A respected human rights group in Osun State, Ijabe Solidarity Forum, has expressed concerns over the selection process for the next Onijabe of Ijabe in Odo-Otin Local Government Area. The group opposed the alleged plan to impose Tajudeen Abioye, popularly known as TJ of Holland, due to his reported questionable records. According to the group, Abioye's Olukoye Ruling House is not next in line to the throne.
The Ijabe Solidarity Forum urged Governor Ademola Adeleke, kingmakers, and relevant authorities to resist any attempt to truncate the established process for selecting the next Onijabe. The group emphasized that the Onijabe stool is a revered traditional institution representing the history, identity, and heritage of Ijabe. Its occupant must emerge through the recognized chieftaincy arrangement, not through financial strength, influence, or self-proclamation.
The group's concerns were heightened by Abioye's legal history in official records released by the Prosecutor General's Office of Mozambique. Abioye was arrested in Maputo on November 5, 2022, following an international arrest warrant issued by INTERPOL at the request of Dutch judicial authorities. The warrant was related to a criminal case involving the trafficking of illicit drugs and psychotropic substances.
The Mozambican authorities stated that the Netherlands requested Abioye's extradition to serve a prison sentence arising from the case. The Mozambican Supreme Court approved the extradition in June 2023. A separate case is being investigated by the Central Office for Combating Organised and Transnational Crime, involving alleged aggravated document forgery, use of false documents, criminal association, and active corruption.
The Ijabe Solidarity Forum emphasized that the Onijabe stool is not a commodity that can be purchased with money or secured through influence. The group added that the ruling house projected by TJ is not the one next in line to the throne according to the rotational arrangement guiding the Onijabe stool.
The Oloyan/Oluode Ruling House had earlier stated that it is their turn to produce the next Onijabe under the rotational arrangement and chieftaincy declaration guiding the stool. The ruling house noted that no formal selection process had been announced by the kingmakers, and neither the Odo-Otin Local Government nor the Osun State Government had approved anyone to occupy the vacant stool following the death of Oba Felix Oyeniyi Oyelade II.
The Ijabe Solidarity Forum called on Governor Adeleke, kingmakers, Odo-Otin Local Government, and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to ensure a transparent selection process guided by traditional arrangements. The group urged stakeholders to prevent the vacant stool from becoming a contest of financial influence, insisting that the next Onijabe should emerge through due process and in accordance with the established succession arrangement.
Key points
- The Ijabe Solidarity Forum opposed the imposition of Tajudeen Abioye as the next Onijabe of Ijabe due to his reported questionable records.
- Abioye's Olukoye Ruling House is not next in line to the throne according to the rotational arrangement guiding the Onijabe stool.
- The group urged Governor Ademola Adeleke and relevant authorities to ensure a transparent selection process guided by traditional arrangements.
