ONIDO STOOL: WHY GBOLAGADE BABALOLA SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN AN ONIDO OF IDO.
WHY GBOLAGADE BABALOLA SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN
AN ONIDO OF IDO.
Ido
town was in the news recenrtly when the monarch on the throne of the Onido was
suspended by the State government.
Many
citizens of Ido are of the opinion that GBOLAGADE
BABALOLA SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN AN ONIDO OF IDO.
This
magazine went into history and made some interesting discoveries. Here is what
we found out.
The
town called Ido today was founded by Agura,
who was in the group that left Ile Ife with Oranmiyan to establish Old Oyo. On
getting to the location in the forest, after consulting his Ifa priest he named
the place Ido.
Agura
left four children in Ido while the others migrated to other parts of the
world, even as far as Trinidad. The four were Akinyemi, Dada Pero, Madam Alalade And Okanlawon.
Agura
disappeared into the ground in Ido leaving four of his children to rule over
Ido.
The
appointment of an Onido then was through consultation of the Ifa oracle by the
Oluwo of Ido. Today for an Onido to be
crowned, a meeting has to be convoked by the oldest man in the Agura Family. A
mutually acceptable candidate will be nominate and presented to the Kingmakers.
The name will then be forwarded through the Local Government to the State
government. This is however subject to the consent of the Olubadan of Ibadan
Land.
It
is only then that coronation rights can be performed.
Akinwumi, from the Dada Pero
line, was the first Onido of Ido. He reigned for many years.
He
was succeeded by Madam Alalade’s son, Ige
Eniayewu. Ige died in 1957.
Succession
became a controversy between the Orobiyi family represented by Yesufu Ladapo
and Akinwale family represented by Alimi Akinola.
A
government panel of enquiry set up in 1958 to look into the issue sat on 5th
February 1958, about 65 years ago.
The
outcome of the panel was the CHIEFTAINCY
DECLARATION made by the Chieftaincy Committee of the Ibadan District
Council. Here is the Declaration.
DECLARATION
MADE UNDER THE SECTION 4(2) OF THE CHIEFS LAW, 1957, OF THE CUSTOMARY LAW
REGULATING THE SELECTION OF THE ONIDO OF IDO CHIEFTAINCY
I.
RULING
HOUSE: There is ONE ruling house and the identity of the ruling house is AGURA.
II.
CANDIDATE: The person who may be proposed as a candidate
by the ruling house entitled to fill a vacancy to the chieftaincy shall be: A
MALE DESCENDANT FROM THE MALE SIDE OF THE RULING HOUSE.
III.
NUMBER
AND IDENTITY OF KINGMAKERS: There are six kingmakers as underlisted:
1.
Balogun
Onido
2.
Otun
Onido
3.
Osi
Onido
4.
Ekerin
Onido
5.
Ekarun
Onido
6.
Iyalode
Onido.
IV.
METHOD
OF NOMINATION: The method of nomination by the ruling house is as follows:
The
ruling house shall nominate at a family meeting to be summoned by the family
head, a candidate tobe presented by the family head to the kingmakers who if
satisfied as to his right of succession shall declare him appointed subject to
the consent of the Olubadan.
V.
CONSENT
TO APPOINTMENT: The consent of the Olubadan of Ibadan is required to an
appointment made by the kingmakers but such consent may not be unreasonably
withheld.
Made by
the Chieftaincy Committee of the Ibadan District Council which has been
designated as the Competent Council by Western Region Legal Notice 22 of 1959
and signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Committee this 28th
day of July 1960.
I
B AKINYELE
Chairman,
Chieftaincy Committee, Ibadan District Council
WILLIAM
A WARREN
Secretary,
Chieftaincy Committee, Ibadan District Council
I
O OMITOWOJU
Minister
of Local Government
REGISTERED
this 19th day of December, 1960
T.I
OJO
For
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government
The
panel recommended Yesufu Ladapo Orobiyi as the next Onido of Ido. He reigned
from 1959 to 1964.
It
is evident therefore that
1.
Gbolagade
Babalola is neither a member of or related to the Orobiyi Family or the Agura
descendants of Ido.
2.
The
prescribed procedure and due process by the 1958 chieftaincy declaration was
never followed in his nomination.
3.
Kingmakers
were not consulted in his nomination.
4.
Gbolagade
Babalola does not have any lineage linked to Ido and hence no family house,
royal or not, in Ido.
This
much we have researched, discovered and reported.
The
judgement is yours whether Gbolagade Babalola should ever have been an Onido of
Ido.
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