Yoruba leaders urge Ooni, Alaafin to end rift

The Yoruba Leaders of Thought (Egbe Ilosiwaju Yoruba) has appealed to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, to immediately end the recent misunderstanding between the two foremost traditional rulers.

The disagreement, which reopened an age-long rivalry, was sparked last week after the Alaafin faulted the Ooni’s decision to confer a Yoruba-wide title on businessman Prince Dotun Sanusi.

In a statement issued on Sunday in Ado Ekiti, the group’s National Leader, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, called on Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, and his Oyo State counterpart, Engineer Seyi Makinde, to initiate an “immediate ceasefire between our revered royal fathers and their supporters.”

The statement, titled “Time to Sheath the Sword” and signed by National Secretary Bayo Aina, further urged the South-West Council of Obas to establish a standing committee to prevent similar conflicts in the future.

Olusi noted: “If such protocols already exist, this channel should be utilised more effectively to forestall a repeat of this current embarrassment.”

The Yoruba leaders expressed disappointment that at a time when collective efforts should be focused on supporting the administration of President Bola Tinubu, “some of our foremost leaders at various levels are more or less fuelling this fire.”

They lamented that the renewed rivalry was reviving centuries-old divisions that risk damaging the unity and global image of the Yoruba people.

Olusi added that historical narratives, rather than being used to forge unity and pride, were being “weaponised into tools of discord and resentment.”

He described as unfortunate the tendency of some leaders to take sides in the controversy, stressing that such distractions have no capacity to help the Yoruba nation overcome its pressing challenges, including technological and developmental gaps with the rest of the world.