Some village heads and chiefs in Orile-Ilawo in Odeda local government of Ogun State have rejected the king elect, Chief Olusegun MacGregor.
They held a meeting which was tagged ‘Omo Oko’ (Son of the soil) to ensure that someone who has a traceable lineage in the Ilawo clan becomes the next monarch of the community.
MacGregor had been elected as the king in waiting after he was selected by six warrant chiefs who followed due process of selection among all the nominated candidates.
The Canada returnee was first rejected by some chiefs who insisted that he was not an indigene of Orile-Ilawo.
However, MacGregor held a meeting where he made peace with the chiefs who were rejecting his candidacy.
A few months after the meeting, some chiefs and Baales made U-turn and insisted that they would no longer support his emergence. The village heads reiterated their stance that nobody can impose an oba over them.
According to them, the next Olu of Orile Ilawo must be chosen from members of the community, not an alien. They lamented that the community is fast losing its potential to neighboring communities because of wrong leadership in the clan. They stressed that appointing a true son of the soil, with known and verifiable history, will be beneficial to the success of the community at large.
The village heads insisted that MacGregor does not know anything about the people of Orile Ilawo as he has not been living in Nigeria for a very long time. He knows nothing about the basic culture, history, daily lives, boundaries, villages, challenges and other important things a traditional ruler who is well grounded in the community should know.
They added that it will be a slap on the community to install someone without a traceable lineage as the monarch. The village heads insisted that they will embark on a search for the right candidate to fill the vacant stool.
It was concluded that the appointment and installation of a new traditional ruler in the town should not be taken with levity as the demands and yearning of the indigenous people to finally install a son of the soil with verifiable lineage and history must be accepted.
