The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, harshly chastised the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, on Monday for bestowing the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on a businessman, Dotun Sanusi.
At the weekend, the Ooni bestowed the title on Sanusi during the launch of 2geda, an indigenous social media and commercial networking platform, at the Ilaji Hotel in Ibadan.
Ogunwusi bestowed the title on Sanusi, describing his unrivalled commitment to the Yoruba race’s cultural and economic advancement.
But the Alaafin, in a statement issued on Monday through his media aide, Bode Durojaiye, said the Ooni overstepped his bounds, maintaining that no traditional ruler other than the Alaafin has the power to confer a title spanning all of Yorubaland.
Oba Owoade requested the title be revoked within 48 hours, or the Ooni should “face the consequences”.
He said, “The attention of the Alaafin of Oyo and the Titan of Yorubaland, Oba Engineer Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has been drawn to the purported conferment of the chieftaincy title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on a business tycoon, Dotun Sanusi, by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi.
“The Ooni of Ife is behaving as if there is no authority to check and call him to order. Because of that ‘above-the-law’ syndrome of his, he is in the habit of walking on everybody’s back, including the apex court in the country, the Supreme Court, which had ruled on the exclusive preserve of the Alaafin to confer any chieftaincy title that covers the entire Yorubaland.
“The dictum that nobody is above the law of the land is now being put to a crucial test. The Alaafin hereby demands revocation of the so-called Okanlomo of Yorubaland chieftaincy title conferred on Engineer Dotun Sanusi within 48 hours or face the consequences.”
The Alaafin also opined that the Ooni’s jurisdiction on conferment of titles was limited, stressing, “The instrument of office presented to Oba Ogunwusi during his installation specifically limits his traditional area of authority to Oranmiyan Local Government, which has now been split into three local governments, viz.: Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South.”
While warning against attempts to undermine his peace-building efforts in Yorubaland, Owoade reiterated his earlier plea to traditional rulers to work for unity.
He said, “It is the joy of our forefathers for us to be in unity, and they did their part in ensuring peace and unity in Yorubaland. We must also strive to achieve this. God Himself is involved in our matter; therefore, we must always, at all times, be concerned about the peace and unity of Yorubaland. We say we want development, but no meaningful and sustainable development will come without peace and unity.
“But it seems the Ooni of Ife is misconceiving the Alaafin, Paramount with the Heart of Gold, and his peace initiative as a sign of weakness, hence taking decisions that are not only ultra vires but derogatory to the Titan of Yorubaland.”
