Echoes From Owu Obaship Tussle
History has a way of repeating itself in several uncanny ways, as the popular saying goes. But there is no other place and time that this saying can clearly be captured than in the unfolding Owu chieftaincy drama in Abeokuta, Ogun State. A disagreement between other kingmakers with the Balogun of Owu, who incidentally is Nigeria's President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo over who becomes the next Olowu of Owu has landed three kingmakers behind bars. As the fate of the arrested kingmakers hangs in the balance, so is the anxiety among the populace. Is the development in Owu a reflection of the 2003 general elections? Joseph Ushigiale asks
Whatever is happening within us (Owu) is a family affair which is normal in any family circle and I can assure you, it will soon be settled." It was the assurance given by the Balogun of Owu, President Olusegun Obasanjo to his kinsmen at a reconciliation meeting initiated by Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State to settle the disagreement over the choice of a successor to the Owu stool which pitched Obasanjo against five kingmakers in his domain.
However about a week on, the disagreement which Obasanjo described as a family affair and normal in every family circle has assumed a new and disturbing twist. Three of the belligerent kingmakers, who openly voiced their disapproval of the manner Obasanjo subverted the Owu's election process, have been arrested and are behind bars at press time.
Last Monday, at about 3 am, a team of policemen swooped on the homes of the kingmakers, at dawn, Chief Rufus Onifade, the Akogun; Chief Sufianu Olaifa, the Oloosi and Chief Ramon Ogunbiyi, the Oyega were rounded up and are now in detention. However, Obamaja, Chief Olawale Osungboye and Chief Sunday Ogunlolu the Omoolasin and the Olowu elect, Prince Adebiyi Fadairo were lucky and escaped arrest.
Genesis of Owu Crisis
The crisis in Owu is rooted in the struggle over who replaces the late Olowu of Owu, Oba Olawale Adisa Odeleye, he was the 10th ruler on the Owu throne. Shortly after his demise, a need then arose for the election of a new candidate to fill the vacant position.
That decision was taken at the last Owu day celebrated shortly after Odeleye passed on. It was agreed that one of the six ruling houses, the Amororo house, should produce the next Olowu. This decision was said to have been hinged on an existing 1957 law which recognised the rotation of the stool between Akinjobi, Akinoso, Lagbedu, Amororo, Otileta and Ayoloye houses.
Following the agreement, an in-house election, under the supervision of Chief John Adekunle Akinhanmi was held. Six candidates including Fadairo Olutayo, Prince John Olalekan, Prince Dosunmu Adegboyega, Adegbenro Olaniyi, Owolabi Lateef and Adejare Adebola were presented by the ruling house as eligible candidates for the Olowu stool.
After the screening exercise which culminated in the election conducted under the supervision of Yemi Adelani, who was at the time, the secretary to the Abeokuta North local government council and the six living kingmakers last December, Fadairo Olutayo polled 4 votes to emerge as the new Olowu of Owu.
Curiously, among those who signed the communique authenticating the result of the election was Obasanjo. However, events took an entirely different turn when the new Olowu could not be sworn-in. On investigation, it was revealed that the state government was uncomfortable with the manner the new Olowu emerged.
Its disagreement was said to have been rooted in its argument that the late Olowu acted beyond his brief by appointing the Balogun and Olurugun chiefs. What that meant was that all appointments including Fadairo's election was a nullity.
Fadairo, the Olowu elect, rather than allowing matters to lie low, decided to challenge the matter in court. After several months, Fadairo was said to have agreed to an out of court settlement brokered by the state Ministry of Justice. The highpoint of the agreement was that a new election would be rescheduled for August 8, this year and all the parties must agree to the outcome of the proposed election.
But the August 8 election was shifted to the next day on the instruction of Obasanjo. In the build-up to the election day, the state government appointed two kingmakers to fill the vacant position created by those who died, bringing the number of kingmakers to eight.
Although the venue of the election was initially slated for Obasanjo's residence, it was later changed to the Olowu palace. Four candidates, Fadairo Olutayo and Sanyaolu Dosunmu, Niyi Adegbenro and Adejare Pearce emerged from the screening process conducted by the kingmakers. The result showed that Olutayo polled 5 votes against Dosunmu's 3.
The result was to expose Obasanjo's partisan position on the Olowu's stool. Events showed that he preferred Dosunmu who scored 3 votes to be Olowu over Fadairo, supported by Onifade and majority of the kingmakers, who was to win again polling five votes. Since then the centre in Owu has refused to hold.
How the Gap Widened
Had all those present at the August 9 election slated to elect the new Olowu displayed their democratic maturity, perhaps things would not have degenerated to the position they are today. According to one of the kingmakers, Onifade, who addressed a press conference shortly after the botched election, every process in the election was proceeding smoothly from screening to voting up to the point of vote counting, supervised by Akeem Akingbade of the Abeokuta local government area, when hell broke loose. Onifade and four other kingmakers accused Obasanjo of subverting the Olowu selection process by snatching and tearing to shreds the results in the electoral officer's possession, in the presence of the kingmakers when it became apparent that his candidate, Dosunmu had lost.
Onifade said since the result showed that the kingmakers had rejected Dosunmu, Obasanjo's candidate, The President lacked the authority to impose a candidate of his personal choice on them through intimidation and harassment.
The aggrieved kingmakers who remained resolute insisted that "Fadairo is our new King by popular selection and we stand by him. We Owu people are democrats, so we won't allow anybody, no matter how highly placed, to intimidate us to do the wrong thing."
To underscore their seriousness, the kingmakers canceled the Owu festival, an annual event originally slated for last Saturday, which usually attracts all indigenes of Owu in Nigeria and Diaspora to the town for the celebration and for which arrangements had reached advanced stage.
Daniel Waves the Olive Branch
But Obasanjo, in his reaction to the kingmakers' accusation directed Governor Gbenga Daniel to dissolve the eight-man committee of kingmakers and appoint new ones because, according to him, the aggrieved kingmakers had acted beyond their brief.
In his August 10 letter to Daniel, the Balogun of Owu said the kingmakers abdicated their duties in the clearly outlined process of selection. He accused the kingmakers of subverting the process to favour a particular candidate from the point of screening to the election proper.
He said such a situation failed to provide a level playing field for other candidates leading to their unfair treatment during the screening exercise, adding that the process to him was inconclusive.
Citing an incident to buttress his point, Obasanjo said the kingmakers had compromised their sacred duties by refusing to wait for few minutes for the screening of an additional candidate, Aikulola. "This in my view, was unfair and unjust and manifested a gross dereliction of duty by warrant chiefs in the selection process."
But rather than appoint new warrant chiefs, Daniel set-up a reconciliation committee to settle the dispute between Obasanjo and his aggrieved kingmakers. However, at the venue of the reconciliation meeting, none of the five aggrieved kingmakers was present. But Chief Doja Adewolu said they were not invited for tactical reasons.
Even with their absence, it was agreed that the Owu festival should proceed as planned last Saturday and Sunday. Yet, at the annual event, the five kingmakers who are in the opposite direction with Obasanjo failed to show their presence, signifying that all was not well.
It is therefore not surprising that they were arrested last Monday. Their arrest is no doubt instigated by their disagreement with their Balogun and more importantly, Obasanjo, by arresting them is rubbing it in on them that he is in-charge not only in Nigeria but Owu town as well.
What is happening in Owu is a sad reminder of how not to use power. Owu may be a small town tucked somewhere in Abeokuta, Ogun state. But the good fortune is that it has produced a man who by sheer providence has become a President of this country. That is why all attention is bound to shift to Owu to the point that people both at home and abroad are shifting their gazes to the town to see how it can manage an election that would elect a new Olowu.
However, the crisis that has emanated from the selection process is to say the least disappointing. There is a reason for this. Traditional antecedents show that the town has been engulfed in crises for over 13 years in its attempt to select a new Olowu. Providence thrust up Obasanjo, a democrat from Owu who plays national politics. The task before Obasanjo therefore was simple: export democratic experience to Owu, conduct a transparent election and leave a democratic legacy for Owu without rancour.
Onifade had remarked that Owu are democrats, there is no doubt that they are, but if they are democrats, how come, a son who has climbed to become the number one citizen, lack such democratic values that even in his hometown he can not accept defeat in an Olowu contest. It is certainly food for thought for Owu people.
Perhaps the most disturbing implication of the Owu development is in the outcome of the 2003 election. This election has generated so much controversy since it was released, yet, what has happened in Owu would confirm the position being held by the opposition that the 2003 election was manipulated by the presidency.
In Owu, Obasanjo had the whole opportunity to prove skeptics wrong by ensuring that the popular wishes of the people prevailed. But he failed to recognise that opportunity and instead stirred the lingering controversy. It would be a long time before the Owu people would forget this manipulation because it is already certain that with the way things are going, an unpopular Olowu is set to emerge.
But it is noteworthy to praise the kingmakers for standing up to their current travails, eventhough the presidency has denied any involvement in their arrest, it is only when people like the Owu kingmakers shout out that tyranny can be defeated.
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