Your Imperial Majesty,
Olubadan of Ibadanland,
Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja,
I write this letter with profound respect for your person, your office, your long service to Ibadanland, and your remarkable journey through both politics and traditional leadership.
You have occupied positions that very few men in the history of Oyo State have occupied. You have served as Governor of Oyo State. You have played a central role in the political evolution of Ibadanland for decades. You have climbed the renowned Ibadan chieftaincy ladder and now sit on the throne as the Olubadan of Ibadanland.
By virtue of these experiences, no one understands better than you the delicate relationship between politics and traditional authority. It is precisely because of this unique position that many concerned indigenes of Ibadanland are troubled by your apparent silence regarding the growing controversy surrounding the intersection of partisan politics and the Ibadan traditional succession system.
Whether these concerns are justified or not, they are becoming increasingly widespread. Many people believe that the present controversy involving Senator Sharafadeen Alli is no longer merely about one chief or one politician. It has become a larger debate about the future integrity of the Ibadan traditional institution itself.
Fairly or unfairly, your name is increasingly being mentioned whenever this issue is discussed. Not because you have publicly endorsed any controversial position.
Not because you have openly intervened. But because of your long political and personal association with Senator Alli. The public knows that he served under you in important capacities. The public knows that he has been one of your closest political associates over the years. The public knows that your political paths have been intertwined for decades. As a result, many observers assume that your silence signifies approval.
Whether that assumption is correct or incorrect is almost beside the point.
In public life, perception often becomes reality.
And when perception remains unanswered, it grows stronger. Your Majesty, history has presented you with a challenge that few Olubadans before you have faced. You are not merely the custodian of a traditional institution. You are also a former governor and one of the most influential political figures Ibadan has produced. Consequently, the public naturally expects you to speak whenever politics appears to be encroaching upon the traditional order.
Many citizens are asking a simple question: Can a senior chief continue advancing within the Olubadan succession structure while simultaneously maintaining active ambitions for the governorship of Oyo State? The fact that this question remains unanswered is contributing significantly to the current controversy. What makes the matter even more sensitive is that the Ibadan system has historically been celebrated because it minimized precisely this type of uncertainty. For generations, the strength of the system rested on predictability. Promotion occurred according to established rules.
Vacancies were filled according to established rules. Personal ambitions were subordinated to institutional continuity.
No individual was expected to alter the course of the succession process for personal advantage. This predictability became the pride of Ibadanland.
It distinguished the city from many other traditional institutions that were frequently engulfed by succession disputes.
Today, many fear that political considerations are beginning to intrude into that carefully preserved tradition.
Your Majesty, whether those fears are justified or not, they cannot simply be ignored. The greatest threat to any institution is not criticism. The greatest threat is silence in the face of criticism. When legitimate public concerns remain unanswered, speculation fills the vacuum. Rumours replace facts.Suspicion replaces trust.
Confidence begins to erode. The office you occupy today demands more than ceremonial leadership. It demands moral leadership.
The people expect the Olubadan to serve as the ultimate guardian of the integrity of the institution.
If there is confusion, they expect clarity. If there is uncertainty, they expect guidance.If there is controversy, they expect leadership.This expectation is even greater because of your own historical experiences.
You understand better than most people the dangers of allowing political calculations to dominate institutional considerations. You have witnessed alliances form and collapse. You have witnessed loyalists become rivals and rivals become allies. You have witnessed how political interests often change with circumstances. The throne of the Olubadan, however, must remain above such fluctuations.
There is another concern that deserves your attention. Many people increasingly worry that the Olubadan institution itself may be drawn into partisan political calculations if decisive action is not taken. Whether this perception is fair or not, it poses a danger to the neutrality of the traditional institution. The Olubadan must belong to all Ibadan people. The throne must never be seen as belonging to one party, one faction, one political tendency, or one electoral project. The moment people begin to associate the traditional institution with partisan ambitions, the institution risks losing the universal respect that gives it strength.
Your Majesty, history will not judge your reign solely by the ceremonies performed during your tenure. It will not judge your reign solely by the palaces built, the roads commissioned, or the visitors received.
History will ask a more important question:
Did the integrity of the Ibadan chieftaincy system become stronger or weaker during your reign?
Future generations will study this period. They will ask whether the institution remained independent of partisan politics. They will ask whether traditional authority was protected from political influence.
They will ask whether the Olubadan acted decisively when controversies threatened public confidence.
That historical judgment cannot be avoided.
Every reign ultimately leaves behind a legacy.
Some reigns are remembered for expansion. Some are remembered for reform.
Some are remembered for stability. Others are remembered for crises that could have been prevented. Your Majesty still possesses a rare opportunity. You can become the Olubadan who reaffirmed the supremacy of institutions over individuals.
You can become the Olubadan who clarified the relationship between traditional authority and partisan politics.
You can become the Olubadan who strengthened public confidence at a moment when uncertainty threatened to weaken it.
That opportunity remains before you. But opportunities do not remain forever. Leadership often requires difficult conversations.
Leadership sometimes requires disappointing allies. Leadership sometimes requires placing institutional interests above personal relationships.The burden of kingship is precisely that. A king cannot always do what is comfortable.
A king must do what preserves the institution entrusted to him.
Your Majesty, the people of Ibadanland look to you not merely as a former politician but as the father of the traditional system.
They expect reassurance. They expect clarity. They expect leadership. Above all, they expect preservation of the integrity of the institution that has been handed down through generations.
May history record that when the integrity of the Ibadan traditional chieftaincy system was questioned, the Olubadan rose above every personal, political, and factional consideration and acted solely in the interest of Ibadanland.
That is the legacy worthy of a king.
Respectfully,
*A Concerned Citizen of Ibadanland*