GBANJO! GBANJO!! GBANJO!!!AWUJALE THRONE IS ON SALE - WHO IS READY TO PICK IT UP?
The Awujale throne is one of the revered and respected traditional stools in Yoruba land, Ogun State and Nigeria. It is the office of the paramount ruler of Ijebu people in Ogun and Lagos State. The Ijebus are known for their rich cultural heritage and traditions, entrepreneurial spirit, and historical significance. Their enviable accomplishments are noted in education, medicine, drama, music, sports, industry, politics, etc. These often attract people to their news including that of their king.
The demise of the last king - Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona (GCON & Ogbagba 2), created a vacuum in respect of the social capital he was able to build for over 65 years. His reign exposed him to unusual privilege of knowledge in experiencing several governments with their leaders as Presidents, Military Head of States and Governors. This aided his national leadership image in the areas of counsel and promotion of unity in Nigeria and amongst his people. After his death on 13th July, 2025, the consideration for a new king has generated an interesting challenge in the next ruling house required to produce the king.
Although, the natural procedure for getting a new king is about to be birthed; the Fusengbuwa ruling house, which is supposed to produce the next king is embarrassingly wrangling in power struggle to ursurp the powers to nominate candidates for the throne. This is championed by the ancient king's descendants to the throne, who feels the custom and no one, had sidlined them without giving equitable reasons for their claims. Their actions are obviously strange to the custom they hope to defend and by which their ancestors ruled.
Every traditional institution including the Ijebu has its historical customs and cultures that define them. These include their kingship transition, which must be predictable and adhered to by the kingmakers. Unfortunately, these descendants misadventure tend to be oblivious of the fact that the ruling house are not the custodian of the process, nor can they hijack a process that is beyond them. Irrespective of the lack of ancient records, living descendants in the Fusengbuwa ruling house are united in their first blood ancestral king history, in the fact that each one ascended the throne as a son of immediate past king in the lineage to the exclusion of his siblings, and was succeeded by his biological progeny to the exclusion of other children (appointed king siblings). This agreed custom equally grants provision to situation where such king in reference has no son or son on the throne, which gives cause for Abidagba that is only applicable to the Awujale throne.
This custom was adequately captured in the Western Region Chief's Law and Declaration of 1959. However because of the generic name of Fusengbuwa Ruling House as against the common customary use of the name of the house (idile) of the last king in the lineage, these descendants are poised to have their interpretation to include ancient king's immediate families - who in the past had duly and respectively offered candidates that became kings.
It is obvious that these descendants as well as the Ijebu customs, know that the Awujale transition practice is a primogeniture system, in which monarchy transits from a king to the child, as it is practiced in United Kingdom. However, instead of the rule of first born in UK, the Ijebu people custom required election amongst agreed eligible children of the last king.
The Awujale kingship is therefore a monolithic monarchy primogeniture system that projects a single and unified family lineage, which prioritizes tradition and hereditary succession over other considerations. This consequently ensures continuity within the family lineage. This process undoubtedly creates a clear line of succession or predictability that reduces the likelihood of power struggles within the lineage. And this has been the freedom of transition amongst the Awujale transition, with the exception of skipping of ruling house when issues of eligibility is not clearly attained.
To distort this monolithic family succession with repository composition in the last king, these ancient kings' descendants, who are not more related to their first linked blood king compared to the last king's descendants, are projecting unfamiliar family divisions between kings and their progeny. Thus they claim for the first time in Awujale ruling lineages history, families of ancient kings in the Fusengbuwa ruling house. Families of King Jadiara, King Fusengbuwa (grandson of King Jadiara) and King Tunwase ( son of King Fusengbuwa) and an unknown collaborator not linked to any king directly - Bubiade family. Unfortunately, despite the creation of these families, they hope to abide as a monolithic single family of Fusengbuwa with the hope of fulfilling the custom through a mischievous fraud.
The protagonists of these multi-family structured ruling house, were all aware of their scheme to usurp powers to nominate customarily ineligible candidates for the throne. Their greed or obsession to produce the next king of their interest, lead to their disunity and struggle for the head or Olori Ebi of a unified Fusengbuwa ruling house. However, the inability to resolve their self-contained quests pushed them into three prominent factions with accusations against each other as they individually clamour for supremacy and legitimacy. These metamorphosed fathom Fusengbuwa ruling houses are led by Otunba Abdulateef Adebayo Owoyemi, Otunba Adedokun Ajidagba and Prof. Chief Fassy Yusuf.
Unfortunately, they all stand to oppose the repository constitution of Fusengbuwa ruling house in the family of the last king in the ruling lineage - Alayeluwa, Oba Theophilus Adenuga Tunwase (Folagbade), who referenced ruling house is headed by Omoba Adebola Adebamidele Adenuga - the kings direct son. This acclaimed Fusengbuwa ruling house has publicly informed the Ijebu people of the royal custom of Awujale transition and the mischief of their distant relatives who has lesser royal blood, since Folagbade's Descendants are the only one with the pure blood of all ancient kings in the lineage. This has been expressed in public press statements and letters to the Government and Awujale Chiefs-in-Council ahead of their reclassification and reconstitution into the kingmakers.
Gbanjo is a common Yoruba market sale for usually goods to be disposed of as very cheap, because of low quality, closeness to expiration for usage, and consideration of urgent need of money by the seller. It is characterized by a ridiculous very low sale price with the purpose of attracting more buyers. Such sales, naturally bring about the thought of the genuine cause of the low price by very curious critical minded people.
The stool of Awujale has now become an object of sales to attract many buyers or subscribers, not only in respect of the financial amount paid for candidates' processing with their prospective merchandise faction, but also the ceremonial social display of intention to contest for the stool. The nature of this Gbanjo sales, is just for anyone to outline a hereditary link to a king or the fathom families. This provide eligibility in their consideration as candidate for the throne, as if they're entering a pageant or lottery contest.
The advocates to this fraudulent desecration of the Ijebu customs of Awujale transition, are distorting the primogeniture inheritance succession system that reduces rancour and promotes predictability of heir apparent even at birth. Some of them claim their breach encourages several contestants for the king's stool as it is in other Yoruba towns, without equitable comparison of the customs of each people. None of them is saying - this is the custom and tradition that must be upheld because it was the custom by which their first blood linked ancestral king got to the throne, and by which he was succeeded. And without this, they cannot be talking of ancestral tradition to which they hope to benefit and uphold.
The general public made up of millions of Ijebu sons and daughters worldwide, other Yorubas, ethnic people's and international world is most likely wondering - is there not a regulatory institution for the process? And to this, there is the kingmakers (the customary regulator of the transition) and the Government (the new age supervisory authority over the system). They both really have input they could make in demystifying the challenges and confusion on the matter. Although some believe the kingmakers know where to collect the only one list of candidates or the several lists of candidates, a more delayed declaration on this is most likely aiding any possible mischief and fraudulent actions of any unacceptable factions. While it may be reasoned that the kingmakers who are supposed to be minimum of 12 are not fully constituted, the possible availability of 8 persons amongst this 12 expected members, doesn't stop them from coming out with a firm understanding of their mandate and from whom to receive list of candidates. If need be, they may even ask the government to raise a public enquiry to transparently resolve the issue since they will want to be just, transparent and independent in their obligation as required by custom and the declaration. Awujale pre-kingmakers and Government of Ogun State can interfere since they owe it to the Ijebu people to ensure their custom and traditions are upheld. The person of the Governor of Ogun State - His Excellency, Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun (CFR) may be aptly supportive in clearing doubts and adhence to the laws as a royal Prince.
The noble millions of Ijebu people, must know that the public news trending towards the next Awujale raises embarrassing concern beyond the Fusengbuwa ruling house. They must be interested in interrogating the facts and claims of every party or factions, and publicly demand the Ijebu ancestral custom as further codified in the 1959 Declaration, which is deemed to be the written document of Ijebu people custom and tradition of Awujale of Ijebuland. It must not be subjected to and desecrated by any ruling house internal sentiments or power plays.
The loyal patriots of Ijebu land - Omoluabis Ijebu sons and daughters from Ijebu Ode, Ijebu Igbo, Ijebu Ago-Iwoye, Ijebu Ife, Ijebu Mushin, Ijebu Idowa, Ijebu Odogbolu, Ijebu Aiyepe, Ijebu Water Side, Ijebu Okun-Owa, Ijebu Imota, Ijebu Agbowa Ikosi, Ijebu Epe, Ijebu Ibefun, Ijebu Awa, Ijebu Ijesha, Ijebu Omu, and so many others; must not sit down and say they don't belong to the Fusengbuwa ruling house. It is the people and indeed each Ijebu person that owns the Awujale and never the other way around. So the call of the Ijebu people to raise up for their throne and their Awujale is now and not later. A Gbanjo procured and installed Awujale bears no ancestral royal pure bloodline covenant to serve the people and their interest.
There are opportunities for Ijebu people including ruling houses' Princes and Princesses to serve the Ijebu kingdom. If they lack an eligibility test to the throne today as their ancestor did in their respective generations, they ought to stop unnecessary confusions and blackmailing, in suggesting they are fighting for their ancestors (without their consent) since those ancestors never opposed issues raised by them. They therefore lack the equitable rights to challenge the custom that gave their ancestors and themselves the privilege of belonging to the Fusengbuwa ruling house descendants or dynasty union.
The auction bell is now over the throne stool. Gbanjo! Gbanjo!! Gbanjo!!! Awujale Stool for offer - Who will stop this and stop it now?
