The next in rank to the Olubadan of Ibadan, High Chief Lekan Balogun has said that he would not have joined former governor Rashidi Ladoja to take the government of Oyo State to court over move by Governor Abiola Ajimobi to review the 1957 Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration if not for what he attributed to communication gap between him and the governor.
Ajimobi, it would be recalled, had, on May 19, 2017, inaugurated a seven-man judicial commission of inquiry, headed by a retired High Court judge, Justice Akintunde Boade, to review the existing chieftaincy declaration and other related chieftaincies in Ibadanland.
It was learnt that Ladoja who is the Osi-Olubadan of Ibadanland met some High Chiefs on the need to challenge the action in court. He was only able to convince Balogun, who is a former senator.
But Balogun, who is the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, the exercise was aimed at modernizing the methods of ascension to the Olubadan throne.
According to Balogun, who spoke on Wednesday, when the Olubadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji and members of the Olubadan-in-Council visited the governor to endorse the move.
Balogun said, “Change is the only constant thing in life. There is nothing that is above change. All the furore which had resulted from government’s move was due to communication gap but that has been resolved now.
“Life is dialectical; things must be changing and we must all be growing with it. The government is quite right to have set up machinery to look into the law and see how it can be made better.
“We believe it is a welcome development, especially with the kind of governor we have who is keenly interested in the growth and development of Ibadanland,”
The high chief said that the benefits inherent in the review were many, noting that the Olubadan would henceforth enjoy the company of beaded crown chiefs whenever he had any outing.
This, he said, would raise the status of Ibadan as one of the most important cities in Yoruba land.
