‘Leave our Speaker alone,’ Asi residents protest against Osun monarch

Residents of Ashi, the home town of the Osun State House of Assembly Speaker, Wale Egbedun, in Odo-Otin local government area of Osun State, on Thursday, staged a peaceful protest to identify with Egbedun on the face-off going on between him and his town traditional ruler, Alasi of Asi, Oba Isaac Oyewale.

The protesters, who were youths, women and children, marched round the town and the traditional ruler’s palace to identify with the speaker, whom they described as their hero.

In a circulated viral video, they were were seen armed with placards with different inscriptions that read, “The speaker is own notable song, and nothing should happen to him”, “Kabiyesi, leave our speaker alone, he is Golden to us”, “If anything happens to the speaker, our traditional ruler should be held responsible amongst others.

In the video, a middle-aged man who did not mention his name was seen saying, “no harm must befall the speaker.”

“We, the youth, want the monarch to come out and tell us what Egbedun did to him. He is fond of saying bad things about the speaker. Nothing must happen to Egbedun and his family.

“Egbedun is our golden son, and we won’t allow Kabiesi’s self-interest to cause any harm to him. Alasi should leave Egbedun alone. Egbedun has done a lot for the king. Nothing must happen to Egbedun and his family. The youth of Asi are behind the Egbedun,” the youth said.

Also, at the palace, the protesters told some chiefs who met there that, the monarch should refrain from denigrating the speaker.

Though, the monarch, in a petition to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone XI, through his counsel, Chief K.E Ngwoke, alleged that Egbedun had threatened to kill him if he set foot in the town.

But, Egbedun said, he received, on numerous occasions, threatening phone calls from the Alasi over the case of a suspected hoodlum who was arrested for attacking his convoy.

“The issue between me and the monarch started when I moved permanently to Asi after my election as the number one lawmaker in the state in order to be closer to my constituents.”

“The monarch was not pleased with the move and perceived me as a threat.

“The Alasi has perceived me as a threat since my relocation to Asi, where I chose to be closer to my constituents and address their needs directly. This decision fostered a renewed sense of allegiance among the people of Odo Otin towards me, fundamentally shifting the narrative within our community.”

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