Indigenous Landowners and Residents of Orile-Ilawo comprising of over 55 villages in the Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun state, have accused the monarch of the community, Alexander McGregor of allegedly making questionable efforts in converting the lands of their forefathers for personal gains.
The residents also alleged that McGregor was reportedly harassing the leadership of the township and indigenes with petitions across many police stations including Adatan and Zone 2.
The landowners and residents trooped out in their hundreds at the Alagbagba Town Hall meeting held recently, accusing the recently installed monarch of allegedly conniving with some non-indigenes, wielding strange authorities and relentlessly petitioning several leaders and indigenes of the community.
They claimed the monarch is allegedly attempting to take possession of the inherited lands of their forefathers from several centuries.
The residents said they also uncovered plots that the monarch allegedly engaged the services of hoodlums, and miscreants, who are non-indigenes, giving them uniforms as task forces and delegating strange powers to them as caretakers and monitoring task forces.
They lamented that the hoodlums have unleashed terror, harassing the local people, particularly farmers, loggers, and market women.
The hoodlums are reportedly collecting money before people are allowed to their farmlands or market to do their lawful businesses.
A community leader in Yemo, an ancient village of Orile Ilawo, Chief Lateef Amusan described the continuous disrespect of the people by the installed monarch as quite disappointing which will no longer be acceptable.
He said, “Years of research suggests that empathy and social intelligence are vastly more important to acquiring and exercising power than are force, deception, or terror.
“This man just got installed by the government less than 2 months ago and he is already acting selfishly, impulsively, and aggressively to take over our lands. I believe there are more serious issues bothering our people than the monarch which many see as being imposed, focusing on taking over our lands, claiming custodianship of our forefathers lands.”
Also, 86-year-old Amuda Egbeyemi noted that the effrontery on the part of the new king is treacherous.
He said since the Obaship tussle began, the embattled monarch had been bearing his fang on those that resisted his appointment and installation on the basis that it was an act of imposition and against the community’s centuries of tradition.
While claiming McGregor is not from the community known as Orile Ilawo, Egbeyemi stressed that the monarch has no history linking him to any of the communities, villages, and lands in Orile-Ilawo.
He added, “He has no single village linking him or any of his generations to this homestead (Orile). We know each family on the whole of this homestead and our forefathers have interacted, lived together, and defended our territories together for more than a century.
“They have particularly maintained the integrity of our clan for hundreds of years. The government approving a strange fellow to become our king signaled an ominous sign of things to come.
“Outsiders installed this man traditionally, as none of our traditional council leaders attended the occasion in strong protest. Also no other monarch under Odeda local government attended the hurriedly organized installation to show support. You can verify this”
“And now, how dare him harass us on our forefather’s lands? This man needs to know that his rules will not be binding on any of us on these our lands and he should also be told that we know our right on all of the ensuing issues. We appeal to Governor Dapo Abiodun to depose him and replace with the preferred choice of the homestead , who would respect tradition and other subjects”
The Akogun of Ilawo and one of the contestants for the stool of Olu of Orile Ilawo, Chief Lawrence Olufemi Ogunsanya, expressed displeasure over the continuous harassment of the leadership of the Ilawo Traditional Council.
He alleged that the monarch has engaged in periodic writing of petitions in different police stations against the Ilawo chiefs and issuing many fake publications o distort facts of the ensuing issue to cover his tracts.
The senior Ilawo Traditional chief also raised the alarm over incessant land grabbing, continued attacks and other crimes being committed against the Indigenous owners by land grabbers and illegal land speculators.
He added, “As an embodiment of royalty, traditional rulers should not engage in activities that would jeopardise the revered institution.
“This is becoming more dangerous by the day and a huge slap on our ancient tradition especially because this same person being peddled has no origin, history nor family from Orile Ilawo. I always have said this and I stand to be corrected. He has not responded to this till challenge till date.
“The Obaship stool of course has many responsibilities and privileges that come with their high-status role. However, none of it gives a monarch, even if it’s a government appointed, the right to take over people’s lands, aggregating it to himself as being the custodian and even referring to people’s lands from time immemorial as being a “communal land”.
“That is totally wrong and unacceptable. One would expect that if such is a “divine Oba”, he would have had access to special powers and extraordinary wisdom to carry out whatever thoughtful tasks associated with peoples lands. Writing petitions to harass and intimidate people will not cut it because evidently, this man does not have the support of our people.”
“While considering all of these issues might seem a distraction to the ultimate purpose of pushing for action on our moral intuitions, it does help to clarify (and thereby strengthen) our inter-temporal obligations at a time when acceptance of this man’s legitimacy obviously seem increasingly under challenge.”
“On a ‘threshold’ conception of harm, no indigene of Orile Ilawo need be made worse off for the action of the monarch to be morally condemnable. Actions that allow a person to come into existence in a suboptimal state are harmful if that person would not otherwise have been in the suboptimal state and it was possible to avoid the realisation of such a state”
Ogunsanya, however, implored the state judiciary to help compel the implementation of the prohibition of forcible occupation of landed properties, and other anti-violence and related offences law 2016 of Ogun State.
He added, “It’s unfortunate that the popular anti-land grabbing law in Ogun has not been implemented. If this law is implemented, many traditional rulers will go to jail because they connive with land grabbers and that is purely another example of the bastardisation of the traditional institution.”
Another high chief from Ilawo, Chief Olafamoye Sodipe, Apesin-Ola of Ilawo Kingdom, reiterated that the continuous harassment of the high and low-ranking chiefs in a bid to forcefully bring them to the negotiating table will fail woefully.
“The monarch does not have the support of the Oluwo-In- Council. The Oluwo, Balogun, Jaguna, Apena, Lukotun, Ekerin, Aro and other chiefs did not even attend the installation ceremony hurriedly organized to install the monarch. That says it all for those who know how Yoruba kingship and kingdoms are organized. “
“The apparent moral significance of ‘future’ is far from abstract, and has deeply personal dimensions. Hence the decision to fight this to the very end.
Our people should remain patient as the court cases will be won and Orile Ilawo of our dream will be built and sustained for our yet unborn children. “
Do you want to share a story with us? Do you want to advertise with us? Do you need publicity for a product, service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348183319097 Email: platformtimes@gmail.com
We are committed to impactful investigative journalism for human interest and social justice. Your donation will help us tell more stories. Kindly donate any amount HERE
