- Ooni of Ife and the People Clarify Position
After repeated appeals by the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, to the protesting people of Ile-Ife over the appointment of Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire as the 12th Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), the protest that rocked the peace of the University town for days is gradually dying down.
The protesting Ile-Ife indigenes, majority of whom are said to be workers and residents of the University community, are aggrieved over what they regard as the injustice and malpractices allegedly perpetrated by the institution’s Governing Council during the selection process.
A reliable source at the institution, who did not want his name on print because of security reasons, said blankly that the Ooni of Ife, His Royal Majesty, Ogunwusi Ojaja II, was behind the protest, due to very personal and selfish reasons.
He said, “Despite the press statement in which the Ooni called for calm, he is remotely behind all the unrest in the institution.” He alleged further that the Ooni and his fellow Ile-Ife cohorts are rooting for an Ile-Ife person to be appointed the OAU VC whether he is qualified or not, as such an appointment will make it very easy for him to illegally enter and balkanized the 1961 gazetted land giving to the institution sixty-one years ago when it was established by the old Western Regional Government.
Ooni Aderemi Adesoji, among other persons, worked tirelessly for the institution to be established was on the throne of Ife for 40 years and during his reign, he never attempted to influence the appointment of the institution’s V.C.
Oba Okunade Sijuwade, the fiftieth traditional ruler or Ooni, who ruled Ile-Ife from 1980 to 2015 when he died took the regional name, Olubuse II, also never attempted to influence the institution’s appointments in any category.
But sadly, the present Ooni Ogunwusi is scheming desperately to influence who is made the OAU VC, just because such an appointment would make it very easy for him to appropriate more land which belongs to the institution after the huge parcel of land of the University in Parakin in Ile-Ife, which he has already taken over. The land in question in Parakin if you must know is the land Ooni allegedly shared with his father and some Chiefs in his palace.
The above are the reasons for all the noise that followed Professor Bamire’s well-deserved appointment.
As expected, Palace Watch immediately reached out to the Ooni of Ife palace for his reaction to these allegations. The Ooni of Ife Palace spokesman, Otunba Moses Olafere, dismissed the allegations as malicious and baseless.
He referred Palace Watch to Barrister Yemi Adetise, the lawyer, who is currently handling the matter on behalf of the people, Comrade Lawrence Awowoyin, President, Ife Development Board (IDB) and Chief Yomi Layinka, a member of the Ife Development Board for their comments, over the Parakin land and the recent appointment of the OAU’s VC.
Chief Yomi Layinka, who spoke with us, stressed that: “It is quite sad that some people in the university community, who are supposed to be enlightened, have decided to go this low, to blackmail an innocent Ooni who is doing his ultimate best to play the role of a father to all, which he truly is.
He continued “Since the Governing Council of the Obafemi Awolowo University advertised the vacancy for a Vice-Chancellor of OAU; many stakeholders have understandably shown interest in the process and its possible outcome.
The OAU hitherto known as the University of Ife was established 61 years ago. It is by all accounts, the largest University in Africa in terms of landmass. Ranked number 14 by the National University Commission in 2021, the OAU has graduated thousands of students in many fields of endeavour. There is no doubt that the decision to establish the university in Ile-Ife, a city established as the cradle of the Yoruba as early as centuries BC – was conscious and deliberate; to identify with and celebrate the global acclaim and ancient civilization of not just the Yoruba people but also the entire Oduduwa race worldwide. The university, as an economic asset and a driver of urbanization, has since contributed immensely to the development and visibility of Ile-Ife as a city and destination of commerce and tourism.
He explained: “In its 61 years of existence, the OAU has conducted several selections of its Vice Chancellors who have always emerged based on criteria defined by its governing authorities. On all these occasions, the Ife community has never interfered nor sought to manipulate the internal affairs of the institution in favour of anyone, including its sons and daughters. Just like the recent selection process, the Ile-Ife people have always held the views that their qualified and capable sons and daughters, who are part of the university community, should be free to equally exercise their rights like other candidates to contest and be considered for various positions according to the same objective parameters as may be set by its governing laws and institutions. So while like every host community, we have naturally desired the fair and just consideration of our qualified sons and daughters for some of the highest positions in this Federal establishment, which is cited within our territory. We as Ife people have never demanded these at the expense of the university set standards or on conditions that may jeopardize the cordial relationship between the university and our people.
“The only instance when an Ile-Ife indigene, Professor Anthony Elujoba, was appointed a V.C. in an acting capacity for one year, was done in strict accordance with the internal processes of the University, with no instigation or interference whatsoever from the Ife community.
“We, however, want to express our disappointment and feeling of angst that after sixty years of the University’s existence, OAU has only counted the Ile-Ife community worthy of one-short-lived, acting VC position. Even at that, there were all manners of gang-up against Professor Elujoba by different interest groups in the university, all to make sure he did not function.”
He added that: “Ile-Ife unlike other communities across the country where similar institutions are established, the institution has taken due consideration and positively responded to the local people’s yearning for an indigene to be appointed into such position as the VC. Some places where indigenes have assumed the position of VC are the University of Benin, Edo State, Kano, Ilorin, Oye-Ekiti, Ibadan just to mention a few. From the above Ile-Ife remains probably the only University City, where an indigene, who is qualified, has never once been appointed VC.
“Notwithstanding seeming discrimination against the Ile-Ife people, we have all these years remained calm, because of our faith in the justness and reasonableness of our demand. We will continue to remain unshaken in the belief that our legitimate request for fair treatment as meted out to the aforementioned favoured communities shall soon get to us.
“Now to the main issue of discrimination against the candidates of Ile-Ife origin, any curious observer of the unfolding drama and its aftermath, especially as it relates to the recent selection of the University VC process, will begin to wonder why there is such an apparent tug of war between the university authority and the Ile-Ife people. They will again begin to wonder why for instance, the Ile-Ife community is raising allegations of deliberate manipulations of the process to effectively shut out Ile-Ife indigenes interviewed for the position of the institution VC. Unfortunately, the University authority, which is guilty of all the alleged wrongdoings is making it look as if they are the Saint in this matter.
“It is wrong for the university to create the impression as if the Ile-Ife community is asking for the standard to be lowered for their sons. No! This impression is wrong and dangerous. For example, Prof. Adedoyin, who was cleverly schemed out, has well over 200 publications as against the 35 publications of Professor Bamire. “Secondly, why shift the goal post when the game was already on? “People should take their time and look at the scores awarded to the people who have once been Deputy Vice-Chancellor in the said interview. This particular score in the interview was introduced on the day of the selection interview, which was not supposed to be.
“The outgoing OAU VC is in the habit of blackmailing Ile-Ife indigenes, to the institution Governing Council and members of the public, that when an Ile-Ife indigene is made the university VC, he will make way for the institution land to be acquired by the Ife community. A claim which is disgusting and irresponsible in all senses of the word.
“Therefore, the crux of this disagreement is the pending land dispute between the Ile-Ife Community and the University authority. Sadly, since the emergence of the outgoing VC, Professor Tope Ogunbodede, this particular crisis has further deepened, because of his manipulative tendencies.”
According to Barrister Yemi Adetise, who is representing the Ile-Ife Community in this matter said “the dispute started two or three years before the death of the immediate past Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade. The late Ooni sometime in 2011 or 2012 permitted some contractors to develop some parcels of land in Parakin in Ile-Ife. While the contractors the late Ooni sent were on site, the University Authority then mobilized its security personnel to stop the job on that site in Parakin. The late Ooni subsequently did a letter and sent a delegation made up then of one of his sons, Tokunbo Sijuwade, Rasak Adewole, one of his 1st Cousins and one Chief Adejobi, who was working with Ooni Sijuwade, to Abuja to meet with the then Minister of Education over the matter.
The then Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayatu Ahmed Rufai, told Ooni Sijuwade’s delegation, that she was almost bowing out of office as Minister, that it will be wrong for her to start a matter she will not be able to conclude before leaving office. Thus, advising Ooni’s team to hold on, until a new Minister of Education is appointed. The new Minister will then have ample time and opportunity to look into the disputed land matter carefully. The late Ooni, in an attempt to maintain the status quo ante, got the University authority to enter into an agreement with the Ooni Palace then. A committee of equal number, with representatives from the Ile-Ife Palace and the University, was subsequently set up, to look into this matter. This committee had not completed its assignment, when the Ooni passed on on August 25, 2015.
“Surprisingly, immediately the OAU authority heard that the Ooni had joined his ancestors, the OAU authority under Professor Omole as VC, mobilized and sold part of the land in question out to various contractors, who began construction on the parcel of land in Parakin under Public Private Partnership arrangement. The school authority failed to pay the money realized from the proceeds of this arrangement into the university bank account. This was the position until the Ile-Ife community went ahead and stopped their contractors from continuing with the illegal work they were doing on that site.
“After the present Ooni was enthroned, he wanted this matter to be amicably resolved between the Ile-Ife Community and the OAU authority. Ooni Ogunwusi then asked the university authority to submit the survey map of the land, allegedly given to the University by the Western Regional Government in 1961, for reconciliation purposes. Although the university had this document in the archives, because they knew they were lying, they refused to bring it out for examination.
“Because they knew, they were illegally encroaching on the Ile-Ife community land. The Ile-Ife Palace was then forced to bring out their owns with regard to the university Community land allocated to them in the year 1961. It was then it became clear to all parties that there was no land allocated to the University that was gazetted then and now. Two, the total parcel of land allocated to OAU when the institution was founded was 16,000 Hectares of land. Three, the Parakin parcel of land in question was never included in the land allocated to the university Authority. It was during this exchange, that it became clear that the University of Ife has illegally taken 1,400 Hectares of land belonging to the Ife Community in Parakin.
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“While the school authority kept on inviting the Nigerian Police into this matter, the Police advised the OAU authority to go to court to prove their ownership of the land they are claiming. Up till now, the OAU authority has refused to approach the court. Hence, the Ile-Ife Community is now ready to take the school to court over the matter.
Again if the OAU authority knew they were on solid ground over this matter they would have approached the Osun State Governor, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola, whose government is the Trustee of the land in Osun State. This they have not done because they know, they have no case. We are, however, determined to recover the 1,400 Hectares of land they stole from the Ile-Ife community no matter how long it takes.
When Palace Watch called the outgoing VC’s mobile lines they were all switched off and he also refused to reply to the text messages sent to his phone over the matter.
