A former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Muhideen Olagunju, has described the ongoing attempt to strip the Alaafin of his role as the permanent chairman of the Council of Obas and Chiefs in the state as a mockery of history and tradition.
Olagunju, a lawyer, who represented Oyo East/Oyo West state constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly between 2015 and 2019, stated this in a post he shared on his official social media pages on Wednesday.
He argued that the superiority of the Alaafin and his position as the foremost traditional institution in the state is not up for the debate.
His statement read:
“Using the instrumentality of law-making to undermine the Institution of the Alaafin won’t necessarily work. All well-meaning indigenes of Oyo State including from Ibadan, Ogbomoso and Oke Ogun ought to know that such endeavour is an attack on their own history and identities.
”The relationship of Oyo and Ibadan for instance can never be re-written or manipulated except thorough-bred Ibadan indigenes have taken the notion that they will keep the status and evolution of Oyo in abeyance and be pleased with any attempt to weaken the Institution of the Alaafin for an agenda I am yet to understand. Most Ibadan indigenes have consanguinity with Oyo. When you say “IBADAN NILE OLUYOLE”, you are effectively mentioning the inextricable link between Ibadan and Oyo Empire. OLUYOLE is that eminent military supremo from Oyo Empire who is central to Ibadan identity. Do I have to amplify this position with references to how Ibadan transitioned from being headed by a Baale to having an Oba?
“What Governor Seyi Makinde and his lackeys in the House of Assembly are doing is a complete and wilful mockery of history, tradition and heritage of the entire Yoruba race.
“Civilization, politics and socio-economic dynamics have combined to alter Oyo’s place as the rallying point of the Yoruba race and it is not hard to see that political influence of Oyo in modern government is confined to just 4 out of the 33 local government areas in Oyo State BUT the historical and cultural significance of Oyo endure despite best efforts to neutralize them by three successive governors in Oyo State (Akala, Ajimobi and Makinde). To what end? Why the attempt at overkill?
“Oyo and Oke-Ogun have such a unbroken bond that despite political machinations and agendas, several Oke-Ogun monarchs have not lost sight of the bond and continue to gravitate towards the institution of the Alaafin. The Oyo that last disintegrated can be territorially located in Oke-Ogun.
“Alaafin having CONCURRENT status with the Olubadan and the Soun leaves a very sour taste in the mouth.
”I am glad none of the 3 assemlymen from Oyo Federal Constitueny is listed as co-sponsor of the bill seeking to undermine the institution of the Alaafin. Except they refuse to act, I will refrain from paying attention to agendas one or two of them may have in the matter. I hereby charge and plead with them to resist the passage of that bill.
“Law-making must reflect societal, political historical and even cultural realities of an environment. Executive recklessness and legislative rascality should not be allowed to toil with our history.”
