Amid political undercurrents, Ibadan cosmopolitanism sparks controversy between natives and residents claiming indigeneship rights by virtue of birth, statutory residency
By YINKA OLUDAYISI FABOWALE
Who is an Ibadan person?
Who is an Ibadan person?
Ordinarily, a casual visit to the densely populated inner ring of the Oyo State capital such as Beere, Idi arere, Idi ose, Foko, Inalende, Oniyanrin, Ita merin, or the clusters of farmsteads/villages that make up its suburbs will readily yield up a kindred population often perceived as “sons and daughters of the soil”.
They are the tribe of locals with faces scarred with tribal marks and a funny Yoruba dialect that has made them the butt of comic jokes for its phonetic defect in pronouncing some English words. For instance, an average Ibadan man substitutes the English consonants, [ch and sh] for [s] and vice versa, such that he pronounces ‘chiken’ as ‘sikin’, ‘show’ as ‘so’ and ‘sure’ as ‘suo’.
But, that concept of the identity of an Ibadan indigene is being challenged, amid modernization, social changes and contest for power for the control of political levers in the megalopolis itself, reputed to be the largest south of the Sahara and the larger Oyo political landscape of which it is the headquarters.
Advocates of a redefinition of who an Ibadan native is argue their position not only on the Nigerian Constitution, but, by the very nature of the Oyo capital as a settler city!
Ibadan has been in existence for only a little over 200 years, formed by refugees fleeing their homesteads during the Yoruba inter-tribal wars as well as Fulani Jihadists after the sack of Old Oyo, headquarters of the famous Oyo Empire.
It became a formidable community because of its hilly and mountainous topography, which made it impregnable for enemies, as well as the presence of a conglomeration of mighty war generals and men of valour who trooped from various Yoruba kingdoms-Oyo, Iwo, Ife, Ijebu, Egba, Ejigbo, Efon Alaye, Ibadan, etc to make it a military camp. The invincibility of the Ibadan Imperial Army attracted more migrants from these and other parts of Yorubaland seeking protection from the bloody internecine conflicts ravaging the entire landscape, thus swelling the population of the city to its present size!
Although traditions had it that the area grew from a small community earlier founded in the 16th century by a small band of migrants led by Lagelu, a prince from Ile Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba people and was known as Eba Odan (An area by the Savannah), this history is hardly reckoned with in the emergence of the present Ibadan for two main reasons. The early settlers were said to have lived on the mountain and shifted location at least twice.
In fact, descendants of Lagelu lost out in the power play following the incursion of military men into the fast growing city, which established for itself a republican system of government, with a unique system of political succession and power sharing between the nobles and the military corps.
Today, members of the original lineage complain against what they called exclusion from the Olubadan royal stool.
Their head, the Aboke, however, serves as chief priest of the deity believed to protect and prosper the city.
The new view
Because they came in succession over time, champions of the new idea of an Ibadan indigene, are saying the concept of indigeneship must necessarily cover even latter generations of migrants and people born in the city.
An Ibadan socialite and businessman, Mr. Femi Bablola, remarks that Ibadan is composed of people from virtually every part of Yorubaland, who flocked to the city because of commerce or to avoid wars at one time or the other. “My question is, who drew the cut off line, that you came in 1960 and as such, you can’t claim Ibadan? That’s what I keep asking people. Who ruled the line and when was it ruled?, ” querries Babalola, one of the propellers of the economy of the city, born and bred there, although with roots in Fiditi, near Oyo, in Afijio Local Government area of the state.
But, an Ibadan High Chief, Oloye Lekan Alabi, the Aare Alasa Olubadan, disagrees with Babalola. The former General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Odua Investments Company says: “There’s no controversy at all. An Ibadan indigene, by the qualification of indigeneship is a woman or man, whose ancestry dates back to the founding of Ibadan, just as it affects a Bangladeshi, a Mexican, a Briton or any other race in the world.”
According to him, anyone who cannot trace his roots to the fourth generation (of the city), cannot claim to be an Ibadan indigene, “because we’re a people with distinct culture, philosophy, language and customs.”
Alabi explains further: “Anybody who says his ancestor came during or after (national) independence, even if it were to serve in the civil service or work with the Railways, is missing the point, if he imagines that makes him an indigene. He will be told a story of his life. Mr. Fayed, owner of Harrods and Fulham City FC in England, does not have a British citizenship. Britain still renews his visa. In Britain, there are classes of citizens. You have the likes of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister, who are full-bred and others granted citizenship if they fulfilled some immigration laws and conditions.”
Oloye Alabi says given the greatness and cosmopolitan nature of Ibadan as well as its position as the de facto political capital of the South West, it is understandable that people would wish to identify with it. “Ibadan is a magnet that attracts, like the USA”, he remarks. What more, the people, he notes, are hospitable and accommodating of strangers, irrespective of tribe or ethnic backgrounds, a situation, he says, explains why it keeps attracting Nigerians from different parts of the country to settle and flourish within the conurbation.
Yet, he waxes proverbial: “Oko ko le je ti omo, ti baba, ko ma ni ala” (Even there are boundaries in a family farm holding), implying that stakeholders must recognize limits.
The position of the law
An Ibadan socialite and businessman, Mr. Femi Bablola, remarks that Ibadan is composed of people from virtually every part of Yorubaland, who flocked to the city because of commerce or to avoid wars at one time or the other. “My question is, who drew the cut off line, that you came in 1960 and as such, you can’t claim Ibadan? That’s what I keep asking people. Who ruled the line and when was it ruled?, ” querries Babalola, one of the propellers of the economy of the city, born and bred there, although with roots in Fiditi, near Oyo, in Afijio Local Government area of the state.
But, an Ibadan High Chief, Oloye Lekan Alabi, the Aare Alasa Olubadan, disagrees with Babalola. The former General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Odua Investments Company says: “There’s no controversy at all. An Ibadan indigene, by the qualification of indigeneship is a woman or man, whose ancestry dates back to the founding of Ibadan, just as it affects a Bangladeshi, a Mexican, a Briton or any other race in the world.”
According to him, anyone who cannot trace his roots to the fourth generation (of the city), cannot claim to be an Ibadan indigene, “because we’re a people with distinct culture, philosophy, language and customs.”
Alabi explains further: “Anybody who says his ancestor came during or after (national) independence, even if it were to serve in the civil service or work with the Railways, is missing the point, if he imagines that makes him an indigene. He will be told a story of his life. Mr. Fayed, owner of Harrods and Fulham City FC in England, does not have a British citizenship. Britain still renews his visa. In Britain, there are classes of citizens. You have the likes of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister, who are full-bred and others granted citizenship if they fulfilled some immigration laws and conditions.”
Oloye Alabi says given the greatness and cosmopolitan nature of Ibadan as well as its position as the de facto political capital of the South West, it is understandable that people would wish to identify with it. “Ibadan is a magnet that attracts, like the USA”, he remarks. What more, the people, he notes, are hospitable and accommodating of strangers, irrespective of tribe or ethnic backgrounds, a situation, he says, explains why it keeps attracting Nigerians from different parts of the country to settle and flourish within the conurbation.
Yet, he waxes proverbial: “Oko ko le je ti omo, ti baba, ko ma ni ala” (Even there are boundaries in a family farm holding), implying that stakeholders must recognize limits.
The position of the law
However, a constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Akin Onigbinde, believes that the law would seem to back the claim of those insisting on non-discriminatory definition of the Ibadan person. According to him, provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act confer the rights of indigeneship of a town or state on the citizen who was born or has resided there for a period of at least 10 years, especially with respect to participation in the political/electoral process.
The former Speaker of the state House of Assembly submits: "Every Nigerian is free to live in any part of the federation without fear of discrimination on the basis of tribe, ethnicity, religion or gender."
Oloye Alabi agrees, but at the same time differs with this legal clause. He says: “That’s the law and the constitution, not only in Nigeria, but everywhere. Or else, there won’t be a Nigerian in the British Parliament. But, there’s the law and there’s culture… and it’s not peculiar to Ibadan, or Benin, or Enugu.
‘There’s something that makes people unique and have special bond to their homeland. The best example of this nationalism is reflected in the Jews. They are homogenous and impregnable both in their homeland and abroad. You meet their girls for relationship, it can’t go beyond friendship, because their tradition would not allow it. The same applies to some other cultures and popular towns even in Nigeria.
“This special bond is why some people, despite the fame and fortune they made in foreign lands, put it in their WILLS or instruct their families not to bury them outside their family roots. They insist they must be brought home."
A come one, come all city
The former Speaker of the state House of Assembly submits: "Every Nigerian is free to live in any part of the federation without fear of discrimination on the basis of tribe, ethnicity, religion or gender."
Oloye Alabi agrees, but at the same time differs with this legal clause. He says: “That’s the law and the constitution, not only in Nigeria, but everywhere. Or else, there won’t be a Nigerian in the British Parliament. But, there’s the law and there’s culture… and it’s not peculiar to Ibadan, or Benin, or Enugu.
‘There’s something that makes people unique and have special bond to their homeland. The best example of this nationalism is reflected in the Jews. They are homogenous and impregnable both in their homeland and abroad. You meet their girls for relationship, it can’t go beyond friendship, because their tradition would not allow it. The same applies to some other cultures and popular towns even in Nigeria.
“This special bond is why some people, despite the fame and fortune they made in foreign lands, put it in their WILLS or instruct their families not to bury them outside their family roots. They insist they must be brought home."
A come one, come all city
However, the Otun Olubadan, the second in command to the paramount ruler of the city, High Chief Lekan Balogun, describes the dispute as unnecessary and contrived by the proponents and antagonists for selfish pursuits. His words: "The controversy is man-made. It is unreal. People are only overreacting to the political maneuvering of others, who sometimes seek to overexploit the indigeneship issue in their favour. Which city in the world is not a settler city? Every city has the same status as Ibadan. It's just that Ibadan is a more recent discovery of just about 200/300 years. Because of its historical context, it's assumed it had no founder. But, this doesn't deprive the Ibadan man of his indigeneship than Nigerians today who are British or American citizens. A non-Ibadan man who acquires citizenship also becomes an Ibadan man by law and constitutionally.
"I'm an Ali Iwo man in Ibadan. Up till about 300 years ago, I was Aremo of Ogbomoso. In the interval of 200-300 years, I became Balogun (Chief of Army Staff) of Iwo. In the course of prosecuting wars, we co-founded Ibadan, in 1863, we formally moved to Ibadan and we have produced an Olubadan, Mehmudu Ali Iwo I (1952). Now, I'm Otun Olubadan. What I have said here applies to everyone in the world."
Balogun is right. Indeed, Saturday Sun learnt that the origins of many of Ibadan prominent personalities are traceable to other Yoruba town. For instance, the forebears of the late strongman of Ibadan politics, Chief Lamidi Adedibu are said to come from Oyo, multi-billionaire, late Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola Alao's from Efon Alaye and Second Republic Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide's from Ogbomoso!
In fact, the immediate past Olubadan, the city;s paramount ruler, Oba Odulana Odugade hailed from Ijebuland in Ogun State!
Chief Balogun observes that: "The controversy is this great in Ibadan because of its status as the political capital of the West. The pressure is not as much, say in Ekiti, or any other part of Yorubaland. Those who want to claim Ibadan are perching from the perspective of disadvantage of not being from Ibadan. And those trying to preserve the sanctity of indigeneship from the perspective of depriving them…. Or you might as well expect an Ibo person to become an Olubadan. I think what those who make claim to origins fight for is that as the ones who can lay claim to family relationships that go beyond immediacy, to greet grandfathers and so forth in the city, they qualify to be called Ibadan persons, more so since they can't claim those places where they'd left again, unlike the newcomers, who still maintain a cord of relationship with and like to claim their hometowns when it is advantageous to them. "A disadvantage would be entrenched thereby," notes Chief Balogun, a Senator of the Federal Republic and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning.
But, Balogun says both parties are merely being selfish, stressing: "It's like saying you 're not part of humanity."
A game for political fortune seekers
"I'm an Ali Iwo man in Ibadan. Up till about 300 years ago, I was Aremo of Ogbomoso. In the interval of 200-300 years, I became Balogun (Chief of Army Staff) of Iwo. In the course of prosecuting wars, we co-founded Ibadan, in 1863, we formally moved to Ibadan and we have produced an Olubadan, Mehmudu Ali Iwo I (1952). Now, I'm Otun Olubadan. What I have said here applies to everyone in the world."
Balogun is right. Indeed, Saturday Sun learnt that the origins of many of Ibadan prominent personalities are traceable to other Yoruba town. For instance, the forebears of the late strongman of Ibadan politics, Chief Lamidi Adedibu are said to come from Oyo, multi-billionaire, late Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola Alao's from Efon Alaye and Second Republic Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide's from Ogbomoso!
In fact, the immediate past Olubadan, the city;s paramount ruler, Oba Odulana Odugade hailed from Ijebuland in Ogun State!
Chief Balogun observes that: "The controversy is this great in Ibadan because of its status as the political capital of the West. The pressure is not as much, say in Ekiti, or any other part of Yorubaland. Those who want to claim Ibadan are perching from the perspective of disadvantage of not being from Ibadan. And those trying to preserve the sanctity of indigeneship from the perspective of depriving them…. Or you might as well expect an Ibo person to become an Olubadan. I think what those who make claim to origins fight for is that as the ones who can lay claim to family relationships that go beyond immediacy, to greet grandfathers and so forth in the city, they qualify to be called Ibadan persons, more so since they can't claim those places where they'd left again, unlike the newcomers, who still maintain a cord of relationship with and like to claim their hometowns when it is advantageous to them. "A disadvantage would be entrenched thereby," notes Chief Balogun, a Senator of the Federal Republic and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning.
But, Balogun says both parties are merely being selfish, stressing: "It's like saying you 're not part of humanity."
A game for political fortune seekers
The intrigues to exploit the indigeneship question become even more intense and complex when there are political competitions or when prospects of material advantage are involved. For instance, during the Second Republic, the now famous slogan, "Omo wa ni, e je o se" (He is our own, vote him), became the rallying cry with which the Ibadan political elites led by the former National Chairman of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN, Chief Meredith Adisa Akinloye, Chief Akinjide (SAN) and Chief Adedibu, mobilized people of the city, with one of the highest electoral population to support Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo, an Ibadan man against Chief Bola Ige in the 1983 governorship election in the old Oyo State. Ige, the incumbent governor, lost the poll, although in controversial circumstances.
During the 1999 elections into the Fourth Republic, former governor of the state, Alhaji Lam Adesina of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, also had to fight vicious propaganda disclaiming him as an indigene of the city by opponents. In a desperate bid to stop him, the firebrand pro-democracy activist, who was set to win the ballot, was said to be a descendant of an itinerant Ibira man from Kogi State that worked as a labourer for Ibadan farmers in Oluyole Local Government area, a suburb of Ibadan.
Lam, as he was popularly called, was forced to unearth details of his pedigree and origin from his family compound in Kudeti area of Ibadan South East Local Government, as well as Ikija village in Oluyole to counter the cheap falsehood.
The Ibadans, observers allege, have also been using their numerical voting population, which amounts to 52 per cent of that of the entire state, to politically dominate other zones including Oyo, Ogbomoso, Ibarapa, and Oke Ogun, especially in the governance.
Since the Third Republic, Ibadan alone has produced all the governors, who ruled the state, except for Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala (2007-2011) from Ogbomoso, who was elected with the massive backing of Ibadans. Among governors produced by Ibadan are: Dr. Olunloyo, Kolapo Ishola, Adesina, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
The apparent stranglehold of Ibadan on the rest of the state has been ascribed to the more than passing interest its establishment has taken in the affairs and governance of the state. Apart from surreptitious meetings by indigenous clubs and associations all organized under the umbrella of the Central Council of Ibadan indigenes, leaders of thought in the city including eminent professionals, retired bureaucrats, diplomats, traditional chiefs and industrialists take positions on candidates to back and dictate the direction of votes. An example of this was when the Ambassador Olu Saanu-led group openly endorsed Senator Ajimobi for the 2007 governorship election, when the ambivalence of Ladoja, who initially refused entreaties to withdraw from the race for his kinsman threatened to give the trophy to Alao Akala. The latter, however, clinched the votes.
But, critics say it would be uncharitable to cast Ibadan people in the cloak of Xenophobes. The natives, they insist, have always been very accommodating and tolerant of strangers and had even demonstrated maturity and sophistication in the evolution of political marriage with other tribes to whom they conceded leadership in the past. They cited the case of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, (from Ijebu Remo in the present Ogun State) who ruled the old Western Region, with Ibadan as capital, and later, Ige, an Ijesa man (Osun State), who was governor of the old Oyo, carved out of the erstwhile political behemoth.
"You must, in fact, recall that the Ibadan Peoples Party led by Chief Akinloye, made Awo Premier, when its members, having won all its constituencies in the elections in the early 50s, cross carpeted overnight, thus, giving the Action Group the edge to form government instead of Zik's (Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe's NCNC," remarks erudite historian, Prof. Charles Olutayo Adesina, although he notes that, that move in itself could have stemmed from primordial, paternalistic sentiments of solidarity for a fellow Yoruba, as has been alleged in some quarters.
Yet, non Ibadan natives have continued to enjoy the freedom and backing of people of the city to realize their political aspirations. One of such is Hon. Babatunde Oduyoye, who hails from Ijebu, Ogun State, but elected to represent Ibadan North West/South West Federal Constituency in the National Assembly and a former Chairman of Ibadan North Local Government, Beckley from Ogun State.
Also, observers note that although there exist some groups such as Ibadan Descendants Union (IDU) in public institutions in the metropolis suspected to have been formed to defend and promote the interests of members, these are hardly known to exploit the advantage, even when members are at the headship to achieve their goals, or gain undue advantage during recruitment, promotion or disciplinary exercises. A top official of The Polytechnic, Ibadan told Saturday Sun of how he and a colleague, who is a fellow Ibadan man felt let down by the association when they had some issues with the polytechnic management some years ago.
A professor at the University of Ibadan also hinted that although there was a burgeoning movement and attempt by a few Ibadan elements angling for positions to use such "parapo" (communal solidarity) attitude to gain political advantage on the campus, it did not succeed and soon fizzled out.
As 2019 draws closer and political aspirants file out again, observers note that the indigeneship question may turn out the trump card that will spell the success or doom of many in the quest for power.
But, the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Onigbinde, has an advice. "In this matter, our people should be guided in their choices by electing only people that are competent and committed to the rescue and development of our geopolitical space, wherever they come from," he enjoins.
During the 1999 elections into the Fourth Republic, former governor of the state, Alhaji Lam Adesina of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, also had to fight vicious propaganda disclaiming him as an indigene of the city by opponents. In a desperate bid to stop him, the firebrand pro-democracy activist, who was set to win the ballot, was said to be a descendant of an itinerant Ibira man from Kogi State that worked as a labourer for Ibadan farmers in Oluyole Local Government area, a suburb of Ibadan.
Lam, as he was popularly called, was forced to unearth details of his pedigree and origin from his family compound in Kudeti area of Ibadan South East Local Government, as well as Ikija village in Oluyole to counter the cheap falsehood.
The Ibadans, observers allege, have also been using their numerical voting population, which amounts to 52 per cent of that of the entire state, to politically dominate other zones including Oyo, Ogbomoso, Ibarapa, and Oke Ogun, especially in the governance.
Since the Third Republic, Ibadan alone has produced all the governors, who ruled the state, except for Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala (2007-2011) from Ogbomoso, who was elected with the massive backing of Ibadans. Among governors produced by Ibadan are: Dr. Olunloyo, Kolapo Ishola, Adesina, Senator Rashidi Ladoja and Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
The apparent stranglehold of Ibadan on the rest of the state has been ascribed to the more than passing interest its establishment has taken in the affairs and governance of the state. Apart from surreptitious meetings by indigenous clubs and associations all organized under the umbrella of the Central Council of Ibadan indigenes, leaders of thought in the city including eminent professionals, retired bureaucrats, diplomats, traditional chiefs and industrialists take positions on candidates to back and dictate the direction of votes. An example of this was when the Ambassador Olu Saanu-led group openly endorsed Senator Ajimobi for the 2007 governorship election, when the ambivalence of Ladoja, who initially refused entreaties to withdraw from the race for his kinsman threatened to give the trophy to Alao Akala. The latter, however, clinched the votes.
But, critics say it would be uncharitable to cast Ibadan people in the cloak of Xenophobes. The natives, they insist, have always been very accommodating and tolerant of strangers and had even demonstrated maturity and sophistication in the evolution of political marriage with other tribes to whom they conceded leadership in the past. They cited the case of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, (from Ijebu Remo in the present Ogun State) who ruled the old Western Region, with Ibadan as capital, and later, Ige, an Ijesa man (Osun State), who was governor of the old Oyo, carved out of the erstwhile political behemoth.
"You must, in fact, recall that the Ibadan Peoples Party led by Chief Akinloye, made Awo Premier, when its members, having won all its constituencies in the elections in the early 50s, cross carpeted overnight, thus, giving the Action Group the edge to form government instead of Zik's (Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe's NCNC," remarks erudite historian, Prof. Charles Olutayo Adesina, although he notes that, that move in itself could have stemmed from primordial, paternalistic sentiments of solidarity for a fellow Yoruba, as has been alleged in some quarters.
Yet, non Ibadan natives have continued to enjoy the freedom and backing of people of the city to realize their political aspirations. One of such is Hon. Babatunde Oduyoye, who hails from Ijebu, Ogun State, but elected to represent Ibadan North West/South West Federal Constituency in the National Assembly and a former Chairman of Ibadan North Local Government, Beckley from Ogun State.
Also, observers note that although there exist some groups such as Ibadan Descendants Union (IDU) in public institutions in the metropolis suspected to have been formed to defend and promote the interests of members, these are hardly known to exploit the advantage, even when members are at the headship to achieve their goals, or gain undue advantage during recruitment, promotion or disciplinary exercises. A top official of The Polytechnic, Ibadan told Saturday Sun of how he and a colleague, who is a fellow Ibadan man felt let down by the association when they had some issues with the polytechnic management some years ago.
A professor at the University of Ibadan also hinted that although there was a burgeoning movement and attempt by a few Ibadan elements angling for positions to use such "parapo" (communal solidarity) attitude to gain political advantage on the campus, it did not succeed and soon fizzled out.
As 2019 draws closer and political aspirants file out again, observers note that the indigeneship question may turn out the trump card that will spell the success or doom of many in the quest for power.
But, the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Onigbinde, has an advice. "In this matter, our people should be guided in their choices by electing only people that are competent and committed to the rescue and development of our geopolitical space, wherever they come from," he enjoins.
This article was first written for and published in Saturday Sun.
Vintage Fábòwálé with his trademark of investigative journalism,God bless Ur pen
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