Ooni: We won’t sell our birthright –Giesi Family

PRINCE Peter Adetola Ogunleye, from the Giesi Ruling House, Ile Ife de­clared at the weekend that the Ooni’s stool is not for sale.

Ogunleye, an octogenar­ian, who also contested the reverred stool in 1980 with the late Oba Okunade Si­juwade also warned stake­holders and other intrested parties against bribery in the appointment of a new Ooni.

He spoke against the backdrop of alleged plans by some individuals, who were said not to be bonafide members of the Giesi dy­nasty to contest the stool.

According to him, the family had commenced se­rious scrutiny to determine the rightful prince from the ruling house who are eli­gible for the throne.

While urging the state government and other rel­evant stakeholders to expe­dite action on the selection process, Pa Ogunleye , as­sured that the royal house would not sell its its right to non member of the family.

A lawyer by profession, Ogunleye said the rotational system introduced in 1957 by the late Ooni, Oba Ad­esoji Aderemi among the four ruling houses and en­dorsed by the defunct West­ern Region government empowers the Giesi Royal House to produce the next Ooni.

Going down memory lane, Ogunleye said since the Giesi is next to Ogboru, which produced the late Oba Sijuwade, justice and fair play demands that the royal house produces the next Ooni.

His words: “Ile Ife is a town with rich culture, his­tory and customs. That is why we will not allow any­one or group of people to rubbish our history. Ile-Ife needs an Ooni who will be an Omoluabi, an Ooni, who will empower his subjects and not just feed them”.

Meanwhile, less than two months after the demise of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, his colleagues, Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran II and Oba Abdul-Wahab Olukayode Oyedotun Bibiire I, Oran­gun of Ila-Orangun are locked in supremacy battle over who takes over as the permanent chairman of the Osun State Council of Obas.

Oba Oyedotun, who spoke on behalf of other obas in his palace insisting that Oba Ar­omolaran II,cannot describe himself as acting chairman as “it is not only an error but a deliberate action meant to rewrite the history of the in­stitution of obas in Yoruba land. It is a known fact that Orangun of Ila takes pre­cedence over the Owa of of Ijesha and no overt and covert mischief can suffi­ciently subvert the histori­cal fact in this regard,” he said. Oba Oyedotun also disclosed that until his de­mise, the late Sijuwade had remained the bonafide chair­man of Osun State Coun­cil of Obas, adding that no chairman had been appoint­ed as his successor since then. Oba Oyedotun, who noted that the publication was misleading and insisted that the anomaly embarked upon by Oba Adekunle must be corrected in the public interest and respect for the Yoruba culture stressed that the culture and tradition of the land in kingship affairs must be respected.