Chieftaincy title conflict: Ooni’s camp ridicules Alaafin’s 48-hour ultimatum

The simmering tussle between two of Yorubaland’s foremost traditional rulers, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade I, has deepened as the Ooni’s camp openly dismissed the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Oyo monarch.

On Monday, Alaafin Owoade had demanded that the Ooni revoke the chieftaincy title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland, conferred on prominent Ibadan business mogul and philanthropist, Engineer Dotun Sanusi, popularly known as Ilaji.

The Oyo monarch insisted that the title encroached on his traditional supremacy, stressed that only the Alaafin reserves the authority to bestow pan-Yoruba titles that cut across the entire Yoruba nation.

However, in a fiery response on Tuesday, the Ooni’s media aide, Moses Olafare, took to his official Facebook page to describe the ultimatum as nothing more than an “empty threat.”

Olafare, speaking on behalf of the Ooni, wrote:

“My Principal has directed me against issuing a press release on the empty threat of the Alawada Babasala. We cannot dignify the undignified with an official response.

“We leave the matter to be handled in the public court of opinion as it is already being treated. 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!!!”

The strongly-worded remark signals a refusal by the Ile-Ife palace to bow to pressure from Oyo, further stoking the flames of a royal supremacy debate that has existed in Yorubaland for generations.

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The Ooni’s refusal to retract the title comes after Alaafin Owoade, through his media director Bode Durojaiye, accused him of overstepping traditional boundaries. The Alaafin emphasized that the Ooni’s jurisdiction is limited to Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South Local Government Areas, formerly known as Oranmiyan LG, thereby making any pan-Yoruba conferment outside his authority.

This latest development underscores a renewed power struggle between two revered thrones of Yorubaland, sparking heated debates among traditional institutions, political observers, and the Yoruba public.

With both royal camps refusing to back down, the controversy has now shifted to the “court of public opinion,” where cultural pride, historical claims, and legitimacy of authority will likely dominate the discourse in the coming days.