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Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Saliu Adetunji has asked the Sarkin Sasa, Alhaji Haruna Mai Yasin Katsina, to operate under the leadership of the Baale of Sasa, Chief Amusa Ajani.
The monarch stated this during a peace meeting with members of the Hausa/Fulani community over the crisis that engulfed Sasa market in February.
Represented by the Otun Olubadan, High Chief Lekan Balogun, who led other high chiefs to the meeting which held at the palace in Oja’ba, Oba Adetunji said the structure of traditional leadership in Ibadan is clear that the Baale is the overall leader in every community in Ibadan land. He, therefore, urged the Hausa leader to operate under the Baale for smooth administration and structural peace.
Sarkin Sasa is the Chairman, Arewa Communities in the 17 Southern states of Nigeria.
Oba Adetunji said that Sarkin should face the reality that irrespective of the honour accorded him, he is under the chieftaincy stool of the community leader of Sasa, Chief Ajani, where he resides.
The monarch lamented that the pre-eminent position granted the Sarkin Sasa in the scheme of things in the state was unbecoming, asking all the relevant authorities to know and accept the fact that the community leader is under the Baale of Sasa.
Meanwhile, Yoruba traders at Sasa market have kicked against how they were treated after the crisis.
The Oyo State Government had promised compensation for the traders who suffered human and material losses during the crisis.
The traders expressed displeasure over the relocation of Hausa traders to the neighbouring Akinyele and Iroko communities in the same local government area. They posited that Hausa traders were allegedly compensated for destroying Sasa market.
The monarch, however, appealed to them to remain calm, assuring them that a lasting solution to their problem was being pursued. He also called on the state government to urgently come to their rescue.
Speaking, the Public Relations Officer of Yoruba trading community in the market, Adam Fijabi, said: “We were appealed to, not to retaliate and we have kept our cool, but, there is a limit to our endurance. We won’t sit akimbo in hopelessness, watching the destroyers of our means of livelihood and heritage living their own normal lives in the same community with us.’’