The Oyo Mesi Traditional Council has disclosed that it has left the decision of picking the new Alaafin of Oyo into the hands of the Oracular divinity, “Ifa”.
The Kingmaker council stated this in the wake of its reversed decision over the numbers of aspirants who qualified for the next stage of picking the next Alaafin of Oyo.
According to The PUNCH, the regent and Basorun of Oyo, Chief Yussuf Ayoola on Sunday declared that all the 65 applicants are qualified to proceed to the next stage, which is Ifa (oracle) consultation.
It would be recalled that the Kingmakers had said that only 10 candidates were shortlisted from the last interview it held for all the 65 aspirants.
The Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin of Oyo, Bode Durojaiye, in a statement, quoted the Basorun as saying the kingmakers had agreed that the remaining process would no longer be restricted to the 10 contestants earlier shortlisted.
The statement read, “All contestants who appeared for the interview are qualified for the next level, which is Ifa consultation, after the meeting of members of the Oyo Mesi.
“Whoever emerges among the aspirants will be the candidate and the next Alaafin of Oyo.
“There is no rift among members of the Oyo Mesi contrary to insinuations and misinformation milling around. We are as united as ever. Misunderstanding can happen at any given point in time. It is natural. What is important is the amicable resolution so as not to let the misunderstanding degenerate into violence.
“None of the Oyo Mesi members has a favoured aspirant as all the contestants are equal before us. For the umpteenth time, we are conscientious, not money conscious and greedy.”
The PUNCH reported that the Basorun had on Friday announced that 10 contestants out of the 65 who appeared for the interview were shortlisted to be further screened by the Ifa oracle.
This announcement was rejected by some kingmakers and princes.
Meanwhile, one of the kingmakers in the town, Chief Abdul-Rasheed Shehu, is dead.
Shehu, who was the Alapinni of Oyoland, it was gathered, died in the early hours of Sunday after battling an undisclosed sickness.