In a dramatic turn of events, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Lekan Balogun, has stripped Wale Oladoja off his title as the Mogaji Akinsola of Opopo Labiran family compound as his family has been directed to present another person to fill the vacant position with immediate effect.
The development came barely six months after he was briefly suspended as Mogaji by the Olubadan Advisory Council.
The decision was the fall-out of an emergency meeting of the Olubadan Advisory Council presided over by the monarch at his Alarere residence and which 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, Suleiman Iyanda Raufu, who stood in for Chief Niyi Ajewole, the President-General of the Council.
In a press statement made available to journalists in Ibadan on Saturday after the meeting by the Personal Assistant (Media) to the Olubadan, Oladele Ogunsola, the big axe fell on Oladoja on account of his recent media outbursts 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 and 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 inhuman execution of supposed court judgment on a land matter and for which he threw out some residents of Akinsola village in 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 no 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 are still interested in having a substantive Mogaji.
The deposed Mogaji was invited to the meeting but failed to show up on an excuse that his mother died about 24 hours to 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 announcement. What’s more, he had made two different posts on the social media today without any faint reference to the said news of his mother’s death. His refusal to honour the invitation is like adding salt to an injury.”
