation in perpetuity the Atiba descendants aspect of that Volume 26.
“We were the direct direct group that the matter affected but unfortunately, we were not given a copy to make any contribution. This was in 2004.
“In 2020, one of us, Prince Olanite went to court on the implementation of the 2001 Gazette. To his knowledge, they disclaimed any dissent in 2001; no white paper regarding that. It was when we started applying for the stool that we got to know there is a judgement resisting the government or its agency from making any amendment.”
Prince Adesina said that the excluded nine royal families are appealing to the government of Oyo State to discontinue the process of choosing a successor to the stool of the Alaafin until the determination of the court on the matter before it.
“Lawyers will say ‘Ubi jus, ubi remedus’. When there is an injury, there is always a remedy. Section 10 sub section 3 of Oyo State Chiectaincy Law empowers the Oyo State Government to make by committee or by self, any amendment which clashes with any first class king in the interest of the people.
“Out of the 11 families, only two are beneficiaries of Alaafin stool. The other nine royal families have been sidelined. The Oyo State Government should come to our rescue by discontinuing the process.
“Also, 1979 constitution did not oust the powers of individual, group or persons to challenge a chiectaincy law. So also 1999 constitution as it was amended. This empowers us to appeal to the state government to allow the process in the court of law since 2020, the other processes in court at the moment, and the one that is coming up in a week’s time.
“The judiciary should complete and conclude the matter before continuing with the process of choosing and installing new Alaafin.
This is because the current Agunloye family was favoured by the letter written to Babayaji dated August 9, 2022, that Babayaji should liaise with Agunloye Ruling House to choose a crown prince and present him to Bashorun.
“We are now pleading that going by Ojukwu versus military administrator of Lagos State, and I quote 1986 JELR 51747 Supreme Court decision that ‘the judiciary is empowered to decide independently the matter before it to which the interest of the government or to which the interest of an individual is inclusive.’
“So, we seek for discontinuation of the process of choosing Alaafin which is ongoing, which excluded all other royal families that were recommended and approved by Commissions of Enquiry.
“It is to this effect I spoke on behalf of all my colleagues. We seek the discontinuation until the determination of the matter in the law court, because if it is not done, it may lead to what is not encouraging after the decision of the court. Nobody can preempt the court decision,” Prince Adesina finalised at the press conference.
