By Gbenga Odugbesan
The Awujale of Ijebu Land is not merely a crown; it is a sacred trust rooted in centuries of custom, lineage, and collective consent. It is deeply alarming that, right before the beginning of the nomination process for the open stool, a single name, Abimbola Onabanjo, has been relentlessly amplified across blogs, social media, and online news platforms as the “new Awujale,” raising serious questions not just about the individual involved, but about the motivations behind such premature narratives.
More disturbing is the scale and coordination of the publicity. Media observers and social media monitors estimate that no fewer than 70 bloggers and content promoters, operating across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter (X), including several obscure and anonymously run platforms, have circulated the same unverified reports presenting Abimbola Onabanjo as the Awujale-in-waiting, or worse, as the crowned monarch himself. The repetition of identical language, imagery, and celebratory framing suggests something more deliberate than coincidence.
True leadership demands accountability. It would have reflected integrity for Abimbola to own the spread of these unverified reports. To now distance himself by blaming supporters for what is plainly a coordinated false-news campaign is disingenuous and unworthy of the moral stature required of a contender for the revered stool. Approval of misinformation, whether active or passive, undermines the dignity of the throne being sought.
Why the rush? Why the insistence on public coronation before traditional endorsement? In some quarters, Abimbola has been referred to as the online Awujale!
When an aspirant appear more invested in controlling the media narrative than respecting the process, it inevitably creates the impression of desperation for power and of poisoning the selection process before it starts.
The implications for Ijebu unity cannot be ignored. A kingship contest involving over 60 contenders requires restraint at the highest level. An aspirant falsely elevating himself prematurely risks inflaming tensions within the Fusengbuwa family, delegitimizing the eventual outcome, and dragging a revered institution into unnecessary controversy.
It must also be asked whether this aggressive narrative reflects a deeper anxiety about relevance and authority.
This is not a declaration of guilt, nor a denial of Abimbola Onabanjo’s lineage or possible eligibility—if such eligibility exists. Rather, it is a call for restraint, transparency, and respect for tradition. True royalty does not need to shout. It waits.
Until the rites are completed, the staff formally handed over, and the people of Ijebu Land collectively recognize their monarch, there is no Awujale. Any portrayal to the contrary, whether by 70 bloggers or a hundred more, is premature and misleading.
Power pursued too loudly often exposes its own insecurity. And in the matter of the Awujale’s throne, patience is not weakness; it is tradition.
Gbenga Odugbesan is a social commentator, an Ijebu indigene, and writes from the United States of America
