The spokesperson for the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Moses Olafare, has clarified why the monarch will not respond to the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, over a disputed chieftaincy title.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Olafare revealed that the Ooni specifically instructed him not to issue any official statement on the matter. He explained that Oba Ogunwusi would not “dignify the undignifiable” and has chosen to let the issue play out in the “court of public opinion.”
“My principal has directed me against issuing a press release on the empty threat of the Alawada Babasala. We cannot dignify the ‘undignifiable’ with an official response. The matter is already being handled in the public domain. Let’s focus instead on narratives that unite us, not those capable of dividing us. No press release, please. 48 hours my foot!!!” Olafare wrote.
The controversy erupted after the Alaafin, through his media aide Bode Durojaiye, faulted the Ooni’s decision to confer the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on Ibadan businessman, Engineer Dotun Sanusi. He described the action as an affront and a direct challenge to his authority, warning that consequences would follow if the title was not withdrawn within 48 hours.
Oba Owoade insisted that only the Alaafin reserves the authority to confer chieftaincy titles covering the entire Yorubaland, citing a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed such powers. He added that the Ooni’s action amounted to “acting above the law” and “trampling on tradition and the courts.”
This is not the first time such a dispute has occurred. In 1991, the late Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, raised objections when the then Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, conferred the title of Akinrogun of Yorubaland on the National Republican Convention chairman, Chief Tom Ikimi, describing it as a desecration of the traditional institution.
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