By Gboyega Adeoye
Following the lingering agitations trailing the recent installation of Fuji maestro, Wasiu Ayinde as Mayegun of Yorubaland by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba Land, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige, Adams has cleared the air on lingering rumour that he is usurping the roles of traditional rulers by installing Chiefs.
According to him, he is installing chiefs in conformity with his assigned responsibilities as the Generalissimo of the race.
According to him, his action is in tandem with tradition and in line with the directives given him by the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi who installed him the Aare Ona Kakanfo
Tongues began to wag recently when the Alaafin of Oyo installed Fuji maestro, Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde, the Mayegun of Yorubaland, a position that had already been given out by Iba Adams about a year ago to Barrister Kayode Ajulo
But reacting, Iba Adams said there are clear difference from the chieftaincy titles given by his office and that bestowed by the traditional rulers.
Speaking at the installation of Traditional Military Council of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams made vast clarifications by explaining his own part.
His words:
“People that lectured me while in seclusion, told me if I want to last long on this throne, I must constitute my own Council, and the Alaafin even corroborated it, that Aare Ona Kakanfo has his own Council of Chiefs and that mine is even larger because it covers the entire Yoruba land.”
He spoke further, saying people should know that there is difference between the chieftaincy title he gives out and the one the traditional rulers give.
“The Chieftaincy title is different from the Oba’s’. The ones I gave out were chieftaincy of traditional warriors and not a chieftaincy of an Oba. You can differentiate them through the caps we gave them, ‘fila Ologun’ Warriors Cap”.
Reacting to the magnitude of reactions the issue has generated, he said: “Our people attach politics to a lot of things. When Alaafin installed Mayegun this year, they went to attach the picture of the Mayegun we installed last year just to cause confusion. I’m appealing to everyone not to cause crisis and acrimony in Yoruba land.
“I have said it severally, that mine is a chieftaincy of warriors, I have seen some Oba complained on why I have to give out chieftaincy titles. But I have to look for warriors who can fight for the entire Yoruba race. Not fighting with guns and arrows but that of ideological battle. We are picking intellectual people that can add value to the Council.
“We have about six Lawyers, three Professors, six PhD holders many accountants and other professionals. There must be a structure. I can’t run the errands alone. Where will I get the resources to do that when the Governors are not cooperating? I think I have to look for people of like minds to assist me.
“What I am doing is historic, I am only following tradition. The stool of Are Ona Kakanfo was created in 1530 as the generalissimo of all warriors in Yoruba land. And every Aare Ona Kakanfo is mandated to have his own Council of Chiefs, which has been since then with only two exception, which is Late Aare SLA Akintola and Late MKO Abiola. The duo, maybe for some political reasons, could not set up their own Council of Chiefs during their reigns concurrently.
“I have been instructed by our Royal father, Alaafin of Oyo and the Oyomesi to carry out the functions of my office in tandem with the established traditions for the betterment of our father’s land. And this I will continue to do,” he said.
