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7 Ill<"<.)v'.) 1':lIlpin' Itad II("CIIIII(S'IISP("CI.Th« slave trade, which h.u! been the Id..l.I",,1Ior t lu- ('lIlpin'\ ('COllOlllY,hacl 11("<'1>111('largely unprofitable. The British
11.1.1Si<'ppnlllj> IItI' I('I 11pOolabolitiouist activitie-s and QY9was finding it difficult 1" ""porl he-r surplus or human cargo. At the same time, QY9 could no longer I", "iv(' Ill(' sllpply of"horses from the north because of the problem she had with 111<"lilll:lllijiltadists who had recently taken over power in Sokoto." The inability 10 1" procllre horses rendered her military might vulnerable. 'Ilu: clfcct of all this was that by 1837, the capital city of the once illustrious ()Y':' Empire had been laid to waste. Consequently, new states emerged and warred ODO~BOLU CHIEFTAINCY DISPUTE IN .lIlIollg themselves to fill the vacuum created by QY9'Scollapse. It should be n<;,>ted 11t:11in the 20 turbulent years before the destruction of the capital city of QY9, HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE .rlniosr every major town of the empire had been sacked. Famine and disease .,wept the land; armies pillaged everything of value and carried away hundreds Abolade Adeniji into slavery. Each new defeat or destruction of a town in the north sent waves of n·rllgees pouring south into Ogbomoso, Osogbo, Ife, Owu, and Egbaland. As a Irsult, some of the southern kingdoms began to look at refugees as potential slavesfor farm work or sale at the coast. Prior to this, the Yoruba had not been in lite habit of selling their brethren to the Atlantic slave traders." Because lj~buland was part and parcel of the Yoruba country, it is reasonable to Introduction assume that it shared, albeit less acutely, the sufferings and the dislocation occa- sioned by this wave of insecurity. The origin of the decision of the eight orules ?f all the known existing kingdoms in Yorubaland in precolonial times, only the (homesteads) that were later to make up Odogbolu town to come together can be Ijebu Kingdom managed to escape from the worst vicissitude of the hundred-year located against the background of this scenario. Yoruba civil wars. In spite of the "splendid isolation"! maintained by the ij~bu, In general, two federating patterns are discernible. The first involved the move- however, it was only a matter of time before the prevailing exigencies compelled ment of smaller and weaker communities to form adjoining sections of their them to respond to the dynamics of instability and disorder prevalent in relatively larger and more powerful neighbors. In this way, the town of Iperu Yorubaland at the time. played host to the communities of Idarika and Idena; Ode-Remo received the As one newspaper remarked in the late nineteenth century, "[T[he Ijebu have Iraye community; and Ikenne played host to Idotun. The other federating pattern preferred to live in small towns always,but for greater security ... they are mani- is characterized by communities who left their respective settlements to jointly festing a disposition to bring their small towns together and include them within establish a new composite town. Well-known formations of this category include the walls."? The tendency toward federation, however, antedated the late nine- Sagamu (twelve towns), Aiyepe (six towns), and Odogbolu (eight towns)." teenth century. For Odogbolu, the idea of constituting a federating unit had intensified at the peak of the instability in the Yoruba country by the middle of the nineteenth century. The instability in Yorubaland during the period was at once Origin of a Cacophony social, political, and economic in nature and could be traced to the decline and eventual collapse of the old QY9Empire. The history of migration and settlement in Odogbolu could be said to inhere While it existed, the QY9Empire acted as a kind of bulwark against political insta- in the history of the three major chieftaincy families in the town. This can be bility in Yoruba, Vassalstates had been content to pay traditional yearly tributes and traced to the fact that since, there exists a tussle for the headship of the town. The neighboring states were compelled to hold their peace. Such was the peace thus various contenders for leadership became so versed in the knowledge of the l:nge~dered that, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century when the QY9 town's political history (as perceived by each claimant) that an examination of Empire held sway,most parts of Yorubaland maintained a peaceful coexistence. the claims of each group reveals a comprehensive, albeit sectional, political his- By the opening years of the nineteenth century, however, it was clear that the tory of the town. But Odogbolu is by no means made up of three homesteads. It peace that had reigned for so long was becoming tenuous and would soon give comprises eight homesteads each of which migrated from an original settlement wayto chaos. In the first place, the economic prosperity and military capability of (Table 10.1).
192 IIIal plaglled ()dof~h()III dill "'~~ 11••. sLI\'(' ,:Iids hy 11••. l::gh;i .uu l i";I<(;'II, ("ollpl"d IlolII('steads Quarters Inhabited Head wit li t iu 1<-:11'01' wild .uri ui.il-, 111.11.011(,)1,1I1:1<'k('dIh(,1I1 <11r:1I1(1()1lI, Ihe I':ksi h;1I1 ------;'(,1110111his ("IIid I" i('sl (i\f,~I/I') ()gbolll 10 g'o ami lind ,l suitable and fertile pla('(' (),llIc I<:/iyall E/iy,ul E!csi I· IVI ••••.• • ,,1111)('IH," n:s",;"ls cOllld sdlll: down and live together. The claim went fur- ( It Ill•. Idcna Idcna Aganrnoy.u, 1111'1t.h:u when (.)ballta 1':1I1lC[mm Wadai, he passed through Ife where he met ( )'II!c Odoyangan Odoyangan Yangan ( )dlltiuw,t. At Ilc, he gave his junior sister, Ajibade, to Oduduwa in marriage. The ( )'II!c Odogbon Odogbon Olugbon product of the marriage was a son named Ogunlana Adepameru. Following the ( ),"le Odolayanra Odolayanra (Odo) Orernadegun death of Oduduwa, Ogunlana Adepameru and his mother, Ajibade, decided to go ( Jrule Odo Aloro OdoAloro Aloro Orule Iloda Iloda Moloda ill search of their brother and uncle (Qbanta). Orule Ikosa Ikosa Tami When Adepameru left Ife, probably recognizing the nature of the difficulty he was likely to encounter, he took with him Ogbolu (a great medicine man with the S~m"'I'. ~:: O. Ogunremi and A. Adeniji. The History oJOdogbolu since the ability to ward off evil spirits, who later became the Abore earlier referred to). On j',Ild",sl Times (Benin City: I1upeju Press, 1989), 10. (heir way, Ajibade, the mother, died at the Osun River near Osogbo. Adepameru buried his mother there and with Ogbolu continued his journey to ij~bu-Ode. It should be noted that when Adepameru left Ife, he took with him a beaded crown , ,/\11h()ug: it is easy. to dedu~e that these various homesteads did come together and other royal emblems, including properties given to him out of his father's .1101111(18.)0 for their collective benefit, it is nonetheless a difficult task to trace estate." I,ow each of them got to its original settlement. One source, however, has sug- At ij~bu-Ode, the claim continues, Obanta, now the Awujal{J, welcomed !~(·,'I('d that many of the people migrated from Ile-Ife. In other words, some of Adepameru and he was settled at Agunsebi. Adepameru got married and had Ih('1I1came WIth Obanta and others came after him. The legend of Obanta relates three sons: Ogun, a blacksmith who settled at Atiba near Osa; Opa, who settled at 111:11lie was the son ofOduduwa-the progenitor of the Yortlbi race-b d h- a place known as Oke-Opi; and Alere, who opted to stay with his father at Ososa. 101' I ya aug 1<'10. ' u wa. After the dispersal of princes from Ile-Ife, he traveled first east to When Adepameru became very advanced in age, Alere, brought him to ij~bu-Ode .IIIIeSIand then .south through Ond6 before turning towards jj~bu. During this where he died and was buried because a royal person was never buried in a farm
I(1\ Imey, he was mvolve~ in many adventures and gained numerous adherents to (Ososa was then regarded as a farm). IllS party. On entering Ij~bu-Ode, Ogboran, as he was then called, was at once The Awujale then told AIere to move behind the river Ome to establish his own :I<'('burned by the inhabitants who called out "Oba wa nita "meaning "th ki . kingdom with the agreement that any offender who escaped to his domain would .:d " ., ,e ng IS (1\ Ilsl e .. Hence, the name Obanta by which this founding hero is widely known." be pardoned. All the land behind the Ome River was known as Alekun. AIere A/In this, the.re ensued a dispersal of princes with Qbanta sending his followers became the Ololu Alekun and upon his death his son, Ajaro, succeeded him. 10 ,"1:- over different parts of the land. Thus, it is possible that among those who Ajaro was later to earn a title for himself when, in a rare show of bravery, he pre- n;~al.)hshed .the various homesteads that made up Odogbolu were members of the sented to the Awujale a live boar (esi) during the annual Erena festival. The sig- I)l'Igll1~ retmu~ of Obanta. Indeed the first Moloda of IIoda homestead claims to nificance of the present lay in the fact that it was used as part of a ritual to enable h:l,v~:mI~rated fr~m lIe-lf~.together with the Obanta in the sixteenth century? a childless and beloved olori (queen) to have a baby. Thus, Ajaro became the Elesi I he difficulty involved III determining the origin of the various homesteads of Alekun. When he died, he was succeeded by his son, Asalu, who-with his per- I)('('()~e~ comparatively easier when placed against the controversy detennining mission-moved further and settled at Orile Efiyan. He was ~~mferred with all the '.'11'ongmal founder and .the head of all Odogbolu chiefs. Over the years, three authority of his title and he ruled as the Elesi of Alekun. He ruled over AIekun, ( oil/enders to the headship of the town have emerged. At various times, the Elesi which included the present day Odogbolu, Okun-Owa, Aiyepe, and Eyinwa. Asalu IIIe Oremadeg;un, and the Moloda.have all made claims suggesting that the headshi~ died at Orile Efiyan and was succeeded by his son, Sendugba. It was during the (.1.the town belongs .to them. It IS perhaps worthwhile to pause here to provide an reign of Sendugba that the movement to the present site known as Odogbolu took .1 :111S('IIII' logl'lll('l .u n l l'olllTliv('ly \VOIldo ll I'XII'III:II OIggT('Ssioll,()gl)Oill W:L~(11111 1\1"I"d;1 sl'lllI-cI :11 ()depo ill Ijd)!1 ()e/!-. 1'01 tl«: pCTio ,"dlllillisl';lli,," s\'sl('III. I"'\V("'('I, ;1 IH""i,<;i,,"was 111:,,1<1111- :111' Ill(' "lll<'r ,,"as. (:I>il'll"illo"i'\'SI'""'''';)''' 11••.'"'''' ,••," •.•·••1s"';lIlyill"OIlIr ' , , , ;),"/11••...r,i,·I<-~1(,'" ) il,"" nu IlIdilll: Ill<',\I,IIII!:!'""/ /1,,-11111{('IIII1,ill Ill<'Nntiv« Ad'llilisl'.Ili,," IlIldf:('11111111<' ••I 1>,j I••.,\' ,11III, ••,11'1,11""••, ill 1,1.1111I;)11 I:,,;lV,;", wi ,"11;011I•• 1111'/1',I,,,( )",.. '"~IIJ",,''" ''I \. :~()() Chiefl and Tradition Odogbolu Chieftaincy /)isjJU/{' ru l listorical l 'cvspectiue 201 i ,'-;11111was the r:otoriety of the Awujale that on February 4,1929, he was deposed claim to headship of Odogbolu to its logical end, th« new Molod.i embarked on .IIHI ex::iled to Ilorin. Various punishments were also imposed on his close associ- an elaborate "coronation'Lagos, he course this attempt by both parties is significalll; whoeve-r provided the ram was I"IIJ;lrKed: "those who went to Lagos to lavish their money should return failingly regarded as the spiritual head of the tOWIl, csp('('ially by the Muslim community. I 1/11 in my present [sic] through God's help."21 Again in 1926, the Awujale per- Two months after this, another dispute arose OWl' Ihe ownership of a typewriter. ·.II;"kd the acting district officer, Mr. S. Cook, to reassure the Oremadegun that The Oremadegun accused the Moloda of "cunningly" borrowing a typewriter and ..\''''1 are the chief and only Presiden t in Odogbolu. "22 The letter further stressed refusing to return it to him. In his reply to the allcgation, the Moloda argued that 1h;11 ..the Moloda is to obey your lawful orders in connection with your office."21 the typewriter in question was a present to him from the townspeople. The '11Jt~ eofficial recognition secured by the Oremadegun, far from legitimizing his Oremadegun, he argued, could not claim ownership of the typewriter because, in .11I11,ori ty, appears to have undermined his acceptability, for it had the untended his words, "he [the Oremadegun] was a non-party to th e transacuo.n. "30 ,,11,·,'1 o-f uniting the Elesi and the Moloda together in opposing his pretensions. In 1947, the resident of the ij~bu Province made two decisions, which did not I11 1IIIy 1935, Moloda .Tames Idowu forwarded to the lieutenant governor of the go down well with the Oremadegun. First, the Oremadegun ,-",as relieved of his ,'-;",,I 11ern Province of Nigeria a detailed and emotional petition in which he corn- appointment as the representative of Odogbolu town in the Ijebu-Ode Judicial I'I.!; 11cd, about the unfair treatmen t meted to him over the years.24 The signifi- Council. The Moloda was put in his place. Second, the Moloda's stipend was , .11" (' of this petition is that, in September, it was followed by another one in raised above that of the Oremadegun.P This move merely worsened the state of \\'1, i, " notable chiefs of the town, led by the Elesi, Chief Onagoruwa, and seven animosity between the two obas. The settlement of the Odogbolu headship crisis ." 11"'<;, supported the Moloda's claim and pledged their loyalty to him.25 Because continued to defy any viable solution, and successive governments,-first of the Il", Aw ujale was the consenting authority for chieftaincy classification in western region, later the Western State, and still later that of Ogun State- I" ·1" ilarnd, the matter was referred to him. watched helplessly as the constant strife took its toll on the town's development III res.ponse, the Awujale, Adesanya Gbelegbuwa 11, submitted that because the potentials. I' 1.',1 wa s prepared to surrender his claim to headship in favor of the Moloda and , ..•. III';e the Moloda's aspirations were duly supported by other important chiefs ,11 ( ).Ing-bolu and the Odogbolu Advisory Committee, the seniority of the Moloda Harmony Restored .I" ," IlL be recognized and he should be paid £30 per annum, while the ~ 'I. IHldeguo and the Elesi should be paid £24 per annum each from court sitting Following the coup detat that ensured the overthrow of the Shehu Shagari } I" n,i Unfortunately for Odogbolu, this suggestion, laudable as it appears, did regime in December 1983, Colonel (later General) Oladipo Diya became the mili- r"'1 l'llt an end to the headship crisis, for the Oremadegun remained obstinate tary governor of Oglin State. Being a son of Odogbolu from the Odo quarters, ;1/11 I «ne -om promising. Colonel Diya recognized the need to settle the Odogbolu headship crisis once I Itl 1944, the headship struggle in Odogbolu entered a new phase with the and for all. On January 29,1984, therefore, a three-man commission was set up to l'ttlltl',,, of MolodaJames Idowu and the appointment ofJosiah Maboroku Sheyin work out the implementation details of an earlier agreement whereby the three , lilt· new Moloda. Josiah Sheyin was a fairly well educated man by contemporary uaditional titles should be merged into one, to be known as the Alaye of _Ut.lld,s. Following the completion of his early education, he had taken up ()dogholll.:\~ It W,IS1'11I'111(a'1g'reed that after the demise of the present incumbent ,1." IIII 11('111. as a clerk with rhc Post and Tdq.\T "1)" (;hi4~ and Tradition Odogbolu Chiejtaincy /)isjm.it' ill Ilis/mim.l Pasl}(~(:[ive 203 C ', ••• ,udegun should be the next Alaye, followed by the Elesi whose vacant stool resolution of the crisis had to await the arrival ofih« SOli 01'111('soil who employed 11.,t! "lily recently been filled, The Alaye was to serve as a member of the state a combination of persuasion and subtle coercion 10 COII'llcl some sort of mutual ( :.,"'I,il of Chiefs, representing the whole of Odogbolu community, He was also accommodation. I,. II(' :1 member of the ij~bli Traditional Council. In addition, he was to serve as On the whole, there is no doubt that the poliriral si iilc- that engulfed the town 11" "H,senting authority to the appointment of the quarter chiefs in Odogbolu. for so long contributed in no small measure to shacklillg its developmental poten- 110-IV:ISalso to ensure that all traditional rites are performed as and when neces- i, tial. Perhaps the newfound harmony may yet reve-rse: IIll' trend for the better, " ',," \' .u irl generally see to the welfare of the town and its people.I" " Wilh the Moloda metamorphosed into the Alaye, immediate steps were taken I" !L'V<' an Ololu installed for the Iloda quarters, It was also agreed that the Notes ell, d,(s, following the demise of the present obas, should not wear crowns, as they ,,',,"ld be regarded as high quarter chiefs, Just as the Alaye was to be the consent- ~' E. A, AyandeIe has referred to the years lHOO10 IH~JJ as Ihose of splendid isolation "'!', .uu hority for the appointment of chiefs in Odogbolu, the Awujale was also to of Ijebiiland. See E. A. Ayandele, "Ijebuland IHOO-IH9J: Era of Splendid Isolation" in ""I.,ill the consenting authority for the appointment of the Alaye. Also, in the Studies in Yoruba Hist01Y and Culture, ed. G. O. Olusanya (ibadan: University of Ibadan "I'I,oillllllent of the Alaye, it was decided that there would be nine kingmakers, Press, 1983). 1111,'" "a ch from a ruling house.I" 2. Lagos Times, May 9, 1891. 11IV"Salso agreed that all the quarter chiefs appointed by any of the three obas 3. See J. F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder, eels., History of West Africa, vol. 1 ,I,,,,, Id be considered validly appointed and continue to exist as such, although (London: Longman, 1974). 11••. :\ Llye was granted the privilege of appointing a township equivalent of a quar- 4. J. B. Webster and A. A. Boahen with H. O. Idowu, Rcuolutionarx Yean-, West Africa since 1800 (London: Longman, 1971),92. 11', , 11ic-l. In other words, there could be the Balog;un of Odo side by side with the 5. Olutunde Oduwo bi, "A Historical Study of Administrative and Political /i,t/".!:"" of Odogbolu. Development in Ijebu, 1892-1960" (Ph.D. diss., University of Lagos, 1996), ()II S"III1-day May 4, 1985, Brigadier Oladipo Diya presented to the new Alaye, 6. This particular version of the origin of lj~bu history can be taken to represent the , 11•., 1.';III;lclIdowu Owoaje, the instrument of office. On the occasion, the governor Odogbolu variant. Other versions can be found, for example, in Samuel]ohnson, The 111.11,L,'cI .rll the chiefs for their understanding and magnanimity. He requested reli- History of the Yoridrds ,(Lagos: CSS Bookshop, 1921); D. O. Epega, fwe ftan Ijebu at flu I'," .",: "",,ders to give recognition only to the Alaye either in mosques or churches. Miran [A History of Ij~bu and Some other Towns], 2nd ed. (Lagos: Ife-Olu Printing , I"h' "IOC'seat could be occupied by the Alaye at all times; a separate row of seats Works, 193~); and E. A. Ayandele, The Ijebic of Yorubaland 1850-1950: Politics, Economs , "lilt! lx provided for all the other quarter chiefs including the 0101us.33 and Society (Ibadan: Heinemann, 1992). 11"Ioollld not be imagined that this arrangement was satisfactory to all sides. Very 7. G. Ogunremi and A. Adeniji, The History of Odogbolu since the Earliest Times to 1984 "I,. "I lv :ilkr his installation, the Alaye passed away and rancor once more took cen- (Ben in City: I1upeju Press), 11. ",';Llg". It is worthy of note, however, that in spite of this, the arrangement 8. Oral interview conducted by Miss M. O. Oluderni with Ambassador M. Oye '1'1"':0I., 10 have lasted and Odogbolu has witnessed relative peace since 1985. Adefope, Otunba Gbaelero of ~j~bliland, at his residence in Lagos, October 16, 1986. 9. Oral Interview conducted by Miss M. O. Oludemi with His·; Highness, the Oremadegun of Odo, on September 30, 1986, 10, NAI File No. 1193 Ije Prof 1. Summary and Conclusion 11. Ibid. 12. Ibid. \\'11.,1 IO:IV(w' e- learned thus far? VVe have learned that the creation of Odogbolu 13. "Petition from the Oremadegun Olukoya to The Resident, fjebu Province," w.i, 1101111'111(,by([ the desire for collective security among the various orule that dated August 4, 1937, in NAI File No. 1193 Ije Prof. 1. , ,11'''' I, 'l'1'I1I('r. \lV(' have shown that at the initial stages, the issue of who would be 14. Letter from His Highness Qba Sikiru Adetona to Mr. J. M. Beckley, permanent 11" 1>""1';:1111<';)(1chic-Iwas not regarded as being of paramount importance. It has secretary, ministry of local government and chieftaincy affairs, May 16, 1966. The I••.•.•, 1t'\'I';II<-d III;)t t.hc- inuoducrion of colonial rule and its conse-quent clcsrabil- i\.wlljalc supporn-r] ill I1111''111ivornl terms the supremacy of the Moloda over (1)(' two ot hcr (,>I>;oills Odog'l>olll. : '/11'1', ,'11,'('1 1,'cI 10 IIIl' illl('IISC rivalry among the three quarter heads ill t hr IOWII. Jr•. 1\11illll'J'vinv "I'ISolI:oIII' t '•• IIIh u",,,wilh MI'.Yl'lIli OVl'III'V"./\""il :.~Ii,I'JHli,;o1 hi, II( I•.", :ob. 1)('('11si I11\V 11111;)1;)1v.uious time-s, IIIl' /(lrIIIlI('S or Ill(' Ihn'l' ollas 11111'111- r('sid('IHT ill ()dngi.olll. . "I,'cI '" lill(' wu h 11u: wh imx Ill' t lu: illl'llllll)('1I1 ('ololli:d "nicers ;1I1c11111!' \wlljal<- so lIi. '1'1u M••I",I;I ,1.11111"']11,.,1 t lu-. .',1.,1111';0'r.tkru :IW:I\,I,,· 11n ']1',1,i, I 1>11"". ~I, """ I, ',,, 11•.,1 1,,11 ••. t in« ,>I IlIcI"I)(,IIII"III'<'. 111;111"10<100IcI; 111"0111"<;1' IIl1l1k,· 110:11 11. cl •. I., MI>IIII', ",1"11.,,01.11I", ""I" ,11,,,,, "' II):~1.1'"1 \\',1', '11"" "III""cI ,'1\1 I,d, I I C I I I' \ '( • I I I' ( I ~,I i I I ( I(.I )(.r I1 I ( . I I f r ' ", ( '" ( . I I I I I I ( . I I I I' I ) 1I I(I I i I I (I ;I x ( ) 11 I I i()I I I() I 11 (' (' I i~i~,',.'I "I,(. N••. II'J':",·I,"I'"" I 204 Chiefs and Tradition 17. The Adernola-Adekoya cnsis has been extensively covered by Olutunde Oduwobi, "A Historical Study," 80-92. ] 8. Al File o. 1193 Ije Prof. l. 19. Petition from the Moloda James Idowu to the Chief Commissioner, Southern Province of Nigeria, 26 June 1936. NAI File No. 1193 Ije Prof. 1. 20. Letter from the Ag. District Officer S. Cook Through the Awujale Adenuga to the Oremadegun of Odogbolu, April 13, 1926. File No. 1193 Ije Prof. l. 21. Letter from the Awujale Adenuga to the Oremadegun of Odogbolu, September 6, 1924. NAl File No. 1193lje Prof. l. 22. Letter from the Ag. District Officer Mr. S. Cook through the Awujale Adenuga to the Oremadegun of Odogbolu, April 13, 1926. NAl File No. 1193 Ije Prof. l. 23. Ibid. 24. Petition from the Moloda James Idowu to the Lieutenant Governor Southern Provinces, July 9,1935. Al File o. 1193 Ije Prof. l. 25. Petition from the Elesi Onagoruwa of Efiyan to the Awujale and to the Resident, ij~bu Province, September 3,1936. NAl File No. 1193 Ije Prof. l. 26. Letter from the Awujale to the Resident, ij~bu Province, 19 September 1936. NAl File No. 1193lje Prof. l. 27. The Moloda had earlier been rebuked for referring to his installation ceremony as coronation and for inviting the resident to the occasion. See the letter from the Ag. Residence to the Awujalc, September 13, 1944 on the matter. NAl File No. 1193, Ije Prof. l. 28. "Provocation as a Cause of Strive." Petition from the Oremadegun Olukoya to the Resident ij~bu Province dated September 8, 1944. 29. Letter from the Ag. Resident, Ijebll Province through the Awujale to the Moloda ofOdogbolu, November 2,1944. NAl File No. 1113, Ije Prof. l. 30. Letter from the Moloda to the Awujale, March 14, 1945. NAl File No. 1193 Ije Prof. 1. 31. Reaction to this step is well captured in a petition by the Odogbolu Welfare Association (no doubt a sectional association) to this new decision. See Petition from Odogbolu Welfare Association to the Resident, ij~bu Province, March 17, 1948. NAl File No. 1193lje Prof. l. 32. J. A. Oyesanya, Government Views and Decisions on the Report of the Commission on Odogbolu Chiejtaincy Dispute (Lagos: Lasunkanmi Production Enterprises, n.d.), 5. 33. Ibid., 7. 34. Ibid., 8. 35. An address delivered by the military governor of Ogun State, Brigadier Oladipo Diya at the formal installation and presentation of the instrument of office to the Alaye of Odogbolu, Oba Ismail Idowu Owoaje on Saturday, May 4, 1985.