By Adeyinka Adeniran
The umbrella body of all socio-cultural groups in Ibadan, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) has backed the decision of the Oyo State House of Assembly to retain the rotational clause of the Chairmanship of Council of Obas and Chiefs in the state.
The Council have also appeal to aggrieved minority members of the Assembly that are not happy with the development to make peace reign in the state.
This is as the Council said it is working in cohort with a social cultural group of Ibarapa Indigenes named Ibarapa Consultative Forum to pursue the actualization of the creation of Ibadan state.
Speaking during a media parley on Wednesday the President-General, CCII, Chief Sulaimon Ajewole commended the members of the 10th Oyo Assembly for what he described as robust debate that led to the decision to hive room for rotation of the Chairmanship position of the Oyo Council of Obas and Chiefs.
He said the members have written their names in the good books of annals of history for doing what is fair, just and equitable among all the regions in the state.
He thanked Governor Seyi Makinde for allowing the lawmakers to do their job without unnecessary influence.
He said the council is not surprised that the 10th Assembly passed the bill to rotate the council of Oba Chairmanship as it is the right thing to do.
According to him, the Oyo State Council of Obas and chiefs have not convey any meeting since 2011 because of a court case initiated by the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III which seek to make the Alaafin the permanent chairman of the council.
He noted that posterity will adjudge the lawmakers to have stand on the side of justice, fairness and equity and for giving the whole Oyo State indigenes a sense of belonging.
Going down memory lane, the CCII PG re counted how the trio of Olubadan, Alaafin and Soun had challenged the Ooni of Ife, late Oba Okunade Sijuwade on the same issue of permanent chairmanship in the days of the old Oyo state, before Osun state was carved out.
Backing the resolve of the Ogundoyin led Assembly, Chief Ajewole said, “The chairmanship of the Council of Obas and Chiefs in Oyo State has, for decades, operated on a rotational basis — a principle enshrined in the 1959 Western Region Gazette and respected by successive administrations. This system was designed to ensure that no single traditional ruler, no matter how revered, assumes permanent leadership over others.
“Under this structure, leadership has historically rotated among first-class monarchs such as the Olubadan of Ibadanland, the Alaafin of Oyo, the Soun of Ogbomoso, and other respected royal stools. It promoted unity, mutual recognition, and respect across the cultural landscape of our state.
“The smooth rotation of chairmanship began to unravel during the administration of Late Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, who in 2011 removed the Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, from the position of permanent chairman, reverting to the rotation system in response to growing tensions among traditional rulers.
“This move followed a long history of the late Alaafin’s assertion of dominance over the council, dating back to the old Oyo State, where he engaged in a fierce rivalry with the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade.
“In one widely reported case, Alaafin Adeyemi took the then Governor Bola Ige to court, seeking to stop him from appointing the Ooni as permanent chairman of the traditional council — a case that highlighted the deep divisions this matter has long provoked.
“In 2011, Oba Adeyemi again approached the court, seeking a judicial declaration that he be recognized as the permanent chairman of the Council of Obas in Oyo State. This legal battle, rather than resolving the issue, exacerbated disunity among traditional rulers and rendered the Council dysfunctional for several years.”
On the creation of Ibadan state, the President General noted that Ibadan has all it takes in terms of natural and human resources, to be a state.
Ibadan, which he described as a megapolis has one of the largest concentration of professionals in Africa and the only capital city out of the three capital cities of the old regions – Northern, Western and Eastern – that is yet to be made a state.
He stressed that the CCII in collaboration with the Ibarapa consultative forum has submitted a memorandum to the National Assembly for deliberation which, he said, is long overdue.
He further disclosed that Chief Ajewole that the council has been in collaboration with other regions of the state and sharing ideas together on the way to go because they also wants a new Oyo State.
He further stressed that the inability of the past civilian regimes to create any state is not due to lack of power but rather lack of political will to do so.
