Igede Leadership in Oyo Calls for Unity as Political Actors Seek Community Engagement
The political space in Oyo State is becoming increasingly active, with different political leaders and groups seeking to engage communities and influential grassroots stakeholders ahead of future political developments.
Against this backdrop, concerns have been raised within the Igede community about attempts by some political actors to approach individuals separately and present them as representatives or key decision-makers for the wider Igede population.
The position being canvassed by the Igede Progressive Movement is that such engagements should recognise the established traditional and community leadership structures of the Igede people resident in Oyo State.
The Igede are an ethnic group indigenous to Benue State, particularly the Oju and Obi areas, but members of the community are dispersed across different parts of Nigeria. Documented sources also identify Igede communities outside Benue, including in parts of southwestern Nigeria.
Within Oyo State, the movement identifies HRM Adirahu Onda Monday Eyi, Ad'Igede 1 of Oyo State, as a central traditional figure in Igede affairs. Recent community activities have publicly identified the monarch as Chairman of the Igede South West Traditional Council, reflecting the role attributed to traditional leadership in preserving identity, cultural heritage and communal cohesion.
The Igede Progressive Movement, coordinated by Comrade Simon Ochete, also maintains that political and community engagements concerning the Igede population should be channelled through recognised leadership rather than through individuals who independently claim to speak for the entire community.
Ochete, who also serves as Personal Assistant to Ad'Igede 1 of Oyo State, occupies a position that connects the traditional institution with the youth and political structures of the community. According to the position being advanced by the movement, decisions and directives emanating from the traditional leadership should guide any major collective engagement involving the Igede community.
The message is therefore directed at political leaders and stakeholders across Oyo State and the wider South-West: engagements concerning the collective interests of the Igede community should be conducted through the recognised leadership structures rather than through competing individual representations.
This position is particularly significant as political parties and politicians intensify grassroots engagement ahead of future elections. Recent public statements attributed to Ochete have similarly emphasised the need for political actors to engage the Igede community formally and recognise its collective interests rather than simply seeking its participation at rallies or during election periods.
At the heart of the message, however, is unity.
The Igede community in Oyo State is being presented as a people who remain connected by their shared heritage, irrespective of where individual members reside. Community leaders argue that political differences should not be allowed to destroy the bonds that unite Igede sons and daughters.
The community's political participation is ultimately a matter for individual citizens to determine, but collective community organisations can provide channels through which political actors engage with community representatives. The emphasis from the Igede Progressive Movement is that such engagement should be transparent, respectful and properly coordinated.
For the movement, therefore, Ad'Igede 1 of Oyo State and Comrade Simon Ochete represent the principal channels through which matters concerning the traditional and political interests of the Igede community should be discussed.
As political activities continue to develop across Oyo State, the call from the movement is for stakeholders to respect the community's leadership structures, avoid creating parallel representations and preserve the unity that has continued to bind Igede people together in Oyo State and wherever they reside.
In particular, political engagements involving Igede youths are expected to fall within the responsibilities of Igede Youth President, Comrade Simon Ochete, who has continued to publicly coordinate the movement's political and community-facing activities.
The broader message is simple: Igede unity should remain paramount, while political engagement should be conducted through recognised and accountable community structures.
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