By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
By Femi Oniyide Esq
There’s no gainsaying the fact that under Yoruba cultural beliefs and traditions, an Oba that goes to the land beyond still has his spirit living on. In fact, there’s a general African proverb that says: “If we stand tall, it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors”.
THE DEMANDS OF OBA ADETONA:
The words of Late Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the immediate past Awujale of Ijebu land during a very recent Ojude Oba before his rise to the great beyond is that his successor as the next Awujale must not be selected through the influence of monetary gratifications and neither should a money bag succeed him.
Wise men will know that those wise words were the words emanating from the ancestors through the voice of the then Awujale.
Kabiyesi was at the time of chanting those words miming the demands of the ancestors of Ijebu land over what sort of person and under what situation that the next Awujale of Ijebu land must evolve. At that point in time that Oba Adetona spoke, he was nothing short of a living “Opele” pronouncing the demands of Ijebu ancestors to the great sons and daughters of Ijebu land.
For any Afobaje (Kingmaker), Olori Ebi or government official to ignore those salient ancestral demands is like ignoring the demands of the ancestors of Ijebu land. It is like inviting chaos instead of the blessings of the ancestors.
It is like most people involved in today’s selection process for the next Awujale seem to have ignored that salient demands by the ancestors through the late Oba when he was still a living soul among us.
FLAWED PROCESS?
The selection process of a new Awujale has been halted twice by the government of Ogun State basically due to some issues such as not following the due process as provided for by the Obas and Chiefs law of Ogun State and the Ijebu Ode Chieftaincy Declaration of 1959 or thereabout.
It was learnt that some stakeholders petitioned the government that choosing a new Awujale under the process first embarked upon by the trio of the Interregnum Committee, the Olori Ebis of Fusengbuwa Ruling House and the Afobajes might at the end lead to a process producing an Awujale that may likely be thrown off the throne by the Courts and that will not speak well to the legacy of the stool of the Awujale and may even affect not only the integrity of every stakeholder but the government of the day inclusive.
It is the believe of many that it is better to tarry and get the process right rather than hurry and throw Ijebu land into a dome of spiritual darkness for decades.
BINARY SPECTRUM:
Some ancient Yoruba Obaship enthronement like that of the Awujale in question now, are a sort of binary spectrum of dual reality shuffling between the spiritual and the physical and in order to enter the throve of eternal peace for Ijebu land, that enviable realm must be approached by those involved in the selection by adhering to and entering into the utmost sense of purpose emitting sober, strident, irrefutable, and honest sense of purpose that shall eventually birth progress, prosperity, fertility, peace and development not only to the people but also to the land of the Ijebus and the person entrhoned as the Awujale.
Youthfulness does not mean longevity on the throne. Longevity, peaceful and prosperous reign of an Awujale starts with the selection process and the eventual good character of the Oba. In fact, a thorough selection is the sole basis of prosperity and longevity of an Oba on the Apere of his ancestors.
Throw away due process and throw away an Oba’s life ! It is a binary spectrum.
Any other shenanigans differing from the above can only breed the unimaginable. We must do things in a way that “Eiye a ke bi Eiye and Eku a ke bi Eku”.
Nobody should allow any Afobaje, Olori Ebi, government official, Ilamuren or any candidate for that matter to make a toss of a gamble that throws the whole land into spiritual darkness.
Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, Ogbagba Agbaotewole, must have seen something that we all may not have seen for him to make the statement as first indicated at the beginning of this write up. That is, gratifications to Afobajes or Olori Ebis in order to select another Awujale nor the picking of a “money bag” should be a no-no consideration.
POLICE INVESTIGATION:
Definitely we cannot at this stage assert that bribery is taking place in the selection of the Awujale before it was stopped but even the rumour and insinuations, leading to Kingmakers (Afobajes) being invited by the Nigeria Police for questioning is not a compliment to the pedigree of Ijebu people. One cannot expect that a people known for their trade, industry and prosperity can find themselves enmeshed in such a cesspool of allegations of corruption.
One will advise that any stakeholder who may have soiled his hands in the Awujale selection process should quietly resign before the investigations are concluded. The Alales (Ancestors ) have a very ferocious way of catching up and dealing with Odales (Betrayers) and so we pray that before such are portrayed by what they are by the investigations going on, they should gently take a back seat and let the process begin afresh.
*TWO APEBIS AND JAGIRINS ?:*
One other thing is the traditional procedure that a single Apebi and one Jagirin are paramount to installing a new Awujale, so what do we do now that we have two Apebis and two Jagirins instead of the required one apiece ?
What are the traditional and legal consequences if the wrong Apebi out of the two presently in existence were to install the next Awujale ?
What could the spiritual consequences be ?
What will the Courts pronounce if such fundamental procedural errors are taken before the Court ?
THE INTERREGNUM COMMITTEE:
One dare ask what exactly is the role of the Interregnum Committee that had sworn to an affidavit presently before a Court that they have nothing to do with Kingmaking yet they’re hand in gloves presently in every of the Kingmaking process ? Should the government not fine-tune their exact roles as to their existence or better still disband them and let the Ilamurens (Kingmakers) dutifully do their duty ?
FOLLOWING THE VOICE OF THE ANCESTORS:
There’s a general believe among people of good conscience and lovers of Ijebu land that the spirit of Oba Adetona is still roving around hence all avenues by some people to select the next Awujale not in accordance to the dictates of the ancestors is daily being thwarted.
The people of Ijebu land are standing tall on the shoulders of their ancestors and believing strongly in OLODUMARE that the next Awujale shall be a man of the people. A man that will be a custodian of the throne and a lover of the culture and tradition of the Ijebus.
The ancestors will definitely not allow those that have for long been distant not only from Ijebu land but never participating in various Regberegbe activities and not even familiar with the tradition and culture of Ijebu land be selected to ascend the throne of our ancestors.
Let nobody be deceived, the ancestors are awake !