By: Adeolu Adeyemo – Osogbo.
The throne of Ataoja of Osogbo land currently occupied by Oba Jimoh Olanipekun may spark off a crisis as some indigenes of the community claimed the king is not the rightful person and not the actual person picked by the oracle for the position.
There were claims from different quarters that the monarch did not have the rightful owner of the throne as he was not selected by the Ifa to sit on the seat.
The people who were not pleased by his sitting on the throne maintained, “We knew who was actually selected for the throne by Ifa Oracle among the king contenders then.
But, Araba of Osogbo, who is head of the traditional priest in the state capital, Chief Yemi Elebuibon took swipes at the claim, insisting that the present occupier of the seat is the bonafide candidate for the throne before being installed on September 10th, 2010 as the new monarch of the town.
Chief Elebuibon said the monarch was among the princes the oracle selected to ascend the throne and described the claim as untrue saying, Oba Olanipekun is the most qualified for the position and that is why he remains the occupier of the seat and charged members of the public to disregard the insinuations from different quarters that, due process was not followed on choosing the monarch of the town.
He explained, “I remember in 2010, the kingmakers sent emissaries to the priests with names of nominated princes from the ruling house. We consulted Ifa oracle and some names were selected and forwarded back to the kingmakers, one of those names is Oba Jimoh Oyetunji.”
“After he was eventually elected, we did the propitiation recommended by Ifa for the prosperity of the town and its inhabitants. So, I am affirming here that Oba Oyetunji was properly nominated and chosen by Ifa oracle before he was installed as Ataoja of Osogbo in September 2010”.
Also speaking, the head of the kingmakers, the Ajagunna of Osogbo, Chief Gabriel Oparanti, remarked that “out of the 13 princes from the four royal families of the ruling house, six were presented to the priests for Ifa consultation.”
“We pruned the 13-man list down to six and forwarded the six names to the high priests who after consultation with the oracle chose Oba Jimoh Oyetunji and we sent a letter to the state government for approval and his eventual installation 13 years ago”, he revealed.
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