Ooni’s Stool: Osun Govt Asks Ministry of Local Govt and Chieftaincy Affairs to Invite Giesi Ruling House

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola

Due to  the resolution of the Osun State Government to invite Giesi Ruling House of Ile-Ife to present candidates from which kingmakers would pick a suitable one to occupy the vacant stool of Ooni, the government has mandated the state Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to issue out a letter for the invitation to the ruling house.

A source revealed on Sunday night  that the state government had mandated the Permanent Secretary in the ministry to issue the letter conveying the resolutions of the government to the ruling house.

At a crucial meeting held last Friday at the Oke-Fia Government House, Osogbo, the state government had resolved to write the Giesi Ruling House to present candidates out of which a suitable candidate would be picked by the kingmakers to occupy the stool.

The government, the source noted, said it would not entertain or consider candidates from other ruling houses for the stool, hinging its resolutions on the 1979 and 1980 Ife Chieftaincy Declaration which allow for rotational ascendancy of the throne among the four ruling houses.

The declaration made under section 4 (2) of the Chief Law 1957 of Customary Law Regulating the selection the Ooni of Ife,  was made on September 14, 1979; approved on January 20, 1980 and registered on January 26, 1980.

The declaration reads in part: “There are four ruling houses, which have the right to provide candidate for the Ooni chieftaincy, and the identity of each of such ruling houses and order of rotation is as follows: Osinkola House -  which produced late Oba Aderemi; Ogboru House which produced Oba Sijuwade Okunade II; Giesi House and Lafogido House.

“The family whose turn is it to provide a candidate shall be invited in writing to present their candidate or candidates from among whom the kingmakers shall select the most suitable person.”

Meawhile, an octogenarian Prince of Ile-Ife from the Giesi ruling house, Pa Peter Adetola Ogunleye, has warned stakeholders in the town and other interested parties in the selection and appointment of Ooni of Ife against bribery, saying Ooni’s stool is not for sale.

Also, the Ogboru Ruling House of Ile Ife has presented a United Kingdom-based oil magnate, Prince Adeagbo Adefarakan, to the Ife kingmakers as the sole candidate of the family to be considered as the next Ooni of Ife.

Pa Ogunleye who contested for the stool in 1980 after the demise of

Oba Adesoji Aderemi, but lost to Oba Okunade Sijuwade declared that the Giesi ruling house would ensure that a member of the ruling house emerges as the next Ooni of Ife.

Also, Ogunleye raised the alarm over the alleged plan by some individuals who are not rightful children of the Giesi’s dynasty to contest for the stool from the ruling house.

He said the family has commenced serious scrutiny to determine the rightful princes from the ruling house, entitled to contest for the vacant stool of the Ooni of Ife.

According to him, the rotational system introduced in 1957 by late Oba Aderemi among the four ruling houses in the town and endorsed by the defunct western region government allows the Giesi ruling house to produce the next traditional ruler for the ancient town.

Also, Prince Ogunleye disclosed that the 1976 chieftaincy declaration and the report of the Justice Adenekan Ademola panel of inquiry recognise rotational system among the four ruling houses in the ancient town.

He pointed out that the Giesi ruling house is next to Ogboru, which produced late Oba Sijuwade who reigned for 35 years after Oba Aderemi of the Oshinkola ruling house who reigned for 50 years.

Ogunleye who is a lawyer said the Giesi ruling house produced an Ooni of Ife over 100 years ago, hence its resolve to ensure that the rotational order, which favours it is respected by all the stakeholders in the town.

He said, “Ile-Ife is a town with rich culture, history and customs. That is why

we will not allow any one or group of people to rubbish our history. Ile-Ife needs an Ooni who will be an Omoluabi, an Ooni who will empower his subjects and not just feed them.”

Prince Ogunleye, who declared that the state government would determine the next Ooni of Ife, maintained that the family would not sell its right to non-member of the family.

He also hinted that the family will ensure that limited Princes contest for the stool from the ruling house to ensure that a member of the family emerge as the next Ooni of Ife.

However, he disclosed that a popular contestant for the stool, Dr Rahmon Adedoyin is not a member of the Giesi ruling house as he claimed, saying only those from the male lineage are recognised as genuine children of the family.

He also denied allegation that some elders of the Giesi ruling house had been bribed to sell the family’s right to other ruling houses, saying the family is united and could not afford to loose the opportunity of producing the next Ooni of Ife.

He urged the government and other relevant stakeholders to expedite action on the selection and appointment of the new Ooni of Ife.

However, Adefarakan in a telephone interview with journalists  in Osogbo at the weekend, said leaders  of the ruling house in a letter of recommendation sent to the Ife kingmakers last Wednesday recommended him ( Adefarakan) as the only candidate of the house to be considered for selection as the next Ooni.

The oil and gas magnate, who is a great grandson of the late Ooni Olubuse 1, stated that some other contestants within the family also showed interest in the position but the leaders of the family unanimously presented him as the only candidate of the family.

“The Ogboru Ruling House has finally presented me to Ife kingmakers as the sole candidate of the family for consideration as the next Ooni.

“The letter of recommendation in which I was presented to the kingmakers was signed by the Head of Ogboru Ruling House, Prince Adenekan Olubuse; Loogun of the house, Prince Alade Adefioye; Secretary, Prince Pade Adelekan and Prince Adegbemiga Adefarakan.”

The contestant stated that he was confident that he would eventually be crowned as the next Ooni, while promising to do all within his power to ensure the development of the town.

Adefarakan said the Ogboru, has been produced the least number of Ooni among the four ruling houses, saying that was the reason the kingmakers should pick the successor of Oba Okunade Sijuwade from the Ogboru Ruling House.

However, following the commencement of the selection process of the new Ooni of Ife, one of the ruling houses in the ancient city, the Lafogido Ruling House, has faulted the Chieftaincy Declaration of 1976 by the Justice Ademola Commission, claiming it erred in its conclusion on many issues regarding the true royal families.

The said declaration, which was a review of the 1957 declaration, was gazetted in 1977 by the government of the old Oyo State.

In a statement issued by the ruling house which was signed by its Head, the Sooko Walomo of Ile-Ife, Prince Adeleke Adewoyin, and six other princes from the ruling house, they faulted the gazette’s position on the history of the kings who had ruled Ile-Ife from the time of Ooni Lajamisan, insisting that the ruling house has been marginalised in all the chieftaincy reviews since 1957.

According to the ruling house, the modern rotational kingship system in Ile-Ife was established during the reign of Ooni Lajemisan, who it claimed had two children, Lajodogun and Lafigido.

However, they claimed that the Lajodogun ruling house was further split into three at the instance of his children, Ogbooru, Osinkola and Princess Moropo, whose son, Giesi stands for, adding that despite Lafogido’s eight children, it remained a single family tree.

The family insisted that Giesi, as a maternal grandchild of Ogbooru, who it claimed was enthroned after his father, Ooni Ogboru, and was banished to Ife-Odan following his prolonged reign, cannot be recognised as a ruling house.

They added that the death of about six Ooni-designates before their enthronement after Ogbooru’s banishment had informed the consideration of Giesi, whose mother had rejected the throne being a woman.

The ruling house therefore said it regards the1977 gazette as harsh and unfair to the Lafogido ruling house, saying the “clear-cut prevalence of 14 Oonis have been enthroned from Lajodogun and only eight from Lafogido ruling house.”

The family is also calling on stakeholders, including the Osun State Government and the leadership of both the Ife East and Ife Central Local Government Areas and the entire kingmakers to call a meeting of all the ruling houses to once again discuss the true lineage of Ile-Ife royal families. It claimed the process will ensure a rancour-free process.

Source: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ooni-s-stool-osun-govt-asks-ministry-of-local-govt-and-chieftaincy-affairs-to-invite-giesi-ruling-house/220200/