AWUJALE STOOL: Social Media Cannot Choose Our King, Stop Pulling Princes Down — Sonola
AWUJALE STOOL: Social Media Cannot Choose Our King, Stop Pulling Princes Down — Sonola
By Akin Alade
As discussions over the succession to the revered Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland continue, concerned stakeholders have again cautioned against turning the historic throne into an arena for reckless social-media commentary, personal attacks and attempts to pull down individual princes seeking to exercise their legitimate rights within the succession process.
The Awujale stool is not an ordinary political office to be subjected to daily social-media battles, abusive exchanges or campaigns designed to ridicule aspirants.
Ijebuland has traditions. It has established procedures. It has recognised kingmakers. Ultimately, those traditional institutions are expected to determine who satisfies the requirements to occupy the highly respected throne.
This is why the growing culture of taking individual princes to social media for public condemnation should concern every genuine lover of Ijebuland.
A professional group within Ijebuland had previously cautioned members of the public against dragging the Awujale institution into unnecessary public controversies, stressing the importance of protecting the dignity and sanctity of the throne.
That warning remains relevant today.
Let the Kingmakers Do Their Job
There is a legitimate traditional process for selecting an Awujale. Those who possess genuine information concerning the eligibility or otherwise of any aspirant have recognised channels through which such information can be presented.
Social media should not become an alternative kingmakers’ council. Neither Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp nor other digital platforms possesses the traditional authority to determine who becomes Awujale.
Where questions exist about the lineage, eligibility or suitability of an aspirant, they should be presented before the appropriate authorities with credible evidence.
The recognised kingmakers must then be allowed to exercise the responsibilities entrusted to them under tradition and applicable law.
Every Qualified Prince Has the Right to Pursue His Ambition
It must also be understood that seeking to occupy a traditional stool is not in itself an offence.
Every prince who believes that he satisfies the requirements of the ruling house has a right to present himself and pursue his legitimate aspiration through the recognised process.
Prince Ademorin Aliu Kuye should therefore not be singled out for condemnation simply because he has political antecedents or because some people may prefer another aspirant.
His eligibility should be determined by the appropriate traditional process, not by social-media popularity contests.
If he qualifies, he deserves the same opportunity as every other qualified prince. If questions exist concerning his qualification, those questions should equally be subjected to evidence and the established process.
The same standard must apply to everyone.
Kuye Would Not Be First Politician to Become Traditional Ruler
Much has been made in some discussions about Prince Kuye’s political background. But Nigerian history provides numerous examples of accomplished politicians, public servants, professionals and businessmen who subsequently became traditional rulers.
Political service does not automatically disqualify a person from traditional leadership.
A politician can retire from partisan politics and become a respected monarch. A former public office holder can rise above party interests and become a father to everyone within his domain.
The decisive issues should be character, legitimacy, wisdom, capacity and willingness to protect the independence of the traditional institution.
Prince Kuye would neither be the first politician to become a king nor, most certainly, the last.
Indeed, experience accumulated through public service can become valuable when properly deployed in traditional leadership.
Ijebuland Does Not Need a Puppet
According to Adeniyi Sonola, what Ijebuland requires at this important moment is not a monarch who can be easily controlled by individuals or interests, but an accomplished personality capable of commanding respect among Nigeria’s leading traditional rulers.
Sonola maintained that the future Awujale should possess a profile capable of representing Ijebuland confidently before governments, captains of industry, diplomats, investors and traditional institutions across Nigeria and beyond.
“Ijebuland does not want a puppet. We need an accomplished person with an intimidating profile who can stand among paramount rulers and be respected,” Sonola said.
That argument raises an important question about the qualities expected from the next Awujale.
The throne requires more than a title. It demands courage, wisdom, independence, exposure, credibility and the capacity to protect the collective interests of the Ijebu people.
An Intimidating Profile Should Not Become a Disadvantage
If an aspirant has succeeded professionally, politically, academically or in business, such accomplishment should ordinarily form part of the assessment of what he can potentially contribute to Ijebuland.
It should not automatically become ammunition for attacking him.
Kuye’s political experience and relationships have attracted considerable attention, but those connections could also represent an advantage if he were legitimately selected.
A monarch with strong national relationships could potentially advocate more effectively for infrastructure, investment, education, employment opportunities, tourism and other development initiatives for his people.
A traditional ruler with international exposure could strengthen relationships with the large Ijebu diaspora and attract investors and development partners.
These are increasingly important attributes in modern traditional leadership.
The relevant question should therefore not simply be: Who does Kuye know?
It should be: What could those relationships do for Ijebuland?
Political Connections Must Serve Ijebuland
Ijebuland does not need a traditional ruler controlled by politicians. Neither should the Awujale Palace become an extension of any political party or government.
But having relationships with political leaders is fundamentally different from being controlled by them.
The ideal Awujale should be capable of relating with a President, governor, minister, senator or business leader while remaining completely committed to Ijebuland.
A strong monarch should be able to engage those in authority without surrendering the independence of his throne.
Indeed, having an Awujale who cannot be intimidated by political power may itself be an advantage.
Stop Pulling Ijebu Princes Down
There is another danger in the current social-media atmosphere.
When supporters of competing aspirants begin destroying the reputations of other princes simply to promote their preferred candidate, the damage eventually extends beyond those individuals. It begins to diminish the dignity of the entire royal institution.
Every aspirant comes from somewhere within the extended royal structure.
Insulting, ridiculing and maligning one another publicly therefore creates wounds that may remain long after the succession process has ended.
Eventually, only one person can become Awujale.
When that happens, the new monarch will require the cooperation and goodwill of other royal families, aspirants, community leaders and the wider Ijebu population.
How will unity be achieved if today’s contest becomes an uncontrollable campaign of personal destruction?
Let Evidence, Tradition and Law Decide
Those who genuinely care about the future of the Awujale institution should encourage responsible discourse.
Support your preferred aspirant. Highlight his accomplishments. Present his pedigree. Discuss his vision. Defend his eligibility with evidence where necessary.
But destroying another person’s character should not become the strategy for winning a traditional succession contest.
If an allegation is serious enough to affect an aspirant’s eligibility, there are established channels for presenting it.
Let documentation speak. Let genealogy speak. Let tradition speak. Let the law speak where necessary.
Most importantly, let the recognised kingmakers perform their traditional responsibilities without the process being turned into an endless social-media war.
The Awujale Stool Is Bigger Than Every Aspirant
Whether Prince Ademorin Aliu Kuye eventually emerges or another qualified prince receives the approval of the kingmakers, the institution must remain bigger than every individual ambition.
Kuye should be assessed fairly. So should every other aspirant.
His political background should not automatically disqualify him. His connections should not automatically guarantee him the throne either.
What should matter is whether he satisfies the traditional requirements, possesses the character expected of an Awujale and can command the respect necessary to lead Ijebuland.
Ijebuland deserves an accomplished monarch. It deserves an independent monarch. It deserves a traditional ruler capable of standing confidently among Nigeria’s most respected paramount rulers.
And it deserves a succession process protected from insults, reckless allegations and destructive social-media warfare.
The battle for the Awujale stool should therefore return to where it belongs: tradition, evidence, due process and the recognised kingmakers.
Whoever eventually emerges must become Awujale not for one political group, one faction, one royal camp or one social-media constituency, but Awujale for the entire Ijebu nation.
