By Adejare Ibrahim
Governor Makinde is treating the people of Oyo as nonentities, as if they are illiterates and ignoramuses, who are bereft of wit and intelligence. What an insult on our collective sensibility.
The grievances of many Oyo indigenes about the faulty selection of the new Alaafin by the Governor has nothing to do with the individuals involved.
We have nothing against anyone. Our dissatisfaction is neither about Prince Mafojudola Ayinla nor Prince Owoade. They are eminently qualified to occupy the ancient stool.
However, the crux of the matter is how Governor Makinde is trying hard to humiliate the traditional institution of the Alaafin, the Oyomesi and the entire people of Oyo Kingdom.
The Governor has pitched members of a large family against one another, because Oyos are one. We see ourselves as brothers and sisters. What does he stand to gain in members of the same family fighting one another?
The stool of the Alaafin is a revered and subsisting institution that has been in existence for more than seven centuries, right from Oranmiyan to Orompotoniyun to Alowolodu to Ladigbolu.
There are traditional processes to be followed in the selection of an Alaafin. The Oyomesis (under the leadership of the Bashorun) are the fountain head of these processes. Nothing can change these procedures, not the Governor.
Governor Makinde jeopardised due process, snubbed the Oyomesis and went ahead to announce a new king. Who does that? We are far more sophisticated than the mess he is rubbing on our collective face.
Mr Governor should be told that nothing can rubbish our revered traditional institutions (Alaafin and Oyomesi). Both are symbols of respect and reverence. No Governor can drag them through the mud. We shall all resist his arrogant dispositions.
Governor Makinde, no matter how powerful he thinks he is, his days are numbered in that office. In less than three years, all his so-called legacies shall be duly obliterated. Power is transient and ephemeral. Tell him.
