LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)-A fresh power struggle is unfolding in Ijebuland as Fuji music icon Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as KWAM1, squares off with the Ogun State Government over the contested process to select the next Awujale of Ijebu.
Pitting celebrity influence against state authority and traditional power structures, the veteran musician has formally asked Governor Dapo Abiodun to cancel the second phase of the Awujale selection process, warning that the exercise could spiral into prolonged legal battles and further divide the royal institution.
The request was conveyed in a letter dated January 14, written by his lawyer, Wahab Shittu. At the heart of the dispute is the January 12, 2026, nomination meeting held by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, which Ayinde wants declared null and void. He argues that the meeting violated the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law of 2021 and failed to meet the standards of openness required for such a high-profile traditional succession.
Before taking the matter back to the governor, Ayinde had approached the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu Ode, seeking an interim injunction to halt the process. The court declined the request, citing lack of merit, after which the musician withdrew the suit without public explanation.
Shifting strategy, Ayinde has now returned to the political arena, accusing organisers of imposing what he described as a “delegate system” that allegedly shut out legitimate members of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House from participating in the nomination. According to him, following the death of the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona, it was the Fusengbuwa Ruling House’s turn to present candidates for the revered stool.
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He said members were duly invited through a letter issued on January 6, 2026, by the Secretary of the Ijebu Ode Local Government, directing them to convene a statutory nomination meeting in line with customary law and Ogun State chieftaincy regulations. However, events at the venue reportedly took a dramatic turn.
“On January 12, 2026, at Bisrod Hotel, Ijebu Ode, at the designated venue for the nomination exercise, our client and numerous other eligible members of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House were deliberately excluded and prevented from entering,” the letter stated.
Ayinde further alleged that security operatives were deployed to enforce the exclusions.
“Heavily armed security personnel, including the Nigerian Police and other security operatives, were reportedly stationed at the venue and were used to disenfranchise legitimate members. Entry to the meeting was restricted by the issuance of special entry cards, purportedly to ‘delegates’ selected by a faction within the ruling house,” the letter read.
The Fuji star, who also holds the title of Olori Omooba of Ijebuland, insisted that the delegate arrangement was never agreed upon and undermined the statutory rights of all eligible family members.
“This deliberate obstruction prevented our client and others from exercising their fundamental right to participate in the nomination process for the Awujale stool,” he said, describing the exercise as “procedurally defective, unlawful, and consequently null and void.”
Positioning his demand as a call to protect tradition rather than personal interest, Ayinde urged the governor to intervene “in the overriding interest of justice, peace, and the preservation of the sanctity of traditional institutions,” and to order a fresh, inclusive nomination process.
Meanwhile, not everyone within the ruling house shares Ayinde’s view. The Vice Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Prof. Fassy Yusuf, confirmed receipt of the letter but dismissed it outright. He described the petition as “arrant nonsense and misguided,” adding that it would have no impact on the ongoing selection process.
With a celebrated entertainer challenging both state authority and royal consensus, the Awujale succession has become a high-stakes clash of power, prestige, and influence that continues to captivate public attention well beyond Ijebuland.
