… Women, youth insist on traditional ifa oracle consultation

… Seek Aiyedatiwa’s intervention

Hundreds of youths and women from Oba-Ile in the Akure North Local Council Area of Ondo State took to the streets on Sunday in a peaceful demonstration against what they described as the alleged distortion of the traditional process for selecting a new monarch for the ancient community.

The protesters, bearing placards with inscriptions demanding justice and fairness, expressed outrage over alleged interference in the succession process for the vacant stool of the Oloba of Oba-Ile.

Some of the inscriptions on the placard read, “Let the Oracle Speak,” “Tradition Cannot Be Bought,” and “Justice for the Oba-Ile Kingdom.”

With security personnel present to forestall any potential breakdown of law and order, the protesters stated that the traditional method of selecting a new monarch in Oba-Ile has historically involved consulting the Ifa oracle, with the chosen candidate automatically ascending to the throne without contestation.

They insisted that the spiritual consultation, supervised by the six recognized kingmakers of the kingdom, constitutes the legitimate and only acceptable succession process.

According to them, when the selection process commenced, the two ruling houses in the kingdom each presented one candidate to the six kingmakers.

Following established tradition, the kingmakers were then expected to undertake spiritual consultations to determine which of the two candidates was more suitable to occupy the vacant stool.

However, the situation took a controversial turn when, rather than presenting the candidate chosen by the Ifa oracle, the kingmakers purportedly withheld the results of their spiritual consultations.

The protesters alleged that the kingmakers were subsequently invited to the local government secretariat at Iju-Itaigbolu, where they were allegedly coerced into conducting an election to select the next Oloba, a procedure they described as alien to their tradition.

One of the protest leaders stated that, “We are protesting because after the Ifa oracle had chosen the successor in the presence of the six kingmakers, some persons surreptitiously took all the kingmakers to the secretariat of the local government council and allegedly forced them to conduct an election.”

Speaking with journalists at the palace grounds, Pastor Fagoroye Omoboyede warned that imposing a candidate contrary to the oracle’s choice could have catastrophic consequences for the kingdom.

He said, “The two ruling houses had done spiritual consultations for aspirants in their individual families, and both presented one candidate each. What the kingmakers ought to do next is to embark on spiritual consultations on the two candidates to select the one that is better and present him to the people of the town as their next Oba.”

He expressed concern that the kingmakers proceeded to the local government secretariat on Friday to conduct what he termed a “kangaroo election,” resulting in the emergence of an individual who had already been rejected by his own ruling house based on the oracle’s guidance.

Oluwabusola Omodara, another youth representative, stated that all they desired was for the kingmakers to follow due process and adhere to the traditional selection method that had served the community for centuries.

Both leaders appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to urgently intervene in the matter before the brewing crisis escalates into a full-blown conflict.

Addressing the protesters at the palace, the Regent of Oba-Ile, Foluke Agunbiade, called for calm and patience, assuring the demonstrators that the kingmakers would ultimately do the needful in accordance with tradition.

“Your concerns have been heard, and I want to assure you that the kingmakers are aware of their responsibilities. We urge you to remain peaceful and allow the process to reach its rightful conclusion.”