Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State on Tuesday paid a visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja to formally notify President Muhammadu Buhari about the death of Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade I.
The late monarch died last week Wednesday at the age of 101.
Addressing State House correspondents later, Governor Ajimobi stated there was no tussle over Olubadan’s stool, noting that every household in Ibadan could produce an Olubadan.
The governor stated the president had assured him that he would attend the burial ceremony of the late monarch.
“The beauty of the Olubadan institution makes it unique in the whole of Nigeria. It’s the only institution where we know the next 20 or 50 obas (kings). We don’t fight for it. Every house can produce an Olubadan, including my house. So, it’s not limited like in some areas where you say this is the only family or these are the families. Every son of Ibadanland can become the Olubadan of Ibadanland. Therefore, we feel it is a rancour-less succession programme where everybody is qualified to be there. So, we know the next to the next, in fact, we know the next 100th Olubadan.
“The Seriki House started during the period of Chief Adisa Akinloye and it has been decided even long ago that to be after the Seriki line, you have to join if there are concurrent deaths of both the Ekerin and Asipa, then you can qualify as Seriki to be Ekerin. But now, there is no vacancy for any Ekerin. The man who lays claim to be the next Olubadan, even if he were to be a Seriki now, which he is not, he would only be promoted to Ekerin, he cannot come from Seriki to be Olubadan. It’s not going to happen. We’ve had one before that was promoted to Ekerin and along the line, he died. So the people laying claim to Olubadan is just exercise in futility”, he stated.
Extolling the qualities of the late monarch, Ajimobi said: “If you know, the Olubadan is not an ordinary king. Apart from the fact that he worked for the Federal Government, he was once a Minister of Labour under Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa’s government, he worked as a parliamentarian and a minister. He was part of the delegation to Britain for the Nigerian Conference. Therefore, he was a national figure. He contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria. So, he stood out as a king”.