The Olule Ruling House in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State has said it streamlined the number of princes aspiring to the throne to ensure a smooth and hitch-free process in the selection of the next Olute of Ute.
According to the family, the decision was taken to avoid unnecessary disputes and to foster unity among members of the ruling house as the succession process progresses.
The stool became vacant following the demise of the first-class monarch of the town, Oba Adetunji Oluwole Akinrogbe I, who died after about 30 years on the throne.
Those who emerged as flag bearers of their respective families from the Olule lineage are Prince Adeusi John Idowu Ajakaye, Prince Olubumi Agbanoja, Prince Abdul Abimbola Omoloja, and Prince Osebayowa Ben Oju.
The four consensus candidates, who spoke with reporters after being presented by the heads of their respective families, said they would cooperate with whichever among them emerged as the Olute-elect.
Addressing reporters on the outcome of the exercise, Prince Osebayowa said the screening exercise was meant to reduce the number of princes jostling for the throne of Olute and not to select a monarch for the town.
Osebayowa said:”We are from Ute, and we belong to the only Ruling House in the Ute community. We are all aware that our monarch is late, and many of us are vying for the throne. When this process began, we had about 11 or 12 aspirants contesting for a single throne. We have been holding a series of meetings. At our strategic meeting, in the presence of all the aspirants, the entire family, the secretary, and aspirants from abroad,including those from Port Harcourt and other places, even my own brothers,we deliberated.
“We agreed that it would be naive for four families to present multiple candidates for the position of Oba. Instead of having consensus candidates, we said it was unwise. It is not good enough. It does not show that we are educated or exposed as a family.
“So, we proposed a way forward. We talked among ourselves, laid the groundwork on the 6th of July, and initiated a process. All the aspirants were present, and we all agreed to produce consensus candidates or nominees. In some families with three aspirants, we urged them to reduce the number and present only one. Where there were four aspirants in a family, we advised the same.
“I anchored the meeting. Thereafter, we suggested that we give ourselves two weeks to carry out this important assignment, and everyone agreed. The meeting ended in a cordial atmosphere, with no disagreement or rancor. We were happy that we were on the right path, and we even believed the local government would commend us for such a thoughtful initiative.
“At the expiration of the two-week grace, on the 20th of July, we reconvened at the same venue. In the presence of all the aspirants and the entire family, we asked each of the four families to present their candidate. And indeed, they did.
“It was at that extraordinary general meeting, called solely for that purpose, that the four princes from different families who showed interest in the vacant stool—Prince Adeusi John Idowu Ajakaye, Prince Olubumi Agbanoja, Prince Abdul Abimbola Omoloja, and Prince Osebayowa Ben Oju were presented as flag bearers by the leaders of our families to the general assembly after internal consensus, without opposition.”
Osebayowa dismissed the claim that a new monarch had been selected for the community, saying what they did was purely screening at the family level to streamline the number of candidates.
His words:”We know that for a first-class throne, candidates cannot be selected without the appropriate machinery of government. What is the essence of our exposure, education, and past service in government if we ignore due process? We cannot, on our own, select an Oba for a first-class stool. That is not possible.
“What we did was to reduce the number of aspirants from each family so that only one candidate emerges from each of the four families, thereby presenting four candidates in total.
“We have many branches, but only four branches showed interest in the vacant stool. Therefore, we now have four people representing four different families. We are not saying we have selected a monarch. What we have done is simply family-level screening. The four of us are now to face the appropriate government machinery—either the kingmakers or the prescribed authority for the final selection.
“And any of us who later emerge as king will be supported to unite the family and ensure peace reigns in the community. We also want to set the record straight that there is nothing like a Deputy Family Leader(Debuty Olori-ebi) in the traditional setting in Ute .Whoever is parading himself as one is on the wrong path.”
Also, one of the candidates, Prince Omoloja, said the late monarch spent 29 troubled years on the throne, and even in death, his corpse was held to ransom by those who did not want him buried in the palace.
They blamed two princes in the town, Yaya Omoloja and Sheu Omoloja, for spreading falsehood and causing crisis over the vacant stool of Olute, urging the government to caution them to prevent the breakdown of law and order in the community.
The secretary of the Olule family,Mr Samuel Oluwasogo Abodede and other notable members were in attendance.
