Hundreds of traders in Oyo State, under the umbrella of the Coalition of Market Groups of Oyo State, on Tuesday, registered their displeasure over the alleged imposition of the Babaloja-General (Male Chief Trader) of the state by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, and vowed to resist it.
Oba Adetunji had, last month, installed Chief Yekini Abass as the Babaloja of Oyo State, a development that was met with criticisms from the traders, who insisted that installing the state Babaloja was not the responsibility of the monarch.
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The five trade unions in the coalition are the Oyo State Market Men and Women, led by its chairman, Alhaji Dauda Abiodun Oladepo; Ibadan Joint Traders Association, led by Chief Odunade Kayode Danjuma; National Association of Nigerian Traders, led by Alhaji Kamorudeen Salaudeen; Progressive Tradesmen and Artisans, led by Chief Tewogbade Tobalase, and Association of Concerned General Traders.
The groups, which were all represented at a rally and press conference they held at the Iyaganku secretariat of the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, threatened to install their own Babaloja in all the major markets in the state if the state government ratified the “imposition” of Chief Abass as the Babaloja-General “on the people.”
Leading the protest, Alhaji Oladepo, the Iyaloja-General (Female Chief Trader) of Oyo State, Alhaja Wuraola Atanda-Daisi; the Southwest Coordinator of the National Traders Association of Nigeria, Chief (Mrs) Odunade Kayode-Danjuma, and her secretary, Chief Abiodun Adegoke, vowed in separate interviews to resist “any attempt to impose a Babaloja on traders in the state.”
Alhaji Oladepo told journalists that the Olubadan had promised in a letter dated July 16, 2020 not to interfere in the internal affairs of the traders.
He noted that the unions were, therefore, surprised to discover “he is now imposing a Babaloja-General of the state on the people rather than maintaining his stand on the said issue.”
He declared, “We can’t accept any imposition. Our own Babaloja is Alhaji Jimoh Akinremi.
“Appointing the Babaloja-General of the state has a process, which must be duly followed.
“All traders in the state have started the process by visiting the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan, before we heard someone has been installed.
“We are talking about the Babaloja-General of Oyo State and not Ibadanland.
“If the government ratifies the imposed Babaloja, we will ensure that all zones have their own Babaloja-General,” he said.
But reacting to the allegations, Oba Adetunji, through his spokesman, Ademola Oloke, said the protesters were aggrieved because they were not favoured by the choice of the Alhaji Abass.
Oloke said the market leadership was an extension of traditional institutions and, therefore, the Olubadan had done “the right thing by installing the right person as the Babalola-General of Oyo State.”
He added that before the monarch took that step of installing Alhaji Abass as the Babaloja-General, he had visited all the other monarchs and traditional rulers in the state.
“Ask those who are protesting, including the Iyaloja-General of the state.
“They have their certificates from the Olubadan.
‘That means the Olubadan installed them.
“Why are they now aggrieved?” the spokesman asked.
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