By Lateef Dada

BOLUWADURO- Otan Ayegbaju, headquarters of Boluwaduro Local Government Area of Osun State is an historic town in Yorubaland founded about 500 years ago by some of the direct descendants of Oduduwa, who migrated from Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba race.

History has it that Owa of Otan Ayegbaju was the 26th child of Oduduwa and despite all the inter-tribal wars, the town was never subdued by any external power.

Owa of Otan Ayegbaju, Oba Lukman Adesola Ojo Fadipe

Also, the succession to the throne of Owa of Otan Ayegbaju has remained unbroken until 1982, when Oba Adeniran died, leaving the Owa stool empty.

However, since the demise of Oba Adeniran, Prince Edward Adeniran, popularly called Dodonso has since been laying claim to the stool and is loved by all sons and daughters of the town due to his harmonious relationship with them and his efforts in promoting and developing the town.

It was gathered that Dodonso has since been going to court to claim the title, leaving the town without a king for almost 22 years.

It was learnt that Dodonso has won the court case but due to the unfriendliness between him and some elites in the town, his effort was truncated even when all had set for him to ascend the throne.

Entrance to the town

Vanguard’s visit to the town shows that Dodonso has built his own palace that he will use and has designed it to cash eye at the entrance of the town.

It was learnt that Dodonso’s effort was truncated by the elites who later approached Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola when he became the Governor of the state in 2003, and presented another person to him as the next king in the town.

However, Oba Anthony Adegbite Okeyode was installed on July 22, 2004, thereby ending the 22 years interregnum.

Vanguard learnt that Oyinlola’s intervention was not unconnected to his relationship with them as it was gathered that his mother hails from the town before she was married to Olokuku of Okuku.

•The ultra-modern palace under construction

However, both the young and old of the town have since been making frantic efforts to build a new palace for the new king as the old palace used by Oba Adeniran, having just been modernised by Susan Wenger and Ulli Beier, was burnt down in mid-1960s in the heat of the then political turmoil that engulfed the country, when political parties engaged in supremacy battle that led to the famous ‘OperationWetie.’

Meanwhile, Oba Okeyode did not live long as he also died in 2008, hence the emergence of Oba Lukman Adesola Ojo Fadipe, Arenibiowo Olatanka III.

While Dodonso still lives in his palace without interfering or participating in other programmes by the people of the town, struggles and plans are afoot to build a new palace for the present Owa of Otan Ayegbaju.

Speaking at this year’s 17th Otan Ayegbaju Day Celebration and N100 million fund raising for the completion of the palace project, the national president of Otan Ayegbaju Progressive Union, OAPU, Prince Olayemi Ademola, disclosed that construction of Ultra-Modern Palace for the town had started since 2012, calling on the sons and daughters of the town to be part of the historic event by contributing their quota to the completion of the palace.

He said, “We humbly invites all of you as indigenes to make solid financial contribution and be part of this history that we know. By the grace of God, this will culminate in a modern and architectural masterpiece that we shall all be proud of.”