90% Ibadan indigenes support chieftaincy review – CCII

A cross section of the new obas with their staffs of office, with Governor Ajimobi and his wife, Florence.

A cross section of the new obas with their staffs of office, with Governor Ajimobi and his wife, Florence.

The Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) on Tuesday said 90 per cent of Ibadan indigenes worldwide supported the Ibadan Chieftaincy Review being implemented by Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State.

Chief Yemi Soladoye, the President-General of the body, made the disclosure at a news conference in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the body is the umbrella body of all Ibadan Indigenes worldwide.

NAN reports that the council was reacting to the mixed reactions that greeted the Aug. 27 coronation of 21 new obas elevated by the new chieftaincy review.

Soladoye said that the council had watched with caution, the public reactions to the series of social media misinformation that greeted the recent review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy System.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, the CCII wishes to confirm that the change that has just taken place was desired, initiated, supported, applauded and appreciated by the generality of Ibadan indigenes worldwide.

“We wish to reiterate that constant changes and reviews are in fact the ingredients that have sustained our well-organised and rancourless ascension to the throne of Olubadan of Ibadanland,’’ he said.

Soladoye said that CCII had made it clear to the state government, through its representatives on the committee, that nothing should affect the supremacy of the authority of Olubadan of Ibadanland.

He said that the ugly by-product of Ibadan’s unique, peaceful and enviable traditional democracy is the continuous ascension to the throne of Olubadan at ages too close to the end of their lives.

“In the last 20 months, we have lost five members of the Olubadan-in-Council including eminent personalities,’’ the council president said.

He also raised issues on the preservation of the hierarchical nature of ascension to the throne of Olubadan of Ibadanland, saying that it must remain sacrosanct.

According to him, the coronation of the new obas has achieved our desired end-state and also preserves what matters most to us.

“The authentic version of what happened in Ibadan on Sunday, Aug. 27 has settled our request on the review.

“Nobody has created any new ruling houses; every bonafide Ibadan indigene still has the right to aspire to become Olubadan.

“The former High Chiefs can now physically carry the authority of the Olubadan, work for development in their communities and create flamboyancy around the kabiyesi at public functions,’’ he said.

Soladoye said that since years immemorial, an Ibadan High Chief is graded as equivalent of a second class Oba in Oyo State in terms of salary and status; hence, there is no monumental increase in government expenditure.

The council president said that the review had helped to balance their salaries with their prestige.

S-Davies Wande