Tension rises in Ijebuland as allegations emerge of political interference in the Awujale succession, with claims that a non eligible prince is being positioned against established Ijebu customary law
Let it be said plainly, without varnish or apology:
what is unfolding around the Awujale throne is not accidental, not innocent, & certainly not cultural coincidence. It is a carefully engineered intrigue of the government of the day, one that threatens to desecrate centuries of Ijebu tradition under the cold excuse of political convenience.
If the whispers reaching us are true, & they come from sources too seasoned to be dismissed, then there is indeed fire on the mountain in Ijebuland.
A plot is allegedly afoot to impose on Ijebu-Ode a prince from Odogbolu, yes, Odogbolu, as the next Awujale. A man whose claim rests not on the male line, not on primogeniture, not on customary order, but on a secondary, maternal (female line) linkage that the law, tradition, & established custom of Ijebu land do not recognise as first in line. The dude is even a distant cousin to the people that should be considered!
This is where the outrage begins.
The Fusengbuwa Ruling House, by all known customary laws, has a clear, living, competent male line, the 1st line, which is supposed to be next in succession.
Yet shockingly, that line is now being deliberately sidelined, rejected, & airbrushed out of relevance, so that a 2nd line, one that should not even be approaching the throne at this stage, can be smuggled in through the back door.
Let us call this what it is:
an aberration.
A violation.
A cultural coup.
The individual being positioned is Hon. Ademorin Aliu Kuye, 62, a long-serving federal lawmaker representing Somolu Federal Constituency, a constituency that is not Ijebu-Ode, not Ijebuland, & not even close by cultural or ancestral definition.
Yes, he is a lawyer. Yes, he is politically experienced. But no amount of political seasoning can cook illegitimacy into royalty. According to those in the know, the honourable is allegedly Asiwaju’s preferred candidate for the revered stool. So, he may have gone about to say that to the world.
From all indications, this is not a grassroots yearning. It is not a kingmakers’ organic consensus. It is not a cry from Ijebu sons & daughters.
It is, allegedly, the preference of the government of the day, both state & federal, being force-fed into a sacred process that should be immune from political contamination.
This is where the danger lies.
When government power begins to decide thrones, tradition dies quietly, & history bleeds slowly.
And so, a stern, unmistakable warning must now be issued.
To the kingmakers of Ijebu-Ode:
This moment will define you for generations.
You must ensure, without fear, favour, pressure, or inducement, that the process remains a level playing ground for all legitimately eligible sons of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House. Any attempt to railroad the process, to anoint a preferred candidate, or to manipulate custom to please power will not just be a mistake, it will be an indelible stain on Ijebu history.
How, by what law, by what logic, by what conscience, can the 1st line be rejected in favour of a 2nd line, in direct contradiction of laid-down customary laws?
Since when did political influence become superior to ancestral order?
Since when did convenience outrank culture?
This is not just about a man.
It is about precedent.
If today the 1st line can be discarded for political reasons, then tomorrow no royal house is safe, no custom is sacred, & no throne is immune from capture.
And let this final question echo like thunder across Ijebuland:
If an Odogbolu prince can be enthroned as the Awujale of Ijebuland,
will an Ijebu prince, by the same twisted logic, be crowned king in Odogbolu?
Tradition is not a plaything.
The Awujale’s crown is not a political reward.
And Ijebu history must not be rewritten in the dark.
The kingmakers must choose wisely, because history never forgets those who betray it.
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