5 November, 2024
By Ajibade Murisiku
front-page.com.ng
Chief Yesufu Amuda Olohunosebi was born to the family of Pa Amusa Ojo Okunade and Mama Oyanike Ayoka. His father was from Asipa Konbuko, Idi-Ape; an extraction of Ailebu Chieftaincy lineage of Asipa. His mother, Oyanike Ayoka from Molete Quarters, Oyanike had married someone with a child before marrying Pa Amusa Ojo; Amuda was Oyanike’s second child and the first child of Amusa Ojo. Oyanike’s family was wealthy that her compound produced the first owner of Tipper (agbégìlódò) in Oyo town.
Amusa on the other hand was an aspiring chieftain of the Ashipa title but he lost to Ashipa Lalookun and was forced to leave Oyo with one of his two wives on a self-imposed exile. Long in the tooth winners of chieftaincy tittles were not magnanimous in victory; they would do everything within their powers to humiliate their opponents. They often stopped at the compound of their opponents with drummers and bards who would sing to mock the losers. In those days, real men would not live again in the same town with whom they contested a title because no matter how rich or powerful they were, the winners had gained authority over them, Losing a title was embarrassing enough and they would go on exile to avoid further humiliation or in some cases commits suicide.
Yesufu Amuda later joined his father, Amusa Ojo in Iseyin where he was on exile, he had stayed back with his wealthy maternal grandparents at Ode-Oloode Compound, Agure Area; Oyo until their death. He became his father died in 1934. His father’s friend who was also in the aso-oke business took him in, He started following his new master to places like Osogbo, Ede, Ipokia, Lagos and some parts of Benin Republic and Togo, after six years of serving his father’s friend he soon became independent and established his own weave making business.
By the late 1940’s Amuda had become local exporter of weaving materials, and had expanded his business across the western region. He married his first wife, Asiawu Asande Moyiola in 1946. He would later marry nine other wives including Comfort Adebowale, Amudalatu Odee, Limotalahi Anike, Nuratulahi Ipokia, Nusiratu Iya-Abu, the popular Iya Abu Alamala in Sabo Area, Fatimo Olorunkosebi, Serifatu Olorunkosebi, Bimpe Olorunkosebi and Misirafa Olorunkosebi.
He worked briefly with the Western Region Textile but was demoted because he was not learned, this inspired him to value education, he would give scholarships to indigents children, he later played an important role in the establishment of Isale-Oyo Community Grammar School and Isale-Oyo Commercial High School, Oyo.
By 1960s he had become a prominent yoruba business man, becoming friends with Ooni Okunade Sijuwade who stood with him during his Contempt case before Justice Ibidapo-Obe. Though he was not Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III favourites because he was the treasurer of Action Group when his father, Oba Adeniran Adeyemi II was dethroned by the Awolowo led party in1955. Under which Amuda himself contested and became a councillor in the 1963 western region election, but the young Alaafin Iku baba yeye had limited choices, amuda was everyone’s favorite, the people wanted him as an Oyo Mesi, and in 1976 the monarch installed Chief Amuda Olorunkosebi as the Asipa of Oyo.
The Ashipa grew more prominence for his uncompromising ways, he was a respected philanthropist, blunt and fearless, he was reported to have boldly confronted the Alaafin over some unpopular decisions. In 1986, he was sentenced to 1 month in prison for contempt of court order, he had previously been ordered by the court to stop the questioning of Tobalase (the King is supreme) a private army allegedly owned by the Alaafin to attack perceived opponents. He spent 12 days at the Agodi prison before his release on June 18, 1986.
Six years after in November 1992, he was scheduled to finalise a land deal with supposed industrialists who had approached him to sell them a piece of land suitable for industrial fishing. Chief Amuda was waylaid, he was bound, and strangled, the assailants reportedly forced acid down his throat to quicken his death, they made sure he had died before fleeing the scene. The whole Oyo was thrown into mourning, it was on his daughter’s graduation from Government Technical College, Awe. The family, the whole Isale-Oyo (Atiba Local Government) vowed not to bury their father until his killers were found, they petitioned the Oputa panel, the Oyo state government, but all to no avail. Till date, the police could not produce any suspect as the actual killers of the late Ashipa.
The alleged involvement of Alaafin was traced to the twosome of Biodun Faseyitan and Segun Oduneye who were said to be on the entourage of the traditional ruler to London, United Kingdom to purchase the vehicle which was brought to Nigeria through Alaafin’s company, Diekade Clearing and Forwarding Agency. It was this vehicle that was alleged used by the assassins for Olorunkosebi’s murder. Oba Adeyemi was alleged to have issued receipt to Biodun Faseyitan under the pretext that he had sold the car to Faseyitan whereas the car was with the monarch. The car, it was learnt, was in the premises of the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan as the court established that the car was used for the killing of Asipa.
Investigation revealed that the process that led to the murder of the Asipa was structured in such a way that nobody could have had any inkling that it allegedly came from the palace.
The journey to the elimination of Olorunkosebi was said to have commenced in October 1991 when the plan was perfected. The trio of Alaafin, Biodun Faseyitan and Segun Oduneye travelled to London and came back with the vehicle used to perpetrate the Asipa’s murder. For easy passage to the United Kingdom, Segun Oduneye had an international passport procured for him by Alaafin in the name of Kayode Adeyemi.
Investigation also revealed that the said ‘Kayode Adeyemi’ in his application for United Kingdom entry visa form gave the name Oba Adeyemi II Alaafin of Oyo (the father of the current Alaafin) as his father’s full name and Ayaba Seliat Adeyemi as his mother’s full name. He gave his date of birth as 16/8/55 with country of birth as Ijebu Ode, Nigeria which is a case of concealed identity. Also in the said form, ‘Kayode Adeyemi’ said he was working with Adelakun Ent (Nigeria) Limited, and he started working with the company from July 4, 1984. His wife’s name was given as Mrs Atinuke Adeyemi and he gave his address then as Adeyemi Compound, Oyo. He gave two weeks as his expected stay period in the UK and to arrive in the UK on 5/6/92.
In 1992, Faseyitan was arraigned but because the monarch was not charged along with him, Faseyitan was discharged. But Oduneye was not so lucky because investigation carried out in 1995 and 1996 by the police nailed him. During the search on his (Oduneye) house, the police discovered a ‘fake’ international passport with the name Kayode Adeyemi. He was subsequently queried, charged by the court and convicted for conspiracy.
During the trial of Oduneye, the police investigators were surprised that Alaafin was not charged in the case that he was allegedly involved in. Part of the statement presented by the police team reads:“I investigated the ownership of the vehicle in issue. The car was sold to one Biodun Faseyitan on the 17th November, 1992. Prior to 17th November 1992, the car was in the possession of the Alaafin of Oyo. The accused person did not deny that the particular vehicle was one of the ones they bought when they went to London with the Alaafin of Oyo. Our investigation report indicted the Alaafin of Oyo and we were surprised that he was not charged for this crime…He also disclosed that it was the Clearing Agency or company of the Alaafin of Oyo that cleared the vehicle in question at the port. Our investigation further revealed that the accused and one other person were seen in the vehicle in question on the day that the deceased was murdered. The complainant identified the suspect as one of those that accompanied the deceased to the place where he was killed.”
All attempts by the state counsel to tender the statement that nailed Alaafin before the court was ruled out by the court. The judge ruled that the court cannot take the statement from someone who is not before him as an accused.
The court however convicted Oduneye for conspiracy but could not convict him for other charges because Alaafin was not charged. Oduneye subsequently spent seven years in prison for conspiracy.
Chief Ashipa was buried exactly 7 years after on November 26, 1999.
In 2001,the Aláàfin nominated a new Ashipa in the person of Alhaji Shittu Ologbojo from the Akinsowon compound but the Ologbojo took ill all of a sudden on the 24th of December 2001 and gave up the ghost even before he was installed.
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