Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday, threatened to fight back with the instrument of office if various cases instituted against the enthronement of Oba Ghadi Olaoye, Orumogege III, as Soun of Ogbomosoland, are not withdrawn from the Court.
The PUNCH reports that the stool became a legal tussle when one of the contestants to the throne, Prince Kabir Olaoye approached the Court challenging Oba Olaoye’s emergence and the process that brought him to power.
However, the Presiding Judge, Justice Kareem Adeyimika Adedokun, while issuing the order, in suit no HOG/27/2022, directed all the parties to maintain the status quo ante pending the hearing and determination of the appeal already filed by the defence of Oba Olaoye and the state government.
Makinde, while delivering his speech after presenting Instrument of Office and Staff of Office to Oba Olaoye at Ogbomoso township stadium, said, “By now we should put behind us the issue of litigation. I hope before the end of next week, all the cases pending at various courts on the enthronement of Soun of Ogbomosoland will be withdrawn.
“However, if the litigants fail to heed the calls, I will not hesitate to use the instrument of office to fight back. I pray that the scenario that played out in one of the communities in this state when a suit lingered for 20 years and the king was subsequently removed from the throne will not happen in Ogbomoso. We pray that such a thing will not happen in Ogbomosoland,” the governor stated.
In his acceptance speech, Oba Olaoye said, “My service is premised on a clear vision. I am very aware of the words that the wisest of Kings recorded for us in the book of Proverbs that without a vision, the people perish.
“My vision for a prosperous and peaceful Ogbomosholand rests on a detailed 25-year plan, to be unveiled in the coming months. I promise to serve this vision with all I have, the relationships I have built over the years here in Nigeria and abroad, the experience I have garnered from running several successful businesses, and the skills garnered from more than 30 years of pastoring churches and other pastors. As I have said on several occasions, I have stopped being a church pastor and now become a shepherd of a people.
“I intend to be a King to serve you all, irrespective of religion, gender, or other things that may differentiate us. The strength of our kingdom lies not only in the crown I wear but in the bonds that bind us together: the bonds of loyalty, respect and mutual understanding. Sons and daughters who live and work outside Ogbomosholand, I would like to appeal to you to turn your attention to our homeland.”
The monarch further charged other contestants to join hands with him to move the ancient town forward.
Oba Olaoye said, “I am the chosen one that He has given the stool of Soun, and I appeal to you all to please join hands with me to further positively project the good name of the Olaoye family for the benefit of the Ogbomosoland and humanity in general.”
Dignitaries at the ceremony were Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja III; Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III; Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun, Okunmade III; immediate past Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo; former Minister of Information, Lai Muhammed;
and a host of other eminent Nigerians.
Tuesday’s event marks the end of the programme of activities lined up for the coronation event which started, last Thursday, with an N150 million empowerment programme.
