Kunle Adelabu with Olaleye Taiwo and Oladipupo Ayoola (SIWES Students)
-We have played our roles, not responsible for delay – Council Chair, Alajede Chiefs
Some aggrieved residents of Ijede community in ljede Local Council Development Area (LCDA), on Thursday, continued their protests by embarking on procession round the community to register their grievances over the delay in the presentation of staff of office and installation of Prince Kazeem Adetoro Amusa, as the Alajede of Ijede.
They lamented that lack of an Oba, 13 years after the passage of the former Alajede, has negatively affected the community economically, socially and politically, and called on the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo – Olu, not to further delay the recognition of their choice as the next traditional ruler.
They also voiced their opposition to the emergence of the former two – term Chairman of Ijede LCDA, Hon. Saheed Hassan, as the next Alajede.
Recall that some residents, about two weeks ago, staged a protest at the State House and Lagos State House of Assembly Complex, Alausa in Ikeja, alleging that some individuals influenced the stoppage of presentation of instrument of office and recognition of Prince Amusa as the Oba of Ijede.
The protest started around 11:00am and 11:16am, with protesters carrying leaves and placards with inscriptions such as “A Catalyst To A Peaceful & Progressive Ijede, Prince Kazeem Adetoro Adebayo Amusa”, “Some Selfish Community Leaders Can Only Try But You Can Never Hold Us To Ransom”, “Give Amusa His Instrument Of Office, Mr Governor”, “Hassan Has Been Disqualified By the Court”, “We Want Ijede To Grow”, “Royalty Is Meant To Be Peaceful, Not War, That’s Why We Yearn For Adetoro”, “Don’t Change Our Destiny In Ijede” and among others.
During the protest, police from the Area ‘N’ Command and Ijede Police Station were seen patrolling the Ijede community in their vehicles, and were equally stationed at strategic positions to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
The protesters moved from the Ijede Roundabout where they converged, to the Ijede LCDA secretariat to register their grievances. After staying about 30 minutes at the council premises without any official to attend to them, protesters left the compound with disappointment.
It was gathered that the Chairman and her vice were not available around when the protesters stormed the council secretariat.
After leaving the council in disappointment, the protesters moved to the Area ‘N’ Command where they were also unable to have interaction with the Area Commandant who was said to be in a crucial meeting when they arrived.
The protest training moved back through the council secretariat road to Eti – Ita where they offered prayers for Prince Amusa, and cursed those perceived to be working against his emergence. From there, they moved to Eluku Street and had a stop over at the frontage of the house of Prince Adegbola Amusa, father of Prince Kazeem Amusa. From there, they moved again through the Ijede /Egbin Road and had another stop over at the Ijede market.
From the Ijede market, the protesters turned back through the Ijede/Egbin Road and berthed at the Alajede palace where the leader of the protest, Mr Tajudeen Ojikutu, and different representatives took turns to address the protesters after which they later moved to other strategic places.
Addressing the protest, Mr Ojikutu, who expressed his disappointment over how nobody attended to them at the council secretariat, appealed directly to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to stop delaying the presentation of staff of office to their choice as the next Alajede of Ijede
“We are protesting to show our displeasures, because we want a king in Ijede. The government should help us by presenting the people’s choice the staff of office. The government shouldn’t impose someone else on us. They should perform their duty.
“Ifa has chosen him. Also, the chiefs and the Kingmakers have also signed for him as well, so, the government of Sanwo-Olu should, please, bring us our staff of office. The town is almost empty; Ijede is almost empty because people are moving out.
“So, we are crying out to Governor Sanwo- Olu, to help us in Ijede Kingdom, and give us our king that Ifa has chosen and the kingmakers have also signed for. The government should, please, give Prince Kazeem Amusa the staff of office. He was chosen by the Ifa, endorsed by the chiefs, and signed for by the people. Governor Sanwo-Olu should not impose anyone on us but do the needful”, he pleaded.
He also charged the authority of Ijede LCDA, to appeal to the Governor to do the needful by presenting the staff of office to the new Alajede.
“Ijede LCDA authority should just use their power to make sure we have the staff of office. We’re not here for any other thing, except to beg them to just help us to speak to Mr Governor, to give us our staff of office. We have an Oba – elect, so, they should, please, give us our staff of office, that’s it”, he added.
Hon. Bello Yusuf Adeniyi, a former aspirant for the Ikorodu Constituency seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly who was also part of the protest, also expressed disappointment over not seeing any council official to attend to the protesters when they went to the council secretariat.
He too emphasised that the state government should present the staff of office to Prince Amusa, adding that the delay is unfair to Ijede people.
“What I’m asking for, like every other person, is that they should give the staff of office to the Oba -elect, Prince Kazeem Adetoro Adebayo Amusa. I could remember when the judgment was delivered, people of Ijede were so happy. But since March 2024, till now, nothing has been done.
“We heard that they were coming to give him staff of office on August 15, and this is September 25th. We were told that the state government actually approved the presentation of the staff of office to three kings in August, but while the other places were done, some people stopped that of Ijede, which is really unfair to the people of Ijede. We are appealing to the government to do the needful because without the staff of office, what can the king do?”, he asked rhetorically.
“So, I’m appealing to them to do the needful as soon as possible. We will appreciate if it can be done within a week or a month because a town without a leader is nothing. For the past 13 years, nothing has grown in ijede. We are really appealing to them to do the needful”.
A youth leader within the community, Jelili Kuti, from the Atobatele Royal Family of Ijede, warned against further delay in the presentation of staff of office, to prevent the situation degenerating, while appealing to the state government to act in good time.
“We really do not know what is delaying the Lagos State Government from confirming the new Alajede, when the government was part of the suit and knew all that happened. And after getting his judgment, we expected that the next thing for the government is to come down here and present a staff of office to the Oba- elect, but they have refused to do so ever since then.
“Due to this, a lot of things have been happening in this community, and if not for maturity and the way things are been managed, it could have led to anarchy. We have really been managing the situation”.
He said that the social and economic lives of Ijede people have been adversely affected, while he too appealed to Governor Sanwo – Olu to do the needful on time.
During the protest, the aggrieved residents pad homage to the Oluwo of Ijede, Chief Olalekan Olutusen, at his Eluku Street home where he declared his support for Prince Kazeem Amusa as the next Oba of Ijede and also charged the state government and other stakeholders to do the needful in presenting him the instrument of office in good time.
Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman, Ijede LCDA, Hon. Motunrayo Gbadebo – Alogba who was away on official assignment when the protesters stormed the council secretariat, said that the council is not aware of their coming.
Hon. Gbadebo – Alogba, who said that the protest is welcome once it is peaceful, told our reporter that the council has done everything necessary to be done and is awaiting the final communication from the state government.
She appealed to residents to continue to go about their businesses peacefully.
In the same vein, the Regent/Olisa of Ijede, High Chief Alliu Musediq, the Aro of Ijede, High Chief Rasaq Oyebanjo, Odofin of Ijede, High Chief Babatunde Ogunmuyiwa and Otunba Adedayo Aba Ajanaku, Otunba Alajede of Ijede and Head of the Ajanaku Ruling House, speaking with THE IMPACT, also said that they were not aware of the protest.
The traditional chiefs, who said that the protesters blocked their vehicle while returning to Ijede from an official outing, informed our reporter that they have done everything necessary on their own part, and that they are awaiting communication from the state government.
Speaking on the allegations that they are among those preventing the installation of Prince Amusa as the next Alajede of Ijede, High Chiefs Oyebanjo and Ogunmuyiwa, said that the palace is not in any way responsible.
They insisted that they have done everything that are required of them, including settling the feud between the Head of the Ajanaku Royal Family and the Oba – elect, Prince Kazeem Amusa, after Justice Akapo of the Ikorodu High Court, ruled in his favour.
They also stated that they have also prepared necessary documents to validate Prince Amusa as the Oba – elect, since he was not part of the screening process but emerged as the choice candidate following the court case that lasted for 11 years, and added that it is left for the Lagos State Government to give the final approval.
“We have done everything that is necessary on our part, including resolving the family feud between Prince Kazeem Amusa, some of his family members and their head of family who were previously not seeing eye to eye following the Obaship tussle, after the High Court judgment. We invited them to this palace to resolve that, because without both being on the same page, there is nothing we can do.
“After that, we have also perfected our documents to reflect Prince Amusa as the Oba – elect and forwarded it to the appropriate authority. We await the state government’s response on that. We are even ready to start the process of his installation today if we hear from the state through he council”, High Chief Oyebanji said.
The Odofin of Ijede, High Ogunmuyiwa, further highlighted the roles of the palace so far.
“It was after that that we did other necessary things by perfecting the records to accommodate Prince Kazeem Amusa in our records, because it was Hon. Saheed Hassan’s name that was initially sent to the local government as the Oba – elect.
“Due to that, we had to perfect everything at our end to reflect Prince Kazeem Amusa as the Oba – elect, following the High Court judgment which was sent to the council, and we understood that the council had in turn forwarded the same to the Lagos State Government and since then, we have been awaiting the government’s response”, he added.
High Chief Ogunmuyiwa, speaking further, also explained the quagmire that the whole community has been plunged into following the judgment of the Appeal Court, after the Aniyera family’s appeal which he said nullified that of the High Court that gave Prince Amusa the right to the stool.
He said that following the Court of Appeal ruling, the matter has been started afresh at the Lagos High Court, Ikorodu Judicial Division.
Confirming the turn of events, High Musediq, the Regent of Ijede who also stated that the chiefs have done everything necessary on their parts, also stated that they have attended the matter at the new court for about three or four times.
The Head of the Ajanaku Family, Otunba Aba Ajanaku, also speaking, confirmed the intervention of the palace chiefs in resolving the family feud and the process undertaken to ensure that Prince Amusa emerged as the next Alajede.
He added that the delay by the state government and the Court of Appeal ruling which caused the matter to be started afresh, were not caused by the palace.
As at the time of filing in this report, our reporter could not reach Hon. Saheed Hassan, for his own reactions.
Full interview with Regent and other Alajede chiefs in the subsequent stories.
