The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, has appointed lawyer Bilaal Akinola as the new Chief Imam of Oyo, following the death of his predecessor, Mashood Ajokidero III, who passed away in early 2023.
In a statement by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaye, the monarch said Akinola’s selection came after a thorough screening process.
“Having passed through the due screening test, I have the pleasure to inform you that you have been selected by me as the new Chief Imam of Oyo,” Oba Owoade said.
“The moment is not only significant for our people but also sacred in the eyes of Allah, for leadership in Islam is a truth that demands humility, sincerity, and justice.”
Born on April 15, 1965, Akinola hails from the Imam Ogunbado Compound, Akeugberu, Oyo, in the Oyo West Local Government Area. He obtained a Law degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in Kaduna State.
During the appointment ceremony, Oba Owoade also addressed pupils from the Federal College of Education (Special) Basic School, Durbar, Oyo, emphasising the importance of child protection and family stability to national development.
“Children represent the future, and ensuring their healthy growth and development ought to be a prime concern of all,” the Alaafin stated. “Nations that experience prosperity are those where family stability is jealously guided.”
He lamented that despite Nigeria’s Child Rights Act of 2003 and international frameworks like Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, child abuse and neglect persist due to “lack of social consensus and political will.”
“This is so, not because we do not have laws and policies on child protection, but because of the failure to successfully implement them,” he said.
“It is heartbreaking reading about the inhuman and degrading treatment meted out to Nigerian children both at home and in institutions.”
The monarch cited issues such as corporal punishment in schools, neglect, deprivation, and sexual abuse—including child marriage—as major challenges, often committed by “fathers, uncles, guardians, male teachers, and clerics.”
“These abuses leave lifelong psychological scars on children,” he warned.
On national development, Oba Owoade stressed the need for Nigerians to “revolutionise their historiography” and support the present administration’s efforts toward transformation.
“The increasing rate of marital breakdown and its effect on children and society has become a ticking time bomb,” he cautioned. “It is important that we recognise the role of marriage in building a strong society, especially if we want to give children the best chance in life.”
He added, “What you learn from a very early age has a great deal to say about the person you will eventually become and the life you lead.”
