ABEOKUTA— THE crisis over the selection of a new Olowu of Owu deepened yesterday as the five Owu kingmakers embroiled in the face-off with President Olusegun Obasanjo shunned a meeting scheduled for his Ita Iyalode, Abeokuta residence. While the President was in his house obviously expecting the chiefs for the meeting summoned at his instance, the five kingmakers led by the Akogun of Owu, Chief Rufus Alani Onifade were holding a meeting in the house of one of them.
The kingmakers who shunned the meeting along with the Akogun were, Chief Olawale Osungboye; the Obamaja, Rahman Ogunbiyi; the Oyega, Sunday Oguntolu; the Omoolasin, and Sufianu Olaifa; the Oloosi.
The kingmakers had been invited in a circular letter dated 3rd September 2004 and signed by the Owu Palace Secretary, Mr. J A Sobo to a meeting at President Obasanjo’s Ita Iyalode home scheduled for yesterday at 2.00pm.
Speaking with newsmen at their own meeting, Akogun Rufus Onifade said that they had resolved not to attend any meeting on the selection of a new Olowu outside the Olowu palace anymore, adding that unless the palace was opened they would not attend any meeting. All meetings of the kingmakers on the selection of Olowu should hold at the palace. We are not quarrelling with anybody but we will not go to anybody’s house to attend a meeting on the selection of a new Olowu”, he declared.
Akogun Onifade said that the five kingmakers were acting in concert with the generality of the people who he said were against the imposition of an Olowu by President Obasanjo and two other chiefs. He said that the generality of the Owu people were on their side, knowing full well that he and the four other kingmakers would not lie to them.
Also speaking in the same vein, the Omoolasin, Chief Sunday Oguntolu said “ they are not fair to us. They should go and rectify the anomaly they made. We have been chiefs for over 10 years, is it now that they they now know that we have become their enemies”.
Chief Oguntolu, a Septuagenarian said that the kingmakers had all been issued letters as warrant chiefs for the selection of Olowu “and they have aborted what we did, so what are we going to do in his (Obasanjo’s) house?”
As at the time of filing this report President Obasanjo was still in his Abeokuta home with all the roads leading to the house blocked and visitors being screened before passing through any of the roads.
