Nigeria Content Online

The
royal stool of the Deji of Akure, the paramount ruler of the capital
city of Ondo State has been in the news for the past month – for all
the wrong reasons. The last king, Oluwadare Adesina Adepoju, in an
undignified fit of annoyance, led a group of his aides to the home of
his estranged wife in Akure to wreak violence on her. It became a cause
celebre for women rights activists and other Nigerians disgusted with
any form of violence directed at women.

Mr. Adepoju and his entourage engaged his wife and
her supporters in a public brawl that led to grievous wounds to the
woman and a near lynching of the then king – who had to be helped out
of the encounter after his vehicle had been destroyed and his clothes
shredded.

As it happened, Mr. Adepoju also succeeded in
destroying every shred of respect his people had for him and the
authority he enjoyed over them. This eventually consumed him as his
throne was taken away from him by the state government – who also
banished him to Owo, incidentally the same city where his battered wife
is now being treated.

The actions of the last Deji have, ironically
brought to the fore the controversial manner of his choice as the king
for the town. The unresolved altercations that trailed his selection
have once more become a matter of contention.

Leading the charge is the man who lost to the
deposed king. The former Deji-elect, Adegbola Adelabu, who has come out
to lay his claim to the stool, told the state government early in the
week not to start a fresh selection process for the appointment of a
new Deji.

Mr. Adelabu is not engaged in a wild goose chase.
He topped the selection process for the Deji of Akure in 2005 and the
eighteen traditional kingmakers in the city backed his candidacy. His
victory was, however overturned by the then government of the state,
which based its opposition on the interference of some notable Akure
indigenes. The now deposed monarch was the beneficiary of that
political interference in the selection of the king.

This paper is not privy to the reasons for the
state government’s hostility to Mr. Adelabu and neither do we intend to
hazard guesses at to why this was done. But the action of an elected
government in jettisoning the decision of a council of traditional
kingmakers has a tinge of unfairness and aggrandisement about it.

To be sure, it is the constitutional right of
state governors to appoint or sack traditional rulers within their
jurisdiction. But it is always a sad thing when the traditional
institution is dragged into the murky waters of partisan politics. This
not only mars the authority of the traditional rulers, it also tends to
weaken the ability of the institution to perform its role in the
society. In the end, both the politicians and chiefs are the worse for
it.

Traditional institutions are already facing
pressure – from government and quasi government institutions
questioning their relevance to society having taken on the powers and
functions they were known for in times past. But the fact that the
contest for vacant stools of traditional rulers across the country has
always been subject to intrigue and heated jostling means there is
still life in the old institution yet – and that people still accord a
great deal of respect to the original custodians of their culture.

The Ondo State government has been rightly
commended for the maturity with which it handled the case of the
deposed monarch. The removal of Mr. Adepoju has been received with a
sense of relief by the people of the town and other traditional rulers
in the state. But that means no less a sense of fairness and
thoroughness is expected in the selection of the next Oba.

Mr. Adelabu, were he still to enjoy the support of
the town’s kingmakers, should have the right of first refusal. The
state government should investigate the reasons for why the previous
administration rejected Mr. Adelabu and if it finds these were
politically motivated, then it should go ahead to support the man
picked by his people. Righting a five-year wrong could do wonders to
the psyche of a people traumatised by the events of the last few weeks.