Ijare Ruling House seeks chief’s sack

The Sejeokun Ruling House of Ijare in Ondo State has called on the government to depose Chief Wemimo Olaniran, the Sapetu of Ijare, who is the head of the kingmakers, for alleged “obstructionist and disruptive activities” in the town.

In a letter to the Ondo State Government, the ruling house (Omowas), said Sapetu’s removal would restore peace and harmony to the ancient town and ensure speedy and impartial selection of a well-qualified prince to assume the vacant stool of the Olujare of Ijare.

But, Olaniran denied the allegations and reiterated his loyalty to the ancient town and interest in township growth and development.

The Omowas frowned at undue reckless interference in the selection process, disunity among kingmakers, lack of consensus and polarization of the community.

 They alleged that Olaniran inserted himself as a party in a court case between members of the royal family, although he does not belong to the ruling house and should only have been an observer in the pending suit.

To the princes, the chief also tried to create disunity during the recent Ijare Day celebration by allegedly creating a parallel opposing group different from the rest of the chiefs and other dignitaries.

They said: “But for the maturity of the Regent, Chief Joseph Omosebi, the President of Egbe Ijare Omo Elewe Obi, Mr. Akin Oluwole, and other dignitaries who saved the day by calming the angry crowd, the event would have degenerated into a free-for-all riot.”

The petition reads: “We have written series of petitions to Ifedore Local Government, the Police Area Command (Akure), and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; all of them have mediated at different times, advising that Chief Sapetu should not interfere in the family affairs of the royal family. But Chief Olaniran has remained intransigent and turned deaf ears to the pleas.

“The steps taken by Chief Olaniran in recent days are not only a negation of our tradition as a people, they are also highly embarrassing and repugnant to our customs and traditions.” 

Some kingmakers also claimed that Olaniran has been trying to usurp the roles of Omowas by trying to choose and impose one of the princes as the Olujare.

They said: “We state without equivocation that it is the exclusive responsibility of the Omowa to present a qualified prince as Omooye for the vacant stool of Olujare.

“The responsibility of the kingmakers (Afobaje) starts only after we have fulfilled our traditional obligation by presenting a worthy candidate to the kingmakers or Afobajes.”

“Chief Sapetu’s allegiance to the community is highly questionable because, on a day when the government’s representatives visited Ijare for a planned launch of the new LCDA site at Ijare, he was absent along with his faction of Afobaje, who are his loyalists.

“This faction is working assiduously to manipulate the selection process in favour of their candidate, who may not be qualified to occupy the vacant stool. They were in Akure that day to serve Omowa’s lawyer court’s papers when all-important sons and daughters were at the flag-off event.

“The deliberate acts of polarising the kingmakers, of which he is the head, meddling in the affairs of the royal family, and refusing to attend palace meetings constitute serious problems. He does all these with utter disregard for the spiritual health and the physical needs of the community.

“Consequently, by not attending the LCDA site flag-off by government officials, led by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, it is safe to conclude that he is not interested in the development of the community, but is willing to serve as a clog in the wheel of progress of the community.”