The attempt to elect new Olowu of Owu has attracted the attention of traditionalists in the vast kingdom.
This time arround the traditionalists want the five families and especially the kingmakers to elect an Olowu who is culture friendly such that it’s cultural heritage could be preserved.
In an apparent complain of it’s neglect in the past twenty years,the traditionalists who are custodians of Owu culture and tradition wants a new Olowu that will support and protect the diverse cultural heritage of the kingdom.
In order to achieve this,the Owu traditionalists, comprising Aloje Owu,Abore Owu, Oluwos and other chiefs, rose from a meeting in Abeokuta weekend, to appeal to Balogun Owu, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other kingmakers in Owu, to remain circumspect in their choice of a new Olowu for Owu in Abeokuta.
In particular,the Aloje and Imogbo leaders in whose custody are the ancestral crown, obelisk and insignia with which an Olowu must be decorated at the mandatory traditional seclusion, insist the practice must be adhered to by any Olowu elect.
The Aloje Owu, Alhaji Babatunde Adio Ojerinde, lamented that for some time past, the tradition and cultures of Owu people, particularly those that relate with the selection and crowning of Oba Olowu in Abeokuta have been trampled upon by admixture of westernised religions to the detriment of Owu culture, values and traditional heritage, explaining that this has castrated the inherent spirituality, credibility and obeisance with which Olowu’s Palace and the occupant are treated.
“Ajise bi Owu laari, Owu kiise bi enikankan” meaning Owu people and their cultures and values are unique and cannot be compared with others, Aloje Ojerinde emphasised.
Aloje Owu, according to oral history, was Olowu Ajibosin’s uncle who cared and nurtured him to adulthood and crowned him with the bequeathed crown from Oduduwa. Aloje’s house had then become part of the pre-conditional threshold for every Olowu elect before his official installation and any Olowu who does not follow this precept is nude.
Chief Ojerinde pleaded with Balogun Owu to encourage the Owu kingmakers to enlist the commitment and adherence of any candidate desirous of the Owu throne and to the traditional procedure, explaining, only the candidate who is ready for the traditional obligations can be Olowu.
It will be recalled that members of the Laara family compound which is part of the Otileta Ruling house last week approach a High court in Abeokuta seeking an injunction to refrain the Kingmakers from selecting a new Olowu from the list of candidates screened by the Otileta family.
Their main grouse is that their family was excluded from the selection process by the Head of the Otileta house claiming that Laara is not part of the ruling house.
No date has been fixed for hearing the suit.
This new move observers believe, will affect a smooth selection process such as the Owu experienced between 1987 and 1994 and subsequently.
We should NOT FORGET that AKINBOYE, THE OLUROKO AND THE CROWN LEADER OF THE OWU PEOPLE FROM OSUN STATE, LED THE OWU PEOPLE TO ABEOKUTA TO DEFEND EGBA FROM DAHOMEANS AS WAS THE CASE IN OTHER PLACES IN YORUBA LAND. BY 1835, MAGNANIMOUSLY, AKINBOYE delegated POWER TO OWU APOMU but OLUROKO AGBA OYE remains THE OWU LEADER IN YORUBA LAND.