The power tussle between the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Ibrahim Owoade takes another turn as elders wade in to broker peace
The Yoruba Leaders of Thought (Egbe Ilosiwaju Yoruba) has called on Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke to intervene in the ongoing conflict between the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.
The hostilities between the two traditional rulers reopened last week when the Alaafin faulted Ooni over the decision to confer a title on a businessman, Dotun Sanusi.
The group’s national leader, Tajudeen Olusi, called on Adeleke and Makinde, “to initiate an immediate ceasefire between our revered royal fathers and their supporters.”
Olusi spoke in a statement, titled “Time to sheath the sword,” which was made available in Ado Ekiti on Sunday by the national secretary, Bayo Aina.
He stated, “We appeal to the South-West Council of Obas to have a standing committee that will act to nip similar schism in the bud in future before they detract from the honour and awe that we hold our traditional rulers. If such protocols already exist, this channel should be utilised more in the future to prevent a repeat of this current embarrassment.”
The Yoruba leaders said, “We are distraught that at a time when every hand should be on deck to support and ensure unquestionable success of one of the most illustrious Yoruba leaders and son, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, some of our foremost leaders at various levels are more or less fuelling this fire.”
Olusi said, “Rather than using such narratives for the purpose of forging unity and a sense of pride among our people, narratives that can help us in fulfilling our manifest destiny as a leading group among the black race, historical narratives have been weaponised into a tool to promote discord and resentment.
“It is saddening that many of our leaders are taking sides in a narrative that has no capacity to transform the current struggles of our people in Nigeria into a resounding victory over the existing technological and developmental gap between us and the rest of the world.”
The Yoruba leaders, however, lauded Tinubu for the choice of Opeyemi Agbaje as the chairman of the pension commission of Nigeria, with the onerous task “to drastically reduce the incidence of old age poverty, which is ruthlessly rampaging pensioners across the world, including Nigeria.
“We believe that prudent and profitable management of pension funds and easy access without compromising the integrity of the system will ensure that pensioners have a more comfortable retirement,” the group stated.
Following the Alaafin’s 48-hour ultimatum over the title conferred on Dotun Sanusi, the Ooni’s palace declined to issue a formal statement. The Ooni’s spokesman, Moses Olafare, wrote: “My principal has directed me against issuing a press release on the empty threat. I beg to disappoint you, gentlemen of the press.”
In separate comments attributed to Olafare, the ultimatum was dismissed as an “empty threat from a dead empire,” with the aide indicating the palace would not dignify it with an official response.