Oba Lekan Balogun
T’Olubadan ba ku, ta ni yio j’oye? (Who’s next, when Olubadan passes on?). That was how we youngsters growing up in the then Western Region interpreted the message from the talking drum which was the signature tune of the then Nigeria Broadcasting Service on the redifusion then.
This must be the question on the lips of many because of the place of Ibadanland, the former political capital of the South West, in Nigeria.
Immediately the 42nd Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Dr. Mohood Lekan Balogun, Alli Okunmade II, passed on, on Thursday evening at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, people had started asking who is next in line to succeed the late monarch, as nature abhors vacuum.
The Olubadan succession is unique in Yorubaland. This is because elevation to the throne is by promotion, with the most senior chief after the King taking his place, after his demise.
The selection of who becomes the monarch of one of the largest cities in Africa is, according to the amended Ibadan Chieftaincy Declaration, order, dated February 11, 2022, in view of the judgments of the Oyo State High Court on February 1 and 10, 2022, as well as sections 7, 20, 26 and 30 of the Chiefs Law of Oyo State 2000.
The declaration recognises the two ruling lines to the throne of Olubadan, Egbe Agba (civil) and Balogun (military), from where Olubadans are appointed on rotational basis to occupy the stool on the death of a monarch.
The next to Olubadan and most senior on both lines are the Otun Olubadan and Balogun, who under the Western Nigeria Law are recognised as second class traditional rulers and are paid stipends. Others are the Osi Olubadan, Asipa Olubadan, Ekerin and Ekarun, as well as Otun Balogun, Osi Balogun, Asipa Balogun, Ekerin and Ekarun Balogun, while the Seriki and Iyalode, (“mother of the town”, female chief) are also members of the Olubadan advisory council.
The 11 high chiefs that formed the Olubadan-in-council, apart from the Seriki and Iyalode, are recognised as the traditional head of each of the 11 LGs in Ibadanland. In the amended law, Governor Seyi Makinde in 2023, under the recommendations of the late Olubadan, Oba Balogun, elevated the 11 high chiefs to the rank of monarchs, with only the Otun Olubadan, High Chief Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, a former governor of Oyo State, rejecting the Crown.
Findings however revealed that the next in line to become the Olubadan of Ibadanland is Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, the Balogun of Ibadanland and leader of the military line in the Olubadan system.
This latest development marks a significant shift in leadership within the Olubadan hierarchy as Oba Olakulehin is set to become the 43rd Olubadan from the Balogun line.
In 2015, the 41st Olubadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji Aje Oguguniso I came from the Balogun line while his successor, Oba Balogun came from the Otun line, hence the need to return to the military line.
According to tradition, the next in line to Olakulehin, after he is coronated is High Chief Rashidi Ladoja, who heads the civil line as Otun Olubadan of Ibadan.
