Timi Stool And The Rule Of Law
By Olukeye Olanrewaju
With the discordant tunes sung by sympathisers of
different ruling houses contending to ascend the
throne of the highly reverred stool of the Timi, it is important to caution people who, out of selfish interest, continue to feed the reading public with half truths or outright distortion of facts.
For those who care to listen, the job of selecting the new Timi has been made easier both for the government of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola through the pronouncement of government through its White Paper on Declaration (1979) and upheld by the highest judicial authority in the land – the Supreme Court, as well as the kingmakers (Afobajes), who are the custodians of the age-long tradition on the selection of a new king.
If one is a not up to a mischief and wants to ensure that peace reigns in the relatively serene Edeland, the chioce of a new Timi should not evoke any controversy whatsoever.From available records, the Laminisa family, which for no just cause (historically or otherwise) had been unjustly excluded from their rightful claim to the throne of their forefathers either as Omo-Oba or Omo-Oye, have now seen their hour of triumph.
If we are to face the brass tacks, the Lagunju family challenged the position of government on the declaration and on three occasions failed woefully at the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
It is, therefore, strange that some of the current Afobajes (kingmakers) are now pretending that they do not know which declaration supercedes the other –1957 or 1979.
The government, in its wisdom and faced with agitations, set up the Ademola Commission to go deep into history and advise government on the desirability or otherwise of including Laminisa on the rotational claim to the throne.
The report was published and a White Paper was subsequently issued that sealed all controversies. Every right-thinking person in the land knows that the Declaration adopted and approved by the Supreme Court is that of 1979, which gives a clean bill to Laminisa family to present a candidate.
It is also instructive to note that the sitting Chief Justice of Nigeria was one of the judges that took the decision on the 1979 Declaration.What is delaying the installation of a new oba for Ede?
To our disgust, we learn that somebody who is supposed to know the meaning of the rule of law from the ivory towers has been parading himself as a king to the annoyance of the people, even when it is crystal clear that his family will only have its slot after the demise of Oba Laminisa I, 100 years to this time. This is what the law of ‘rotationality’ professes and nothing more.
In this regard, we strongly appeal to the government to disregard the kingmakers and appoint warrant chiefs just as it did in 1976, when kingmakers were trying to be clogs in the wheel of progress.
The good people of Ede are behind the Laminisa family and are looking forward to the emergence of an oba from its stock. Long live Edeland, long live Osun State and long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Olanrewaju wrote from 54 Idera Street, Osogbo
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