CITIZENS COMPASS— A Yoruba adage says, ‘B’eniyan ba nyo ilee e da, ohun buruku a maa yo won se,’ which literally means if one engages secretly in treachery, secret disasters will follow. This aptly describes the current situation in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, where selfish interests seem to have overridden credibility as the race for the vacant stool of Awujale heats up.
For many decades in some parts of Yoruba land, all manners of chieftaincy titles have been conferred on people regardless of their backgrounds once money has allegedly exchanged hands.
The most painful thing was that many holders of these chieftaincy titles could not differentiate between left and right when it comes to Yoruba tradition and culture.
How can one describe a situation where a traditional leader cannot read the numbers and alphabet in the Yoruba Language!
Apart from wearing chieftaincy beads, there is nothing significant to distinguish these traditional title holders from other Yoruba sons and daughters.
No wonder they are usually found wanting in terms of traditional rites.
This is what is currently playing out in Ijebu-Ode, where the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council has been replaced with the Adele Oba Awujale in Council.
This took place on Monday, which implied that the four ruling houses may have been played out in the selection process.
According to the Council, the duty is to oversee the affairs of the ancient town pending the emergence of a substantive Awujale.
The decision was reached at a meeting of the Ilamuren, the Pampa, the Odi and other chiefs of Ijebu-Ode.
The traditional leaders unanimously adopted a resolution mandating members of the AIAC to step down from their existing positions and join the newly constituted Adele Oba Awujale in Council.
A regent is a person appointed to temporarily govern a state, kingdom, or territory before the emergence of the next leader, but in the case of Ijebu-Ode, members of the council will unanimously govern the town until the next Awujale comes on board.
Recall that the 91-year-old Oba Sikiru Adetona joined his ancestors on July 13, 2025, while the state government constituted an administrative body to manage administrative and traditional responsibilities during the transition, until a new Awujale is installed.
The body was constituted in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat.
It was to be chaired by the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland and co-founder of Eko Hospital, Lagos, Folorunso Kuku, who is also designated as one of the Ilamuren.
In the resolution signed by the Chairman of the Adele Oba Awujale in Council, Sonny Kuku, however, the chiefs said the decision to transition from the interregnum administration to the Adele Oba Awujale in Council was informed by their consideration of the traditional and statutory frameworks governing the Awujale chieftaincy institution.
The statement reads, “Upon consideration of the applicable traditional and statutory framework, it was observed that the Ogun State Chiefs Law of 2021 does not expressly establish an Awujale Regency Council, nor does it prescribe a general procedure for the appointment of a Regent.
“It was further noted that the Chiefs Law and Declaration of 1957 provide an existing framework within which customary declarations are made and recognised, including the traditional institution of the Adele Oba Awujale in Council.
In view of the foregoing, a motion was moved and unanimously adopted
That all members of the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council (AIAC) should formally step down from their existing positions and transition into the Adele Oba Awujale in Council
“Consequently, the Adele Oba Awujale in Council shall henceforth assume responsibility for the administration of the affairs of Ijebu-Ode during the interregnum and exercise, on an interim basis, such administrative powers and functions as may appropriately be required in the absence of the Awujale, subject to applicable laws and established customs and traditions.
“The Adele Oba Awujale in Council shall henceforth serve as the recognised traditional administrative body for the management of the affairs of Ijebu-Ode throughout the interregnum, in accordance with applicable laws, customary practices and the established traditions of Ijebuland.
“Our position is firmly rooted in the ancient customs, established cultural practices and time-honoured traditions of the Ijebu people, particularly as they relate to the Awujale Chieftaincy Institution.
The 14-member council comprises Sonny Kuku as the Ogbeni Oja title; Rasheed Adesanya (Olisa); O.B. Okuboyejo (Obasewa); Chris Okunowo (Bobasuwa); and Jide Ajayi (Jagun Aso).
Other members are Lekan Osifeso (Olootu Olowa); Jimi Lawal (Olotu Ifore); Kunle Ogunade (Apebi); B.O. Osibogun (Iyalode); Adegoke Balogun (Jaginrin); Agboola Alausa (Balogun); Abimbola Okenla (Kakanfo); Adebisi Adaran (Ogbeni Odi Awujale); and Ayotunde Odulaja (Lapoekun).
In a chat with Citizens Compass, an elder in Ijebu-Ode, Mr Quasim Odunsike, described the emergency of these regents as a taboo, saying,
The action of the Adele Oba Awujale In Council (14 – member committee) is absolutely a taboo which must be resisted by all and sundry
Another bona fide son of Ijebu-Ode who does not want his name in print said, “The self-styled transition of the defunct Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council (AIAC) into the “Adele Oba Awujale in Council” is an unconstitutional exercise in legal fiction, a distortion of Ijebu customary law, and an administrative nullity. By attempting to unilaterally install themselves as a collective regency, this crop of non-royal chiefs has overreached their traditional bounds. Instead of achieving their objective of consolidating power, those involved have shot themselves in the leg, handing the Ogun State Government clear, unassailable grounds to dissolve them entirely, as neither their former committee nor their current self-declared council exists within the Awujale of Ijebuland Chieftaincy Declaration or the Ogun State Chiefs Law.
This development serves as an enduring lesson to traditional rulers to strictly adhere to lawful processes when appointing chiefs, and a stern reminder to the government to always consult the leadership of the Ruling Houses upon the demise of an Oba
As this Ijebu case demonstrates, contemporary chiefs are fond of overreaching their roles—exploiting temporary palace vacancies to transform themselves into executive rulers, a status that neither history, law, nor tradition offers them.
The stool of the Awujale of Ijebuland is strictly hereditary. As explicitly codified in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the registered Chieftaincy Declaration of 1957, succession rotates exclusively among four recognized Ruling Houses:
• The Gbelegbuwa ruling house
• The Anikinaiya ruling house
• The Fusengbuwa ruling house
• The Fidipote ruling house
By the immutable text of this Declaration and established Nigerian chieftaincy jurisprudence, an Adele Oba (Regent) is a sacred placeholder position. This office must be occupied by an individual of royal lineage chosen to sit temporarily on the seat of their ancestors. Paragraph 3 of the Declaration reinforces this hereditary boundary by dictating that candidates for the stool must be actual members of the royal ruling house.
Titled chiefs are administrative, ceremonial, and regulatory custodians; they are completely devoid of hereditary royal blood
For non-royal chiefs to arrogate executive and regent powers to themselves under the title of Adele Oba is a profound distortion of their lineage.
This reflects an erroneous assumption of royal prerogatives that ancestry does not support, creating an unauthorized departure from the historic customary framework of the Ijebu crown.”
