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General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (rted) former GOC Third Armored Division and a trustee of Omo Eko Pataki, has cautioned Lagos state government review of the Obas and chiefs laws of the state.
The retired general in a press statement,expressed that the review of Obas and chiefs law touche peoples daily existence, pointing out that it is needless, unnecessary, repetitive, apparently designed, and endangered to achieve an unclear objective.
Faulting recent publications where there were reports that the Lagos State government has commenced a stakeholders meeting on the review of the Obas and Chiefs of Lagos State law, 2015, and pointed out that aberrations are springing up everywhere and traditional laws are being broken
He said, “These are really interesting times in Lagos today. Aberrations are springing up everywhere. All traditional norms are being broken. Nothing is sacred again. A fringe, unknown character can spring up and be made a Baalẹ or kinglet who has no ancestral connection to the land. Our traditional institutions are the very pivot of our existence. They define our beginnings and our continuity . They characterize who we are.”
According to him the native’s laws and customs are facing stretching points and values may fade away gradually if vigilance is not applied.
“If the law is good why the need for a review? Like the Americans always put it: if it is not broken , don’t fix it. This is another review too many. There have been several review commissions like the Justice Solanke in 1975 and Justice Kazeem commission in 1978 which have established clearly the norms, the dictates and the practices of our ancestral beginning. Now, who is not satisfied with all these norms,” he said.
Olanrewaju, who urged the royal and the ruling houses across the state to speak up and denounce the despicable attempt to rob them of their heritage, said, “Enough is enough. Why is this so important now? There are so many challenges confronting us in Lagos state. We are presently challenged with issues of insecurity, poverty, Covid-19 pandemic and sundry demands. The review of Obas and Chiefs laws is hardly necessity now.”
He added, “This untidy, unjust, puerile attempt to muddy up our Lagosian identity should be discarded forthwith. Presently, there are many cases in court, specifically the Oniru and the Onisiwo Chieftaincy affairs. The courts are competent enough to handle all these issues. We should not jump the gun.”
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