One Lateef Popoola has informed the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan that Oba Lekan Balogun, the Olubadan of Ibadan, is attempting to strip Chief Rashidi Ladoja of his status as Otun Olubadan.
Popoola, who resides in Bodija, Ibadan, stated in an affidavit he deposed to before the court that the purported plot by the Olubadan to dethrone Ladoja began when Ladoja turned down Governor Seyi Makinde’s invitation to elevate Ibadan High Chiefs to crown-wearing Obas.
According to The PUNCH, Ladoja, an Ibadan High Chief, was due to be elevated to the rank of an Oba on July 7 along with 10 other Ibadan High Chiefs, but Ladoja refused to attend the coronation event.
The former governor had previously made it known that he was opposed to Makinde’s elevation of the High Chiefs of Ibadan and that his ultimate goal had always been to become the Olubadan of Ibadan.
Subsequent to the promotion of the High Chiefs, Ladoja proceeded to initiate legal proceedings, with the objective of obtaining a declaration that the promotion of the Ibadan High Chiefs to the status of Oba was an unlawful act and a deliberate effort to fragment the Olubadan in Council.
Ladoja has been named as the first defendant in the lawsuit filed before the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan, alongside the Olubadan. The group of 10 recently promoted High Chiefs were collectively included in the legal proceedings as defendants numbered 2 through 11. The 12th defendant in the case was Governor Makinde of Oyo State, while the 13th defendant was the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
Popoola is among the witnesses who will provide testimony in favour of Ladoja’s legal case.
In his affidavit filed before the court, Popoola stated, “Traditionally, Ibadan is known to have only a king, which is the Olubadan of Ibadan land (the first defendant), and all the other chiefs are cabinet members of the Olubadan of Ibadan land. It is only the Olubadan of Ibadan land that is to wear a crown, while the chiefs are identified with their beads.
“It is not within the purview of the first defendant (Olubadan) to elevate any of the High Chiefs or member of the Olubadan in Council to the status of His Royal Majesty, as traditionally, the only king known to Ibadan land is the Olubadan of Ibadan land.
“At no point in time did the claimant (Ladoja) signify interest to become His Royal Majesty or to put on a crown.
“To the dismay of the claimant, he started hearing in the media that he would be crowned on the 7th day of July, 2023, when he had never consented to the non-traditional act masterminded by the first defendant (Olubadan).
“Since he had made it known to the first defendant that the act of elevating any of the Olubadan in Council members or High Chiefs to the status of His Royal Majesty is non-traditional, the first defendant had started plotting that if the claimant refused to be crowned, he would be denied of his status as Otun Olubadan of Ibadan land and that he would not be permitted to ascend the throne of Olubadan of Ibadan land when it is his turn.”
The witness insisted that it was intended to create division and discord in Ibadan land by elevating Ibadan High Chiefs to the rank of Oba.
The lawsuit’s hearing has not yet started.
However, the Olubadan Advisory Council has dismissed Ladoja’s accusation as unsubstantiated and incorrect.
The Olubadan Advisory Council convened on Thursday and debated on Ladoja’s case, according to a statement made accessible to journalists in Ibadan last week by Oladele Ogunsola, Olubadan’s Personal Assistant (Media).
At an emergency meeting of the Olubadan Advisory Council presided over by the Olubadan and eight newly-crowned Ibadan Obas, they chastised Ladoja for his claims, saying that no one becomes Olubadan without being nominated by the Ibadan kingmakers, who are members of the Advisory Council from Ekerin upward.
“Assuming God decrees him to become Olubadan, as he hopes and desires, where will the present Olubadan, being alleged to be plotting against, him be? Rather than looking for a scapegoat, he should check himself as there’s no way just one person can stand against 10 others. We shall meet in court as he has already initiated,” the council said.
