A group of youths in Ibese community in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State has accused the Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, of attempt to encroach on their land.
The group under the aegis of Ibese Youth Association said this in a letter “Save our Souls” addressed to the State Commissioner for Urban and Regional Development.
The letter was jointly signed by the group Chairman, Aina Bamigboye, the Secretary, Julius Adebiyi and the Public Relations Officer, Ajibola Ogunbona.
According to the youths, we have every reason to believe that Oba Kehinde Olugbenle has been behind underground moves to sponsor dichotomy between the two ancient towns of Ibese and Ilaro.
“Where was Ilaro or Oba Kehinde Olugbenle in 1958 when Ibese won the parcel of land that the Paramount Ruler is coveting? We have relevant documents to back all our claims. Our forefathers lived peacefully and we wish to still continue to cohabitate peacefully,” the youths asked.
They called on Governor Dapo Abiodun to wade in to the matter to avoid degenerating into communal clashes, citing the example of Ife-Modakeke crisis.
The statement reads “The above named association is the youth vanguard of Ibese. We have always been at the forefront of safeguarding the territorial integrity of our community with track records of achievements and civility.
“We hereby wish to bring to your notice the antics of the Olu of Ilaro and the Paramount Ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle that we have noticed for sometime and which recently took a strange and laughable turn.
“In the afternoon of the 23rd of May 2024, a group of people ( obviously agitators and claim- jumpers) gathered at the defunct OGBC Transmission Station, Ibese to execute a mission suspected to be treacherous. One of the Ibese youths around accosted them and he was informed by one Chief Kabiru Oguntola , the Baale of Igbonla, Community, ‘Ilaro’ that he had led the group to the place to erect a landmark indicating the boundary between Ibese and Ilaro.The members of the group numbering up to thirty allegedly comprised of officials from the Ministry of Lands and Housing, some chiefs from the Olu–in-Council, Ilaro hoodlums and the earlier mentioned Baale of Igbonla Community, ‘Ilaro’. The leader of the group further informed that they had come on the instructions of the Olu of Ilaro to do the marking of the boundary. Even though they came in a fairly large number, they later vanished when they realised that their plan had been orchestrated by the presence of Ibese youths.
“Sir, we may need to fortify you with some information so that you could be better guided on this issue. The Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle has always desired to encroach to the land of Ibese. There are instances of this claim. On an occasion, he had covertly instructed one of his chiefs, Kabiru Oguntola to invite all the landlords and residents of Oko-iya, the Ibese community that borders Ijanna (close toTeachers’ Training College) to join him(Baale) in the Community Development Council (CDC) that covers Igbonla (another part of Ibese where Olu of Ilaro has installed a baale) but the former refused on the ground that they were neither part of Ilaro nor Yewa South. This move by Chief Kabiru Oguntola was obviously the manifestation of the Olu of Ilaro’s motive for installing the baale at Igbonla.
“On another occasion, the Olu of Ilaro had allegedly ordered the removal of the sign post which was erected by Ibese youths that carried the inscription of ‘welcome to Ibese’ sometime in 2016. We later gathered that his reason for doing so was not unconnected to our concerns in this letter.
“From the foregoing Sir, we have every reason to believe that Oba Kehinde Olugbenle has been nursing some unwarranted ambition to sponsor dichotomy between the two ancient towns of Ibese and Ilaro.
“In our investigation of what could be making the Paramount Ruler to be desperate in encroaching the land of Ibese and claim it for Ilaro, we found out that the Olu of Ilaro’s major concern is the location of the magnificent Frontier Hotel which is obviously on the land of Ibese. That is, the Paramount Ruler wants to claim the Ibese land up to the location of the hotel and beyond. To achieve this, he (Olu of Ilaro) is allegedly working round the clock with top concerned government functionaries who are probably indigenes of Ilaro to alter age-long relevant documents in the favour of his desires.
“For your information Sir, when the land for Frontier Hotel was sold to the owner by the Ogun State Government around 2015, the owner of the hotel was directed to Ibese by the agency of the state government in charge to visit the late Aboro of Ibeseland before any work could be done on the site. The team was led by one Mr. Tella, a top official of the State Ministry of Lands. Why were they not directed to Ilaro?
It will also interest you to know that the sign board bearing the name and location of the Ogun State Housing Estate that was formerly erected along Ilaro-Ibese has also been vandalised and the debris removed! All these attest to the desperation of the Olu of Ilaro to arrogate Ibese’s land to Ilaro.
“We understand that Ogun State Government acquired land for housing estate from Ilaro to Ibese. The fact that the name of the housing estate is Ilaro/Ibese is also not negotiable. The amount of land that Ibese donated to the housing estate is what the Olu of Ilaro is now supervising to arrogate.
“From the foregoing Sir, we have every reason to believe that Oba Kehinde Olugbenle has been nursing some unwarranted ambition to sponsor dichotomy between the two ancient towns of Ibese and Ilaro. Where was Ilaro or Oba Kehinde Olugbenle in 1958 when Ibese won the parcel of land that the Paramount Ruler is coveting? We have relevant documents to back all our claims. Our forefathers lived peacefully and we wish to still continue to cohabitate peacefully.
“In conclusion Sir, we know that the State Governor, His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun MFR is a peace-loving governor and will do everything to protect the state from any incitement that can mortgage that peace. We also very strongly believe in your responsible and astute leadership and we will always depend on that. As youths, we shall resist with all modesty every overt and covert intent (from any quarters) to arrogate even a plot of the land of Ibese to a person, group of persons or a community. We wish to maintain with all humility that the Olu of Ilaro or any individual on behalf of Ilaro should not play a big-brother game to claim what does not belong to them. We have resolved to bulwark our territorial integrity within the confine of the law.
“We suggest that the Paramount Ruler should ask necessary questions from appropriate customary quarters and government agencies before his desires engender a communal crisis.
“Sir, we therefore want you to use your good office to prevail on the perpetrators of the encroachment case as highlighted in this letter. The Ife-Modakeke skirmish is still fresh in our memories and we do not want to experience that in Yewaland.”
