Posted by Native Americans living in Ifon town, Orolu Local Government Area, Osun State, have accused the Ilobu community of plotting to give part of the villages under its control to Oyo State, a neighboring state.
Orolu Local Government is a border between Osun and Oyo States, according to DAILY POST.
This claim was made in a petition on Saturday by Jide Akinyooye, the secretary of the Ifon-Orolu Progressive Union Board of Trustees.
The Ifon community said in the petition acquired by DAILY POST that certain communities inside the town were being given over to municipalities in Oyo State.
He added that the village chiefs’ choice to swear loyalty to cities in Oyo State was intended to incite the Ifon community to retaliate violently.
Akinrotoye implored the Osun State Government to respond to the accusation promptly.
“On Friday, December 29, 2023, we learned that Baale of Iranyin in Surulere Local Government of Oyo State had appointed several Ilobu natives, who are farmers in the majority of the villages under Orolu Local Government, Ifon-Osun, as new chiefs in their respective settlements.
For example, Mr. Tafa, an Ilobu villager from Bara-Odunayo village, was appointed as a Chief and given authority over Bara village in Orolu Local Government. Additionally, a traditional ruler in the Surulere Local Government area of Oyo State placed and recognized Mr. Alani, a villager in Olosho in Orolu Local Government Area, Ifon-Osun, as the village’s leader.
According to Osun State Chief Laws, the Chiefs of the Molufon and Idi-Iroko Model Towns are Second Class Obas, and a similar situation exists there.
Sadly, we have factually discovered that all of these massive conspiracies against the Ifon people, Orolu Local Government, and the Osun State government were masterfully planned and carried out with the knowledge of Chief Ashiru Olatoye Olaniyan, the Baale of Ilobu in Osun State, who enthusiastically welcomed them into his palace.
We are confident that the funders and partners on this terrible and illegal operation want to create civil unrest in the area, he insisted.
He went on to say that the goal was to undermine the Osun State government’s position before the National Boundary Commission, NBC, in order to forcefully cede Osun State’s territorial boundary area to Oyo State.
“It is crucial to make clear to the public that the affected areas contain public amenities provided by the Osun State government, such as low-cost housing, motorized boreholes, elementary schools, primary health centers, and other social amenities. These locations have also accommodated Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) polling stations located within Olufon Ward 10 of Orolu Local Government area, Ifon-Osun, without dispute since the beginning of time.
“We are calling for an investigation into Baale of Iranyin, Oyo State, and the impersonators who allegedly installed the Olu-Idiroko, Olu of Molufon, Bara, among others, within Osun State for impersonation under the Chiefs Laws of Osun State, and for the appropriate prosecution of them,” stated the statement sent by the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 11 Police Command to the Osun State Government.
When reached, Adegoke Ogunsola, the Otun Jagun of Ilobu, refuted the accusation.
Ogunsola attested to the fact that the Ilobu people, who are farmers in Oyo State, were made Baales.
“This is not our land, where they were made village heads.” They work the land as farmers. They were installed by the Aranhin of Irahin in Surulere Local Government.
“It’s just that our people who are farmers on the land of Irahin and Iresa-adu were put in charge of the villages, and everything is fine there,” he stated.