Groups Ask Oyo Gov Makinde To Reverse Rotational Council Of Obas Chairmanship

By Ayodele Oni

Oyo Community Civil Society Groups have rejected the rotational of the  Chairmanship of the Oyo State  Council of Obas, and so, the restoration of the Alaafin’s historical authority.

The Groups, Oyo Scholars Congress (OSC) and the Oyo Global Forum (OGF),  representing scholars, professionals, and community leaders of Oyo extraction across the world, in a joint statement, maintained that the inauguration of the Oyo State Council of Obas, with a rotational Chairmanship commencing with Oba Rashidi Ladoja, without an explicit and principled affirmation of the Alaafin’s historically settled pre-eminence, represents a serious misreading of Yoruba political tradition.

The statement, signed by Prof Seun Kolade, and Mr Taiwo Adebayo, on behalf of of the Groups, stated that “For the avoidance of doubt, OSC and OGF state their position clearly and unequivocally.

“We affirm the continued recognition of the Alaafin of Oyo as the historically settled, pre eminent traditional authority in Oyo State, by virtue of culture, history, and civilisational continuity.

“We, therefore, call for the reversal of any policy, legislative amendment, or administrative practice that presents the Alaafin’s throne as equivalent to that of any other traditional ruler within the state.

“Recognition of other crowns must proceed in a manner that preserves dignity and mutual respect, without erasing historically grounded order.

“Accordingly, OSC and OGF call for the immediate correction of this historical anomaly and cultural aberration.

“We call on Gov Seyi Makinde and the Oyo State Government to reverse, without delay, any arrangement that places the Alaafin’s throne on the same footing as other traditional thrones, and to explicitly reaffirm the Alaafin of Oyo as the apex historical and cultural authority within the traditional order of Oyo State.

“This corrective action is necessary to restore balance, uphold historical truth, and safeguard the integrity of Yoruba political culture, while fully respecting the dignity of all other traditional rulers.

“OSC and OGF recognise the constitutional authority of government to pursue reforms and the legislative role of the Oyo State House of Assembly in amending laws to improve governance.

“Yet reform divorced from history is not progress. It is erasure. Tradition is not an obstacle to effective administration. It is one of its deepest sources of legitimacy.

“Where reforms fail to respect this truth, they risk producing administrative order at the cost of cultural dislocation and historical disfigurement.”