Nigeria, Feb. 2 -- The simple and straightforward appointment of the Awujale of Ijebu Kingdom, one of the most revered, is stalled like a car with a dead battery. Actions associated with the Benin monarchy, one of the most famous in Africa, is clanging like a faulty engine. Meanwhile, the new Alaafin of Oyo's public displays are like a man fossiled in the distant past.

The Ijebu Kingdom had known peace since the enthronement of Oba Sikiru Adetona in 1960 until he joined his ancestors 65 years later. When the brutal Abacha military regime was on rampage, Oba Adetona and Oba Salaudeen Afolabi Oyefusi, the then Ayangburen of Ikorodu, were amongst the handful of traditional rulers who stood up against it.

However, the kingdom has not been ...