ABEOKUTA— THE crisis over the nomination of a new Olowu of Owu, Abeokuta appeared to have degenerated yesterday, with the arrest of three of the five kingmakers opposed to President Olusegun Obasanjo’s alleged annulment of last week’s election of the new Olowu. The three kingmakers— Chief Rufus Onifade, the Akogun; Chief Ramon Ogunbiyi, the Oyega and Chief Sufianu Olaifa, the Oloosi— were arrested by heavily armed policemen from their different houses early yesterday. Also arrested was a prominent Owu son and community leader, Mr Akinpelu, popularly known as “Naira.” Ogun State Police Command, however, declined to speak on the arrests. Two other kingmakers at loggerheads with President Obasanjo, the Obamaja, Chief Olawale Osungboye and the Omoolasin, Chief Sunday Ogunlolu, were said to have escaped arrest because they were not in Abeokuta yesterday when the police went for them.
Frontline contestant in the race and the man said to have scored five votes to win last week nomination for the Olowu stool, Prince Adetayo Adebiyi Fadairo, was also said to have escaped arrest because armed policemen who stormed his house on Quarry Road in the Ogun State capital did not meet him.
Vanguard learnt that the homes of the kingmakers were surrounded by policemen at about 3.00a.m. to effect the arrests. Wife of the leader of the kingmakers, Alhaja Olusola Onifade, in company of her son, Mr Femi Onifade, a student of the Lagos State Polytechnic, told newsmen at the Eleweran Police Headquarters where the chief was being detained that 17 fully armed policemen came for his arrest. Alhaja Onifade said the policemen came at about 3.00a.m. and started banging on their door, but she refused to open for them until about 7.00a.m.
She said: “We wanted to let all the people in the area know what was going on, so I did not open the door quickly and when I did, I asked them to introduce themselves. Seventeen of them came and the lowest ranked officer was a sergeant. They were all fully armed. They entered and said that the Commissioner of Police wanted to see my husband, the Akogun.”
Alhaja Onifade said she then drove her husband’s Mercedez Benz V Boot with him by his side to the Lafenwa police station where his cap and underwear were removed and he was put in a pick up van that took him to Eleweran where she said he was given a sheet of paper to write a statement.
She, however, said that she was not allowed to speak with her husband to know what questions they asked him and what his statement contained before he was put in a cell. Alhaja Onifade who looked unruffled said Mr. Akinpelu aka “Naira” was taken to the Lafenwa police station with only a brown towel wrapped tied round his waist. He was taken to the Police Headquarters, Eleweran in that state. She said she had to go home to bring him some clothes. In the case of the Oloosi of Owu, Chief Sufianu Olaifa, he was arrested at about 1.00p.m. yesterday as he was not at home when the police first got there. But they laid a siege to the house till his return and was promptly arrested.
Efforts to get the comment of the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Olusegun Efuntayo, proved abortive as the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Olufemi Awoyale, told newsmen that the commissioner was “very busy attending to pressing matters.”
The PPRO told newsmen who were at the Police Headquarters for over five hours that as far as he was concerned, he was not aware of any arrest. Attempts by the newsmen to visit the State Intelligence and Investigation Bureau where the kingmakers were being held also proved abortive as they were disallowed entry into the building.
However, two prominent Owu sons— former Minister of Finance, Dr. Onaolapo Soleye and Chairman of Premier Paints, Chief Ogooluwa Bankole— were seen at the ante room of the office of the Commissioner of Police waiting to see him. Although both of them declined to speak with newsmen, a source said they were there to secure bail for the arrested persons. Dr. Soleye who refused to entertain any question from newsmen was seen eating boiled groundnuts. He was yet to be seen by the police boss at 3.30 p.m. when Vanguard left the Police Headquarters.
Five kingmakers led by Akogun Rufus Onifade had, penultimate Monday, accused President Obasanjo, himself a kingmaker and Balogun Owu, of annulling the selection process of a new Olowu by tearing the election result. The action of President Obasanjo was said to be his personal protest against the result of the election which reportedly did not favour his candidate. The Owu kingmakers then announced the cancellation of the Annual Owu Day Celebration slated for last Saturday and explained that the Owus might not have another Olowu for the next 40 years unless Obasanjo allowed the wish of the people to prevail.
But President Obasanjo on Tuesday wrote to Governor Olugbenga Daniel, accusing the kingmakers of compromising themselves and asked the governor to select a new set of warrant chiefs to elect the new Olowu. Governor Daniel, subsequently, set up a reconciliatory committee of some Owu sons and daughters to parley with Obasanjo. The list, however, excluded the names of the five kingmakers but included the names of the two kingmakers in support of President Obasanjo, Alhaji M. Ola Yusuf and Alhaji Adisa Adewolu. The meeting despite the non-inclusion of the warring kingmakers went ahead to declare that the Owu celebration would go on as planned.
The five kingmakers, subsequently, shunned last Saturday’s Owu Day celebration which was presided by Chief Obasanjo.
The battle for Olowu's stool
The battle on the periphery is a battle between five kingmakers of Owu against their Balogun. Incidentally, the current Balogun Owu is not only the President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria, he is also a retired general of the armed forces. A soldier, whether serving or retired, does not give in easily in any battle he fights. This brings out the complexities in who has his way between Owu kingmakers and Balogun Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo as to who becomes the 11th Olowu of Owu.
But for the death of the 10th Olowu of Owu, Oba Olawale Adisa Odeleye, Lagbedu 1, the crisis rocking Owu to its very foundation might be unnecessary. The genesis of the crisis could be traced to the Owu Day that was celebrated immediately after the demise of the 10th Olowu. It was resolved that it was the turn of the Amororo ruling house to present candidates for the throne. Amororo ruling house is one of the six ruling houses in Owu. As stated in The Chiefs Law of 1957, the ruling houses in order of rotation are: (1) Akinyobi (ii) Akinoso (iii) Lagbedu (iv) Amororo (v) Otileta and (vi) Ayoloye.
The ruling house last year met under the leadership of Chief John Adekunte Akinhanmi and presented six candidates who are eligible to assume the Olowu throne. The candidates were: (1) Engineer Fadairo Adebiyi Olutayo (2) Prince Aiku John Olufunsho Olalekan (3) Prince Dosunmu Olusanya Isola Adegboyega ((4) Chief Adegbenro Fatai Olaniyi (5) Engineer Owolabi Isola Lateef (6) Prince Adejare Adebola.
The candidate were scrutinised by the six kingmakers after which an election was conducted. The election and the scrutiny, called interview by the kingmakers, took place on December 29, 2003. The score charts at that election that were distributed to the kingmakers contained the following particulars with obtainable marks: Family (10 marks), Popularity (10 marks), Physical (10 marks), Education (10 marks), Character (20 marks), Resources (20 marks), Interview (10 marks), Tradition (10 marks), Total = 100 marks. The kingmakers that took part in this election process were six of the eight kingmakers listed in The Chiefs Law 1957. The kingmakers as hierarchically listed in the Chiefs Law 1957 are: (1) The Akogun (2) The Obamaja (3) The Orunto (4) The Osupori(5) The Oyega (6) The Omolashin (7) The Oloosi (8) The Balogun. Of these, The Orunto and Osupori did not take part in the December 29, 2003 Olowu election process as they are dead and no replacements had been presented for official recognition.
The result of that December election, according to candidates’ scores, was: Engineer Fadairo Adebiyi Olutayo, 4 votes; Prince Sanya Dosunmu, 1 vote; Chief Niyi Adegbenro, 1 vote. The election was presided over by Yemi Adelani, the then Secretary to the Abeokuta North Local Government Area. Immediately after the election, the six kingmakers in a communique signed by all of them on December 29, 2003 declared Engineer Fadairo Adebiyi Olutayo as the winner and therefore recommended him to fill the vacant Olowu stool.
The signatories to the communique were Balogun Owu, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Akogun Owu, Chief R. A. Onifade; Obamaja Owu, Chief O. O. Oshungboye; Oyega Owu, Chief R. A. Ogunbiyi; Omolaasun Owu, Chief Ogunlolu and the Oloosi Owu, Chief S. O. Olaifa. Events after this communique showed that though the election was free and fair, there were powerful unseen forces working to ensure that the election outcome was not effected.
After the demise of Oba Olawale Adisa Odeleye, there were insinuations that the late Olowu lacked the prescribed authority to appoint the Balogun and other Olorogun chiefs. The implication of this was that whatever appointments were made by the late oba were null.
These were followed by speculations that the state government was contemplating appointing new six warrant kingmakers in place of the original kingmakers whose appointment was considered faulty. The winner of that election, Engineer Tayo Fadairo, went to court and got an injunction that put the government’s intention on hold for a long time.
After months of legal brick bats, the winner, according to a reliable source, was prevailed upon to withdraw the matter from court. This, he did, after a settlement agreement involving his lawyer, legal officers from the Ogun State Ministry of Justice and Princes Owolabi and Dosunmu’s lawyers all signed.
In that agreement, it was resolved that whatever the outcome of the proposed election, parties would abide by the August 9, 2004 election that was initially scheduled for August 8, 2004. The election was rescheduled by Balogun Obasanjo from August 8 to 9, 2004.
The venue for the first date was Balogun Obasanjo’s house and at his instance was shifted to Owu Palace that was opened for the first time after it was locked for months following the death of the former Olowu.
The Olowu election process of August 9, 2004 was preceded by an interview session for the four out of the six candidates who were present. Two additional warrant chiefs were appointed to the six original king makers. They were Mr Sulaimon Adewolu, who incidentally was Prince Dosunmu’s lawyer and M. Ola Yusuf, the Otun Owu and an Olorogun chief. At the end of the day’s election, Prince Olutayo Adebiyi Fadairo won the election with five votes to Prince Sanyaolu Dosunmu’s three votes.
The outcome of this election has since pitched Balogun Obasanjo against other traditional Owu kingmakers led by Akogun Rufus Alani Onifade. The kingmakers held a press conference at which they accused the president of allegedly tearing the ballot papers after the election result had been counted. A peace meeting organised by Governor Daniel and the Owu Day celebration last Saturday were rebuffed by the traditional kingmakers. Now they have been arrested by the police.
