The race to select a new Awujale of Ijebuland is becoming increasingly intriguing. Beyond the legitimate aspirations of interested candidates, disturbing developments suggest attempts by some individuals to deploy financial influence, intimidation and blackmail to circumvent established traditions and advance personal ambitions.
Of particular concern are reports that some individuals whose ancestry reportedly traces through the female line of the ruling house are seeking to participate in a succession process traditionally understood to be restricted to the male lineage. This raises fundamental questions about whether established customs can be set aside to accommodate individual ambitions.
Tradition cannot be rewritten simply because some individuals possess the financial resources to pursue their ambitions. The Awujale stool is a revered cultural institution, not an inheritance to be acquired through financial muscle or an auction in which the highest bidder determines the outcome.
Equally troubling are allegations that anonymous writers and faceless platforms are being deployed to malign individuals and institutions insisting that the succession process must respect the customs and cultural values of Ijebuland.
Governor Dapo Abiodun has also become a target of such attacks. But what exactly is his offence? Is it that he insists on an orderly succession process that respects established traditions and applicable laws? Or that he has refused to allow powerful interests to dictate the direction of an exercise affecting the entire Ijebu nation?
Government’s responsibility is not to impose a candidate but to ensure that the process is conducted within the framework of the law, established customs and due process. Those who disagree with its position are free to pursue legitimate legal remedies rather than resort to personal attacks and campaigns of intimidation.
The Awujale institution is bigger than any individual, any aspirant and certainly the financial resources of those seeking the throne. The Ijebu people must understand that preserving their cultural heritage is far more important than satisfying the ambitions of particular individuals.
No amount of money should purchase a departure from legitimate tradition, and no campaign of blackmail should intimidate those entrusted with protecting the integrity of the succession process.
The wisdom of our forefathers and the collective interest of Ijebuland must prevail. The people deserve a peaceful and credible succession that preserves the dignity of the Awujale stool.
Affliction shall not rise a second time in Ijebuland.
Idris Lawal: Awujale succession: When money, ambition, blackmail threaten tradition