Monarchs are known to be custodians of customs and traditions.
Based on the succession plan of each kingdom, kingmakers pick who is to become King from ruling houses.
However, in recent times, politicians appear to have taken a keen interest in this responsibility.
It was on this ground that the Oloto Royal Family of Iddo and Lagos Mainland recently urged politicians to stay away from their king-making process.
The call was made by the chiefs of the ruling houses in a recently held press conference in Lagos.
Present at the event were Chief Mohammed Bashir Ayinla Akinola, the Odofin Oba and Secretary of Oloto Royal Family; Chief Lamina K. Akinlolu, the Ojomo Oba, and Head Baalo Ruling House; Chief Jubril Adebayo Oloto, the Aro Oba and Head of Olupejobi Ruling House; and Chief Shamusideen Adisa Pedro, the Eletu Oba and Head of Eru-Ifa Ruling House; all representatives of the three ruling house of the Oloto Royal Family of Iddo and Lagos Mainland.
At the event, the chiefs revealed that their call for politicians to stay away from their affairs follows speculations of an attempt by some very powerful persons in Lagos State to impose a monarch on the town following the death of the last King, Oba Ganiyu Okeyide Odesanya, who reigned between 1990 and 2016.
A statement signed by the Secretary of the ruling houses and made available to www.theoctopusnews.com said “We are dismayed that persons are trying to impose a candidate from Olupejobi ruling house, which produced the past Oba.
“The act is not only against the culture and traditions of the Oloto Royal Family which has been practiced over six centuries ago but against the express provisions of the official record of the government of Lagos State.”
At the conference, Chief Jubril Adebayo Oloto, the Aro Oba and Head of Olupejobi Ruling House noted that prior to the installation of Oba Okeyide Odesanya, the chiefs, kingmakers, branch heads, and the entire Oloto Royal Family identified three ruling houses in Otto namely Olupejobi, Baalo, and Eru-Ifa Ruling houses, with succession to the throne to rotate from Olupejobi through Baalo to Eru-Ifa ruling houses.
He further noted that the attempt at imposing a candidate on the town is against the express declaration of late Oba Okeyide Odesanya whose wish and declaration was that a person from Baalo ruling house should succeed him.
According to him, the move to impose a candidate from the ruling house which produced the last Oba is one which if allowed to succeed will breed problems in Otto and distort the peaceful co-existence of the people in the area.
He thus urged people who didn’t know the culture and tradition of the town to halt their attempt at causing unrest with their planned imposition of a candidate on them.
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