The Chief Imam of Ikirun, Sheik Yunus Balogun, has charged the State Government of Osun to order the kingmakers to follow Yoruba customs and traditions in the selection process of the new Akinrun of Ikirun.
This, Balogun believes, will usher a reign of fruitfulness and peace to the ancient town.
The Chief Imam stated this in his sermon at the weekly Jumat prayers held at the Central Mosque, Ikirun, on Friday.
Balogun observed that if the selection process is done in line with tradition and due process which involves the consultation of all stakeholders and God, the best and divine leader for the town will emerge.
He urged those in government to follow the path of truth and remember posterity in this situation.
The Chief Imam said: “Each religion has its own way of seeking God’s direction on issues and planned decisions. The best however, is to seek those things in a way that will make it attract Allah’s blessings both in life and in the Hearafter. This should be the yardstick for all Family Heads to follow in the selection process and not for some people to sit somewhere and go through a voting process to select a new King.
“In this town, there was a time a monarch was to be installed in Ikirun and there was this clause that the longevity of the would-be king on the throne will not be long. He was made to understand that some of the years would be full of bliss while the rest will be full of pitfalls and challenges for the town.
“The person involved then said that if it was only two years that will be full of bliss and blessings on the town, he was ready to do it and the people of the town also agreed that it was God’s choice for them. All the predictions about what will happen during his reign came to pass and the town felt it.
“When the Mogajis of the different households want to decide the selection of a new King, they came together to look at all of these yardsticks and use all the means of seeking God’s direction, it is whoever the Almighty now selects between the four to five aspirants will be ratified and crowned.
“After this is done, they will carry all the stakeholders and elders in respective families along on the processes that culminated in the selection and the kingmakers would also seek the consent of the elders in their various households, they would in turn get back to themselves to discuss what they did and ensure the right processes are followed all, in a bid that will arrive on what will usher goodness to the town.
“We are appealing to those in government of today and others to also allow due process. It is not in the tradition of Yorubaland to use voting to decide who becomes a King and we have not seen the it before.
“We urge the government to order all kingmakers to follow the normal procedure in this situation. Osun Government should know that Ikirun is one of the central significant parts of the state which is important and should not be allowed to be disintegrated because of its significance to Osun.
“We urge well-meaning individuals in Ikirun today to remember that they will all be accountable to God one day and should be interested at this point, they must join hands together to see to the collective peace of the town at the moment and chart a course for a King that would be beneficial to the town,” Sheik Balogun noted.
