There’s nothing anyone can do about it. The òòni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, has started what he can’t finish with the new Alaafin.
The president of Egbe Òmo Òyò Worldwide, Aare Almaroof Omo Atiba, has responded to the stage, stating that the chieftaincy titles the òòni has turned into biscuits are being shared across the South.
According to Aare, the president of the association, the òòni has no power to honor anyone with chieftaincy titles cutting across Yoruba land.
No one forgets that the òòni has no relation with our progenitor Oduduwa, and he has never been in any way a member of Oduduwa’s house.
The relationship between the òòni and Oduduwa has never gone beyond that of domestic staff and boss.
During the reign of Oduduwa, the òòni, who was versatile in libation pouring, was employed as domestic staff by Oduduwa, and that is the one and only relationship.
At what point did a domestic staff member become a member of the family? This question is what a reasonable person should answer without consultation.
The archives of every palace across Yoruba land have no single record of the òòni being related to Oduduwa’s house. No single history.
The new chieftaincy title in honor of a gentleman, Olanshile Waheed Alexsandra, was just to put the innocent man in a pitiful and life-risking condition.
We are not saying the òòni can’t offer good people who have contributed in one way or another to the development of society chieftaincy titles, but there’s a limitation to the òòni’s capacity. It is the Alaafin institution that has the power to do so.
The òòni knew he had no capacity to do so and could never have, on behalf of the seven members of Oyomesi:
1. Basorun
2. Agbaakin
3. Samu
4. Alapinni
5. Lagunna
6. Akiniku
7. Asipa
&
1. The Baba-Iyaji
2. Otun Efa
3. Osi Efa
4. Kudeefu
5. Alagunpopo and all the ruling houses of the Supreme Oyo dynasty.
We hereby send a very strong warning to the Òòni of Ife to, as a matter of urgency, reverse the title of Oyo warlords (Basorun and Agbaakin) given to a commoner for money; otherwise, this may lead to the total disintegration of all Yorubas, and then we shall know who the owners of the “name” Yoruba are.
Oba Ogunwusi’s predecessors tried it and failed three consecutive times.
The immediate past Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola, defeated the late Òòni, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, hands down in 1980, just 10 years after Alaafin Adeyemi ascended the throne. The court stopped Adesoji Aderemi from giving such a title cutting across Yoruba land to anyone. This happened a few weeks before the installation of the appointee. All ended in shame.
The same thing happened in 1990 during the reign of Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse; the fearless Alaafin beat down Òòni Sijuwade. The installation wasn’t held.
In 1932, again, the late Alaafin Siyanbola Oladigbolu and the late Òòni Ademiluyi had a confrontation in the presence of the King of England at Ibadan Airport. The Òòni Ademiluyi told the king, and I quote:
“I am the royal majesty, Òòni Ademiluyi, and this is my brother, the Alaafin of Oyo.”
Without hesitation, Oba Ladigbolu told the King of England that he had a relationship with Ademiluyi; he only worked with his father (Oduduwa) as a domestic staff member. He has no royal blood.
The current Òòni had no access to such history; he should go and check his predecessor’s archives.
He can’t continue fabricating lies to establish irrelevant activities in Oduduwa’s house.
He who wants to claim what does not belong to him always begins with unrealistic history. How can an educated person who studied geography in secondary school say that Oduduwa came from the sky, or that the first part of the world to be created is Ife? That’s a fat lie. Oduduwa never came from the sky. He never had any staff. What you are seeing at Ife is just a concrete cast of staff. The same way they claim to have one single day in a full year where they don’t make sacrifices. That’s also a lie.
The king flying around like a butterfly has no time to do so. The reality is that domestic staff can never be part of the family.
If the parents of the young man honored with agbaakin basorun of Yoruba land are still alive, they should warn the young man to steer clear of calamity by rejecting a poison in the form of a chieftaincy title.
We also send a strong warning to politicians to abstain from this situation. They should not forget what happened to a particular political leader who tried to undermine the power of Alaafin. He regretted it to his last breath.
The new Alaafin is on his way to the palace with all renewed powers .
Àgbàra aye ni won un pe ni Àlààfin, kosi eni ti ko le gbe lo.
Aare Almaroof omo Atiba. The president, Egbe Omo Oyo Worldwide. On behalf of the stool of the alaafin and Oyomesi.
