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Yoruba Elders Wade In As Alaafin, Ooni Feud Escalates

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Prominent Yoruba elders and leaders on Tuesday called for restraint and intervention of cultural and political figures following the reopening of hostilities between the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi.

The fresh row began on Monday after the Alaafin faulted the Ooni’s decision to confer the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on a businessman, Chief Dotun Sanusi.

The Ooni had bestowed the title on Sanusi during the unveiling of 2geda, an indigenous social media and business networking platform, at Ilaji Hotel, Ibadan, over the weekend.

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In a statement signed by his media aide, Bode Durojaiye, the Alaafin declared that no traditional ruler other than him has the authority to confer a title covering the entire Yorubaland. He issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Ooni to revoke the title or “face the consequences.”

But reacting, the Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, said the monarch had directed him to ignore the Alaafin’s outburst and leave the matter “in the court of public opinion.”

We can not 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.

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“Let’s rather focus on narratives that unite us rather than the ones capable of dividing us. No press release, please. 48 hours my foot!” he wrote.

Monday’s exchange was the latest in a series of public disagreements between the two foremost monarchs.

READ ALSO:Ooni-Alaafin Feud: Ooni’s Palace Reacts To Viral Video

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In May, a clip from an event hosted by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu showed the Alaafin remaining seated while other monarchs stood to greet the Ooni.

Another viral video in June depicted both monarchs shunning greetings at the West African Economic Summit in Abuja.

Though both palaces denied any rift, the repeated public spats have deepened concerns.

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Speaking on the latest rift, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, on Tuesday, said he had reached out to Yoruba leaders to mediate in the crisis.

He said the intervention of cultural and political leaders alike is being sought to quell the lingering crisis.

Recalling history, Adams said he would also intervene to avert the opening of old wounds in the interest of unity in Yoruba land.

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Adams said, “It is an issue between two fathers. I have been calling Yoruba leaders to look for a way to resolve it. We don’t want the unity of the Yoruba land to be tampered with now.

“I will be in touch with the two fathers.

“I will talk to them, but I have talked to some of the Yoruba leaders that we should weigh in on the issue. Before I became Aare Onakakanfo, I had been very, very close to the palace of Ooni. At the same time, I was very close to the late Alaafin.

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“So I see them as two fathers. Anything that happens between your two fathers, you must look for a way to resolve it amicably. We don’t want to open our old wounds in public.”

Acknowledging the resolution of the crisis is long overdue, Iba Adams said it was expedient for the leaders to intervene to ensure that all issues between the Obas are amicably resolved.

READ ALSO:Why I’m Yet To Visit Ooni Of Ife — Alaafin Of Oyo

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Rallying the need for intervention of all relevant Yoruba leaders, Adams expressed optimism that the impasse between the two monarchs would be resolved in no distant time.

Adams said, “It’s an issue that will be resolved by the Yoruba leaders soon. Our political figures have a role to play, too.

“Apart from the individual leaders in social culture, our political leaders have a role to play, and our real fathers have a role to play. We know that the issue has been lingering for a long time. But in the long run, I believe it will be resolved soon.”

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The Yoruba Council of Elders urged restraint from the royal fathers to avert further action contrary to the Omoluabi ethos.

Secretary-General, YCE, Oladipo Oyewole, who spoke with The PUNCH, also tasked the governments of Osun and Oyo States to urgently intervene to prevent aberration by the two monarchs.

Oyewole noted the need for a serious dive into history to ensure that the royal fathers uphold culture in a proper perspective.

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Oyewole said, “The Yoruba Council of Elders has been inundated with inquiries on the unfortunate incident in which our royal father, Kabiyesi Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo are in a serious disagreement over the rites of their offices and/or responsibilities as torch bearers for our culture.

READ ALSO:Why I’m Yet To Visit Ooni Of Ife — Alaafin Of Oyo

“History has to be understood to sort out the issue in a proper perspective. Pending when that will be done, there is no gainsaying that any action that goes beyond the ‘Omoluwabi ethos’ must be avoided by the royal fathers.

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“In this case, the government of both Osun and Oyo states ought to swiftly come to the aid of our motherland by putting measures in place to contain any aberration by the royal fathers. This is an urgent situation.”

Similarly, world-renowned Ifa scholar and Awise Agbaye, Prof. Wande Abimbola, appealed for calm in the growing tension between the two prominent Yoruba monarchs.

Speaking in a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday, Abimbola, a former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University and ex-Senate Majority Leader, declined to take sides publicly but hinted at quiet efforts to broker peace behind the scenes.

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“I won’t assign blame in the media—elders don’t do that,” he said. “There’s no need for conflict. Often, it’s third parties—those who stand to gain—who stoke these misunderstandings. Awon alagbata ni won so oja di owon (It is the middlemen who make goods expensive).”

Shedding light on his next steps, Abimbola revealed that plans are underway to convene a high-level meeting of Yoruba traditional rulers and elders to resolve the impasse.

“We, the Yoruba elders, will collectively deliberate and resolve the matter,” he explained. “We’ll ensure participation from each of the six Yoruba-speaking states, as well as Kwara. We will pick an oba from each of these states. I’ll personally attend the meeting with a lawyer. Together, we’ll examine the issue and seek an amicable resolution. Our obas are fathers to us all, they must not be seen quarrelling.”

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READ ALSO:Why Cameroonian Authorities Detained Five Nigerian Pastors – Sources

Meanwhile, the President of Ibadan Mogajis, Asimiyu Ariori, and Coordinator of the Ibadan Compound Peace Initiative, Nurudeen Akinade, berated Alaafin over his 48-hour ultimatum to the Ooni.

The Ibadan Mogajis described the Alaafin’s action as “irrational and divisive, as they called on Yoruba elders and leaders to intervene in the simmering feud and stem further escalation.”

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They stated: “The kind of Alaafin we have now may end up being an embarrassment to Yorubaland. He has started provoking Ibadan people by targeting a foremost Olubadan chief, philanthropist, and respected personality, Dotun Sanusi. Ibadan will resist any attack on its pride,” they held.

The Mogajis further alleged that the Alaafin had, during a recent visit to Ibadan, spoken disrespectfully to the Ooni of Ife, warning that such conduct was unbecoming of a custodian of Yoruba culture.

Meanwhile, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, backed the Ooni as head of all kings in Yoruba land.

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Organising Secretary of the group, Abagun Omololu, on Tuesday, blamed the British for the confusion after dividing the Yoruba land into several provinces to facilitate administration.

Omololu said, “During the colonial period, the British deliberately divided Yorubaland into several provinces to facilitate administration, grouping different divisions or districts. By the 1920s, 1940s, the principal provinces comprised:

Oyo Province – encompassing Ibadan, Oyo, Ogbomoso, Iseyin, Osogbo, Ede, Iwo, and Ilesa; Ondo Province – including Ondo, Owo, and the Ekiti districts (Ado, Ijero, Ikere, Ise/Emure, Ikole), as well as Akoko. Ijebu Province – covering Ijebu Ode, Remo, and Egbado (later Yewa); Abeokuta Province – comprising the Egba towns of Abeokuta, Ibara, Ake, Owu, and others; Colony Province (Lagos) – Lagos and surrounding settlements such as Epe, Ikorodu, and Badagry.”

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READ ALSO:Ooni: Suspended Benin Palace Functionaries Banished

According to Abagun, the Alaafin’s authority was confined to Oyo province and constituent towns, while the Ooni’s supremacy transcended provincial boundaries.

He claimed that the evidence of the Ooni’s supremacy is epitomised in the fact that all Yoruba lineages trace their origin to Ile-Ife.

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Abagun stressed, “It is, therefore, historically evident that the Alaafin’s power was largely confined to Oyo Province and its constituent towns. While the Alaafin exercised temporal and political authority within this domain, he never held control over all Yoruba towns. By contrast, the Ooni of Ife’s supremacy transcended provincial boundaries, resting on spiritual, ancestral, and cultural legitimacy. All Yoruba lineages trace their origin to Ile-Ife, recognising the Ooni as the primordial custodian of their heritage.

“Thus, whereas the defunct Oyo Empire’s political dominion was geographically limited, the Ooni’s authority as ‘first among equals’ endured across Yorubaland, encompassing every Yoruba town, including Oyo itself. The distinction is clear: temporal might does not equate to spiritual or cultural primacy, and colonial records consistently reinforced this hierarchy.”

READ ALSO:Igbo Migrated From Ife —Ooni

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He further claimed that the Ooni was revered by all Yoruba kings, including the Alaafin, as the spiritual head of the race.

While the Alaafin of Oyo retained historic prestige as a symbol of the Oyo Empire’s political might, the Ooni of Ife was superior in colonial recognition as the spiritual head of the entire Yoruba nation. This was not a power imposed by the British, but rather one they acknowledged, codified, and used in their provincial administration,” Abagun said.

Backing the Afenifere, a legal practitioner, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said the Ooni was within his powers as custodian of Yoruba identity to confer the Okanlomo title on Sanusi.

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Olajengbesi further held that “no Supreme Court judgment or constitutional instrument vests exclusive pan-Yoruba jurisdiction in the Alaafin.”

He added, “With the greatest respect, the oft-cited Supreme Court decision that purportedly vested Alaafin authority now exaggerated must be properly confined to its facts. Judicial pronouncements are case-specific, and no ratio decidendi of that court has ever declared the Alaafin the sole custodian of Yoruba legitimacy. No statute in any Yoruba-speaking state vests exclusive authority in the Alaafin to confer titles of pan-Yoruba significance, and the court cannot by judicial fiat extend such jurisdiction.

“The law is clear, history is unambiguous, and jurisprudence is settled. The Ooni of Ife has not usurped power; he has exercised it intra vires—lawfully, historically, and culturally. He remains the ancestral father of the Yoruba nation, and his competence to confer honours symbolic of unity is beyond reproach.”

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The legal practitioner asked that the Alaafin should be properly advised, as he argued that Ile-Ife is acknowledged as the cradle of the existence of the Yoruba people.

Every student of Yoruba history knows, tradition and scholarship unanimously affirm Ile-Ife as the cradle of existence of the Yoruba people, the primordial seat where Oduduwa, progenitor of the race, laid the foundation of legitimacy from which all kingdoms, including Oyo, derived their authority.

“As a lawyer, I find no legal, historical, or moral defect in the Ooni’s conferment of the title Okanlomo of Oodua on Chief Dotun Sanusi, an illustrious Yoruba son. On the contrary, it is a timely reminder that while empires rise and fall, the foundation of Yoruba identity, the Ile-Ife and the Ooni, remain timeless, indivisible, and unimpeachable. The Alaafin of Oyo should be properly advised,” Olajengbesi added.

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Meanwhile, several monarchs contacted by The PUNCH on Tuesday declined to comment on the matter.
(PUNCH)

 

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VIDEO: Why I’ve Never Tried Convincing My Christian Wife To Convert To Islam — Tinubu

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has explained why he has never attempted to convince his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, to convert to Islam, stressing his belief in love, religious freedom, and mutual respect among people of different faiths.

Speaking on Saturday at the funeral service of Nana Lydia Yilwatda, mother of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwada, Tinubu said his marriage to a Christian pastor has never created any conflict in their home.

The president, who arrived in Jos, Plateau State around 2 p.m. for the ceremony at the COCIN headquarters church, said he inherited Islam from his family and has always upheld the principle of freedom of religion.

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READ ALSO:Benin Monarch To Tinubu’s Daughter: Do You Know Role Of Iyeki In Benin Culture?

He noted that both he and the First Lady serve the same God and would ultimately be answerable to Him, adding that what matters most are people’s deeds, character, and love for others.

Tinubu urged Nigerians to embrace tolerance and peaceful coexistence, emphasising that hate should never have a place in the country.

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He also prayed for the repose of the soul of the late Lydia Yilwada and asked God to grant comfort and blessings to those she left behind.

READ ALSO:Tinubu Appoints New Heads For Key Agencies

He said, “Hate is not an option for us. Love is what you preach, that we should love one another.

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“Nobody, nobody determines what God has ordained. God’s ordained action and his promises are what matter. I inherited Islam from my family. I didn’t change. But my wife is a pastor. She prays for me.

“No conflict. And I never did at any single time try to convince her or convert her. I believe in the freedom of religion.

“We are praying to the same God. We are answerable to the same almighty God. We will answer to him. We will account to him. Our deeds, our character, our love for our fellow beings are what are important.

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“May the almighty accept the soul of Lydia and give all that she left behind blessings and glory, so we say, may her soul rest in peace.”

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UK Police Quiz Six After Fatal Synagogue Attack

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Six people arrested on suspicion of “terrorism”-linked offences after a fatal car-ramming and knife attack on a UK synagogue remained in police custody on Saturday, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged people not to take part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Two people were killed and three others seriously wounded in Thursday’s attack in northwestern Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Police shot dead the assailant, Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old UK citizen of Syrian descent, within minutes of the alarm being raised.

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Three men and three women are in custody.

The attack has heightened fear among Britain’s Jewish community.

Police said they were patrolling places of worship across the city “with a particular focus on providing a high-visibility presence within our Jewish communities”.

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READ ALSO:US On Brink Of Govt Shutdown With Funding Talks Stalled

The attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in north Manchester was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

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Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the occupied territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

The Gaza conflict has inflamed passions in Britain, with frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in cities that some critics allege have stoked antisemitism.

A “global movement for Gaza UK” protest went ahead in London late on Thursday, with police making 40 arrests.

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London’s Metropolitan Police asked organisers delay another planned demonstration backing the banned Palestine Action group later on Saturday.

However, organisers Defend Our Juries rejected the calls.

READ ALSO:US Faces ‘War From Within’, Trump Tells Generals

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A spokesman said the group “stood in solidarity” with the Jewish community over the attack.

– Accidental shooting –

Starmer urged protesters not to join the pro-Palestinian rally.

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“I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain,” he said on X.

During the attack, Shamie was seen “with a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through”, synagogue chairman of trustees Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors, told ITV News.

“The heroes of the congregation who saw what was happening then came to the doors because he was trying to break the doors down to get in,” he added.

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READ ALSO:JUST IN: Court Bars Police From Enforcing Tinted Glass Regulation

A UK police watchdog, meanwhile, said it would look at the police shooting of Shamie.

The probe would also look at the shooting of a second victim who suffered a fatal gunshot and a third person who was shot but survived.

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The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence anyone other than police used firearms at the scene.

“Our independent investigation will look at the circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of Jihad Al-Shamie,” it said in a statement.

“A post mortem has today (Friday) concluded another man who died at the scene suffered a fatal gunshot wound.”

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IOPC investigations are standard practice in situations where the use of force by police may have resulted in the death of a member of the public.

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Edo Inaugurates Committee On Drug Abuse, Healthy Living

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L-R: ACGN, NDLEA, Fidelis Cocodia, Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Dennis Idahosa and Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani during the Inauguration

Edo State Government has inaugurated Drug Control Committee for the state and local governments, aimed at curbing the menace of drug abuse in the state.

Inaugurating the committee, Governor Monday Okpehbolo said the committee was not only saddled with the responsibility of curbing the menace of illicit substances, but to promote healthier living across communities in the state.

Represented by his deputy, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, Okpebholo described the initiative as “a vital step in our unwavering commitment to stopping the menace of drug trafficking and substance use among youths.”

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The governor, who bemoaned the rising tide of drug dependency and its impact on society, pointed out that the committee’s creation aligns with the national drug master plan and represents a bold stride toward protecting Edo future generations.

READ ALSO:Idahosa Hails Insurance 1-0 Thrashing Of Niger Tornadoes

On his part, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, represented by ACGN, Fidelis Cocodia, Zonal Commander, Zone 13, emphasised grassroots interventions, awareness campaigns, and support systems as the backbone of the fight against drug abuse.

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Edo State commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju disclosed that while national drug use prevalence stands at 14.4 percent, Edo state surpasses the average at 15 percent.

He noted that the state is one of the hardest-hit states in the country, warning that the trend has fueled crime and heightened youth vulnerability.

READ ALSO:Idahosa Lauds Edo Specialist Hospital Facilities

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The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole pledged to make Edo a model in drug control through rehabilitation, youth enlightenment, and second-chance opportunities for recovering addicts.

Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani, described drug abuse as a pandemic, noting that “you hardly see a crime without drugs being involved.”

She added that women’s empathy and influence must be harnessed in the campaign against drug abuse.

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