SEUN ADEOYE recounts the verbal tirades trailing the search for clues on the possible cause of the fire that destroyed the 907-year-old Owa Obokun of Ilesaland in Osun State, considered to have accommodated some Yoruba ancient monuments.

THE mysterious fire that gutted the palace of Owa Obokun of Ijesaland situated at Ereja Square in Ilesa, Osun State at the weekend is still generating controversy. And since the incident, the palace has become a tourist attraction of sort. Hundreds of indigenes of the area and outsiders have been visiting to either see things themselves or commiserate with the Owa.

The sections consumed by fire in the 907-year old palace were unfortunately those being used by the current monarch, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran and the building where all artifacts, traditional costumes, historical documents and indeed the last crown worn by the progenitor of the Yoruba people, Oduduwa were kept.

Sadly, the edifice constructed by the late Oba Aromolaran, the father of the incumbent traditional ruler in 1924 and the one put in place in 1964 by Oba Agunlejika were not spared by the inferno.

Oba incumbent, Oba Aromolaran, an author, was a lecturer and a publisher before he became the 40th traditional ruler of Ijesaland in the late 80's.

In Yoruba history, the Owa was regarded as one of the sons of Oduduwa and had at one time ruled Ile-Ife for about a decade from the burnt palace. Besides, the crown used by Oduduwa was reportedly handed to his son who was the first Owa and this crown, The Guardian learnt, has a significant and spiritual impact on all past and reigning Owa.

The Ijesas have a crucial place in Yoruba history. They are a people with a distinct dialect. They are culturally proud and generally referred to as "stubborn" because of their no-nonsense approach to issues. They are highly industrious.

In Osun State of today, Ijesa people constitute six local government areas with Owa Obokun as the paramount ruler.

Since the fire incident, traditional rulers from the state and outside the state including the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi has visited Oba Aromolaran to commiserate with him. Politicians' attention has temporarily shifted from the tribunal to the burnt palace. Shortly after the inferno, the Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate in the state, Rauf Aregbesola pointedly accused the state government of being responsible for razing the palace.

His group, known as Oranmiyan was of the opinion that those responsible may actually be Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members who were allegedly unhappy that its governorship candidate, Olagunsoye Oyinlola lost in Ijesaland.

Violence trailed the April 14 polls in Ilesa as those protesting the loss by Aregbesola to Oyinlola razed several houses by.

The monarch was then accused of taking sides with Aregbesola against the resolve of other traditional rulers in the state during the election.

Of concern to the state government then, it was gathered, was the refusal of the monarch to visit Oyinlola after the attack but instead he reportedly met with the former President Olusegun Obasanjo canvassing that the Ijesas should be given a ministerial slot by the Umar Musa Yar'Adua administration.

They claimed that the Ijesas particularly those in Ilesa town, no doubt, supported Aregbesola simply because the Ijesas have for long been yearning for one of their sons to occupy the government seat in the 16-year old state.

For instance, in 2003, the Ijesas were in opposition. Of the 27 governorship candidates from the PDP who challenged Governor Adebisi Akande's Alliance for Democracy (AD), 23 of them were Ijesas. They lost the bid to Oyinlola. So, in 2007, it was another round of agitation. Aregbesola was seen as a capable alternative to Oyinlola.

So many things actually happened during the polls that it might be difficult to conclude that the fire incident was ordinary.

In a press statement on the incident, the state chapter of AC said the razing of the palace was a test case for what was being "planned by the intolerant elements in Osun State."

Signed by its Secretary, Gboyega Famodun, the party called for a thorough investigation into the incident because as the statement read, "Oba Aromolaran happens to be one of the few Obas that refused to denigrate his exalted throne for the crumbs of lucre of the falsehood government of the day. He stayed on the side of his people's decision and defended them when the need arose."

"It further stated: "That the sacred and hallowed residence of the Oba could be so desecrated in such a brazen manner brings to the fore the level of desperation and intolerance of some power mongers who have been terrorising, tormenting and forcing themselves on the people of Osun State."

The state council of traditional rulers under the leadership of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade had adopted Oyinlola for second term before the last April 14 polls.

Aregbesola also visited the palace and described the burning as unfortunate. He called on Ijesa sons and daughters to see the disaster as a challenge to provide a befitting palace for the monarch.

To him, "to rebuild the palace is not hard but to recover all destroyed artifacts, traditional costumes and documents is the most difficult."

Both the monarch, who described the inferno as a great loss to all Ijesa people and the state government had warned people not to read any political meaning to the razing of the palace. Oba Aromolaran spoke when the governor who was accompanied by senior government officials including the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. John Moronike and the Director of State Security Service visited him.

While thanking God that no life was lost in the incident, he, however, appealed to the people of the town not to engage in any act that could truncate the peace of the area.

He appealed for calm and urged the people to avoid reacting violently to the incident, which he described as an act of God. He added that the police have assured him that a thorough investigation would be conducted to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the fire incident.

The state government in a statement by Lasisi Olagunju the Chief Press Secretary to Oyinlola described the fire incident as unfortunate. The government advised the people not to engage in falsehood to tarnish the image of political opponents just to gain cheap popularity or to paint a picture of lawlessness.

Olagunju said the state government is shocked and sad at the fire incident that gutted the palace of the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland.

The state governor, he said, see the incident as very unfortunate considering the fact that the palace is one of the most ancient in the country and a repository of the history and culture of an important part of Yorubaland.

He pledged that relevant organs of the government would be involved in the investigation into the cause of the fire incident.

On their part, the PDP described the destruction of the palace as tragic and unfortunate, saying the disaster should be seen as a loss to all Yoruba people. According to a statement by its Chairman in Osun State, Ademola Rasaq, the party commiserates with the monarch, his chiefs and all Ijesa people to whom the burnt palace is a common heritage.

While expressing confidence in the ability of the state government and security agencies to thoroughly determine the cause of the fire outbreak, the PDP berated Aregbesola for preemptively ascribing the inferno to politics. "Aregbesola said he knew the perpetrators, security agencies should then get him to furnish them with the relevant information on the culprits," the party suggested.

As the chairman put it, "His (Aregbesola) statement was as irresponsible as it was clearly preemptive of police investigations.

"We have every cause to believe that this desperate politician can go to any length to pursue his inordinate ambition to be governor. That is why we ask the police and other security agencies to invite him to shed more light on what he claimed he knew on the unfortunate incident."

Rasaq stated that AC should not deceive Nigerians that Aregbesola had the massive support of the people of Ijesa as the PDP won four of the six local councils during the governorship polls.

The party described palaces of monarchs as sacred places to an average Yoruba man; saying only cultural outcasts would take their destructive politics to such revered places.

Oyinlola during his visit to the traditional ruler promised to build a more elegant structure to replace the palace of Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, which was built in 1100. "As a respecter of the traditional institution, I want to promise that a more elegant structure will replace the ruins."

Oyinlola also berated opposition politicians who suggested political motives into the disaster asking them to furnish the police with whatever information they claimed to have on the incident.

The governor said it was reckless, "and even silly for a politician to accuse" his opponents, even without concrete evidence of burning a palace.

He said it was most irresponsible for any politician to attempt to reap political dividend out of the misfortune of a people, saying no genuine Yoruba person would say things that had been said by those who accused his government of burning a palace.

Oyinlola further stated that in Yoruba land, every burnt palace of a monarch was historically replaced with a more elegant edifice adding that government would see to the re-building of the palace without delay.

Before the fire incident, a face-off brewed between Oba Aromolaran and some of his chiefs led by his second in command, the Obaala of Ijesaland, Mathew Oyekanmi Ogedengbe. The Ijesa women traditional titleholders under the leadership of Iyaseloro and the monarch were also not in good terms. The women accused Oba Aromolaran of desecrating tradition by awarding titles to people without due process.

Some of the chiefs led by Ogedengbe had petitioned the Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, asking him to investigate how Oba Aromolaran spent the sum of N130 million belonging to the Owa-in-Council.

The sum, they claimed, was the five per cent deduction from the funds of Ilesa East and West and that of Atakumosa East and West councils meant for Ijesa South Traditional Council.

The crisis was so deep that monarchs from Atakumosa East and West requested that the state government create a separate traditional council for them just as a former military administrator in the state, Col. Theophilus Bamigboye carved out Ijesa North Traditional Council in 1998.

When Oba Aromolaran refused to visit Oyinlola after his attack and the political mayhem in Ilesa sometime ago, it was Ogedengbe who led some other chiefs to the governor with several other allegations leveled against the monarch.

Although, Owa is currently one of the deputy chairmen of the state council of traditional rulers, his relationship with Ooni who is the president of the council and some other traditional rulers in the state is said not to have been quite cordial.

Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Iyiola Oyewale Matanmi, one of the council's vice-chairmen led the delegation of other monarchs in the state to commiserate with Owa over the inferno.

At the Owa Obokun's palace, Chief Ogedengbe gave account of the fire and expressed shock at the extent of the damage.

According to him, one of the security men in the palace called him around 11 p.m. last Saturday and informed him that the palace was burning. He said: "I rushed down and realised that the inferno was serious. We sent for fire service men in Ilesa (who) could not do much. It was when those from Osogbo came that some meaningful efforts were made. You cannot believe what happened. The destruction was massive. All things about Ijesa people are gone."

Continuing, he said: "This is the headquarters of all Ijesa people. Although there were differences but that has to be buried now with this. Nobody can say Owa has offended me now. The palace belonged to all of us. It is not for the present Owa but past and incoming Owas. It is anyone who assumes the position that will naturally take over the custodian of the palace.

"This affects all Ijesa. And we have to sit down and see this as it affects all of us. Even if it is rebuilt nobody can recover what we have lost here. And all this has spiritual implication. There were some of the rooms where it was only the king that could enter. The loss of Oduduwa crown was sad and bad."

The Commissioner of Police has promised that thorough investigation would be carried out into the inferno. Another Ijesa son, Chief Ebenezer Babatope suggested that all political leaders in the area should be investigated.

Obaala said that the fire incident he witnessed "was not just ordinary fire." Is he suspecting any foul play? Owa's second in command answer was affirmative. He said the several sounds he heard inside the building, the speed with which the fire spread and how the mud walls of the palace caved in, there was the possibility that an explosion might have been planted in the house.

                     1.   RAZED OWA'S PALACE: RECONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE CONSTITUTED

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