Gov. Kayode Fayemi

By Adeola Agoro

There has been an uproar to the query from Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti to the Pelupelu obas in the state.

Did the governor send a query to them for not attending government functions in the state? 

The answer is yes.

Before we go to the genesis of the whole obaship problem in the state, to what led to the query, let us take a look at what a query means. 

A query letter is written by an authority for reasons such as requesting for answers to some burning questions regarding certain important matters, processes and sundry matters that the issuer of the query wants to clear.

So the query in this matter was a letter seeking for clarifications.

The next question would be if Gov. Fayemi has the right to send a query on certain matters that are unclear to him to the obas under his leadership with him being the Chief Security and the Chief Upholder of Tradition and Culture in the  state?

The answer to that is also yes.

Apart from this Pelupelu crisis at the moment, there are several other crisis within the traditional stools and they all go to the Governor’s Office to be settled.

So, that’s settled. Let us now take a look at this obaship matter in an unbiased way.

Sixteen obas out of over 70 obas are not in agreement over who the Chairman of their obaship council is.

 In the estimation of the 16 out of the 70 obas, the chairman of their traditional council is not the right person to head them in the order of hierarchy. They have gone to court to challenge his headship of their council. Nobody has stopped them. 

The Governor has only sent a query to know why they have been refusing to come for state functions which they are invited to. Instead of answering the query, people have made a big deal of a simple letter and are instigating the obas to ignore what should be done.

While some of us will not meddle in the traditional matters of Ekiti State as our respect for traditional settings are extremely high, we would just like to clear a few things.

Gov. Fayemi has a good understanding of the tradition of his people. He will do anything to edify, dignify and elevate the royal stools in all communities in the state. As a matter of fact, he has made all the obas, without any exception feel the taste of royalty with the provision of automobiles and payments of salaries more than any governor before him (after immediately after him before this tenure). He will continue to hold the obas in high regards and accord them all the respect and dignity they deserve.

If however there are problems between them, it is his duty to try to resolve it and the best way to achieve that is to find out what is amiss with a view to resolving it.

Those of us who are followers of Dr. Kayode Fayemi can say without any fear of contradiction that he will always do what is right by everybody. In as much as he is interested in everything that is under his purview in Ekiti State, he also a leader to other groups beyond Ekiti, so, he would do everything to put his house in order before going out to see that other places are doing well.

Gov. Fayemi will never have disagreements with his obas. He regards them all as his traditional fathers. And a son can always be involved in a matter that involves his fathers if he has many of them.

Gov. Fayemi will resolve this obaship issue as soon as possible. It’s in his domain and he’s capable of handling anything put in his care.

This matter will die a natural death in a matter of time. It just needs the obas’ understanding that the Govenor only wants the best for them all.

The peace in Ekiti will never be broken. 

To the kabiyesi, kade pe lori, ki bata pe lese. E dakun, e fi ye denu o.

-Alhaja Adeola Agoro, journalist and entrepreneur writes from Abuja