Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has disclosed that the next Alaafin of Oyo will be appointed, using the signed and officially-recognised Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration.
He made the disclosure in Oyo, while speaking at the state-organised final burial of the the 44th occupant of the throne, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, who died on 23 April, 2022.
Governor Makinde said of the late Alaafin of Oyo: “Today is a day of celebration for us as we are celebrating a life that was well-lived and impactful.
“God was merciful to Baba because it is not easy to spend more than 50 years on the throne of your forefathers. So, it is celebration of life for us today.
“Let me also use this opportunity to let our people in Oyo know that the process to select a new Alaafin will not go beyond the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration.
“I have seen people who came to me and said that the first Alaafin gave birth to about 13 children and that only two out of them were recognised and this is an opportunity to bring in the others, and I asked them if it is in the Declaration.
“But they said it is inside a declaration that was not signed. I told them a new Alaafin will be selected only through the Declaration that was signed.”
However, the Oyo State government had, in a letter through the then Oyo Local Government Council and dated 8 December, 1976, declared the then Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration defective for failing to recognise the nine royal families as successors to the Alaafin throne.
The government had expressly stated the defect in the letter captioned “Letter To Atiba Descendants on Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration”, addressed to the 11 royal families and signed by the secretary of the then local council, one S. O. O. Opadiran.
“I have been directed by the Secretary to the Oyo State Military government and Head of Service to inform you that the Oyo State Executive Council has declared the chieftaincy Declaration in respect of Alaafin of Oyo defective and has directed that the chieftaincy committee of the defunct Oyo Southern Local Government Council should prepare a new Declaration providing for only one Ruling House, the Atiba Ruling House, to include all the descendants of Atiba.
“I am further to inform you that necessary action is being taken in compliance with the directives of the Executive Council and you will be further informed of progress on the matter, if necessary, in due course,” the letter stated in part.
Furthermore, a White Paper issued in 1995 on the Chieftaincies Power of Prescribed Authorities also reflected the decision of the state government on the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration.
It was contained in the Oyo State of Nigeria Gazette, No. 27, Vol 26, 16 July, 2001 and signed by the then Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Michael Koleoso, under the Governor’s Command.
The state government stated in the Gazette on the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration (Section 38.1) on the recommendation of the 1976 Report of the Commission of Enquiry (38. 1.1) that “Government should design a system of ensuring the implementation of its decision of 1976 which:
(i) “Declared the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration made by the Chieftaincy Committee of the then Oyo Divisional Council defective because it did not reflect the true customary law governing appointment to the Alaafin Chieftaincy.
(ii) “Directed the Oyo South Local Government Council Chieftaincy Committee to amend the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration to provide for only one ruling house, the Atiba Ruling House, including all the descendants of Atiba.”
Recalled that nine other royal families, who also belonged to the Atiba Ruling House, also claimed that the existing arrangement is illegal and contrary to an amendment to the Declaration, as recommended by the state government, to the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration.
The nine Atiba descendants included Olanite, Tella Okitipapa, Adesiyan Tella Agbojulogun, Adelabu, Baba Idode, Abidekun, Adediran and Adeitan royal families.
They had, rising from a meeting held in Oyo last month, urged Governor Makinde to look into and implement the 1976 Report on the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration, as a prerequisite for the appointment of the next Alaafin of Oyo.
They advised the governor to be guided by the recommendations made in the report of a Commission of Enquiry set up in 1974, and gazetted by the state government on 16 July, 2001, in choosing a successor to the throne.
Their spokesperson, Mogaji Afolabi Ademola Adesina of the Adeitan/Atiba Royal Family, had said, rather than two, as claimed by the Alowolodu and Agunloye families, 11 royal houses have a right to the throne.
He further said, with the first two royal houses, Agunloye (also known as Ladigbolu) and Alowolodu, having successively produced the last two Alaafins, the remaining nine royal families should be allowed to produce the next successor.
“It is very wrong and illegal to claim that we have just the Alowolodu and Agunloye families as the only two ruling houses in Oyo.
“We have one Atiba Ruling House, consisting of 11 direct descendants of Atiba. These include Agunloye, Alowolodu, Olanite, Tella Okitipapa, Adesiyan Tella Agbojulogun, Adelabu, Baba Idode, Abidekun, Adediran and Adeitan families.
“The Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration has been declared defective since 1976, just as the Oyo State government has, since then, pronounced that the other nine royal families are equally entitled to producing successors to the throne.
“The report of a Commission of Enquiry, as attested to in a letter written to the then Oyo Local Council on 8 December, 1976, had declared the Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy Declaration defective for failing to accommodate the other nine royal families.
“The recommendation contained in the 1976 Report of the Commission of Enquiry was equally accepted by the Oyo State government and was gazetted in the Oyo State of Nigeria: Gazette on 16 July, 2001.
“In the interest of peace, fairness, equity and justice, we hereby appeal to the Oyo State governor, Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde, to look into all these documents and act accordingly.” Mogaji Afolabi had said.
