Protest Against Alaafin Turns Bloody In Oyo

The protesters had gathered and marched through
the ancient town to oppose an alleged move by
some residents to replace Kamil Akinlabi, a member
of the House of Representatives, with Akeem
Adeyemi, a son of the Alaafin of Oyo, in 2015.

A group of people were at the palace of the Oyo
monarch to lodge a formal complaint about the
lawmaker, whom, they accused of not providing the
dividend of democracy like his counterparts in the
state. They implored the monarch to prevail on his
son, Akeem, who is currently the interim Chairman
of Atiba Local Government Area, to take over the
seat in the coming elections.

The federal constituency comprises Oyo- East, Oyo-
West, Afijio, and Atiba.

But some aggrieved residents, who were opposed
to the seeming domination of Alaafin's relatives in
political appointments ceded to the constituency,
took to the street to counter the call.

Armed with placards with various inscriptions, they
accused the Oyo monarch of keeping important
political appointments meant for the entire town to
his family members.

According to Waheed Ajagbe, who spoke on behalf
of the protesters, the demonstration was in
appreciation of positive impact Mr. Akinlabi has
made in their lives since he was elected in 2011.

"About 175 boreholes have been provided across
his constituency. He has distributed 16 vehicles to
party leaders and Oyo messi. Akinlabi has also
facilitated the construction of Erelu water project.

"In the area of education, he has facilitated the
rehabilitation of Olivet Baptist High School, Isale-
Oyo Community Grammar School and other
schools. He has also distributed textbooks and
notebooks for pupils at Primary School level," he
said.

Mr. Ajagbe claimed the Alaafin's son, Mr. Adeyemi,
has performed poorly as council chairman and
should not be considered for the legislative
position.

"Out of the 10 political appointment given to Oyo,
six are occupied by Oba Adeyemi's sons and wives.
Are we going to fold our arms and watch when
people who want to help us are being frustrated for
selfish reason," he said.

The protest later turned bloody when some
hoodlums believed to be sponsored by the council
chairman stormed the venue to forcefully chase the
participants away.

Normalcy was later restored when a detachment of
anti-riot police officers with Armoured Personnel
Carriers arrived the scene. But, that was after the
armed hoodlums had succeeded in inflicting
injuries on some protesters.

When contacted on the cause of the violence, the
Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo, Olabisi
Okuwobi-Ilobanafor, said she had just been
informed about the crisis and was yet to get the
details.