… The Ooni, Owa Ilesa Connection
For three full weeks, the Esa Oke community assembled her best brains to put together an unassailable case before the Rt. Hon. Ropo Oyewole led six-man Panel of Inquiry set up by the State Governor, Ademola Adeleke to look into the ‘immediate and remote causes’ of the violent protestations that greeted the announcement of a certain Mr. Oluwatimileyin Ajayi as the Olojudo of ‘Ido Ayegunle’.
This announcement wouldn’t have been an issue if it was not coming from the Osun State Government as the Ido Ayegunle is a community resident in Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State. But the confusion created by the announcement did not last long, as the farming settlers in Ido Ajegunle, a farming suburb of Esa Oke started preparation for the installation of the Oba. This the Esa Oke people, particularly the rightful owners of the farming settlement, the Isalu people of Odo Ese Quarters’ stoutly resisted this.
www.esaoketodayonline.com can recollect that the State Government had announced among other names, one Mr. Oluwatimileyin Ajayi on Thursday 29th January, 2025 as the Olojudo of Ido Ayegunle. Immediately the Esa-Oke community protested this anomaly, insisting that the Owamiran, and not Owa of Ilesa has the right to appoint a monarch over the farming suburb. The protest which later became snowball into a bloody violent when the settlers mobilized armed thugs and Mobile Policer to attack Esa Oke on Monday February 3rd, drew the attention of His Excellency, Senator Ademola Adeleke, Governor of Osun State, who paid a visit to the Ido Ajegunle settlement and Esa-Oke town on February 4th, 2025, with a view to obtaining an on the spot assessment of the matter.
The Governor, after the visit promised to set up a Panel of Enquiry to look into the conflict to establish the “immediate and remote causes” of the violent protests.
The Governor subsequently fulfilled his promise by setting up the Panel of Enquiry on Olojudo of Ido Ajegunle Chieftaincy crisis on Thursday, 27th February, 2025. The panel was inaugurated on 4th March, 2025.
Membership of the panel are:
- Rt. Hon. Ropo Oyewole, Special Adviser to the Governor on House of Assembly matters – Chairman.
- Barrister Samuel Ojo, Special Adviser to Governor on security matters– Member
- Representative of the P.S Ministry of Justice – Member
- Mr. M. O. Oyedeji, P.S Ministry of Regional Integration – Member
- Mr. J. Amusan, Director of Staff Welfare Public Service Office – Member
- Mrs. Adeola Ajekigbe, Deputy Director, Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs – Secretary
The Terms of Reference of the Panel of Enquiry are: a. To determine the remote and immediate causes of the crisis which started on 30th January, 2025, immediately after the State Executive Council approved the appointment of Mr. Oluwatimileyin Oluyemi Ajayi as the “Olojudo of Ido Aiyegunle in Obokun Local Government
b. Any recommendation to government on measures that will bring about lasting peace in the area. c. To assess the damage on both “towns” and recommend remediation measures. d. Any other matter as determined by the panel which will aid in the delivery of its assignment. e. To submit its recommendation to the government within two weeks of its inauguration. The Panel was to submit its Report within two (2) weeks.
While the people were waiting with baited breath, however the community led by the paramount ruler, Oba Adeyemi Akanbi Adediran, the Owamiran of Esa Oke, with his twenty-three Technical/Legal Team were not resting.
The Technical/Legal Committee had submitted a most brilliant and convincing two volumes memoranda to the Panel. These memoranda detailed the history of the settlement, and how the settlers first came in in 1942.
The Committee also clarified the damaging error of the State Government by approving an appointment of a Part 11 monarch over a community with about three buildings anf less than 17 huts, and more ridiculous, using the name of a community that is resident in Ekiti State.
A political scientist and Sajuku of Esa Oke was bemused about the gazette listing Ido Ayegunle (Ajegunle) as a Part 11 Oba. According to him, “there are 17 huts in this settlement, which is polling unit 13 in Ẹsa Oke”.
He contended further that “all registered voters in the polling unit were Esa Oke indigenes/residents. No this so-called Ido son or daughter is on the polling register and none of them pays taxes to Obokun local Government, because they are based in Ido Ijesa, within Ilesa municipality. Yet there so-called Oba is made a part 2 Oba like all the leading Obas in Ijesa North”.
He believed that this is “a deliberate act by the late Owa Ilesa in connivance with some powerful state actors to slight the people of Ijesa North, especially the Owa Omiran of Esa Oke for his allegiance to the Ooni of Ife”
The Panel had hardly concluded its sitting when the settlers started rumpling the ceasefire agreement. According to www.esaoketodayonline.com investigations, the settlers have started a massive deforestation of the vast expanse of farming land by indiscriminate felling of all economic trees in sight and destruction of other properties.
The area is fully loaded with armed youths, harassing the Esa Oke people from assessing their farm lands.
A farmer who narrated his experience to www.esaoketodayonline.com claimed that he was waylaid by the hoodlums, forced to prostrated and shout repeatedly, Kabiyesi Ajayi before he was released.
More worrisome is the fact that the settlers have installed IP Protocol CCTV cameras along the road leading to the settlement. These they used to monitor the Esa Oke people coming into the settlement to attend to their farms.
Therefore, the Esa Oke community were in total shock and disbelieve to read the viral statement by one of the settlers, one Mr. Ibironke Busuyi , a farm labourer from Kogi State blaming the longstanding chieftaincy dispute on the Owamiran of Esa-Oke, Oba Adeyemi Adediran,
The said farm labourer, Ibironke has claimed that the families, who back Oba Oluwatimileyin Oluyemi Ajayi as the rightful Olojudo of Ido-Ayegunle stool, alleged that external interference has worsened the dispute, creating tension in the community and obstructing the work of the Osun State government’s panel of inquiry.
This the Esa Oke community asked while speaking through the Spokesman of the Esa Oke Central Union, Mr. Oladele Ajayi had queried, wanting to know which families when most people farming in Ido Ajegunle were from different States and areas. There are Oyo people there, as there are Ijesa people there, and also Kogi and Igede people there.
www.esaoketodayonline.com recalled that Mr. Ibironle had in a statement issued on Friday, claiming to be the spokesperson for Ido-Ayegunle, expressed concerns over what he described as deliberate attempts to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere of the community.
According to the statement, tensions escalated at the panel’s sitting in Esa-Oke when a large group from the town, allegedly led by one Lawrence Adebisi, stormed the venue in defiance of the panel’s directive that each town should be represented by a maximum of five people.
“The Traditional ruler (Owamiran of Esa-Oke) allegedly sent a crowd, including armed thugs wielding cutlasses, sticks, and guns,” the statement read.
The Statement further added that, eyewitnesses at the panel’s sitting described a chaotic scene, with security personnel struggling to restore order as tempers flared between both factions.
It was further alleged that a group suspected to be from Esa-Oke forcefully removed three CCTV cameras and destroyed two while the panel members were still in session.
“The situation was terrifying. They arrived in large numbers, clearly prepared for violence,” the statement added.
Mr. Ajayi speaking for the Esa Oke community dismissed the claims of the Ido Ayegunle, efon Alaaye, Ekiti State, now prowling into Ido Ajegunle, Esa Oke, Osun State, by disclosing the names and numbers of the delegations from Esa Oke led by the Asalu of Esa Oke to the settlement.
According to him, “ordinarily, we would not have glorified or dignified the ignoramus with a response, however, lies left unchallenged may bear the toga of truth”.
He added further, “first and foremost, we want to list members of Esa OKE delegation to the settlement during the visit of the Chairman and members of the panel to Ido on that very day. They are: Bashorun Tayo Omojowogbe, a former Chairman, Obokun Local Government and two term Special Adviser to former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, a renowned technocrat and frontline banker, Prince Wumi Adeniyi, a successful Abuja-based legal practitioner, Barrister Gbite Adeniyi, the Chairman Esa Central Union, Otunba Yinusa Bamgboye and High Chief Asalu of Esa Oke, Chief Ajewole who retired as a seasoned administrator and financial expert”.
He challenged the farm labourer, Ibironle to point at a thug or hoodlum amongst these personalities.
The spokesman disclosed that “it behoves on the Esa Oke community, the rightful owner of the farming settlement to put records of events straight”.