December 03, (THEWILL) – Almost two years after the demise of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Oyo throne has remained vacant. Many have blamed the Oyo Mesi, traditional kingmakers, for this vacuum.
According to THEWILL investigation, it is the duty of the Oyo Mesi to make consultations and come up with a candidate deemed fit enough in pedigree, character and liquidity, who will be announced as the new Alaafin.
However, a proclamation document, which has since gone public, proves that the kingmakers are not to blame for the selection process as they have rightly selected Lukman Adelodun Gbadegesin, a prince from the Agunloye ruling house and forwarded his name to the Oyo State Government since 2022.
The proclamation was signed by the five living members of the Oyo Mesi and two warrant chiefs selected by the state government to replace deceased Oyo Mesi members. The kingmakers explained that they received a list of 82 aspiring princes which was eventually narrowed down to Gbadegesin.
In the proclamation, all the kingmakers signed for Gbadegesin as his grandfather, Alaafin Bello Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II, was the predecessor of the immediate past Alaafin Adeyemi III. According to the law, an aspirant or the ruling house has 21 days to petition the government to challenge the selection. But no such petition has been written. However, at the expiration of the 21-day window, a certain prince, Hakeem Ladigbolu, approached the court to set aside the selection process. But in a judgment given by an Oyo State High Court, it upheld the process leading to the selection of Gbadegesin.
Despite the proclamation by the Oyo Mesi and the court judgment upholding the process, the state government is yet to make a formal announcement, thus giving rise to concerns that political interests might undermine the Oyo Mesi and foist another person on the ancient Yoruba town. And they are not wrong. THEWILL exclusively gathered that the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde is allegedly hesitant to make the pronunciation because Gbadegesin is allegedly a close ally of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Makinde and Atiku do not see eye to eye on account of the drama that played out in the months leading to the 2023 general election, which saw a quintet made up of Nyesom Wike, former Rivers State governor now minister of the Federal Capital Territory; Makinde; Samuel Ortom former Benue governor; Okezie Ikepazu, former governor of Abia State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State – all members of the PDP, otherwise known as the G5 governors of the Integrity Group, breaking ranks with the national leadership of the party for not honouring an agreement to return power to the South.
Makinde probably thinks that announcing Gbadegesin as the new Alaafin would be a plus for Atiku which may not be the unlikely reason for the unnecessary delay in the announcement. No doubt, he is allegedly, racking his brain on the best possible way to circumvent the process.
