Despite the recent Supreme Court's ruling laying to rest the claim of Keji family to the throne of Olofa of Offa in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, the war of word trailing the first class traditional throne appears far from being over.

The Chief Alawe of Offa, Alhaji Salami Okunlola, said the town is explicitly guided by historical facts on the family within the royal lineage that could ascend the throne of Olofa whenever it becomes vacant.

Prior to the apex court verdict, Alawe explained that it was in various authentic historical sources, both oral and written, that Keji family does not share affinity with the royal dynasty.

Alhaji Salami Okunlola, Alawe of Offa

He said though Anilelerin and Olugbense are from the same royal lineage, it would be a distortion of history to recognize Keji family, which claims to be from Olugbense line as truly part and parcel of the royal blood.

The Octogenarian stated that the progenitor of Keji was a stranger in the history of Offa, and thus not entitle to the throne of Olofa in whatever guise.

Okunlola told The Herald that princely tag being accorded the Keji family is a fluke as they are not Olugbense's descendants and will not be allowed to change the course of history.

The Alawe, who disclosed that he has clocked 105 and well informed about the history of Offa said Mustapha Keji, who was appointed tax collector for Offa by the then Ilorin Native Authority and grandfather of Raufu Keji, was only deployed in the town to collect due taxes and not as a monarch as being made to believe in some quarters.

The Herald recalls that Raufu Keji sued Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II and the council of king makers in the town from the State High Court up to the Supreme Court, which ruled on July 1, 2016 that Anilelerin is the only royal family known to the custom and tradition of Offa town and empowered to ascend the throne of Olofa of Offa.

Raufu Keji might have stirred the hornet's nest when he alleged in an interview he granted Offamesi Echo, a magazine in Offa, that some elders in the town who should be conversant with the history on royal ascendancy of Olofa were trying to be economical with the truth that his family is not entitled to the revered throne.

The interview came in spite of an apex court order nullifying the claim of Keji as part of royal family in Offa.

Keji said in the interview, "The problem we have in this town in particular is that we revel in falsehood. When you keep on telling something that is not true from time to time, and you don't think properly, if you tell one lie, you need 10 lies to cover it up. So that is the problem we are having.

"After they have exhausted all avenues, they didn't see anything that is why they said the Keji's are from Erin-Ile. But to clear the air on the issue of Erinn I want you to analyse this and come to this and come to the conclusion yourself.

"My father, Oba Mustapha Keji, the 23rd Olofa of Offa's mom came from Oloya Banleku's compound of Offa. His father, Abubakar Keji, was a direct son of Oba Oyeyemi Otaogbaye, the 16th Olofa of Offa. Otaogbaye married his mother from Erin. On my mother's side, my mother was the daughter of Bello Alafin of Afimo's Compound, Offa. Bello's mother was from Onto's Compound while my grandmother was of Ajia's Compound of Offa.

"I think you can now decipher the truth in a patrilineal setting like Offa. If you look into history, Anilelerin itself has no blood relationship with Olugbense or anybody from Offa".

Raufu Keji also slammed the Supreme Court's judgement on Olofa's throne, describing it as joke of the century.

But the Alawe explained that having taught Mustapha Keji western education briefly in 1935 after completing "my education Commercial School in Ibadan", he never claimed to be a prince at that time.

"When I finished my education at Commercial School in Ibadan in 1934, Mustapha Keji came to me and I started teaching him in 1935. It got to a stage that he said he could not cope very well in western education, and decided to opt for Islamic education. He was never from a royal lineage in Offa. That is why I still wonder why somebody is laying claim to where he does not belong".

He noted that it will be a disservice to Offa town to allow itself to be drawn back to the stone age when strangers and impostors claiming what does not belong to them.

Alawe, who is the Head of Council of Offa Princes and Princesses said, "Going by historical facts, the Keji family is a stranger in the House of Oba Olugbense. No member of the family can lay claim to the Olofa's throne because they are not biological descendants of Oba Olugbense.

"The adventure of the Keji's, as a spoiler in the history of Olofaship, began in 1926. One Bakare Keji claiming the ancestry of Oba Olugbense, contested for the stool of Olofa against Oba Esuwoye (1). He lost. In 1936, he again contested against Oba Wuraola Isioye and lost the second time. People then attribute his losses to the curse afflicting Oba Olugbense's male descendants but this was not case.

"The main reason for his failure was that Bakare Keji was not a biological descendant of Oba Olugbense and therefore, was a prince. In addition to this, his main stumbling block to becoming the Olofa of Offa was Alale (the spirit of the founding fathers of Offa), and of course, the love of God, the Almighty. Otherwise, considering his wealth, popularity and charisma, Bakare Keji, was worth a prince and could easily have ascended the throne. What happened?

A document exclusively obtained by The Herald clarifying how the relationship between Olofa's palace and Keji family began, said, "One day a pregnant woman was found to have for some days taken refuge within the palace. She was accosted and taken before Oba Olugbense. When questioned, she told the Oba that she was from Erin-Ile (a village south of Offa) and that she was the wife of the Oluode of the village.

"When asked about her mission, she said she had runaway from her home because of a quarrel with her husband. The husband was invited but sent words that he no longer desired the woman and the king could make her a servant in the palace. That was how the lady became a resident of the palace of Oba Olugbense.

"She was later delivered of her pregnancy and the child was named Ojelabi. Ojelabi grew up within the palace, got married and had a son he named Moronkeji (short form Keji) literally meaning my companion. This Moronkeji, the son of Ojelabi is the forebear of Bakare Keji who in 1926 and 1936 contested for the Olofaship but failed. He was the father of Mustapha Keji (The Tax Collector) and the grandfather of Raufu Keji now aspiring to displace Oba Mufutau Mohammed Esuwoye II.

"From these historical facts, it is clear that the generations of Keji in Offa are descendants of Ojelabi, the Oluode of Erin-Ile and are not descendants of Oba Olugbense.

"Now that the story is told, it become crystal clear that if the Keji's are the only surviving descendants of Oba Olugbense, then Olugbense Royal line is defunct, and totally extinct. Those now claiming ancestry are all strangers, pretenders and impersonators".

In the same vein, a retired Commissioner in the Tax Appeal Tribunal for South West Zone, Alhaji Moshood Oyebisi Oyeleke, also faulted the claim that Keji is a descendant of Otaogbaye.

Oyeleke, who also retired at Tax Partner of Akintola Williams & Co. (Chartered Accountants), called for caution and warned against any attempt to alter the historical facts about royalty in Offa town.

"A claim by Mr Raufu Keji that Otaogbaye is his ancestor and progenitor is false and a distortion of history. Historical facts do not point to that direction, rather an Oluode from Erin is historically claimed to be the ancestor and progenitor of Keji.

"What Raufu refers to as "joke of the century" is a serious matter, first affirmed by Oba Olugbense himself and re-confirmed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in a lead judgment read by the second most Senior Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in a unanimous judgment on Friday July 1, 2016."

Oyeleke appealed to all stakeholders in Offa to join hands with the incumbent Olofa of Offa to move the town forward, saying internal wrangling has retarded the progress of the ancient town.