A monarch in Odo Ora located in Ido Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State found himself locked out of his palace by none other than indigenes of his town. The Obalemo, Oba Samuel Akinola Adeyemo, said he was locked out of his palace by suspected hoodlums allegedly mobilised by some interest groups in the community. The development followed allegation by king-makers and other community leaders that the procedure that produced the monarch was faulty and that he had not been duly installed as ruler.
The traditional ruler, who spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Wednesday during a peace meeting at the Office of the Deputy Governor, Bisi Egbeyemi, said, “Palm fronds were tied to the gate of the palace to prevent me from occupying the building.” On the occasion, the monarch also forwarded a ‘Save My Soul’ petition to the state government on the crisis. The deputy governor, who urged for peace as he condemned the violence that recently rocked the community, warned that full weight of the law would be visited on individuals fomenting trouble.
Meanwhile, the king-makers and other community leaders alleged that the procedure that produced the monarch was flawed and that he was not formally installed. One of the community leaders, Prof. Olawumi Ajaja, said Odo Ora indigenes had nothing against the person of the embattled monarch but against the process that produced him. But Egbeyemi said that government had to summon the peace meeting following intelligence report from security agencies of possible outbreak of violence over the kingship crisis.
The deputy governor went on to warn stakeholders in Odo Ora to maintain peace, stressing that government won’t depose any monarch in the state. He advised Odo Ora indigenes, who are aggrieved with the emergence of Oba Adeyemo as the Obalemo, to seek redress in the court of law. Egbeyemi said: “Security report revealed that there is likely to be outbreak of violence in Odo Ora. I don’t want anybody to disturb or attack Kabiyesi. If there is outbreak of violence, all culprits will be arrested and prosecuted. Let there be peace in your community.”
Ajaja, former Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, said the locals still see the monarch as an Oba-elect, alleging that traditional rites were yet to be performed. The deputy governor urged parties in the crisis to report back to his office on February 21 for a follow-up peace parley in a bid to resolve the impasse. What are your thoughts about this? (Culled from The Punch and Daily Post)