Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Sen. Lekan Balogun-led Advisory Council, has sacked an embattled family head of Opopo Labiran, otherwise known as Mogaji Chief Wale Oladoja.
An embattled Mogaji has been on suspension for the past six months.
This decision, as contained in a statement by the Personal Assistant to the Olubadan, Oladele Ogunsola, was the fallout of the emergency meeting of the Olubadan Advisory Council presided over by the Olubadan, Oba Sen. Lekan Balogun, at his Alarere residence.
The meeting had in attendance representatives of the Association of Mogajis of Ibadanland led by its President-General, Chief Asimiyu Adepoju Ariori, and the Assistant Secretary-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Suleiman Iyanda Raufu, who stood in for Chief Barr. Niyi Ajewole, the President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII).
It was stated that the big axe fell on Oladoja on account of his alleged recent media outbursts, which are considered disrespectful to the Olubadan stool and, by extension, the traditional institution of Ibadanland.
The media reports credited to the deposed Mogaji, according to the Council, were described as divisive, disparaging, insulting, and unbecoming of a supposed leader who is expected to be urbane and cautious in deeds and actions, stressing that the conduct of Oladoja since his short suspension about six months ago was not suggestive of any sense of remorse.
It would be recalled that the same Olubadan Advisory Council ordered the suspension of Oladoja over the inhuman execution of a supposed court judgement on a land matter for which he threw out some residents of Akinsola village in the Akinyele Local Government area of the state, a conduct then described as untoward and a breach of the peace.
At Saturday’s meeting, the Council recalled that the suspension placed on him then did not last long because of his perceived genuine remorse and, principally, because of His Imperial Majesty’s peaceful disposition, adding, “The recent outbursts by the same person have shown him as somebody without any iota of respect for constituted authority, and any failure to bring upon him the full weight of the Council’s power would amount to condoning of indiscipline.”.
To drive home the point, the Akinsola family, which produced him in the first instance, was subsequently asked to present another person to replace him as the Mogaji of the family if they were still interested in having a substantive Mogaji.
The deposed Mogaji was invited to the meeting but failed to show up on the excuse that his mother died about 24 hours before the meeting, an alibi that failed to convince the Council. Members who spoke on his excuse described it as a gimmick to evade interrogation on the allegations against him and said they could not be swayed by such antics.
According to the members, “A person of his character and his love for social media could not have hidden such a very important incident from the public through social media announcements. What’s more, he made two different posts on social media today without any faint reference to the news of his mother’s death. His refusal to honour the invitation is like adding salt to an injury.”.
