Ooni’s drive for unity, harmony among Yoruba Obas, an effort in futility? asks Bode Durojaiye

For sometime now, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, has been under intense and
unparalleled intellectual criticisms by thinkers and public affairs analysts, including some prominent traditional rulers for what they referred to as his ‘unnecessary utterance’ on the classification of Yoruba Obas.
The Alake’s utterance has not only re-opened the supremacy controversy among the royal fathers,
but made the Ooni of Ife’s self-imposed drive for unity and harmony among Yoruba Obas an effort in futility.
Shortly after Oba Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja 11, the Ooni of Ife, was installed and presented with the Staff of Office by the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the monarch commenced initiative of bringing unity and harmony among principal Obas in Yorubaland.
The centre-point of the initiative was that he was not in supremacy contest with any of the paramount Obas in Yorubaland.
His first courtesy call was to the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba
Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, during the monarch’s 45th coronation thanksgiving service held at the Methodist Church, Nigeria, Ajagba, Oyo.
On entering the crowded church, both the Alaafin and Ooni embraced to the admiration of the congregation, after which both of them sat side by side in the front row of the church.
The Alaafin, who first addressed the church, said he was not new to Ile-Ife palace as he visited the late Ooni, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, several times while he was alive.
He attributed his inability to visit the immediate past Ooni, Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse, to the late monarch’s ‘idiosyncracies’.
Responding, the Ooni declared that Alaafin was his father, adding that relationship between the duo would be based on that parameter.
After the church service, the Ooni accompanied the Alaafin to his palace where they had light entertainment before the royal visitor departed.
The second place Ooni visited was the palace of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, Ogbagba 11.
The Ooni, in his address, said he was not in supremacy contest with any Oba and that his mission was to ensure that unity prevails among Yoruba
Obas.
In response, the Awujale, while advising the august visitor not to derail in his drive for unity, warned him to be wary of sycophants who are fond of playing to the gallery and with the ulterior motive of circumventing the genuine desire for harmonious relationship among the
royal fathers.
The next place was when the Ooni was to attend, for the first time, the Osun State Council of Obas meeting at Osogbo, the state capital.
Before the arrival of the Ooni for the meeting, some of his aides had stormed the venue with a chair covered with white cloth from Ile-Ife, heralded by gong beating youths.
Both the security operatives and officials of the state government at the venue of the meeting vehemently resisted Ooni’s aides from moving in with the chair, insisting that there were enough chairs for
members to sit.
The security operatives also demanded that the white cloth be removed to enable them see what was on the chair.
Unperturbed by the security operatives resistance, the Ooni’s aides attempted to force their way into the venue with the chair when tempers flared and fracas ensued.
Some Ooni’s aides were reportedly roughhandled in the ensued melee, as traditional rulers who had arrived for the meeting ran helter skelter, thus preventing the meeting from being held.
However, inside source confided in our correspondent that hardly did the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, the presiding Chairman, returned to his
domain that the Ooni visited him to make truce.
Since the meeting between the two Obas was held behind closed doors, anxious journalists could not report what transpired between the monarchs.
In continuation of his visits, the Ooni and his entourage moved to the Alake of Egbaland’s palace.
The Ooni reiterated his earlier pledge to put an end to all bickerings which had led to the age-long vendetta among Obas and disunity in Yorubaland.
In his response, rather than commenting on the speech of his visitor, Oba Adedotun shocked the audience and
the people of Egbaland by his classification of the Alaafin of Oyo and the Awujale of Ijebu land.
With utter disbelief, the audience hissed and hummed at the Alake’s remarks which were in contrast to the matured and well-measured statements of the Ooni of Ife.
When the Ooni saw that the situation was becoming charged and uncontrollable, he came up with a song, “araye e ba mi yo, araye e ba mi dupe, Olorun lo gbe mi ga”, meaning, “please come and rejoice with
me, please join me to thank God who has elevated me”.
Thus the Ooni absolved himself from the statements of the Alake of Egba land.
What a lesson in diplomacy?
Since then, the Alake’s remarks has re-opened the supremacy controversy among Obas in Yoruba land.
Are the efforts of the Ooni not doomed with this renewal of hostility? Has it not become an effort in futility?
Alake’s remarks have since come under intense and unparalleled intellectual criticisms by some individuals, including prominent Obas in the social media and the mass media, not only in Nigeria but across the globe.
In fact, the Awujale took the Alake to the cleaners, describeing him as ‘a young and inexperienced’ monarch in Yorubaland.
The Ijebu first-class monarch also directed the Egba monarch to former President Olusegun Obasanjo for ‘proper education’.
However, it is pertinent to note that this episode is not the first for Alake.
It will be recalled that during the administration of former Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State, Oba Gbadebo put up his binoculars of criticisms and lambasted the governor as having reduced Abeokuta into a rumble in a jungle.
Oba Gbadebo went further by saying that Abeokuta was devoid of any infrastructural development.
Disturbed by the sentimental outburst of the monarch, the former governor enumerated his administration’s several amenities and infrastructures provided to the nooks and crannies of the state.
The former governor was enraged because rather than constituting himself into the opposition, the monarch ought to have gone round or sent his subjects to carry out a fact-finding tour of Abeokuta on the state of
infrastructural development.
The then governor vowed to put the monarch in his right position. The whole of Egba rose in defence of the Alake, not because of what he said, but threat coming from the then government.
With the intervention of some clerics, the Alake later made peace with Daniel.
Historians are of the view that what Alake has not taken into consideration is the fact that the Egba have always resented any Ooni meddling into their internal affairs.
This, they asserted, “was clearly exhibited during the attempt by an Ooni at settling the supremacy battle among Egba Obas. This Ooni was ordered out. As a matter of fact, the late Alake, Oba Oyebade
Lipede, or any Alake never invited any Ooni to their domain, let alone classifying any Ooni as being superior”.
They quizzed further: “Is Oba Gbadebo working at cross-purposes with the interest of the Egba who he leads”?