The ongoing tension between two revered Yoruba monarchs took a new turn on Tuesday after the Ooni of Ife’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, dismissed the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, as “an empty threat from a dead empire.”
The Alaafin had earlier demanded that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, withdraw a chieftaincy title allegedly conferred on Ibadan-based businessman Chief Dotun Sanusi, insisting that the Ooni had no authority to bestow the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland. He argued that only the Alaafin, backed by a Supreme Court ruling, holds the right to confer such titles covering the entire Yorubaland.
Reacting via his WhatsApp status, Olafare dismissed the warning, describing those behind it as “jokers.”
“The Ooni is busy setting up businesses and creating jobs for youths across Yorubaland, while some people are fighting supremacy battles through an expired empire. Their 48-hour ultimatum will soon lapse. We are waiting. Dead empire,” he wrote.
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He added that while Ooni is preparing for the groundbreaking of the Ojaja Smart City in Ibadan, touted as Africa’s biggest, others are “wasting time issuing empty threats over a title that doesn’t even exist.”
Meanwhile, the Oore of Otun-Ekiti and paramount ruler of Mobaland, Oba Adekunle Adeagbo, has also weighed in on the controversy. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Akogun Banjo Ayinde, the monarch clarified that there is no evidence that Ooni ever created or bestowed the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Ooni has never conceived it, talk less of installing anybody as the Okanlomo of Yorubaland. Anyone with verifiable evidence to the contrary should present it,” the Oore declared.
He further described the Alaafin’s claims as baseless, stressing that the Ooni, as the “Natural Father of the Yoruba race and spiritual head of the Oduduwa race worldwide,” holds the authority to bestow relevant traditional titles when necessary.
The clash has sparked widespread debate across the Southwest, with many observers urging caution to prevent the matter from escalating into a deeper traditional rivalry.