Ijara-Isin Development Association Rejects Sen. Saliu Mustapha as the Agba’akin of Isin Land, Says Olusin of Isanlu-Isin Acted on His Own
The attention of Ijara-Isin Community has been drawn to thevideo clip circulating round the social media, in which your Royal Highness conferred the Honourary Chieftaincy title of Agbakin of Isin land on Senator Saliu Mustapha and during which time you said you were doing so as the paramount Ruler of Isin land.
The Ijara-isin Development Association, the body charged with the responsibility of overall affairs of the town and hereby representing His Royal Highness, the Olusin of Ijara-Isin, the chiefs and the entire people of Ijara-Isin, is writing this letter to outrightly reject the paramountcy claim by your Royal Highness and to put the record straight for prosterity sake.
Sir, much it is within the power of your Royal Highness to confer chieftaincy title on whosoever you deem fit, this authority should be limited to the confines of Isanlu-Isin land and not extended to other communities as your Royal Highness statement publicly proclaimed at the ceremony.
With due respect to Your Royal Highness, the historical affinity between Isanlu-Isin and Ijara-Isin is well known to your Highness and well documented. Sir, there was a time when the three communities of Isanlu-Isin, Ijara-Isin and Iji-Isin were rotating the stool of Olusin among themselves. This rotation lasted more than a century and in fact, seven (7) Obas ruled in succession among the three communities until 1912, when Isanlu-Isin broke away from this tripartite arrangement and since then, had been having its own separate Olusin as Olusin of Isanlu- Isin. Similarly, Ijara-Isin and Iji-Isin now have their separate Olusins for their respective communities and the juridiction and power of these Olusins do not extend beyond their domains. Equally worthy of note is the fact that within Isin land, we have more than eighteen (18) towns and communities with their respective Obas heading them, with none being a vassal community to any other. Thus, your Royal Highness claim would have been very correct if it was before 1912, when any reigning Olusin could claim his action was on behalf of the three communities. However Sir, this time around this cannot hold.
Equally disturbing is your Royal Highness’ claim that you consulted all other Obas before the confernment of the title on the senator. We have interracted with our Oba, His Royal Highness, Oba Ajibola Ademola Julius, the Olusin of Ijara-Isin about the verracity of this claim and His Royal Highness vehemently denied it. We are therefore right to assume that since the Olusin of Ijara-Isin, who is your Royal Highness’ Vice- chairman in the council of Isin Obas was kept in the dark on this matter, other Obas would also not have the pre-knowledge of the conferrnment. This we believe shouldn’t have been so, drawing our stand on the conferrnment of the Asiwaju of Igbomina land on Chief Raheem Oladimeji, which was unanimously decided by the council of Obas in Igbomina land.
Sir, we don’t know of the contribution of Senator Saliu Mustapha to the development and social emansipation of Isanlu-Isin, but we want to say categorically that such presence is not felt not visible in Ijara-Isin. It is therefore shocking and embarrassing to our community to be so lumped together as one of the beneficiaries of whatever goodies Senator Mustapha had extended to Isin land by your Royal Highness’ statement that your action was on behalf of the whole Isin land.
Ijara-Isin has always been at peace with Isanlu-Isin from ages as your Highness can equally testify. Equally, Ijara-Isin rejoices and identifies with your Royal Highness’ position as the chairman of Isin Traditional Council, where we have other graded Obas who are suprintending over their individual towns and who have the power to pick whoever they want to honour with chieftaincy tile within their domain since we do not operate an emirate.
From the foregoing, we shall plead that we all strive to maintain the peace which has been reigning and for which Isin is noted.
Thank you, Your Highness.
E-signed
Hon. Justice M.O. Adewara (Chaiman)
Barr. Samuel O. Dada (Secretary)
