SONS of Atiba royal family of Oyo, who said that they have been denied the opportunity to be considered for the throne of Alaafin, have asked the Oyo State government to discontinue the ongoing process of selection of a new Alaafin of Oyo, saying the government should suspend the process until ongoing court cases on the matter are concluded.
Nine Atiba descendant families, who addressed newsmen on Monday in Oyo, said they demanded that the state government should discontinue the process of appointing a new monarch because of ongoing court cases on the exclusion of their families from the opportunity of ascending the throne of Alaafin.
Prince Ademola Adesina Afolabi of the Adeitan Royal Family, who addressed newsmen on behalf of the others, said the government was shirking its responsibilities in the selection process of the new Alaafin, saying he had earlier warned that the 58 princes that were shortlisted was a misnomer and should not have been.
Prince Afolabi was joined by Prince Makanjuola Adediran of the Adediran Ese Apete Royal Family; Prince Remi Azeez of the Tella Okitipapa Royal Family; Prince Adediwura Lamola from Olanite Royal Family; Prince Agboyin Olayiwola of the Adelabu Royal Family; Prince Adebowale Adesiyan of the Adesiyan Royal Family; Prince Adetunji Adesokan of Baba Idode Royal Family; Prince Adekunle Bello of Iteade Abidekun Omo Atiba Family; Prince Tella Agbojulogun, who was away in Lagos State.
The families contended that they were of the opinion that the government is not following the right process in the ongoing selection of the new Alaafin of Oyo, saying “out of 11 families, two are benefitting from the stool, nine others have been sidelined.
“Because of this, we have appealed to the government to discontinue the process of selection of the new Alaafin.”
They said “We also appeal to the state government to allow the processes in court to be concluded before choosing or continuing the process of the selection of the new Alaafin. For these reasons, we seek the discontinuation of the processes.”
According to the descendants of Alaafin Atiba; “This is meant to bring to the notice of government that there are matters in court and we seek for the discontinuation of the process of selecting the new Alaafin if the government is indeed following the rule of law in the process.
“We want fairness, equity and justice in the selection of the new Alaafin.
“The constitution empowers people to challenge chieftaincy selection and that is why it is being challenged. Why were our families excluded in the process?”
The Alaafin Atiba descendants cited previous efforts they had made to find out why their families had been excluded from ascending the throne and said that there had been proclamation by governments in the past that there should be a single ruling house in Oyo which they said should be called “Atiba Ruling House which is to include all the descendants of Alaa Alaafin fin Atiba.”
They said, “Out of the 11 royal families, only two have been the beneficiaries of the stool, the nine royal families had been sidelined. So, having appealed to the Oyo State government based on its ability and as it was empowered in the chieftaincy law of Oyo State section 10 (3) to come to our rescue by discontinuing the process.
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“The 1979 constitution did not empower individuals or groups to challenge a chieftaincy law so also the 1999 constitution as amended.
“This empowers us to appeal to the Oyo State government that they should allow the process in the court of law since 2020, the other processes in the courts as at the moment and the one that is to come up in a week’s time, the judiciary should complete and conclude the matter before the government can continue the process of choosing or installing new Alaafin.”
According to the nine families, the Agunloye family that was favoured by the letter written to Baba Iyaji, dated August 9, 2022, that Baba Iyaji should liaise with the Agunloye Family should choose a crown prince and present to the government, “we are now pleading that vide Ojukwu versus the Military Administrator of Lagos State, 1986 JELR 51747, a Supreme Court decision that the judiciary is empowered to decide independently a matter before it to which the interest of government or the interest of an individual is suffering.
“So, we seek for the discontinuation of the process of choosing Alaafin that is going for the past one week which excluded all other royal families that were recommended and approved by past commissions of enquiry in the state.”
