OSUN: Communities Raise Alarm Over Brewing Communal Clash, Urge Makinde, Adeleke To Intervene

Communities in Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State have raised the alarm over an impending communal clash and urged the intervention of Governors Ademola Adeleke of Osun and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

The monarchs of the concerned communities, led by the Oloja of Agberire, Oba Jacob Alajide, gathered at Ogburo community to address newsmen on Wednesday.

They expressed concern over a recent claim by one Oyebamiji on a popular Ibadan radio station that Ogburo belongs to Ibadan in Oyo state.

This claim, they said, is capable of inciting a communal dispute.

The monarchs, through their spokesperson, former chairman of Iwo LGA, Alhaji Tajudeen Babatunde, urged the two governors to intervene and stop those planning to cause disunity between Oyo and Osun.

Babatunde’s words, “one Oyebamiji claimed that Ogburo belongs to Ibadan in Oyo state on a popular private radio station in Ibadan which is capable of arousing communal dispute if not urgently checkmated because efforts had been made by some villages to shift allegiance to Oyo state in the past.”

He stated that, “the claim that Ogburo belongs to Ibadan is not true. Historically and legally, Ogburo belongs to Iwo in Osun state. Our forefathers came from Ile-Ife. Including the present King, ten Kings had reigned in Ogburo and they were all installed by Oluwo of Iwo. No one was installed by Olubadan.

“During a case between Oba Ogundiran, the Ologburo Apelujo, in 1937, when the then Oluwo went to the court to testify against Ogundiran. It was then that Ologburo Apelujo decided to shift his allegiance to Ibadan and he couldn’t achieve his aim before he died.

“The third Ologburo Bankole in 1941 said he wanted to shift his allegiance to Ibadan. The whole town divided but the majority rose against him because they belonged to Iwo. Unfortunately, he died in 1962 and since then till 2005, we haven’t had any monarch.

“In 2006, the Oluwo of Iwo installed the present Ologburo. The state government of Osun provided all amenities in the town.

“The Osun and Oyo States should warn those that are planning to cause a dispute. Whoever cares should go for a referendum to know the facts. We have gone to the court several times and we won. Some villages tried to shift loyalty to Ibadan and we dragged them to court and we won. Because of the long distance of the vacant stool of Ologburo, some villages tried nonsense and we made them know through legal means that we owned the lands.”