At Last, Obasanjo Eats The Humble Pie, Begs Awujale For Forgiveness Over Rift On Corruption Allegations

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called the paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona to say ‘I’m sorry’ over his choice of words in his letter to the Awujale to debunk allegations levelled against him in the monarch’s autobiography.

Without mincing words, Obasanjo had described the respected traditional ruler of being a peddler of falsehood and a rumour monger in his letter dated December 30, 2016 and addressed to the monarch. This was in response to the unpleasant remarks about Obasanjo and his alleged use of Nuhu Ribadu’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to witch-hunt and extort Globacom Chairman, Dr Mike Adenuga during his tenure as President.

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Saturday Sun however gathered that to douse the tension being generated by the negative publicity their face-off was getting, Obasanjo picked his phone to call the Awujale on Thursday January 5 to make peace with the Ijebu monarch.

A reliable source very close to Obasanjo who confirmed the telephone conversation between the two friends said “Baba Obasanjo pleaded with the Awujale not to allow the media come in between them.”

Ironically, Obasanjo made the call on the same day his letter to the monarch was published widely by some national newspapers. After pleading with the monarch to sheathe his sword, the former President then invited the monarch to honour him with his presence at the commissioning of a new mosque built within the premises of his Presidential Library in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital on February 11.

“I overheard the Awujale expressing concern over what he would tell the media if they ambush him to answer some questions on their relationship at the event, but Baba Obasanjo assured him that he would handle the media well that day”, the source added.

As part of efforts to confirm the development, Saturday Sun’s correspondent visited the Presidential Library and indeed established that the mosque which may bring Obasanjo and Awujale together in the public for the first time after their controversy was actually ready for commissioning as artisans were busy putting finishing touches to the building.

All efforts to speak with the two leaders on the matter failed while their aides were not forthcoming on enquiries.

Investigations by Saturday Sun revealed that the allegations that generated hot exchange between the two friends were not new or strange to Obasanjo as he attended the launch of the book titled, ‘Awujale: The Autobiography of Alaiyeluwa Oba S. K. Adetona, Ogbagba II’ in June 2010 to mark the monarch’s 50th coronation anniversary at Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

Daily Sun

OBASANJO A 'Judas' - Awujale Hits The Ex-President More, Reveals Why Their Relationship Strained

More facts have emerged why the relationship between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona fell apart.

According to the estranged monarch, he fell out with former President Olusegun Obasanjo when the latter failed to address the issue of true federalism in the country as president, report by Punch Newspaper says

The Awujale said though Obasanjo had promised to address the issue of true federalism before the 1999 elections, but on getting to office, he did otherwise.

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He said, “With Obasanjo finally settled in office, I went to see him at Aso Rock in Abuja. I sought to meet with him so that we could discuss the contentious issue of true federalism in the nation and the future association of the constituents. He had talked a great deal along this line before going into office and so I never anticipated any problem with him on the matter. I urged him to provide a solid structure for the country. Obasanjo declined to call any national conference on federalism and I was very disappointed. This was the dividing line for me in our relationship.

“During one of my visits to Aso Rock, Obasanjo revisited the issue. He asked if I remembered that I had called him a Judas. I told him I not only remembered but still maintained that he was a Judas who would betray his people. I did not give up pressing on the federalism issue. In September 2002, I went again to see him at Aso Rock on the need for the constituents of the nation to discuss our association. There was no positive response from him. In my disappointment, I told him before leaving that his case would end up like that of a snake crawling on a rock without leaving a footprint.”

This was excerpted from Chapter 12 of the monarch’s autobiography, titled “Awujale: The Autobiography of Alaiyeluwa Oba S.K. Adetona Ogbagba II,” from pages 171 to 183.

Excerpts from pages 187-195 of the book, which was published in 2010 by Mosuro Publishers, had recently gone viral for reasons unknown.

In the book, Awujale accused Obasanjo of using the then Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, to persecute billionaire businessman and founder of Globacom, Otunba Mike Adenuga.

According to the monarch, Obasanjo believed Adenuga was fronting for the then Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, and a former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida.

The monarch alleged that Adenuga was detained and harassed because Obasanjo was fighting with Atiku and Babangida at the time. Awujale further described Obasanjo’s eight-year tenure as a complete waste “short of tangible achievements.”

However, Obasanjo in a letter dated December 30, 2016, which was addressed to the Awujale, berated the monarch while describing him as a liar and a rumour-monger.

The ex-President said, “Your assertion in the publication was a tissue of lies and untruths.”

Obasanjo said he did not expect the monarch to be objective as regards Adenuga since the billionaire was his cousin.

While the controversy rages on, the traditional ruler had revealed from pages 171 to 183 of the book his role in helping Obasanjo become Nigeria’s president in 1999.

He said, “The (1999) presidential election was looming and Sunday Awoniyi, on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party, approached me to recommend a possible Yoruba candidate for them. In my opinion, the most serious problems facing the country at the time were its economic challenges. So the man I believed we needed had to be someone who had a comprehensive grasp of national economics.

“I also thought that Nigeria needed a man with international exposure to lead the country responsibly in the global scene. The man also had to be detribalised and clean, with a passion to put things right for our nation. As I saw it, Prof. Adebayo Adedeji was the one who met these criteria and I recommended him.”

Adedeji is a professor of Economics and a former Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission on Africa and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. He had served as a Minister of Economic Planning and Reconstruction in General Yakubu Gowon’s government.

The Awujale said the PDP accepted Adedeji as a qualified candidate but had to reject him because he belonged to the Alliance for Democracy.

“Meanwhile, Obasanjo was struggling for acceptance and to be adopted as a candidate. He had never been a politician other than the fact that he had been a former military Head of State; he had no political constituency,” he said.

“He paid regular and almost daily visits to me in the “aafin” (palace) to plead with me to support his candidature. There was also pressure on me on behalf of Obasanjo from Chief S.O. Bakare and Otunba Reuben Fasawe. When no other Yoruba man emerged from the PDP, I had a discussion with Obasanjo on the travails of the country, on one of his visits. We both agreed on how good leadership alone could salvage the nation.

“In the end, I agreed to support his candidacy and that was a turning point in our relationship. Even after I gave him my support, Chief Awoniyi still came to me, seeking assurance that Obasanjo would perform well. I told him that Obasanjo had promised to serve the nation diligently and pull Nigeria out of the doldrums.”

The monarch said he also intervened when the AD started questioning the election that produced Obasanjo after its (AD) candidate, Chief Olu Falae, lost the election.

Earlier in Chapter 12 of the autobiography, titled: “Political Manoeuvres”, the monarch revealed how he brokered a meeting between the PDP and the AD, which nearly ended up in a merger of the parties before negotiations broke down.

He emphasised that one of the conditions he gave the PDP team, which was led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and Sunday Awoniyi, was that a Yoruba man must become the president if the country must experience any form of stability.

“I brought out a newspaper clipping in which I had been quoted as saying that the new dispensation would succeed only if a Yoruba was put at the helm of affairs of the nation. When they read it, they told me that was exactly their own position too.”

The Oba recalled that he had to warn the PDP team, which was already discussing with some AD chieftains in meetings brokered by him, not to foist just any Yoruba man on the nation.

He said, “I was giving the warning because I was aware that a ‘Judas’ had been found among the Yoruba, whom they were trying to impose on us. When they asked me who this Judas was, I replied that it was Olusegun Obasanjo. They denied this, and told us they had not accepted him as their candidate.”

The monarch explained that he supported Obasanjo’s second term “not because he was a great achiever during the first term, but because I thought he was still needed for the stability of the country, if for nothing else.”

In the book, Awujale also recalled how on the day Chief Abraham Adesanya, a late Afenifere chieftain, was celebrating his 80th birthday in 2002; he had told Obasanjo to his face that he was not credible.

He said, “After the service, Obasanjo invited me to join him in his car on the ride to Abusi Edumare Assembly in Ijebu-Igbo where his helicopter was waiting to pick him up. It was a ride in a Mercedes limousine car and he and I were seated at the back while Governor (Olusegun) Osoba sat opposite us.

“It was going to be a short trip but I had something to say and so it had to be said quickly enough while the three of us shared some privacy.

“I said there was a time when I had trusted Obasanjo so much that I could swear by his name, but that the trust was now gone.

“Obasanjo asked why. I answered that Obasanjo was no longer credible. Silence descended in the car for the rest of the journey to the pad where the helicopter was parked. We escorted him to the helicopter and he flew off.”

However, Awujale’s autobiography did not talk much about an alleged bid by Obasanjo to spend three terms in office, but said Obasanjo avoided discussing the issue with him.

You Don't Have A Common Sense - Obasanjo Blasts Awujale of Ijebuland In A privates Letter; See Raw Copy of OBJ's Letter

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described allegations made against him by Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, as resulting from a lack of common sense and a potpourri of wild rumors.

Obasanjo’s response was contained in a letter dated  December 30, 2016, and was a direct riposte to a welter of allegations contained in the traditional ruler’s 2010 autobiography, Awujale: The Autobiography Of Alaiyeluwa Oba SK Adetona, Ogbagba 11. In the book, the Awujale pointedly claimed that Obasanjo used his powers as president, among other things, to hound his cousin and Chairman prominent businessman, Mr. Mike Adenuga.

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The former president described the Awujale’s claims in his book as products of bizarre rumors, which a traditional ruler of his status should not be seen propagating. “Common sense would suggest that wild rumors should not be perpetrated by an Oba of your caliber,” wrote Obasanjo, who added that he now thinks a lot less of the Awujale than he once did.

Writing on the 2006 experience of Mr. Adenuga with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in his book, the Awujale had accused the former President of harboring a deep-seated hate for the Globacom Chairman, an accusation that drew a fusillade from Obasanjo.

“Kabiyesi, the total sum of what you have put down in those pages of your book is that I dislike Mike (Adenuga). Maybe I need to remind you that if there was any iota of truth in such a position or mindset, Mike would never have been granted the mobile phone telephone license, which made him a billionaire. It was my prerogative as the President so to do. You may also be reminded that the first round of auction, which Mike did not make, the country earned $285million for each license. The country earned only $200million from the license transaction with Mike and in the subsequent transaction with Etisalat, the country earned $400million. It was a deliberate action on my part that a Nigerian should own one of the licenses. Anybody else but Mike could have been that Nigerian,” wrote Obasanjo.

As part of the dislike Obasanjo allegedly harbored for Mr. Adenuga, the Awujale wrote in his book that the former president used the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a personal battle axe against some prominent people, including the Globacom Chairman. Not surprisingly, Obasanjo also bristled at the allegation, saying the EFCC, with him as President, did its job as it deemed fit. Obasanjo accused the Awujale of carrying out hate propaganda against his person by the suggestion that he used the EFCC as a whip against certain persons.

“Kabiyesi, your cousin did not tell you that my Chief of Staff, Abdul Mohammed, put his reputation on the line by assuring EFCC that Mike would not go anywhere and they should trust him to give him his passport. I did not even know that Abdul had done that until the Chairman of EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, reported the case of my Chief of Staff seemingly colluding with Mike to run out the country. But I had implicit confidence in my Chief of Staff and I was to resolve the issue. Should your cousin not have mentioned to Abdul who guaranteed the release of his passport, his fears and intention to go on exile?” Obasanjo asked in the letter.

The former President ramped up his attack on the Awujale by exposing the traditional ruler’s decision to send him documents on Mr. Adenuga’s case with the EFCC, saying he paid no attention to those documents because he was not the EFCC and did not put the commission on a leash.

“Mike did not need to send anything to me to satisfy me. He needed to satisfy the EFCC, and so your sending any documents to me was insinuating that I am the one to be satisfied rather than the EFCC.

So, such documents were not paid attention by me. You, as a part beneficiary from Mike, as you have told me in the past, would not be able to see the tree from the forest viz-a-viz, Mike. If the EFCC was investigating anybody, I did not consider it right for me to be the President of Nigeria to be undermining the EFCC by hobnobbing with that person,” wrote Obasanjo.

On the Awujale’s allegation that Obasanjo deliberately arranged a photo-op with Mr. Adenuga, the former President said the traditional had fallen many notches in his estimation.

“Your assertion in the publication was a tissue of lies and untruths. Olopade is one of my best friends, and yes, I would be at his birthday celebration, but I would not have invited Mike, your cousin, to meet me anywhere other than my office or official residence as President of Nigeria. Kabiyesi, do you think I would set the press up for to capture Mike and me in a photograph for the newspapers? That would be puerile for me as President. Of course, I could not say that Mike could not do that,” wrote Obasanjo.

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The former president also dismissed the Awujale’s claim that he was sore at the decision of Mr. Adenuga not to make financial contributions to the building of the library at Bells University. According to Obasanjo, Mr. Adenuga was invited by the then Vice-Chancellor of the University, who did not inform him of the invitation to the Globacom Chairman to contribute until the businessman pulled out.

Obasanjo said the Awujale has a reputation for propagating unfounded rumors. “It is not only in the case of Obajana Cement that you were rumour-mongering about me. You have done that repeatedly on many occasions,” he wrote.

The latest of such, said the former president, was last year when he said the Awujale told him that he heard he (Obasanjo) went to businessman, Razak Okoya, to ask to marry his daughter. According to Obasanjo,  it was the girl that came to him seeking his intervention in a disagreement with her father.

Obasanjo said he intervened and Okoya and his daughter were reconciled.

“I told you even then that it was unbecoming. Of course, I am used to such rumors, slandering, and insinuations since my days as Unit Commander in the Army, and I have developed a thick skin. If ten percent of the rumors ascribing businesses and properties I know nothing about were true, I would be the richest man on earth. But recently when Aliko (Dangote), yourself and myself were together, Aliko assured you that I never had a single share in any of Aliko’s business interests, but whenever he has called on me to help within and without to promote his business interests, I have always helped,” Obasanjo stated.

He added that it was during that conversation that Dangote revealed that one the directors in his cement company is somebody very close to the Awujale.

Obasanjo further accused the Awujale of wanting him, in and out of office, to act inappropriately to the benefit of Mr. Adenuga.

“It is of interest to me that Mike did not tell you that when he wanted a national honour, he came to me and I did not react until Babangida (former military president) recommended him and said: ‘Of all those I have helped, Mike is one of the most appreciative,” wrote Obasanjo.

He also dismissed the Awujale’s claim that he had frittered all the political goodwill he once enjoyed, asking why, if true, the traditional ruler contacted him when the All Progressives Congress (APC) was formed in 2014. Obasanjo added that the Awujale was even personally present when he received the APC delegation. “I probably have greater goodwill today, internally and externally, than I had in office,” bragged Obasanjo.

Sahara reporters

Alake, Awujale Royal Superiority War Escalates

the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, and the
Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo.

The rift between the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, and the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, worsened on Monday with the Alake insisting that the Awujale remained the least in the echelon of status among the Yoruba major traditional rulers.

Alake said his earlier listing of the Awujale as occupying the last position after the quartet of the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba of Benin and Alake of Egbaland, “was supported by documentary evidence and therefore stands by his position.”

Oba Adetona had last Thursday claimed among other things that the Alake was a junior chief in Egba forest under Alaafin who fled to Ibadan and that Alake is also of the same status with some Ijebu Obas like the Ebumawe of Ago – Iwoye that are under his (Adetona) jurisdiction.

The Ijebu Paramount Ruler made the remarks in Lagos during the launch of an Endowment Fund for a Chair at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago – Iwoye, in reply to an earlier ranking of the Yoruba obas by Alake which placed him at the tail end on the hierarchy.

But Monday, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, who spoke through 22 Egba chiefs, including 15 Ogboni chiefs, that gathered in Ake Palace, Abeokuta, Ogun state, to reply Adetona, said the ranking of the Yoruba Traditional Rulers was carried out in 1937 by the then Ooni of Ife.

Reading a prepared speech signed by the Balogun of Egbaland, Chief Sikirulai Atobatele during a press conference, the Baaroyin of Egbaland, Chief Layi Labode, said the ranking took place at the Central Native Council meeting in Lagos and was chaired by the Governor – General, Sir William Macgregor.

Labode added that those in attendance at the said 1937 meeting in Government House, Lagos, were the Ooni of Ife, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba of Benin, Alake of Abeokuta and the Awujale of Ijebu – Ode.

He said their concern about Awujale’s comment is predicated on the monarch’s “self – indulgence to churn out outright historical falsehoods in the presence of knowledgeable Nigerians.”

Labode said; “historically speaking, Alake was higher by Salary Differentials paid by the Colonial Government” at the time.

According to him, the Alake of Abeokuta earned £2,250 while the Awujale of Ijebu – Ode earned £1,700 during the colonial era.

“Awujale (claimed he) made several calls to Alake to confirm if Alake actually made the statement on Yoruba Obas ranking. Awujale also claimed that Oba Rilwan Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos, also contacted Alake on the same issue which Alake again denied.

“(The fact) both Awujale and Oba of Lagos actually called Alake on the ranking of Yoruba Obas, Alake responded that his ranking was supported by documentary evidence and he therefore stands by his position,” Labode said.

The Baaroyin of Egbaland and Media aide of the Alake also refuted claims by Oba Adetona that the Alake was a junior chief in Egba forest under Alaafin where he(Alake) fled to Ibadan and later to Abeokuta and met the Osile, Olowu, Agura and Olubara already on ground.

Labode said, on the contrary, 20 Alake had reigned in Egba forest prior to the founding of Abeokuta, the modern day capital of Ogun state, explaining that that there was also no Alake that fled to Ibadan or took refuge there.

According to him, the Egbas arrived and settled in Abeokuta in 1830 with the first Alake installed in 1854 followed by the Olowu in 1855, the Agura in 1870 and Osile in 1897.

He stressed that by the Egba United Government Proclamation of February 1st, 1898, and approved by the then Governor of Lagos, the Egba cabinet had Alake as President, Osile Minister of Justice, Agura Minister of Communications and Works and the Olowu, the Minister of Finance.

He also noted that some of the comments on Alake by Oba Adetona was “uncalled for and neither civil nor decent,” but said the Egba chiefs would not “defile the sacred Yoruba Traditional Institution and therefore, refrain from trading insult with a highly regarded monarch of his (Awujale) status.”

Among the Chiefs present are Bameto of Egbaland, Chief George Taylor, Balogun of Ilaho, Chief Adebayo Soyoye, and the Ilagbe of Egbaland, Chief Akin Akinwale.

Source: The Nation

Yoruba Obas Seniority War: Awujale Wrong, Ijebus Are Foreigners from Sudan - Egba Historian Blasts

Premium Times - A Yoruba historian, Rufus Adebowale, has disagreed with feuding Yoruba monarchs, the Awujale of Ijebuland, Sikiru Adetona, and the Alake of Egbaland, Adedotun Gbadebo, on their perspectives on the hierarchy of Yoruba traditional stools.

He said both the Awujale and the Alake were inaccurate in their analyses of the history of the Yoruba race.

Mr. Adebowale, a prince from the Okukenu ruling house of Egbaland, however backed Oba Gbadebo in some of his claims and attacked Oba Adetona for being critical of the Egba monarch.

The historian spoke to journalists in Abeokuta on Friday while reacting to the widely publicized contentions between the traditional rulers on the seniority of their stools.

According to him, Awujale is a foreigner in Yoruba land, as the Ijebus originated from Wadai‎ in Sudan.

Mr. Adebowale said as a foreigner in Yorubaland, the Awujale and his Ijebu people lacked the authority to speak on the history of the Yoruba race.

The 72-year old historian also declared that the Alake distorted history by claiming that Alaafin was next to the Ooni of Ife.


He said the statement credited to the Awujale that the Alake was a junior traditional ruler was very insulting and‎ a distortion of history.
Mr. Adebowale said, “I read about the tongue-lashing of Awujale on my royal father, he said Alake is a junior Oba in Yorubaland, this is a great distortion of history.

“My royal father is extraordinarily humble, he manages peace and unity and not crises and that is why he is ignoring‎ all those things from the Awujale,” he said.

“In the first instance, Awujale shouldn’t have dabbled into the issue‎ of Obas in Yorubaland because he is not of Oduduwa origin, the Ijebus came from Wadai and my contemporary authority is Pa Olusegun Obasanjo because he had put it to Awujale himself that they are not Oduduwa descendants.
“What Awujale said was very insulting and a great distortion of history. Our progenitor father is Oduduwa who came from Saudi Arabia. When he was coming from Saudi Arabia, he came with an aide who was later named Ooni, by the time he was dying, he left all he had in the‎ possession of Ooni; Omonide, his wife; and Okanbi, the only surviving son.

“First of all, the Ijebus know who is who in Yorubaland, their progenitor father emulated Oduduwa, they are from Wadai, that man heard that Oduduwa had‎ settled down in a place called Ife, he also came down and settled.”

According to Mr. Adebowale, who is from the same ruling house with the incumbent Alake, the correct order of seniority ranks the Ooni of Ife as the foremost Oba in Yoruba land, while the Alake is the third behind the Oba of Benin.

“Alake said Ooni is the foremost Oba in Yorubaland, that is‎ very correct, because Ooni had known Omonide and Okanbi who now beget the Obas in Yorubaland.

“There is a part of‎ the history that says that Oduduwa died at Ife. Omonide, Oduduwa’s wife died in Egba forest at Alake’s place.

“So, when she died at Egba forest, she was buried and when the Egbas were coming to Abeokuta in 1830 August, they came to Abeokuta with the pots which she was using in preparing concoctions for her children;‎ they were at Ake palace here where we worship Omonide every year.”

He explained that other Obas in Yorubaland, including the Alafin of Oyo, had never contested the superiority of the Alake.

“So all others, they do not contend superiority with Alake; the Orangun, Owa Obokun, and some others like Alaketu, so you can see now that to say Alaafin is next to Ooni is a great distortion of history, Mr. Adebowale said.

“What I am contending here is that Awujale who is not of Yoruba origin cannot be requesting for yardstick in setting out our seniority cadre.
“Both Awujale and Alake lacked history. If Alake is Alake of Ake, what‎ concerns Awujale who is a foreigner? We are grandchildren of Oduduwa.”

Yoruba Obas Fight Dirty Over Seniority As Awujale of Ijebu Attacks Alake of Egba

Punch Newspaper - The Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, has berated the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, for categorising himself among the five top monarchs in Yorubaland.

At a fundraiser for a professorial chair instituted in his honour by the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, in Lagos on Thursday, the Awujale said the Alake was a junior oba in Yorubaland. Reacting to a categorisation of monarchs by the Alake recently when the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, visited him (Alake), Oba Awujale said the Egba monarch was peddling falsehood and turning history upon its head.

The Awujale said, “The Alake, while receiving the Ooni in his palace, said Yoruba Obas (the ‘Big Five’ so to say) had been categorised with the Ooni in the first position followed by the Alaafin, the Oba of Benin, with the Alake coming fourth and the Awujale occupying the fifth spot in that order. He also went further to quote wrongly from a 1903 Gazette to support all the fallacies in his statement.”

He added that when he learnt about the comment, he contacted the Alake, who he added, vehemently denied saying so. He added, “In a recent discussion between the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, and me, we also touched on the same issue and the Oba of Lagos told me that he too had asked Alake the same question, which he had again denied vehemently.

“Regrettably, however, when the said statement few days later was continuously credited to the Alake on the pages of newspapers, I expected him to deny it or issue a rebuttal, but he did not do so. Therefore, I consider it necessary to debunk the falsehood and misrepresentation of facts from the Ake Palace so as to put the records straight.”

The Awujale argued that the 1903 Gazette referred to by the Alake was just a newspaper publication. “The first question to Alake is: who categorised the Yoruba Obas and when? I challenge him to produce the document of the said categorisation. It is a known fact that Alake was a junior traditional ruler under the Alaafin at Orile Egba before he fled to Ibadan for refuge as a result of the war then ravaging the Yorubaland.

“Following the defeat of Owu by the Ijebu Army in 1826, the Owus became refugees all over Yorubaland. Some of the Ijebu troops that fought the war proceeded to Ibadan, where they met the Alake and sacked him; consequently forcing him to seek refuge at Ake in Abeokuta in 1830, where, of course, he met the Osile,

Olowu and Agura already settled at Oke-Ona, Owu and Gbagura sections of Abeokuta township respectively. Even then, the Olubara of Oyo origin had always argued that all the aforementioned four rulers met him in Abeokuta and therefore claimed to be their landlord.

“To even refer to the Alake as ‘the Alake of Abeokuta’, not to talk of Egbaland, is a misnomer, as his control since his arrival at Ake in 1830 and till today is restricted to the Ake section of Abeokuta. The official Government Gazette testifies to this fact.

“In short, the Alake, from history and all available records, is a very junior traditional ruler in Yorubaland. His peers in Ijebuland are the Dagburewe of Idowa; Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife; Akija of Ikija-Ijebu; Olowu of Owu-Ijebu; Oloko of Ijebu-Imushin; Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo and Ebumawe of Ago Iwoye.”

Efforts by one of our correspondents to speak with the Alake of Egbaland proved abortive. His media aide, Chief Layi Labode, neither answered calls put through to his mobile nor responded to the text message sent to him on the issue on Thursday.

At the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, the Awujale led other dignitaries to raise money for the N500m chair aimed at “encouraging teaching, research and publications in contemporary politics and governance.” Traditional Rulers in Ijebuland donated N125m, being the first instalment of the N250m they promised.

While the Awujale himself donated N25m, the Chairman of the Globacom Nigeria Limited, Otunba Mike Adenuga (Jnr.), sent a donation of N50m. Other prominent Nigerians in attendance, including the Founder of First City Monument Bank, Otunba Subomi Balogun; Chairman of Honeywell Group, Mr. Oba Otudeko; and Chairman of Premier Lotto Limited, Chief Kessington Adebutu, also separately made donations they said were in millions. They, however, declined to disclose the exact amounts.

While the Awujale called for an urgent reform of the country’s electoral system, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, and a renowned scholar, Prof. Akin Mabogunje, canvassed a review of the system of governance in the country, especially in the areas of revenue generation and distribution. According to Sanusi, the presidential system, as currently operated in the country, allows for the use of over 80 per cent of resources to cater for the interest of the few members of the political class while the over 169 million Nigerians rely on the remaining 20 per cent. He said,

“Do we need the 36 governors, 36 ministers, hundreds of special advisers and many other political office holders? The reality on the ground tells us that the bicameral federal legislature is not good for us with the recession that the country is facing. Mere simple arithmetic tells us that.”

The monarch, who also canvassed the building of strong minds, noted that such people were capable of lifting the nation to loftier heights. People that are capable, strong and with good character, he added, should be the ones invested with the responsibility of piloting the affairs of governance of the country. He, therefore, called for a Council of Elders, saying it would help to select and screen credible leaders for the country.

Mabogunje, who spoke on “Issues and Challenges of Governance in Nigeria”, said there was the need to review the system of governance in the country.

The Emeritus Professor added, “As we contemplate the future, it is my earnest hope that our political leaders would revisit a number of institutions deriving from the period of military rule, especially the local government system.

“They should help to create truly effective democratic local government for the governance of our towns, cities and rural areas to empower the citizens and make them take ownership of their governance at the local level.

“Revisiting our governance system at the state and federal levels should be specifically to cut down the cost of governance at those levels and make governance more efficient and effective for collective service delivery to citizens.”

A former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba, urged the National Assembly to make proper law on the use of the card reader in the nation’s electoral process.

Osoba, who also faulted some of the recent Supreme Court judgments, especially the Akwa Ibom and Rivers states elections, urged the federal lawmakers to ensure the inclusion of the card reader in the constitution.

At the event that had the Chairman of Tanus Communications, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, as one of its comperes, the Awujale said parts of the reforms urgently needed bordered on seeking solutions to issues with the card reader and the introduction of electronic voting before the next elections. Ogunbiyi added,

“I believe that independent candidates should be allowed to contest elections so as not to limit the choice of the people and by so doing, improve on the quality of participation and representation.” Awujale was hailed by the OOU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sabiu Adesanya, and its Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Segun Oshin.

Other dignitaries who attended the event included the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga; a former governor of Ekiti State, Chief Niyi Adebayo; Chief Razak Okoya and Senator Daisy Danjuma, who also made a donation on behalf of her husband, Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd). Others are the Chairman, Board of Directors of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, who called for responsible leadership, especially in the private sector; former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Tunde Lemo; and a former Minister of Industry, Chief Jubril Martins Kuye.