Crisis brews as Osun Monarchs lock horns over Ejigbo territorial supremacy
The Ogiyan of Ejigbo, Oba Omowonuola Oyeyode and Olusongbe of Songbe, Oba Kamil Ojelabi are currently in a heated debate over legal claim of about 40 villages in Ejigbo land.
Oba Oyeyode, while addressing newsmen in his palace spoke with clarity when he was stating that the villages in contention belong to him.
He further beckoned on the state government to intervene and invite Oba Ojelabi to back his claims of legal ownership of the villages after which the outcome should be published to the community in order to avert crisis.
“I am using this opportunity to tell the governor and government of Osun to involve national agencies and allow the monarch to present his case in public. It is very bad to give false information in an attempt to claim what you are not”, he said.
Many traditional rulers in the area expressed surprise following the bold claim made by the Olusongbe of Songbe, a statement which they described as false.
Other ttraditional rulers who expressed their opinions through the Olosinmo of Osinmo said it was a ridiculous claim
“It is wrong for Olusongbe to proclaim himself as the prescribed Authority of Ejigbo Local Government Council that he owns the Ejigbo Local Government Land starting from Songbe, Idigba, olorin, Ibogunde, Imoru, Omolosan, Bada, Edoro and some other towns up to 40 towns and hamlets including Ejigbo as a whole. We are now seizing this opportunity to inform the general public to disregard his claims”.
“All the monarchs in Ejigbo Local Government area are under the control of Oba Omowonuola Oyeyode Oyesosin ll, Ogiyan of Ejigbo. As you can see over 20 monarchs are here in attendance at the Palace of Ogiyan of Ejigbo”, the monarch stated.
Oba Ojelabi, while reacting to the claims made against him added that “the places I mentioned are called Songbe territory, not Ejigboland. I counted my villages and I have the necessary documents to back it up. If they have documents to back their claims up, let them bring them. He (Ogiyan) is feeding people with lies. All the subjects in my villages came to beg for farmland, but he started appointing them as Baales so that they can side with him over a land that is mine”.
