A Prince of Erin-Ile town has appealed to the Governor of Kwara State, Mal. Abdurahman Abdulrasaq to halt the ongoing process for the selection of a new Elerin of Erin Ile, over what he termed “the lopsided and biased selection process.
It would be recalled the late Elerin of Erin Ile, Oba Abdulganiyu Ajibola Ibrahim died in May 2023 and about 30 princes of the town had indicated interest to succeed him.
Prince Joel Omokanye made this disclosure in a chat with newsmen said “although the process of selecting and installing a King in Yoruba land is not rocket science, there is a lot of confusion regarding the ongoing selection process for the new Elerin.
“As a Prince, I don’t have a role in the installation of a new King. That is the work of Afobaje (the Kingmakers) but if the process is not right or due process is not being followed, I, as native of Erin, a community leader, and a Prince I have to call on His Excellency to halt the process because this could lead to chaos and anarchy.
“The majority of us, the youth, women, and elders are not happy with the selection process”. he stressed
Speaking further on the crux of the matter, described the “non-proper constitution of Afobaje” stressing that “many of the houses are not represented, and the few in place want to impose somebody on the community.
“Why the hurry, due process must be followed, ” he said.” If we don’t have the right people as Afobaje, how will they produce a king that will be accepted by everybody?
“We need not rush this process. That is why I am appealing to the Governor to please immediately stop the process which many claimed is already on his table.
“The governor should send an independent fact-finding team to Erin Ile to conduct a thorough investigation and feel the pulse of the people.
Findings revealed that trouble started when, in the process of selecting the Afobaje to oversee the selection of the new Elerin, some prominent families like the Inurin and Odofin were excluded.
