Follow Us on Google
From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Iwo Board of Trustees (IBOT) has described the statement credited to Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, over supremacy claim as provocative. The board called for immediate recant of the Ataoja’s statement and demanded an apology from the monarch to the people of Iwoland.
Reacting to the claim by Ataoja that his stool should be in number four, where Oluwo occupy in the ranking of traditional council of Osun State, the apex decision making body in Iwo described Ataoja’s claim as a clear case of stirring up the hornet’s nest.
A statement jointly signed by the president and secretary of IBOT, Prof. Lai Olurode and Aare Jire Ayinla, and made available to our journalists in Osogbo, yesterday, noted that Ataoja neither adduced evidence from recent Yoruba history, nor did he mobilise unassailable archival records in support of his ‘blatant and unfair statement.’
Noting that Iwo and Osogbo enjoyed historical links, the board said: “Without any doubt, though Osogbo has become politically important since 1991 having become the capital of the then newly created Osun State, its new status which was highly political doesn’t change the Yoruba historical reality, which should be above politisation.
“The truth is that Ataoja’s crown was of recent origin along with some others when the then military governor, David Jemibewon, decreed them into existence in 1976. This is an indisputable historical fact. Oluwo’s beaded-crown is ageless and it’s from the pristine source, undiluted and authentic. What a rich heritage?
“Second, in the listing of obas in the old Western Region, there was no mention of Ataoja as a beaded-crown wearing king. No doubt, the misuse of political power is a common phenomenon in Nigeria as it often seeks to distort authentic historical facts.
“Osun State has been calm and the crisis among chiefs and obas seemed to have calmed down. Governor Ademola Adeleke has enough governance challenges than to be distracted by the recent deliberately provocative statement by the Ataoja.
“More importantly, the leaders of thought in Iwo cannot stand idly by and allow falsification of established historical facts that speak for themselves.”
The IBOT called on the state governor to direct the Ataoja, “with due respect, to recant the provocative statement and that the Oluwo as well as the Council of Obas and Chiefs in Osun State be apologised to… The government of Osun State also needs to clarify its position on the ranking of Obas in Osun state.”
