Olowu Stool: Obasanjo Accuses Kingmakers of Compromise
Wants Daniel to sack them
From Josephine Lohor in Abuja and Toba Suleiman in Abeokuta
The crisis rocking Owu community in Abeokuta over the selection of a new traditional ruler, Olowu of Owu, has taken a new dimension with President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is an indigene yesterday accusing the selection committee of compromising and abusing its position. The president also called on Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, to immediately disband the committee.
Obasanjo, who is chairman of the selection committee which is made up of eight warrant chiefs, in a letter he wrote to Daniel, entitled: "Re: Owu Stool Selection Exercise" noted that "the eight warrant chiefs that the state appointed and with me as chairman should be disbanded as they had compromised themselves, abused their positions and are thus incapable of conducting a transparent, fair and equitable exercise to satisfy the confidence reposed in them."
Obasanjo, who is the Balogun of Owu also advised that "a new panel of warrant chiefs that will not be easily compromised and that would take their sacred responsibilities seriously with fairness and objectivity as their watchwords," should be constituted.
While accusing the warrant chiefs of being unable to "fairly and honesty carry out the sacred responsibility and duty that the state government has entrusted to them," the president recalled that "in the morning of the 9th of August, four of the aspirants to the stool showed up at the Owu palace and we were told by the head of the ruling family, Chief Akinhanmi, that the other two candidates were on their way to the venue of the screening and interview exercise."
"The head of the ruling family identified the four and left the secretary of the ruling family behind to identity the other two whenever they arrived at the palace.
"We waited for one hour for the other two to arrive and thereafter, we addressed the four candidates that were present and had been identified, hoping that the other two will arrive before the completion of our exercise."
He noted that in the process of executing the mandate, he observed that apart from the warrant chiefs "thoroughly" compromising themselves, "when we had seen the four aspirants that were available, we got a firm message through the secretary to the Local Government that a fifth candidate, Aikulola, was less than 30 minutes away from the palace."
"The warrant chiefs were in an unfair manner unwilling to stay the extra time to give Aikulola a fair chance to be screened and interviewed. This, in my view, was unfair and unjust and manifested a gross dereliction of duty by warrant chiefs in the selection process. In the light of these glaring, unjust and unfair anomalies, I closed the exercise and declared it inconclusive," he said.
The kingmaker, had Monday, accused Obasanjo of tearing the election result sheet that favoured Prince Adetayo Adebiyi Fadairo, one of the six contestants for the vacant stool, at the Olowu's palace, Oke Ago-Owu, Abeokuta.
Last week, the Ogun State government, at its 17th executive meeting approved a new selection process of the new traditional ruler for the stool which was made vacant with the demise of the former Olowu, Oba Adisa Olawale Odeleye over a year ago.
The kingmakers are also alleging that Obasanjo had a favoured candidate in the person of Prince Sanya Dosunmu, a 73-year old man who scored three votes against five votes recorded by Chief Adetayo Fadairo.
However, Dosunmu, who was equally displeased with the endorsement of Fadairo by the selection committee yesterday described the exercise as unacceptable to him.
Dosunmu who was reacting to yesterday's reports in the newspapers over the issue, told reporters in an interview that he was not aware that such election ever took place.
He spoke at the turning of the sod of Administrative Block of the Crescent University, Abeokuta established by Founder and President of Islamic Movement for Africa (IMA), Prince Bola Ajibola.
"Certainly I am hopeful on the contest I am going to be the next Olowu", he told reporters.
He added that he was surprised to hear that President Obasanjo tore the election sheet.
He said "I do not believe that Obasanjo could do that, he is too high for that kind of a thing".
He said what he was aware was that Obasanjo suspended the election. "I was just a candidate like others who was interviewed and I cannot accept the report that President Obasanjo tore the result".
Describing Owu people as peace loving, Dosumu said, "if all the dispute were meant for the good of the Owus it will soon be solved amicablly".
"As far as I am concerned, we are all peace loving people in Owu. Therefore all of us must be part of the struggle to have lasting peace in Owuland", he said.
When asked if he is truly Obasanjo's candidate, Dosumu said "he (Obasanjo) did not tell me that. I am not so sure that such statement is true, I don't know about that".
"I was at the Palace and I was interviewed as one of the candidates to occupy the vacant stool of the Olowu, that was what happened there, and that was all.
"Don't forget that there were warrant Kingmakers who sat and they interviewed the candidates and what happened after the interview I don't know.
"Nobody has told me that Fadairo defeated me. Did they vote? That is the question. I don't know whether they have voted and if they have done so, they wont report to me they will report to the Governor who set them up," he added.
In his comment, Alhaji M. Ola Yusuf, the Otun and the Owu Regent said "in any community there will always be ideological differences. That is the bye-product of dynamic people. But at the end of it, we shall have a brilliant day".
"Whateverhappens in Owu today don't worry about it, we are capable and able to resolve our problem", Yusuff said.
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