After 13 years of yearning, the people of Fiditi town, Oyo State, on Monday got a new king to fill their vacant stool following the presentation of staff of office to Oba Oyelere Oyewole Sakirudeen as the Onifiditi of Fiditi by the Oyo State Government, amidst jubilation by his people at the Afijio Local Government Secretariat, Jobele in Oyo town.
Speaking during the installation and presentation of staff of office to Oba Sakirudeen, the Oyo State Governor, Engr. ‘Seyi Makinde, described the process leading to the event as painstaking and relevant in legal, historical, archival because Fiditi customs and traditions were taken into consideration.
The governor, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr Bashiru Olanrewaju, appreciated the importance of the critical role of a good ruler in the attainment of peace and prosperity, adding that “it is our determination to amicably resolve all disputes capable of inhibiting the state’s march from poverty to prosperity.”
He added that this is a confirmation that the Yorubas value leadership in every community aptly represented in the saying, “ilu kii wa, ki oma ni olori,” (meaning, a town cannot exist without a leader).
Governor Makinde urged the king to see his installation as a call to service, adding that “as the Oba of Fiditi town, you should appropriately consult with your brother Obas and other traditional rulers in Afijio to take an objective decision in approving appointments into the minor chieftaincies by those customarily and legally entitled to make such appointments. In a similar vein, your highness should try to understand the customary and statutory laws guiding your roles and be painstaking in embarking on activities that would complement the efforts of the present administration towards the development of Fiditi, Afijio Local Government and Oyo State in general.”
In his acceptance speech, Oba Sakirudeen appreciated Governor Makinde for giving the people of Fiditi exactly what they want and have been looking for over a decade, adding that this is a new era in Fiditi as all other things will follow.
“I appreciate the governor, every Fiditi descendant both home and in the diaspora for standing by me and I urge them all to please come home and develop our town. What is next for Fiditi is development; this is our first approach and because of the love that Fiditi descendants both at home and in the diaspora have been showing me since we started the struggle, I know that they are going to support me in developing Fiditi,” the new king stated.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Afijio Local Government Area, Sunday Akindele Ojo, stated that “I am one of the happiest people concerning today’s programme, I use this opportunity to thank our amiable governor, Engr Seyi Makinde for this big job he has done for us. We thank him and pray that God will continue to strengthen him. The stool that has been vacant for 13 years has now been filled. I urge our new Oba to accommodate everybody because it should be a case of everybody is a winner and there is no loser, he should try to accommodate everybody for the development of Afijio and Fiditi.”
The National President, Fiditi Progressive Union, both at home and diaspora, Samuel Kunle Adetunji, expressed delight “because, for the past 13 years, the town has suffered from a vacancy on the stool since the last king, Oba Amos Ogunkunle passed away; for the past three years that I became the chairman of the union, the burden of the town had been on me because while I don’t live in the town, I am called for every issue that comes up which would not be if we had a king
“I am going to work with the King because automatically, he is the patron of Fiditi Progressive Union. We will work together to move the town forward because the town is already isolated because of the vacant stool but now that we have a king, we will move forward because people are ready to work with him to move the town forward.”
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