Ile-Ife Urges Osun Govt’s Intervention Over Renewed Modakeke Tension, Monarch Installation
The Ile-Ife community has called on the Osun State Government to intervene in renewed tension between Ile-Ife and Modakeke over the purported installation of a monarch for Okuu-Omoni, a disputed land. Royalty
The community, through the Great Ife Movement, also urged the state Department of Chieftaincy Affairs to suspend processes relating to the purported appointment of Aderoju Adewale Onisaka as the Oba of Okuu-Omoni.
It was alleged that the process did not follow the laid-down procedures under Ife native law and custom.
President of the Great Ife Movement, Comrade Femi Oyeyinka, made the call on Wednesday during a press conference at the Oba Okunade Sijuwade Memorial Hall, Enuwa, Ile-Ife.
The conference, tagged ‘Peace and Justice Must Go Pari Passu in Ifeland,’ was organised in conjunction with Ife Intellectuals and others.
Oyeyinka expressed concern over leaflets allegedly circulated from Modakeke in August claiming ancestral ownership of some lands.
Speaking on the Okuu-Omoni traditional stool, he alleged that the purported crowning of Onisaka at the Civic Centre, Modakeke, and later at the Palace, Enuwa, took place without the participation of the 16 Ife kingmakers.
According to him, the development was contrary to the procedure for selecting and approving traditional rulers in Ife-land.
“Onisaka did not subject himself to the Screening Committee on Obaship in Ifeland, unlike some recently approved traditional rulers who, he said, underwent the screening process before their appointments were approved by the Ooni.”
He described the purported approval of Onisaka as Oba of Okuu-Omoni as unacceptable to the community and called for its immediate reversal.
He also alleged that the Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Toriola, and the Modakeke Progressive Union (MPU) helped secure the purported approval, arguing that the traditional institution involved did not have the authority to recommend a monarch for an area he said falls within Ife North Local Government Area. Royalty
Oyeyinka said the community was particularly concerned that the development could undermine efforts to sustain peace between Ile-Ife and Modakeke, urging relevant government authorities to intervene before the dispute escalates.
He said the original landowners and other Ife stakeholders would resist what he described as the imposition of a stranger-tenant as monarch of Okuu-Omoni, insisting that the process must conform with Ife native law and custom.
The GIM President also alleged that recommendations arising from previous efforts to resolve aspects of the Ife-Modakeke dispute had not been fully implemented since 2000, citing the Olabode George recommendations.
He further accused Modakeke residents of restricting access to their domains, farms, and villages by Ooni-crowned traditional rulers and some Ife indigenous landowners, particularly in Ife North Local Government Area.
Oyeyinka appealed to the state government and relevant agencies to prioritise peace and justice in addressing the longstanding issues between the two communities.
The Nation
