Stakeholders Want Adeleke To Caution Timi Over Declaration On Communities

• Says Towns In Egbedore LG Not Under Ede

Some stakeholders in Egbedore Local Government of Osun State have frowned at a recent declaration by the Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal, that all communities in the local government are under the traditional control of Ede land.

The monarch, in a viral video, noted that the history of the communities in Egbedore had been erased since one of the late kings of Ede, whom he did not mention, rescued their people during a war decades ago.

Oba Lawal who spoke to his subjects in the video obtained by OSUN DEFENDER, said the late Timi had overlord the communities when they could not protect themselves, asserting that Ede owns whatever the towns are laying claim to now.

He said, “Truly, they have a history but the history has been erased.

“The history was erased when the Fulanis invaded them, and those villages couldn’t save themselves. It was the late Timi who rose to the occasion.

“The people in Egbedore back then came for shelter here in Ede.

“We have Alawo, Iragberi, Aro, Lekuo, Iwoye houses in Ede. All these compounds are in Ede because the late Timi put them there when they came here for protection.

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“So, if they are claiming they have history, Timi has overlord them since they cannot protect themselves then. Timi owns whatever they claim to have now.”

The declaration by the monarch has been condemned by the indigenes of the towns under Egbedore local government, who called on Governor Ademola Adeleke, to wade in before it degenerates into a communal crisis.

Some of the indigenes who spoke with the medium said the Timi of Ede cannot change history to lord himself over them.

They noted that Egbedore Local Government is not under Ede and therefore, monarchs and residents of the communities under the local government cannot be subjects of Timi.

They added that the monarch would not have come out to say such if the late Alayemore of Ido-Osun, Oba Aderemi Adeen Adedapo, was still alive.

“We are calling on the state governor to call his monarch to order.  They are from the same town and he shouldn’t allow him to cause crisis in the state.

“As a monarch, there are some things that are not expected of him, and one of such things was what he said. How can history be erased?

“He wants to forcefully lord himself over the towns in Egbedore which is not possible. He should stay in his lane and concentrate on his subjects.

“Why didn’t he come out to say all this when the late Alayemore was alive? He wouldn’t dare because he knew our Baba would have put him in his place,” an indigene of Awo, Olusola Abioye, said.

In a similar development, an indigenous group, Osogbo Development Action Group (ODAG), has urged the state government to warn the monarch to stop his expansionist agenda to forestall crisis.

The group said the monarch was using the position of the governor, being an indigene of his domain, to lord Ede over other towns in the state by encroaching on their lands, including those belonging to Osogbo and Olorunda LGAs.

In a statement, its Coordinator and Secretary, Ajani Lukman and Oladejo Shuaibu, the group stated that the expansionist tendencies and utterances of the traditional ruler on Olorunda and Osogbo local government boundaries is already creating tension in the areas.

The statement was reacting to some documents circulating in the media containing survey plans, letters and invitation cards to a purported coronation ceremony where the Ede monarch allegedly instructed Ajeniju of Hallelujah, Jelili Olaiya to overlord landmarks belonging to the two local governments and further describing same as Ede land areas in Egbedore local government.

It reads partly, “If this aggression by Timi of Ede is not curtailed on time and the areas are left prone to security threats, it would not do the state any good and would appear as if the governor is abusing his position as the governor to lord Ede over other towns in the state by encroaching on their lands including Osogbo and Olorunda LGAs.

“It should be carefully noted that Ede, with its distasteful history of land-grabbing tendencies around border areas, needed to come off it as the society has outgrown the archaic era of wars and conquests over lands.

“It is, therefore, our candid resolve to invite the government of the Osun State to avert the looming crisis among many towns and communities sharing boundaries with Ede by urgently taking direct the Timi of Ede to immediately cancel the proposed but highly controversial Coronation Ceremony of Ajeniju of Hallelujah scheduled for the sake of peace and tranquillity.

“It’s absurd for a Timi’s appointed Chief to overlord on Osogbo land. It is audaciously laughable for a Timi to claim ownership of a place like Agunbelewo and other places in that axis which have never been a subject of dispute,” the statement said.