Alake, Olota Lock Horns Over Boundary, Seniority
Palpable tension is currently brewing in Ogun State as the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo and the Olota of Ota, Oba Abdulkabir Obalanlege are enmeshed in supremacy battle.
Trouble started between the two dynasties when the former governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun upgraded some High Chiefs from Baales to coronet Obas at the twilight of his administration. Amosun’s decision to promote the village heads to coronet Obas affected no fewer than 75 Obas including the monarchs in Atan in Ado-Odo Ota local government where the rancour erupted.
Both the Alake and the Olota embroiled in the crisis following the claims of ownership of Atan, Ota, Sango, Iju, Gbalefa, Abule Lemomu, Oke-Ore, and Adekoyeni.
Oba Gbadebo had claimed to be the rightful authority to install a monarch in Atan, saying the 1942 conquest of Ota gave the Egba the ownership right over the contested townships.
The Alake also claimed that the Olota is under his (Alake) consenting authority.
But fiercely refuting the claim, the Olota said putting an Olota under the Alake is both a traditional misnomer and historic fallacy.
Amidst the war of words by the duo, the state of House of Assembly passed a bill requesting the reversal of all the policies made by the former governor saying consultation was not done before Amosun effected the promotion.
But the mild intervention seems not to be enough to lay the issue to rest as arguments and counter arguments continued in both palaces. Speaking in his Palace, the Alake through the spokesperson of the Alake in council, Chief Lai Labode said: “We wish to categorically reaffirm that the incumbent Alake, or his predecessors, had never and would never, install, impose or induce Obas, Baales or Chiefs on any community or people, outside Egbaland.
“The issues call for more education and enlightenment on who had traditional authority on the villages, Peninsula, referred to as Gbalefela. Records revealed that the Egbas waged against Ota and in 1841 conquered it and the surrounding villages and as well occupied them.
“We also seriously call on the Ogun state commissioner of Police to intervene in the excesses and one-sided activities of the police, instigated harassments of the Egba indigenes in the area.
“We specifically refer to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and his men at Onipanu, near Ota, who were supposed to enforce peace and as well ask aggrieved people on land or Chieftaincy matters to go to court, but he and his men would rather be detaining innocent people and serially wasting their time. We unequivocally declare that we are not comfortable with the policing in that area.
“How we wish that, the Olota, Obalanlege, who was himself aware and was officially and legally installed under the same Declaration, had re-educated, re guided and updated “the purported spokesman of the Olota-in-council, on a very traditional but simple procedure, this led to the emergence of the Olota, if he doesn’t appreciate the authority of the Alake, who gave his consent within few hours, when his selection by the Olota kingmakers letter arrived at the Ake Palace. “Please note that Alake forwarded his approval same day to Ogun State government.”
Responding to the claims of the Alake, the Olota said that the settlement of the Awori people in Ogun state preceded the establishment of Abeokuta as an Egba kingdom in 1830. His words: “Though I am presently on official assignment in Switzerland, I need to remind Alake of Ake that in Ogun State, the settlement of Awori people preceded the establishment of Abeokuta as an Egba Kingdom in 1830.
“Otta, the foremost Awori town within the present Ogun state and which is the industrial nerve centre, for instance, has been in existence since the 15th century.
“The first Olota, Oba Ikoriku Toribo was coronated in 1621, while the first Alake in Abeokuta, Sagbua Okukenu was crowned on 8th August, 1854. It goes without saying that putting an Olota under an Alake is both a traditional misnomer and historic fallacy.
“The Ife palace, where the crowns came from knows better! Never in history has Otta been captured by the Egbas, rather we rescued them from Oyo invasion.
