03/07/2026
REBUTTAL TO LEKAN SOTE’S MISCHARACTERISATION OF THE MOLOKUN OF ATIJERE AND THE DISTORTION OF THE EBA ISLAND QUESTION
The attention of the Atijere Development Association has been drawn to the publication by Mr. Lekan Sote titled “The Becoming of Ogun Olokola”, in which he made unprovoked and regrettable remarks against His Royal Majesty, Oba Olumide Samuel Adeoye, Edema I, the Molokun of Atijere Kingdom.
We find it necessary to state, in clear and unambiguous terms, that Mr. Sote’s choice of language in referring to our revered monarch was not only disrespectful, but also intellectually careless, historically misleading, and legally defective.
To suggest that the Molokun of Atijere should “rein himself in” for asserting the legitimate historical and territorial rights of his kingdom over Eba Island is both offensive and unacceptable. Such language betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the issues at stake and an unfortunate willingness to substitute bias for fact.
At the heart of Mr. Sote’s flawed intervention lies a grave error: the conflation of Eba Island with Eba Community. These are not the same.
This distinction is not trivial; it is central to the dispute.
Eba Island is a distinct territorial and maritime entity with its own historical, traditional, and administrative identity, long tied to Atijere Kingdom through customary authority, occupation, and documented historical records. The Baale on the Island derives his authority from the Molokun of Atijere, a fact well known to the people and supported by historical evidence dating back decades. Eba Island is also the Ondo State Forest Reserve, a status that has never been challenged until its oilfield came to the fore.
To collapse Eba Island into the broader mainland assumptions of some Ijebu interests is to display a troubling ignorance of the geographical and historical realities of the coastal corridor.
Furthermore, Mr. Sote’s attempt to drag the Eba Island oilfield dispute into a discourse on Olokola Free Trade Zone reveals either a poor grasp of the territorial boundaries involved or a deliberate effort to confuse the public.
For the avoidance of doubt:
Eba Island is not part of the geographical area constituting the Olokola Free Trade Zone.
The legal and spatial framework of Olokola FTZ is separate and distinct from the territorial question surrounding Eba Island and its offshore resources. Any attempt to merge both in public discourse is misleading and analytically dishonest.
It is therefore disingenuous for Mr. Sote to portray the Molokun’s lawful insistence on the protection of Atijere’s ancestral rights as an act of “muddying the waters.”
What waters are being muddied?
Is it muddying the waters to insist that history be respected?
Is it muddying the waters to reject territorial encroachment?
Is it muddying the waters to call for constitutional and institutional resolution through the National Boundary Commission?
The Molokun has done none other than what any responsible traditional ruler ought to do: defend the territorial integrity, heritage, and economic rights of his people.
The claim by Ogun State over Eba Island, as far as the facts presently stand, bears all the hallmarks of territorial opportunism and expansionism, especially in light of the economic significance of the oilfield in question. Such claims cannot be legitimized by rhetorical flourish, newspaper essays, or sentimental appeals to regional ambition.
Boundary questions are matters of evidence, law, history, and administrative records—not emotional geography.
We therefore condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the attempt by Mr. Sote to denigrate the person and office of the Molokun of Atijere.
His Royal Majesty, Oba Olumide Samuel Adeoye, Edema I, remains steadfast in his position that Eba Island is historically and traditionally part of Atijere Kingdom, and that the rights of the Atijere people over the Island and its adjoining maritime assets must be protected and recognized through lawful means.
We urge commentators and public intellectuals to approach this sensitive matter with restraint, accuracy, and respect for history, rather than allowing parochial loyalties to distort objective reality.
Atijere Kingdom will continue to pursue justice, truth, and lawful resolution on this matter, and will not be intimidated or silenced by dismissive commentaries clothed in intellectual pretension.
Signed,
Ben Omotomiye,
For: Atijere Development Association
