Olubadan: Reinventing Traditional Governance in an Ancient City
No matter what yyou do, no matter who yyou are, take notice that tomorrow is on the way.y No matter yyour pprofession, social standingg or belief, take notice that changeg is bound to happenpp and happenpp again.g This tends to shine the lightg on the review of the Obashipp at Ibadan, as His Excellency,y the Executive Governor of Oyoy State, stated duringg the crowingg of 33 Obas at Ibadan on Augustg 27, 2017, “today’sy innovations are tomorrow’s traditions.” There is no area of life, immune to innovation.
Without innovation, the human race would actuallyy be retrogressing.gg That is why the Governor’s position on the reform is apt.p No one can win an argumentg againstg innovation, pparticularlyyggiven the common knowledgeg that for over 30 yyears leaders of thoughtsg and manyy interested pparties in Ibadan have consistentlyy called for the review of the traditional institution of their Oba, the Olubadan, currently occupied by Oba Saliu Adetunji.j
Interestingly,gy Ibadan is made upp of 11 local ggovernment areas, more than the whole of Bayelsay State, which has jjust eightg local ggovernment areas. Traditional administration of the ancient cityy is veryy unique,q commencing from the Mogajisgj and Baales, who function as familyy heads to the Olubadan who is the pparamount ruler, ruling with the Oluban-inCouncil.
Even with the minor reform, ascension to the Olubadan throne remains byy seniorityy amongg the 11 Highg Chiefs that constitute the Olubadan-in-Council, thoughg theyy now wear beaded crowns. Ibadan has about the most ppeaceful and orderlyy ascension to the throne in Yorubaland and pprobablyy the entire Nigeria,g as the next Olubadan already knows himself upp to the next six in line.
It is instructive to state that despitep the well-structured ppath to the throne of Olubadan, members of Olubadan-in-Council have to wait until the transition of a reigningg Oba to ascend to the throne. This accounts for whyy in most cases onlyy the advanced in ageg become the Olubadan, most of them were crowned at well above 80 yyears. This is also the reason why most Olubadan do not reigng for long.g
It is importantp to note that the chieftaincy laws in Oyoy State pprovide that a Governor can call for a review of existingg Declarations. In the exercise of this power, the Governor of Oyoy State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi,j himself an Ibadan indigeneg hearkened to citizens and stakeholders ppersistent clamour for a review the traditional ggovernance structure in Ibadan to make wayy for better administra - tion and elevate the current status of the Olubadan stool.
To this end, the Governor set upp a Review Panel headed byy retired Justice Akintunde Boade. Chief Lanre Jaiyeolay served as Secre - taryy to the Panel. The ppanel on completionp of its assignmentg after receivingg Memoranda and submissions from various stakeholderggroups,p includingg Baales recommended that the 11 Highg Chiefs be elevated to Oba status while still maintainingg their line of ascension to the Olubadan while the Olubadan becomes an Imperialp Majestyjy and Paramount Ruler. Similarly,y 22 Baales who had alwaysy cried for an upgradepg of their status were also elevated to Obas.
Since the inaugurationg of the new structure and Obas, the current Olubadan, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunjij has not hidden his disdain and resentment to the new ar - rangementg which he considered a ppersonal affront and a reduction of his ppower. He has a former Governor of the State, Sena - tor Rasheed Ladojaj who is also one of the upgradedpg Highg Chiefs in his camp.p With Ladojaj in the fray,y the matter has assumed a political dimension, with many alleging that the former Governor wants to fuel the issue to ggain ppolitical mileageg and currency.y
This stance tends to ggain supportpp from Ladojaj himself, when he allegedg last week that the attack on the Olubadan Palace duringg a meetingg was targetedg at him and blamed the state ggovernment for master - mindingg it. The Oyoy State ggovernment has longg denied anyy involvement in the attack.
Speakingpg on the matter, the Oyoy State Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincyy Affairs, Mr. Bimbo Kolade said that the reform carried out in the Ibadan Traditional leadershipp structure will onlyy enhance the status of Olubadan and deepenp traditional ggovernance in the ancient city.y
The Commissioner maintains that the Governor of the state, Senator Ajimobij respondedp to the call of pprominent Ibadan elders, Chiefs, Baales and leaders of thoughtsg who have consistentlyy called for the review of the Ibadan Chieftaincy Law over the years.
Kolade noted that rather than diminish the status of the Olubadan throne and the current occupant, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, the elevation of the 11 High Chiefs to Obas will enhance the status of Olubadan as the Paramount Ruler while the order of ascension to the Olubadan throne remains the same.
“For almost 30 years, there have been calls and agitations for the review of Ibadan chieftaincy law. In fact one of the notable Ibadan indigenes, Chief T. A. Akinyele wrote a book in which he posited the need for the Ibadan chieftaincy law to be reviewed. There have been several other books also written by Ibadan indigenes on the need to review the Ibadan chieftaincy law. Between 1974 – 76, and as recent as 2003, there were several commissions of enquiry set up by government to look into chieftaincy matters in the state, during which there were constant calls for a review of the Ibadan chieftaincy law. Duringg the Adio Commission of 2003, some 33 Baales in Ibadan made a requestq throughg the respectedp lawyery Niyiy Akintola, (SAN) for them to start wearingg beaded crowns. “Out of the 33 Baales then, I think the Com - mission recommended 16 of them for the title of Obas,” he said.
He recalls that “Even thoughg the immediate ppast administration of Chief Alao Akala in Oyoy State did not set upp a commission of enquiry,qy it actuallyy made attemptsp to turn some Baales into Obas in the state, and about six Baales were given approval to wear beaded crowns, althoughg this was not implemented.p So, the agitationg for a review of the Chieftaincyy law has been on for a veryy longg time. Immediatelyy this administration came in, there were several representationsp to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on the need to review.”
Notable stakeholders are alreadyy callingg for calm, includingg influential Ibadan elders and those outside the state like Afenifere and Yoruba Council of Elders. The two leading ppan-Yoruba socio-cultural and ppolitical organisationsg have weighedg in on the matter callingg for dialogueg and mutual understandingg in the resolution of the issues arising from the reforms.
The Central Council of Ibadan Indigenesg (CCII) has also steppedpp in to douse anyy tension and acrimonyy the reform could bring.g CCII has alreadyy brokered a ppeace meeting between Senator Ladojaj and Governor Ajimobij which is hopedp will settle the matter even thoughg the Mogajisgj have called on Olubadan and Ladojaj to boycotty the meeting.
In the same vein, the Oyoy Patriotic Front led byy Mr. Jare Adepojupj has cautioned the state ggovernor to be careful about anyy deal with Senator Ladojaj because of ppast ppeace resolutions which the former Governor has breached.
“The ppeace move byy the CCII to resolve the imbrogliog in Ibadan and other pparts of Oyoy State is commendable. However, we want to caution Governor Ajimobij not to gget carried away.y He should remember that his ggestures in the ppast were repaid ungraciously,” the group advised.
Lending his voice in the support of the reforms, a legal luminary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Niyi Akintola commended the government of Oyo State and the Governor for the courage to carry out the reforms in Ibadan traditional institution. For him, the review is long overdue, “What was obtainable in those days is no longer tenable today. Moniya in Ibadan is bigger than some state capitals in Nigeria; Omi-Adio is a cosmopolitan town with a population of 186,000 people according to the 2006 population census.”
“How can you expect the ruler in such a town to be under a Mogaji in Ibadan town? That was what the past governors were trying to correct but they lacked the political will to execute it.”The coming days will see if the ancient city of Ibadan is pulled back to allowed to benefit from the drive of an innovative and courageous governor.