Uproar Over Appointment Of New Akinrun

Ismaeel Uthman

THE appointment of Prince Olalekan Akadiri as the new Akinrun of Ikirunland has been generating controversies among stakeholders and other indigenes of the town. 

Akadiri is from Obaara ruling house. 

The State Government of Osun had on Wednesday announced Akadiri as the successor of the late Akinrun, Oba Abdurauf Olawale Adedeji. 

According to the government, Akadiri’s emergence followed majority votes in his favour in a meeting of kingmakers on November 19, 2021, where the new monarch polled six out of seven votes to beat 17 other candidates in the race.

Akadiri, according to sources, was installed around 12am on Thursday amidst heavy security and vigilance. 

One of Akadiri’s supporters said: “He was coronated by a Chief from Oba Ile compound around 12am in Ikirun.

“All necessary process was followed. He (Akadiri) was taken round Basetan pillar seven times. Thereafter, he was taken to perform another rite at ‘ori apata, behind iso arobo, and he was coronated with the chieftaincy akoko leaf after that. Everything needed to be done was done for him. 

“Six out of seven kingmakers in the town were with him, and they prostrated for him after he was installed. It was only Eesa that was absent.”

However, Akadiri’s appointment sparked protest in Ikirun on Wednesday as some people rejected his emergence, accusing Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and a prominent indigene of the town, Chief Moshood Oluawo known as Moshadek of forcing him on the community. 

The youths set up bonfire on the popular Oja-Oba/Palace entrance road, shooting into the air and harassing other people.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the violent protest lasted till around 11PM. 

In a short video watched by the medium, the youths were seeing stoning a security patrol van suspected to be that of Osun Security Network codenamed Amotekun, late Wednesday. 

The medium gathered that two persons sustained gunshot injury in the protest. But normalcy returned to the town at dawn. 

Akadiri’s appointment came after a suit filed against the Obaara ruling house by Gboleru ruling house which claimed to be the next in line to produce the new Akinrun, in line with Akinrun Chieftaincy Declaration Law. 

Gboleru had approached the court to challenge the right of the Obaara ruling house to produce Akinrun after the demise of Oba Olawale.

It would be recalled that Akadiri was announced by six kingmakers of Ikirun as the selected new Akinrun after a meeting with some Ifelodun Local Government officials on Friday, November 19, 2021. 

However, Akadiri’s selection was rejected by some stakeholders and indigenes of Ikirun, particularly princes and princesses from Gboleru Ruling House which is originally supposed to produce the new Akinrun.

This was followed by an injunction of a State High Court on Thursday, November 25, 2021, restraining the Obaara and Adedeji Ruling Houses from nominating candidate for the Akinrun throne, just like the kingmakers, local and state governments were also barred from accepting candidate from the ruling houses.

Gboleru ruling house, in a suit filed by Chief Adebayo Adenipekun SAN, argued that it was unlawful to allow Obaara to produce the next Akinrun.

However, Justice S. Oke dismissed the suit on Tuesday for being an abuse of the court process among other grounds.

Akadiri’s Appointment A Wrong Decision – Gboleru 

Reacting to Akadiri’s appointment, a representative of Gboleru ruling house, Tajudeen Adesegun, described it as a wrong decision.  

Adesegun described the lawmakers that went to local government council secretariat to vote for Akadiri as coup plotters, insisting that it is the turn of his ruling house to produce Akinrun after Oba Olawale. 

Speaking on a private radio, Rave FM’s Frank Talk programme on Thursday, Adesegun dismissed the insinuation that Gboleru ruling house lost its right to Obaara because it could not produce a candidate for the vacant stool due to infighting. 

He disclosed that Gboleru was not part of the judicial process where the court gave opportunity to Obaara to produce the new Akinrun. 

The prince said: “I will call all those that went to the local government to vote a new king coup plotters. I will call them coup plotters because from day one, they usually consult the oracle to know who’s going to become the next king. These days, they go to local government to vote.  All these things are kangaroo elections.

“We still have a case at Appeal Court, we appealed the high court judgment and selection of new Akinrun from Obaara ruling house. The only thing we could do to stop them was to file an appeal and the case is still at the Appeal Court right now as we speak. But they just came up last night (Wednesday) to announce a king. 

“We made uncountable presentations to the government to notify it that there is a lot of court cases going on as regards the selection of new Akinrun, but this people always find their way to do what they want.

“People are not happy with what’s going on there. I don’t know who’s fighting but a lot of people are not happy.”

Akadiri’s Appointment Followed Due Process – Chief Oyeniyi

Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER, Chief Azeez Oyeniyi, the Obaile of Ikirun, said due process was followed on the coronation of Akadiri as the new Akirun of Ikirun. 

Oyeniyi said Akadiri was taking to the normal traditional place where all the past Akinrun were coronated with chieftaincy akoko leaf. 

He stated: “The appointment of Prince Akadiri as the new Akinrun of Ikirun followed due process. You will recollect that he had been selected about a year ago by six out of the seven kingmakers. 

“When the government finally approved his appoint on Wednesday, it is my duty and responsibility to coronate him with the chieftaincy akoko leave at designated place, and I did that yesterday. 

“We were attacked yesterday by some hoodlums hired by other contestants to the Akinrun stool. They did not want us to go to the traditional designated place to coronate Akadiri. But we took other route to reach the designated place at Olonkoro, and we did what we were supposed to do there.”

Asked the time Oba Akadiri was coronated, Chief Obaala said: “There is no time we can’t coronate a king or chief in the traditional way. The traditional rite was performed for Oba Akadiri around 12am (on Thursday). 

“We are supposed to continue the process but the thugs hired by some people have been stationed at palace area, so we could not proceed to do other things.”