Date: 2016-07-10

A total of 23 Obas have ruled Offa,in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State,with the present ruler being the 24th. Two families, the Olugbense and the Anilelerin, said to be of the same descent, rotated the Olofa stool.The Olugbense are the male descendants while the Anilelerin are the female, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered.

History has it that Oba Olugbense who reigned between 1726 and 1786 allegedly prayed for the female children to gain the legacy of the throne because the female child saved him from a mysterious fire that engulfed the town by carrying him on her back to the Gogo stream near the Igbele forest reserve. The 'wrath, many believe, may have caused the judgment of the Supreme Court affirming the present Oba as the Olofa of Offa.

Be it as it may, the stool of Olofa of Offa became a subject of litigation when one of the two ruling houses challenged the appointment of Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II, on the grounds that since there was an agreement to rotate the stool between them, it ought to be their turn. This led to the Appeal Court ruling that nullified the appointment and subsequent installation of Alhaji Mufutau Gbadamosi as Olofa of Offa, in July 2013.

His installation saw several groups which included students and market women trooping to the palace to pledge their loyalty.The community played host to many people from the country and abroad who felicitatedwith the new Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi II,when he was presented with the staff of office by then governor of the state, and now Senate president, Bukola Saraki. The euphoria of the community was however brought to a temporary halt when the Court of Appeal in Ilorin nullified the appointment.

It was gathered that students of Offa origin in various higher institutions barricaded the entrance to the palace displaying placards affirming their support for the king. Market women also converged on the palace having decided not to display their wares for three days in solidarity with the king. The former chairman of Offa local government, Segun Adewoyin, when the king was installed said the government only implemented the recommendation of the kingmakers.

The judgment led the Olofa to seek redress at the Supreme Court against the July 9, 2013 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, which upheld the evidence led by representatives of the Olugbense ruling house that the appointment to the Olofa stool was on rotational basis between the two houses. The appellate court held that by the rotational principle, the Olugbense ruling house was entitled to present a successor to the late Oba Mustapha Olawore Olanipekun Ariwajoye II of the Anilelerin house, who died on 2010 and voided the appointment of Alhaji Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye (also from the Anilelerin house) as the late Oba's successor.

Meanwhile, a five-man panel of the Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, heard the case after parties resolved all preliminary issues on the appeals. One of the appeals was filed by four kingmakers in the community - Alhaji Yunus Bukoye (Essa of Offa), Alhaji Kadir Kolawole Bello (Ojomu of Offa), Alhaji Oseni Olaniyi (Balogun of Offa) and Alhaji Zikirullah Kola Sanni Olabode (Shawo of Offa).

The respondents are Alhaji Saka Adeyemo, Alhaji (Prince) Abdulrauf Adegboyega Keji and Prince Saka Keji (as first, second and third respondents) as the representatives of the Olugbense ruling house. Also listed as respondents in the appeal were Alhaji Gbadamosi Esuwoye (fourth), Attorney General of Kwara State (fifth) and Governor of Kwara State (sixth). Meanwhile, Prince Abdulwahab Agbaje of the Anilelerin Ruling House insisted that the process followed the traditional way of appointing the Oba. "There are usually natural endowments for would-be kings in any ruling house of Yoruba land. Such persons can only be selected by consulting the oracle and going through all the traditional rites.

"You can confirm this from any Offa person. After the death of the former Oba, the kingmakers followed the procedure, the customs and traditional process of selecting Oba in Offa. The two ruling houses were consulted to bring nominees, which has been the normal practice. "The oracle was consulted before Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi emerged as Oba and his name was presented to the state government for final approval," he said. Agbaje said despite attempts in the past to settle the rift between the Anilelerin and Olugbense ruling houses through a committee, the other party had remained adamant.

He said the fear of a ruling house going into extinction had made it impossible for the aggrieved party to backtrack and allow peace to reign in Offa. Agbaje said that the people of Offa had been in mourning since the Appeal Court nullified the appointment of Oba Gbadamosi, " and that is because the incumbent Oba impacted positively on the lives of the entire community". The Olugbense ruling house had filed a case before an Offa High Court to challenge the appointment of Gbadamosi, but the High Court upheld the appointment of Gbadamosi on July 19, 2012.

The decision of the High Court was, however, upturned by the Court of Appeal. The appellate court held that the evidence before it showed that the ascension to the stool of Olofa of Offa is by rotation between the two ruling houses. The age-long issue of who ascends the throne of Olofa was however brought to a halt last week when the Supreme Court affirmed the incumbent Oba as the Olofa of Offa.

The ancient town of Offa again went agog when the Supreme Court affirmed Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye as the Olofa Offa. The five-man panel of justices of the apex court led by Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen had on April 11, heard the consolidated appeals filed by the Offa kingmakers, among others.

Justice Walter Onnoghen delivered the unanimous judgment of the justices - Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Nwali Ngwuta, Mary Peter-Odili and Amiru Sanusi. In his lead judgment, Onnoghen held that the appointment by the Kwara State Government was in line with the customs and tradition of the people of Offa. "From the history, customs and tradition of the people of Offa, it is clear that Anilelerin ruling house is the authentic and only ruling house backed by native law and authority that can ascend the throne of Olofa." he said

He also dismissed the principle of rotation of the kingship in Offaland. "If there is rotation as claimed by the Olugbense family, the principle will have started before the ascension of the immediate-past Olofa, Oba Mustapha Olanipekun. "This court also found, as a fact, that there is no rotational policy in existence as far as the stool of Olofa of Offa is concerned.

"The claim of the Olugbense family has no historical backing and, therefore, the claim of the appellant, through a counter claim on the issue, succeeds and is hereby affirmed," Onnoghen held. The court, however, said: "It is hoped that in due course Offa people, particularly the ruling house will see need and reasons to effect necessary changes to enable Olugbense descendants ascend the stool once again."

p>The Olofa, who was in Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj during the Supreme Court ruling, described the judgment as an act of God and praised the judiciary for "finally upholding the truth and re-affirming the choice of Offa people". The Oba noted that the six years chieftaincy tussle in Offa had come to an end and appealed to sons and daughters of the community to unite for the progress of Offa.

Oba Gbadamosi enjoined the Olugbense ruling house to join hands with him to move the town to greater heights. He said the victory was not only for him or the Anilelerin ruling house, but the entire Offa, the state and even the nation. Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed said, through his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba, that the judicial victory should give the monarch the necessary impetus to consolidate his passion towards development of Offa and indeed the state.

Ahmed advised Gbadamosi to see the judgment as that of no victor no vanquished by extending hands of fellowship to all parties in the dispute. "I urge the aggrieved members of the royal family to regard the Olofa's victory as a victory for all by coming together to solidify the royal knot and develop the community", he said.

But the question on the lips of many observers has remained, "can the Olugbense family still ascend the throne?"