By Ayodele Oni
The traditional ruler of Akure in Ondo state, Oba Ogunlade Aladelusi has waded into crisis rocking the Anglican Communion in the state capital over forceful retirement of top official of the Diocese.
The monarch, in a letter to the Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Henry Ndukuba appealed to him to step into the issue, “which is threatening to tear apart the Church in the Diocese of Akure and set it on fire if not properly handled with tact and wisdom.
In the letter, Oba Aladelusi, accused the Bishop of the Diocese, S.O. Borokini of sending the diocesan Dean, Ope Kujero on compulsory leave preceding his retirement from active service on the 27th of December, 2025.
“In the last couple of years , I have been inundated with extremely saddening reports of the misconduct and misdemeanors of the Bishop of Akure and his wife who has been acting as if she was the one consecrated by Your Grace to be Bishop of Akure .
Of course, we have consistently tried to manage the situation to the best of our knowledge with God given wisdom so that the Church will not thereby be affected and because he is related to Akure .
“The Church had started planning his retirement and members of the Church had set up committees to use his retirement from service to show our appreciation to him for his services to God and humanity.
“Church members and the various societies had decided to levy themselves to make the day noteworthy.
“Suddenly and most shockingly, a letter was said to have been issued by the Bishop, instructing the Dean to proceed on a terminal leave from the 1st of September 2025.
“From all accounts, and from my interaction with the members of the Standing Committee of the Church and other leaders, a lot of reasons have been adduced for this most regrettable action of the Bishop.
“These rang from the Dean’s inability to carry out illegal financial instructions to the Dean’s alleged refusal to set aside the punishment meted out to a female member of the Choir, who is alleged to be very close to the Bishop and even to envy and jealousy of the relationship of the Dean with members of the Cathedral.
“Your Grace, you will agree with me that for someone who has served in God’s vineyard for upwards of 40 years, and who has only about four to five months to stay at his supposedly last posting, to be suddenly asked to proceed on a terminal leave, for no justifiable reason other than ‘the Bishop has the power of life and death’ over his clergy, definitely leaves a sour taste in the mouth of every right thinking person, who has the fear of God and also leaves much to be desired.
“Upon become aware of this instruction, Your Grace, members of the Standing Committee met with me and appealed to me to speak to the Bishop and use my good offices to appeal to him to kindly be humane and reverse the posting in the interest of humanity and togetherness and in the overall interest of peace not just within the Cathedral but also within the entire Diocese.
“I am also aware that some members met with the aging and most respected Rt.Revd (Dr)- Emmanuel Bolanle Gbonigi rtd, to get in touch with the Bishop in order to appeal to him too.
“Your Grace, as I write to you, the Bishop of Akure and Archbishop of Ondo ecclesiastical province has neither taken our calls nor returned them since three weeks ago when this matter blew into the open.
“He has refused all entreaties and has refused to show that he is indeed the father of the Church in Akure .
I must say, Your Grace, that this action of the Bishop/Archbishop is most unexpected, unreasonable and shocking to say the least.
Permit me, Your Grace, to mention to you my experience with the Late Kabiyesi Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona, who once called me on phone to ask me why Akures were victimizing the Ijebus who are clergy men in Akure.
“What the Kabiyesi was referring to was the case of Very Revd O.O Osotayo who was the Provost of this our Cathedral before the present one until suddenly Archbishop/Bishop S.O Borokini against all the entreaties of everyone in the Cathedral and in the Diocese, demoted him and removed him as Provost of the Cathedral.
“It took his Diocese(Ijebu) to withdraw him back home and made him Provost of their own Cathedral at Ijebu Igbo. The present Dean is another Ijebu man.
“Why would we seek to destroy the age long beautiful and beneficial relationship between the Akures and the Ijebus who will naturally view this as another case of Akures punishing the Ijebus for no justifiable cause .
“I am aware that Akure has sons who are clergy in Ijebuband other Dioceses in Nigeria and would not want our own children to be so treated.
“Finally Your Grace, it will interest you to note that despite being an Anglican, the Royal stool of Akure Kingdom has never interfered with, discussed the issue of routine posting of any clergy with the Bishop of Akure or any other person.
“However in the instant case, the Royal stool of Akure views this particular instruction as a deliberate punishment of the Dean and therefore sees and views it as inhuman and wicked and one which if not properly handled, will lead to a crisis in the Diocese and not just the Cathedral.”
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