Pages: (149-164 )
Abstract
The Tarabiri-Torhu of Arogbo Chieftaincy is next-in-command to the Agadagba of Arogbo-Ijo Chieftaincy. As approved chieftaincies in 1957, both accordingly operated in the then Ese-Odo District Council of Okitipupa Division, Ondo Province of Western Region, Nigeria. However, since the creation of Ondo State in 1976, the Tarabiri-Torhu Chieftaincy has not regained its original status. Of the two chieftaincies, existing works have paid more attention to the Agadagba of Arogbo-Ijo Chieftaincy, thereby neglecting the Tarabiri-Torhu Chieftaincy. This work, therefore, examines the Tarabiri-Torhu Chieftaincy between 1957, when it was first approved, and 2022, when Ondo State's White Paper on Ajama Judicial Commission of Inquiry on Chieftaincy Matters failed to approve it. The historical method was adopted; data collected from primary and secondary sources, including oral informants, Archival materials, books, journal articles and doctoral theses, were scrutinised. The work revealed that the non-presentation of the Tarabiri-Torhu of Arogbo Chieftaincy to the 1977 Morgan Chieftaincy Review Commission by the then Agadagba of Arogbo-Ijo, Pere D. M. E. Eperetun laid the background to its non-recognition. Again, as the prescribed authority, the failure of the incumbent Agadagba of Arogbo-Ijo, Ibe Pere Z. D. Egbunu, to provide the necessary support is the last contributory factor to its rejection by the state government in 2022. The work concluded that the aforementioned two traditional rulers’ fear of a likely conflict of interest between the office of the Agadagba and that of the Tarabiri-Torhu was unfounded, because their predecessor, Pere Shadrach Mesarawon, had earlier done so in 1957 without rift.
Keywords: Arogbo-Ijo, Tarabiri-Torhu, Ese-Odo, Ondo State, White Paper.,