The Daily Crucible | Saturday, September 24, 2022
According to the account by someone said to be quite familiar with the history of Ibeju Lekki monarchy, an Ibeju Prince named Oyebolujo married a Princess identified as Nusi from the Royal family of Oba Moyegeso of Ijebu Ode. The Oral account has it that at the solemnization of the marriage between Prince Oyebolujo and Princess Nusi in Ijebu Ode, Oba Moyegeso promised to gift the first male child of the marriage a crown.
Fortunately, the first child of Oyebolujo and Nusi was a son and he was named Oyemade. Expectedly, his maternal grandfather who also doubled as Oba Moyegeso of Ijebu Ode made good his pledge and gave him(Oyemade) a Crown.
This gifted Crown, The Daily Crucible learnt, gave birth to the second Ruling Family called Oniwonlu Royal House of Ibeju Lekki Kingdom but Oyemade was not the only child of Prince Oyebolujo and Princess Nusi. The account said they had another son together named Lumoye.
However, Oyemade too grew up, married a wife and fathered two children - Badeusa and Ogunfayo. It was learnt that every Oba that ascended the throne of Onibeju Stool from Oniwonlu Royal Family did so through the canopy of Oyemade's gifted Crown.
However, The Daily Crucible learnt that Lumoye and his descendants are recognised and established Princes and Princesses of Ijebu Lekki Kingdom and they have right to the throne but the issue is: On which vehicle should they ride to the throne?
While the Lumoye descendants of Akodo are of the conviction that they are eligible to ascend the throne through Oniwonlu Royal family - that is, the Oyemade gifted Crown connection, the Oniwonlu arm maintained that the Lumoye descendants have no reason whatsoever to Oniwonlu crown which in their reckoning, is meant solely for members of Oniwonlu Royal Family.
According to this school of thought, the race for the next Onibeju of Ibeju Lekki Kingdom in Lagos State is for only the bonafide members Oniwonlu Royal family, whose turn it is to produce the next Oba for the town.
These persisting disagreements and other issues, it was gathered, informed why all efforts at installing a new Onibeju of Ibeju Lekki Kingdom are foot-dragging since the last monarch; His Royal Majesty, Oba Olusegun Rafiu Salami, transited on June 3, 2020.
What ought to have been a seamless process of selecting his successor had morphed into a huge subject of intrigues and highwire politics.
Concerned indigenes and residents of Ibeju Lekki Kingdom are asking when will there be end to the needless delay? Only time will tell, seemed to be the handy answer for now.
Meanwhile, a Prince of Oniwonlu Royal Family of Ibeju kingdom, Lagos State, Prince Jimoh Adesanya Oniwonlu, has claimed that some names were added as candidates by the kingmakers during the screening process.
Prince Oniwonlu said that additional names were included to the ones submitted to the kingmakers by the ruling family following petitions from affected aspirants that they were excluded from the process, noting that after subsequent screening and divination from oracle ('Ifa' ) by the 'Kngmakers' on all the candidates, Prince Adewale Adeyemi Abdul - Rauf Oniwonlu and Prince Waliu Olasunkanmi scaled through.
In a signed statement, he explained that the kingmakers decided to vote to determine who between Prince Adewale Adeyemi Abdul - Rauf Oniwonlu and Prince Waliu Olasunkanmi becomes the next Onibeju, stressing that during the process of voting, Prince Waliu Olasunkanmi scored three (3) votes while Prince Adewale Adeyemi Abdul-Rauf Oniwonlu polled one (1) vote.
He noted that it became an issue when the kingmakers sent their report to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and recommended that Prince Waliu Olasunkanmi and Prince Adewale Adeyemi Abdu - Rauf have been found suitable for the throne of Onibeju but when the Oniwonlu Royal family sighted the report, an allegation was made known by the family that Prince Waliu Olasunkanmi is allegedly not a bonafide family member even as his name was also not part of the three names initially submitted to the 'kingmakers' for consideration by Oniwonlu family.
According to him, this led to a case of litigation on the matter in court while the Lagos state government had to also suspend the process pending the outcome of the case.
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