By Abdul Razaq Ibrahim
Residents, mostly women from Ikere-Ekiti have told Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State to steer clear of politics surrounding the vacant stool of Ogoja and that he should not interfere in the process that will produce the new monarch in Ogoja Kingdom.
Consequently, women staged protests in Ikere-Ekiti on Monday and condemned alleged government directives on the choice of a new Ogoga monarch, carrying placards and saying the new monarch should not be decided through voting by kingmakers, adding that the next king must be determined by the Ifa Oracle in line with the custom and tradition of the town.
Some of their placards read: “Money Should Not Determine the Next Ogoga”, “Mr. Governor, Don’t Approve Jimi Adu as the Next Ogoga”, “Don’t Use Voting to Select New Ogoga”, “It Is Not in Our Tradition to Choose Ogoga by Voting”, “Consult Ifa Oracle, No Voting”, among others.
One of the protest leaders, Mrs Anike Obasoro, said the women of the town would not allow Adu to reign as Ogoga, warning that there would be terrible consequences if he was imposed on the kingdom.
Mrs Obasoro said: “We will not allow Jimi Adu to reign in Ikere, he can become king in Lagos but he will not become king in Ikere because he is not a prince. If they impose him on us, there will be trouble and the town will not enjoy peace. We are warning them not to impose him on us because government will not be able to control what will happen thereafter.”
The women sang abusive songs against the state government, the kingmakers and some prominent indigenes of the community who were allegedly supporting one Jimi Adu as the next Ogoga.
Sundiata Post findings showed that Jimi Adu was selected two weeks ago by the kingmakers in the town but all royal houses in the town went against the selection saying they did not consult the oracle and that the man selected was not a prince and can never be a king over them.
The Deputy Governor, Dr Kolapo Olusola, who is an indigene of the town, later arrived at the scene at about 9.50am to calm down the protesting women and appealed to them to maintain peace. But, on arrival at the palace, he met with the Regent, Princess Ayooye Adegboye-Oyinlola and other chiefs where they met for over one hour.
The deputy governor said “the matter is in the hands of the kingmakers as government cannot impose any candidate but the law allows them to use voting to choose the Ogoga-elect.”
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Olusola’s explanation that the law allows kingmakers to choose the Oba-elect by voting triggered shouts of disapproval from the crowd as they continued to heckle the deputy governor and continued with the protest, just as they vowed that they won’t stop until the government agreed with their demands.
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