TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE ADRESSED BY THE AUTHENTIC SOOKO AWODEYI FAMILY OF ITAAKUN IN REACTION TO THE RECENT ILL MOTIVATED AND TOTAL DISREGARD FOR THE LAWS, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS AND ABSOLUTE INSULT ON PURPORTED CHIEFTAINCY DECLARATION OF SOOKO OF ITAKUN IN IREWOLE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF OSUN STATE.
It is with a heavy heart that I address you this morning on the unwholesome attempt by some mischievous individuals taking advantage of their status and temporary occupation of public office to pervert the way of justice and having total disregard for not only custom but the provisions of the extant laws of the land.
These individuals acting on behalf of the government daily bastardise the customs and traditions and traditional institutions in Osun State with unfortunately the silence of the Governor which is either deliberate and in connivance or due to total ignorance of the acts and actions.
You will recall that about a year ago, I addressed you in this same hall on this same issue and it is quite disheartening that all letters written and all petitions submitted were deliberately ignored.
We went a step further to take the matter before the court of law which we believe is the hope of the common man and a constitutional institution set up for crisis resolution and protection of citizens rights to forestall a breakdown of law and order but instead of the agencies of government to act responsibly, they chose the other part which is capable of ruining the existing peace in our community and turn the hitherto peaceful community to a theatre of war.
The said purported Declaration is highly contemptuous and is against the history, native law and custom relating to the Sooko Chieftaincy.
In the first place, the original Declaration made pursuant to the Chiefs Law of 1957 had 5 Ruling Houses namely:
(1) Metiku,
(2) Falade,
(3) Ademuyiwa,
(4) Atere and
(5) Momimi.
A copy of the said Declaration which was approved on 23/6/1958 is attached herewith.
The first 4 Ruling houses were the original Ruling Houses and the four were children of our ancestral father, Awodeyi as it was Awodeyi that gave birth to Metiku, Falade, Ademuyiwa and Atere.
The inclusion of Omomimi as the 5th Ruling Houses was the beginning of the chieftaincy dispute and the Awodeyi’s 4 Ruling Houses resisted the inclusion which led to the setting up of the Abegunde’s Commission of inquiry and the Chieftaincy Commissioner then was Dr. L.O. Adegbite. After the conduct of a comprehensive inquiry, the then Commissioner published the findings of the Inquiry which findings were accepted by the State Government and the findings were as follows:
i) That there are four ruling houses for the sooko of Ikire chieftaincy;
ii) That the identities are Ademuyiwa, Falade, Metiku and Atere;
iii) That the Momimi ruling house whose member allegedly reigned about 200 years ago is too remote and is therefore affected by section 4(4) of the Chief Law, Cap 19; and
iv) That Molaja house is not a ruling house for the purpose of the chieftaincy.
A copy of the Statement by Dr. L.O. Adegbite is attached herewith.
It is laughable and the height of injustice that the two rejected Ruling Houses of Momimi and Molaja by the J.B. Abegunde’s Commission and so accepted by the government, are now being made the only two Ruling Houses by this midnight Declaration being fashioned behind closed doors during the pendency of this action in Court and our Counter-Claims.
Anything outside of these ruling houses is ill motivated and non existent.
We the Royal House of the Metiku, Falade, Ademuyiwa and Atere. has insisted that there are four ruling houses entitled to the throne of the SOOKO of ITAAKUN – IKIRE, contrary to the widespread design of 2 ruling houses.
There is need to put the records straight to avoid misinformation and perpetration of falsehood. The truth which has been affirmed and reaffirmed historically and legally is that SOOKO OF ITAAKUN can only be occupied by the four ruling houses as earlier mentioned.
We are aware of the defective Declaration being flaunted by the fake two ruling house.
We need to state unequivocally that the defective Declaration as recently promulgated was surreptitiously procured while they were unlawfully alienating family properties and the Court of Appeal and the state refused to admit the defective Declaration in evidence, just as the High Court refused to admit same.
The legal position is that once a matter is in court, the status holds barred till judgement is given and one then begins to wonder what authority the official of government has fingered has and what their interest in this matter is to so issue documents contrary to the position of the court and in comtempt of it.
The Osun State Government and members of the general public are hereby duly informed that members of the two families illegally smuggled in are not of the recognized ruling houses but are using influence which is not limited to outright purchase of power through interloping.
Both officials of the chieftaincy department of the ministry of local government are perverting the way of justice and give to individuals what they have no right to.
Our family made available many documents consisting of several court rulings, including Court judgements in favor of our claims.
We maintain that the Court judgement made null and void the establishment of the two fake royal families and the associated succession plan in the following order:
You can see their mischief in the succession plan as they totally remove the right owners to the throne to be replaced by two non existing royal families.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our president today by rule of law and so is Senator Ademola Adeleke our Governor after being the people’s choice. The fake Muti families should learn from this and rest their intention to ascend the throne albeit illegally.
We wish to further warn anyone including officials of the Osun State Government who violates the exiting order of a Court of competent jurisdiction and the pendency of the case that we shall invoke the full weights of the law to proceed against them, and contempt proceedings shall immediately be initiated with a view to sending such person(s) to jail for flagrant disobedience of a valid and subsisting order of the High Court of Osun State.
We call on the Governor of Osun State to reign in his corrupt officials who are profiteering through abuse of office and desecration of the royal institutions. We are not unaware of same disregards been perpetrated in some part of Iwo land. Chieftaincy and Obaship in Yoruba land are not for the highest bidder and will never be hence the need to caution the state officials who are offering same for pecuniary gains.
If this is not done, we shall assume that the officers are acting on behalf of the state and hence it can be summarily assumed that a government that came to be by the rule of law has no respect for same.
God bless Itaakun
God bless Ikire land
God bless Osun State.