Moses Olafare, the official spokesperson for the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has explained why the monarch will not respond to the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, demanding the revocation of a chieftaincy title recently bestowed on Ibadan-based business mogul, Engineer Dotun Sanusi.
Olafare, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, disclosed that the Ooni specifically directed him to ignore the threat, emphasizing that the revered monarch would not dignify what he termed as “undignifyable” with an official response.
According to him, the Ooni has chosen to leave the issue to the “public court of opinion” rather than engage in a traditional tussle.
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“My Principal has directed me against issuing a Press Release on the Empty Threat of the Alawada Babasala. I beg to disappoint you, gentlemen of the press.
“We cannot dignify the ‘undignifyable’ with an official response. We leave the matter to be handled in the public court of opinion, as it is already being treated.
“Let’s rather focus on narratives that unite us rather than the ones capable of dividing us. No Press Release please (sic) 48 Hours My Foot!!!” Olafare wrote.
The Punch reports that Oba Owoade had earlier described the Ooni’s action as an “affront” while issuing a 48-hour ultimatum for the withdrawal of the Okanlomo of Yorubaland title conferred on Sanusi. He insisted that the action was a direct challenge to his authority as Alaafin.
In a statement signed on Monday by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, the Alaafin maintained that he alone holds the exclusive right to confer titles with jurisdiction over the entire Yorubaland.
“The conferment of a Yoruba-wide chieftaincy title by the Ooni is not only ultra vires but an insult to the Titan of Yorubaland. The Supreme Court itself has ruled that only the Alaafin has such authority. Yet, the Ooni continues to act above the law, trampling on both tradition and the courts,” the statement read.
Oba Owoade warned that if the Ooni failed to withdraw the title within 48 hours, there would be “consequences.”
This controversy draws parallels with a similar clash in 1991 when the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, petitioned the then military governor of Oyo State, Colonel Abdulkareem Adisa, over a comparable action by the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade. At the time, Oba Sijuade had conferred the title of Akinrogun of Yorubaland on Chief Tom Ikimi, the National Chairman of the National Republican Convention.
Oba Adeyemi had described the move as an outright desecration of the revered institution of Yoruba monarchy, lamenting that such “abuses” emanated from those expected to preserve and uphold the sanctity of tradition.
