Chief Niyi Omotayo Ajayi is the Eletu of Oke-Eletu-elect. Oke-Eletu is an ancient and important traditional community in Ijede Local Council Development Area (LCDA) with a great connection with Ikorodu. In this interview with Kunle ADELABU, the Publisher/Reporter-in-Chief, THE IMPACT Newspaper, Chief Ajayi appealed to members of his family challenging his election as the Eletu-elect, highlighted the effects of the prolonged chieftaincy dispute and also his programmes for the people and the community when he ascends the throne of his ancestors. He also called on the eminent people to intervene in the Obaship matter in the interest of the Oke-Eletu people. Excerpts:
IMPACT: Good morning sir. Kindly introduce yourself for record purpose?
Chief Ajayi : I am Chief Niyi Omotayo Ajayi, the Eletu of Oke-Eletu-elect.
IMPACT: We are aware that the suit challenging your election as the Eletu-elect is still in court, can you please brief us on the matter?
Chief Ajayi: Truly, we are still in court and if not for the proposed nationwide strike that was proposed for November 6th, we should have been in court on November 7th which was the adjourned date. We are before Hon. Justice Akapo of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikorodu. The matter is a continuous trial and from the Claimant’s side, they have called two witnesses, remaining one or two more for them to call. Thereafter, it will be our turn (the Defendants) to call our own witnesses.
IMPACT: Considering the fact that chieftaincy matters are always prolonged in court, what other measures are you and the family taking to mediate and see that the litigation is amicably resolved out of the court with the other members of your family that are challenging your election ?
Chief Ajayi: Thank you very much. We didn’t leave everything to litigation. The belief of the family and mine is that this matter can still be resolved irrespective of our grievances since we are all family. On that note, we have taken some bold steps to appeal to the other part of the family that has taken us to court. I had been to Princess Aderenle Ogunsanya who happens to be our mother in Oke-Eletu and a woman of substance. We hold her in high esteem, respect and honour. I have been to her on three occasions to appeal to her to mediate in the matter. I believe that she is doing everything possible in that regard and we hope to see positive results soon. At times, I also discuss with Dare (Prince Dare Oshikoya), my main challenger for the Eletu’s stool, whenever we meet on the need to resolve this matter amicably. The fact is that I cannot do it alone and neither he. We need each other to move the family and Oke-Eletu forward. Since the family has picked me, I am only appealing to him to allow us resolve the matter for the progress of the family and our dear community. If he had been picked, I would have rolled up my sleeves and work with him. The future and development of Oke-Eletu lie in our hands and the sooner we resolve this the better. I have been trying all I could to appeal to my families to settle this matter out of court and God willing, we shall get there soon. The grand Chief Imam of Ikorodu Division, Alhaji Seifudeen Olowo-Oribi, who is also an elder of the family, had also intervened and several others.
IMPACT: Since when did the tussle for the stool start?
Chief Ajayi: Since 2013.
IMPACT: Let us look at the effects of this prolonged litigation on Oke-Eletu community. In what way(s) do you think that the prolonged litigation has affected the community and its people?
Chief Ajayi: It has affected the development of the community negatively. When you even look at the litigation processes, it is cumbersome. When you consider what it takes to file the matter, perfecting it, serving the other parties, the usual long period its takes for your matter to be called and many more, you will discover that the whole thing is not pleasant and it also delays court processes. At times, the court will not even sit when your matter is supposed to be heard. So, the ongoing lawsuit is thus preventing Oke-Eletu from having a leader that will oversee the affairs of the town and when such situation arises, we all know the impact on the affected community. The matter has affected the development of Oke-Eletu greatly. There is nobody to fight for us with the government. The matter is also preventing us from benefitting anything from the government both at state and local levels and also from the elected representatives. This is the more reason I’m calling on my families that we should settle this matter amicably so that we can all see to the development of the town together. It is only when we are united that we can think of development. I want to commend Hon. Babajimi Benson for remembering us with his project which is the only dividends of democracy that we have. Had it been that we have a king on the throne, we would have been enjoying more patronages from the government and our representatives. What do you expect from a community that is embroiled in dispute, unending litigation, conspiracy and contempts? I am still appealing for my family members to let us work together for the progress of our beloved town.
IMPACT: If eventually you are favoured to ascend the Eletu throne, what are your agendas for the community?
Chief Ajayi: I have lots of programmes for the development of the community. There are programmes for the youths, traditional chiefs, royal families and many more but you don’t expect me to give you all that in this interview because doing that would amount to giving you expo (cheating in an examination) (laughter). Let me just give you an insight. Could you believe that Oke-eletu has been in existence since 15th century and yet, we are still enjoying the benefits of what our ancestors had done without improving on them or even coming up with any initiative of ours? We need to improve on all these things which is the reason we need elite agendas and programmes to move the community forward. It is also quite unfortunate that no traditional chief in Oke-Eletu is on the government pay roll. None of them is receiving salary and yet, they are working for the community like their counterparts in other communities that are being recognized by the government. These are some of the things that we want to look into when we have the opportunity. We are going to ensure that our senior chiefs are given the required recognition by the government at local and state levels. We also want to improve on our traditions and customs in Oke-Eletu and inject modernity where necessary for the benefit of the people and the community at large. There are many youths in the community who are graduates and yet, they jobless. We intend to move closer to the government at both local and state levels in order to avail ourselves to the opportunity of getting our youths employed and empowered. We also want to encourage our youths to start participating in politics so that we can use that to bargain for political patronages, particularly with the advantage of our huge voting population. Those are just some of the things that we plan to do when we get to the throne and may I add that we have started doing some of these things because we are living right among our people to encourage development. Permit me to stop here because I don’t want to let too much out of the bag, but be rest assured that we have enough agendas that we are going to be implementing when we get there.
IMPACT: What has been the intervention of the traditional rulers in Ikorodu division, especially that of the Ayangbure of Ikorodu, who has been playing great roles in resolving chieftaincy tussles in the division, the recent being that of the Sekumade of Ipakodo?
Chief Ajayi: I sincerely give kudos to our Obas for their interventions, especially the Chairman, Ikorodu Council of Obas and Chiefs, Oba (Engr.) Kabir Adewale Shotobi, the Ayangbure of Ikorodu, for his roles in resolving this matter and also Oba Akeem Oyebo, the Obateru of Egbin, and the regent of Ijede, Chief Alliu Musediq. They have all been playing great roles and even went as far as going to the state to mediate in order to resolve this matter. The Ayangbure of Ikorodu have called on all the parties involved, appealed to us all and asked us to have a rethink on the matter because they know what we are missing from the government due to the prolonged court matter which is denying us the opportunity of installing a traditional head. The Ayangbure has done a lot and I still want to appeal to him not to relent on the matter because we all believe that everything stops on his table. He intervened in the Ipakodo Obaship matter and succeeded in revolving it. We still believe that he can help us in resolving our matter too.
IMPACT: Lastly, what message do you have for your family and the people of Oke-Eletu in general?
Chief Ajayi: Thank you. I want to implore my people to be prayerful and believe that God’s time is the best. It is normal for them as human to want the installation of a new Oba and other developmental projects as quickly as possible, but we have to continue to put our trust in God. I want them to be law-abiding and desist from any action capable of further dividing us. We should endeavor to continue to maintain the peaceful co-existence between and among indigenes and non-indigenes in the community. To my family, I want every member of the family to start saying and acting good to one another and not to see themselves as enemies or oppositions or castigating one another. This is not the time to speak ill about ourselves because such is capable of preventing disputes from been resolved. Let us be focused on the positive sides of ourselves and also remember that we are embarking on same journey for the betterment of our family and development of Oke-Eletu. The community belongs to us all and not to any individual, hence we cannot continue to hold ourselves hostage. Thank you.
IMPACT: Thank you sir.
