One of the Oyo princes aspiring to throne of the Alaafin, Prince Atiba Adeniran, says the those qualified for position are not members of Alowolodu and Agunloye ruling houses alone.
Adediran, who started this during a recent interview with PUNCH, noted that all descendants of Atiba are qualified for the seat.
“So many people are interested in becoming the Alaafin because the palace belongs to our forbears and all the descendants of Atiba are entitled to the throne. The race is open because the 1976 Alaafin Chieftaincy Declaration stated that there’s one Atiba Ruling House and this comprises all Atiba descendants. The throne is not meant for just two families.
“Agunloye happened to be the first son of Atiba and the fourth son is Alowoloju. Descendants of these two families have been occupying the throne, rotating it between each other but the stool is not meant for only the two of them. It is meant for all the Atiba descendants, according to the 1976 Declaration, which governs the selection of the Alaafin of Oyo, which was put in place by the then military governor, Col. Adeyinka Adebayo.”
Speaking further, he noted that claims going round that it is the turn of the Agunloye family to ascend to the throne is misleading.
“Nobody can say that because the situation that warranted that to happen in 1961 has been declared void in 1976. That was done and perfected immediately after selecting the new Alaafin of that time, which was Alhaji Adeyemi Atanda, who just joined his ancestors in April.
“So, with that 1976 Declaration, all Atiba descendants are now qualified and that’s why I applied on the 23rd of this month. My application is backed by the entire Adediran Atiba Ruling House and I’m the sole representative of that ruling house. After meetings and consultations with Ifa, everyone agreed that I’m the only candidate of the family.
“They all chose me to represent the ruling house and we have done the due process. My letter of intent has been submitted to Alhaji Mukaila Afonja, who is the person in charge of collection of letters.”
