By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

The Secretary of the Awujale Council of Chiefs, Prof. (Chief) Fassy Yusuf, has declared that the 2026 edition of the annual Ojude Oba Festival will hold as scheduled despite the absence of a newly installed Awujale of Ijebuland.

Prof. Yusuf, who is the Baagbimo of Ijebuland made the clarification while speaking on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, dismissing speculations that the cultural festival may be suspended following the transition period occasioned by the passing of the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona.

According to him, Ojude Oba is an enduring cultural institution that transcends individual monarchs and cannot be disrupted by a temporary vacancy on the royal stool.

He said, “Once again, I confirm to you, and I confirm to the whole world that the Ojude Oba festival is holding in May”.

“That’s on May 28 or 29, depending on the signals. We are talking about institutions now, not about individuals. Ojude Oba is an institution.”

Prof. Yusuf maintained that historical records clearly show that the festival had, on several occasions, held successfully even when there was no reigning monarch on the throne.

“There were times in the past that a late monarch or a revered monarch was not available due to one reason or the other, and yet the festival took place,” he stated.

He described calls for the suspension of the festival as misplaced and uninformed.

“It is inconceivable that anybody will be clamouring for the cancellation of Ojude Oba festival until a new Awujale is installed,” he said.

“All those talking about cancellation are people that lack self-identity. They are rabble-rousers fishing in troubled waters.”

The traditional chief stressed that the cultural identity of the Ijebu people cannot be put on hold because of a royal transition.

“We, the founders and custodians, cannot sit back and allow the shine to be taken off us,” he added.

Citing historical precedents, Prof. Yusuf recalled that the festival held in 1959 after the demise of Oba Robertson Adesanya Gbelegbuwa before Oba Adetona ascended the throne in 1960.

“So, his appointment was approved on January 2, 1960, and he was crowned on April 2, 1960. That was about one year that Ojude Oba held without a king on the throne,” he explained.

He also recalled that the festival held in 1995 while Oba Adetona was critically ill abroad.

“In 1995, Ojude Oba festival held. Oba Adetona was critically ill and flown abroad, yet the festival held,” he said.

“It was the late Ogbeni-Oja Bayo Okuku that stood in for him, supported by eminent sons and daughters like Otunba Subomi Balogun and Papa Chris Okunbadejo.”

Rejecting arguments that the current situation should warrant cancellation of the festival, Prof. Yusuf described such reasoning as illogical.

“That is an illogical argument. It cannot withstand the test of logic. It is nonsensical,” he declared.

According to him, institutional structures have already been put in place to ensure continuity during the interregnum.

“We have in place the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council,” he said.

“The chairman may not be occupying the seat of Awujale, but he is standing in as acting Awujale.”

He urged critics not to over-dramatise the situation.

“Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill,” he cautioned.

Prof. Yusuf further warned that allowing the festival to collapse because of a leadership vacuum could have grave cultural consequences.

“That would mark the extinction of Ojude Oba. By the time we want to come back, we may not even be able to start from scratch,” he warned.

On preparations for the 2026 festival, Prof. Yusuf disclosed that organisers had already set up committees to address logistics, security, traffic management and communication challenges experienced in previous editions.

“In the last two or three editions, we had challenges due to timing and logistics. So, we set up sub-committees to handle security, communication, traffic and safety,” he explained.

“We have no excuse this time around. When we say we are starting at 8:30 a.m., we will start.”

He added that financial management of the festival remains transparent and institutionalised.

“No cash is paid to anybody. Everything goes through the palace account under the interregnum administrative council,” he said.

Reaffirming the determination of the Ijebu people to sustain the cultural festival, Prof. Yusuf declared that the Ojude Oba Festival remains bigger than any individual occupant of the throne.

“Even without an installed Awujale, Ojude Oba will hold,” he affirmed.

“It is not about individuals. It is about continuity, identity and institution.”

On the succession process for a new Awujale, the chief disclosed that the traditional institution had complied with the provisions of the Obas and Chiefs Law and forwarded necessary documents to the kingmakers.

“We have complied with the Oba and Chiefs Law. We have forwarded the list to the kingmakers, and they have started working,” he said.

He, however, revealed that the process was temporarily suspended following a directive from the government.

“There was an instruction from the government to suspend action, and in obedience, action has been stopped,” he explained.

“We, the family, have appealed to the government to allow the process to continue.”

Addressing allegations of coercion and corruption surrounding the selection process, Prof. Yusuf insisted that no accusation had been substantiated.

“These are allegations, and they remain in the realm of speculations and accusations. The law says he who alleges must prove,” he said.

“So far, nothing has been made public. Nobody has been indicted.”

He also confirmed that he was invited by the Department of State Services, DSS, for clarification over issues relating to the succession process.

“The DSS invited me as Vice Chairman of the ruling house. They only wanted clarification on what I saw or did not see,” he stated.

“I told them I am not an intelligence officer. They are the ones to investigate, not me.”