by Lekan Adejuwon
A quiet storm appears to be blowing in Emure Ekiti the headquarters of Emure Local Government Area following the dust raised by concerned stakeholders in the
community over alleged flawed process of selecting a new monarch to succeed the late Elemure, Oba Emmanuel Adebayo who joined his ancestors on May 30, 2024.
At the centre of the controversy according to investigations, are the kingmakers on one hand and the Chairman of Emure Local Government Area being alleged for
orchestrating a flawed selection process even as some of the aggrieved contestants
have headed to the court.
The Ekiti State Government had earlier washed its hands clean from interference in any issues bordering on appointment or selection of traditional rulers which lend credence to a stakeholders meeting held at the instance of the Deputy Governor, Chief Mrs Monisade Afuye with the kingmakers in her office late last year.
At the meeting, government warned traditional chiefs against bribery and compromise in the selection process of new Elemure while charging the kingmakers and members of the ruling House to handle the matter with utmost honesty and dignity to avert
avoidable crisis.
She emphasized that there must be stringent compliance with the tradition, customs and practices of the town in selecting a new Elemure.
“Let us do things in the traditional way. Consult Ifa Oracle and I know only one person
will be picked, not two. Don’t allow anyone to use money or political will to influence
anything. It is in your own interest, because your town will move forward if you are honest” she stated.
However, recent events in the town on the Elemure vacant stool has opened up a plethora of controversies as investigations revealed that the State Government’s appeal for due process in the selection of new monarch for the town was only observed in the breach.
This is, as allegations of inducement, manipulation and lack of transparency are trailing
the purported selection of new monarch for the town on April 12, 2025.
One of the elders in the town and a member of the ruling House Prince Omolayo Ogundoro who spoke to our correspondent last week expressed shock at the strange
development.
The old man who doubles as the Olorimowa of the community gave a vivid account of the story while responding to questions by our reporter.
“There are two ruling Houses in Emure: Abenimota and Adumori. It is the turn of
Abenimota ruling House to present candidates for the vacant stool because the late
Oba came from Adumori Royal House.
” Within Abenimota, there are four families comprising Oshorun, Odoba, Oluseri and Oligi. The four families presented a total of 14 contestants initially, but 8
names were nominated to contest. They include Prince Festus Ogundoro, Prince Owolabi Babatunde Ajiboye, Prince Adebowale Ranti Ajayi, Prince Temitope
Kayode, Prince Oluwatobi Malomo, Prince Debo Osanyindoro,Prince Mojere Malomo and Prince Albert Ajiboye”
On the efforts of the government to ensure free and fair selection process, the
community leader said:
“In the beginning, the Deputy Governor invited us to Ado and in the course of our
discussion, she emphasized the significance of ifa oracle as the major element of choosing an Oba through the kingmakers. That aside, the Deputy Governor also came to Emure to reiterate her earlier suggestion on the issue of ifa.
The then Head of Abenimota
ruling House and the Odofin of Emure, Chief Alabi Akinyemi, as well as his then deputy,
Chief Karounwi Oshin, the Oluseri of Emure, Baba Karounwi Oshin was at the
meeting where he both supported the decision to engage ifa oracle during the process”
He however expressed shock at a later development which he described as a drama of the absurd.
According to Prince Ogundoro, “All of a sudden, the kingmakers announced that they were going to consult the oracle without the knowledge of the ruling House. This was
after they did a kangaroo screening where three people were removed from the list of
the eight contestants to five.
We resisted the abnormality by telling them that they were going on a wrong step to choose the Oba, so we stopped them on that day. Later they, (the kingmakers) wrote a
letter to us through Chief Olisa, the head stating clearly that during the Ifa consultation,
each of the contestants should have a representative with one Ifa interpreter. But to our
surprise, on April 12, 2025, the whole community was bombarded by a detachment of security operatives, the army, the civil defence and the police all packed inside a bus
owned by Market Women Association and headed straight to the Local Government secretariat without the knowledge of members of the ruling House.
As a matter of fact, the Head of Abenimota ruling House an old man who suffers from a stroke was
forcefully carried to the venue on a wheelchair. The man died two days ago. Yet they
went ahead to ignore Ifa but picked their candidate Prince Babatunde Ajiboye by voting in abeyance of the laid down directive of the Deputy Governor. The most pathetic part of the drama was that the Local Government Chairman has a hand in the shenanigans that played out in Emure because he has no role to play in the selection of
Elemure neither should he directed the selection of Oba to take place in his office. His intervention on the matter is questionable” he concluded.
In his response, the Chairman of Emure Local Government Hon. Tosin Adebayo absolved himself of any blame in the crisis saying that “In any contest, one person must
win the race and we are talking of eight people for that matter”
His words: “During the screening, I witnessed the nomination of eight contestants from Abenimota ruling House, they now sent the list to the kingmakers copied Emure Local
Government. Ordinarily the head of the kingmakers Olisa, ought to call a meeting within
eight days with Abenimota family, he did not, so the ruling House came to lodge a
complaint to my office that they were displeased with Chief Olisa for the aberration.
“The truth of the matter is that Olisa has a candidate likewise each of the 13
kingmakers, all of them have who is taking care of them amongst the contestants. It was after the Ifa consultation that their minds settled for one candidate. Even at a time
majority of the kingmakers said to me that they would not hold meetings at Olisa
residence again and I asked why, they said he has deplored divide and rule and
whatever they discussed in their meetings within a twinkle of an eye, the whole town is
aware. Olisa admitted his fault but said he believes his house was not safe. Where do you want your meetings to be held? I asked. He said he preferred his own family house, but the other kingmakers rejected the idea. I now decided to give them an office in the Local
Government with police for their safety. But during the screening I was present to watch
the proceedings as an observer throughout I did not alter a word”
Buttressing his point, the Council boss said there was a precedence in the town that happened during the selection of the late Elemure.
“When they wanted to install Elemure in 2007, Abenimota was the Chairman of the Local Government. Adumori sent the names of 10 nominees to the kingmakers
for screening. Guess what?, the name of the Oba-elect was announced that night after
Ifa consultation and everybody rallied round to support him. Nobody went to court” he said
On the credibility of the process which probably was the basis for the contestation, Hon
Adebayo gave the process a pass mark while admitting that the process was earlier
marred by protest from the youths in the town.
“The kingmakers unanimously informed the Council signifying their decision to do the selection on Saturday April 12 and we opened the gate for them. Police were there to
protect them, and they only stood by the gate and not anywhere near the voting place because prior to that day, a date was earlier fixed for the exercise but could not hold as
some people staged a protest against the move, so it was cancelled. But on the long
run, the process was peaceful and fair because it was the same kingmakers who organized the program, brought the Ifa custodian and voted. If you watch the video my
dear brother, you will hate them”
Meanwhile, the video coverage of the three-part series document of the selection
exercise as released by the Chairman confirmed the sentiments he had earlier
expressed to our correspondent as it was crystal clear that the process fell short of expected credibility and transparency required at such sensitive traditional event.
However, the head of kingmakers Chief Toyin Ojo the Olisa did not help the matter as all attempts to get his side of the story proved abortive.
When our correspondent approached him at his residence on Wednesday last week, he
declined to make any comment without the consent of other kingmakers. But after he might
have made the necessary consultations, he sent a SMS on Friday night inviting our
correspondent to a meeting with kingmakers scheduled for 4pm on Saturday at Emure.
In addition, he put a call through the correspondent as a reminder shortly before the reporter arrived Emure.
But in a manner suggestive of a change of mind, the head chief did not pick several calls to his phone. After a while, he called back to apologize saying the kingmakers did not cooperate with him.
Details later….
