For some days, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, have dominated headlines amid an alleged supremacy dispute. The rift reportedly began after Oba Owoade issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Oba Ogunwusi, demanding that he revoke the chieftaincy title of “Okanlomo of Yorubaland,” which was conferred on businessman Dotun Sanusi.
According to the report, Oba Abimbola claimed that the Ooni of Ife lacked the exclusive right to bestow such a chieftaincy title. Oba Abimbola Owoade further asserted that the right to confer Yoruba chieftaincy titles is exclusive to the Alaafin, while the Ooni of Ife’s authority is restricted to Ile-Ife and its surrounding areas, including Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South.
However, the Alaafin of Oyo has denied being involved in any supremacy battle with the Ooni of Ife or any other Yoruba monarch. In a statement released by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the monarch stated that, as a custodian of Yoruba culture and tradition, he does not need to engage in a battle for supremacy with any Oba. The statement added that the Alaafin has always prioritised the safety and welfare of his subjects, and would never compromise tradition, culture, and the development of his people for personal gain.
Despite this clarification, speculation about a supremacy battle between the two prominent Yoruba kings continues to dominate newspapers across Nigeria. To de-escalate the crisis, Yoruba elders have intervened. Speaking with Punch on Tuesday, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, stated that he had reached out to Yoruba leaders to mediate in the crisis.
“It is an issue between two fathers,” Adams said. “I have been calling Yoruba leaders to look for a way to resolve it. We don’t want the unity of Yorubaland 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 Ona Kakanfo, I had been very, very close to the palace of Ooni. At the same time, I was very close to the late Alaafin.”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with New Daily Prime, Professor Sesan Fabamise, a law lecturer at Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, clarified that “no Yoruba Oba has jurisdiction that extends beyond the town he governs.”
He said: “There is no basis for the rivalry between the Alaafin and the Ooni. Both of them are well-respected Obas in Nigeria and in the diaspora. The sky is big enough for birds to fly without hitting one another.
“As far as I am concerned, there is no conflict that can threaten the unity of Yorubaland. If you want to write the names of two people on a paper, one name must come first, as long as you do not want to juxtapose the names with each other.”
Professor Fabamise observed that the two monarchs are young men who should not be drawn into perpetuating old rivalries. He stressed that they ought to be counselled to concentrate on the progress and development of their respective domains, noting that their legacies would be remembered with honour if they made a positive impact on their people.
Furthermore, Professor Fabamise stated that he was not aware of any Supreme Court judgment establishing the supremacy of a particular Oba in Yorubaland, cautioning that no ruling should be taken out of context.
“If we see such a judgment, we will be able to analyse it and make dispassionate comments. The claim of superiority by an Oba simply because the name of his ancestors appeared in one document or the other is just a happenstance. Anyone could have been picked by the colonialists, and more often than not, they chose the most vulnerable to sign those phantom documents.
“Any Oba claiming his superiority from a British-signed treaty or agreement is just being disingenuous. Superiority can only be ascertained through oral history, and as far as this is concerned, there is no controversy as to who the most superior Oba is in Yorubaland.”
According to him, the institution of traditional rulership is regulated by the Chieftaincy Laws of individual states.
He explained that no law grants any traditional ruler overarching authority across the entire Yoruba nation.
“It is, therefore, superfluous to confer a pan-Yoruba chieftaincy title on anybody because there is no town called Yorubaland. Even during the Oyo Empire’s suzerainty, no Oba could confer any pan-Yoruba chieftaincy title. Perhaps the Alaafin could confer a pan-Oyo Empire title like Are Ona Kakanfo of the Oyo Empire on a person. But one must recall that it was not the whole of Yorubaland that was under the dominion of Oyo.
“The Akokos, the Owos, Ikale, Ondo, and so on were never under Oyo suzerainty. The Ekitis resisted Oyo incursion, and this led to the Ekiti Parapo War, which ended in a ‘no victor, no vanquished’ settlement on March 14, 1893. So, effectively, you can say that Ekiti was not a part of Oyo Empire suzerainty. No Yoruba Oba has jurisdiction beyond the town he governs.
“On 6 August 1861, King Dosunmu (Docemo) ceded Lagos Island to the British, and this was taken as ceding the whole of Southern Nigeria. Even the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria was done by some chosen individuals who signed the treaty on behalf of all of us,” he noted.
