Tope Adeboboye
A major controversy is currently brewing within the traditional institution in Yorubaland.
Several royal fathers and major traditional titleholders in the South-West are not pleased with the purported coronation of some persons as Yoruba Obas in the Diaspora by the Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Obateru Akinruntan.
The Yoruba Obas’ Forum, a group comprising traditional rulers in the South-West as well as in parts of Kwara and Kogi states, has denounced the exercise, which they described as null and void.
Said the royal fathers: “It is apposite to state, categorically, that the Yoruba Obas’ Forum strongly and vehemently rejects this sacrilegious endorsement and purported installation, which is not only illegal but also alien to Yoruba custom and tradition.
“We state, unequivocally and without fear of contradiction, that the purported installation is an affront to the Yoruba tradition and a desecration of Yoruba custom and tradition. It must be made crystal clear that Oba Akinruntan does not possess such power, under any guise, to endorse, install, or crown anyone as Yoruba Oba outside his domain.
“Consequently the purported installation and coronation is declared ultra vires, illegal, void and of no effect whatsoever and cannot stand the test of time. We as a body hereby disassociate ourselves from this illegal and caricature installation and we consider it as an abominable and highly condemnable act.”
But by far the strongest condemnation has emerged from the office of the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Adams. Besides criticising what he termed an illegal installation by the Olugbo, Adams urged the Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to caution the royal father against starting a crisis in Yorubaland.
Oba Akinruntan had, on Monday, April 29, stirred the hornet’s nest when he crowned three men as Yoruba Obas in Diaspora. The ceremony took place in his palace in Ugbo community, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The three men are Bernard Shola Akinrimisi, who was named Oriade of Georgia by the Olugbo; Omobolaji Ogunkoya, traditional ruler of Yoruba in Liberia, and Saheed Ibrahim Adufe, traditional ruler of Yoruba in the Republic of Ireland.
Oba Akinruntan, at the event, said he had plans to crown more Yoruba kings in the Diaspora, even as he described himself as the number one royal father in Yorubaland.
Said he: “I’m going to celebrate 10 years on the throne; people should go and prepare. I don’t want people to wear a suit to my coronation anniversary because I’m a Yoruba Oba. The coronation will be a special celebration because I’m preparing for it and people will come from all over the country to celebrate with me.
“I’m going to give more Obas in the Diaspora crowns. Many of them will get crowns and staff of office from me and nobody can query me. They know that I’m a special Oba in Yorubaland. My father is the owner of Ife, Oba Makin Osangangan.”
But not many seemed impressed by the monarch’s words. In a statement issued immediately after the event, Aare Adams said Oba Akinruntan was working hard to desecrate Yoruba culture, values and norms. He said he would not wait for Oba Akinruntan to ignite a major conflagration in the South-West before taking action.
“What Akinruntan did, and he was even arrogant about it by referring to himself as the number one king in Yorubaland, is a complete desecration of our culture, tradition and value, and I urge South-West governors, especially Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, and Yoruba monarchs, to please call him to order immediately before it is too late,” Adams said.
He called on prominent Yoruba groups, including the Afenifere, Yoruba Council of Elders and others to call the royal father to order so as to protect the history and tradition of the Yoruba race.
In an interview, Aare Gani Adams denied that he was engaged in any feud with Oba Akinruntan. “I respect his stool,” explained the national coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress. “I have nothing against his person. But when anyone is taking actions that can trigger a crisis in Yorubaland, it is my duty to react. That was what I swore to do on the day I was being installed as the 15th Aare Onakakanfo.”
Adams said, as a foremost promoter of Yoruba culture, and as the generalissimo of the Yoruba race, he was well qualified to call Oba Akinruntan to order before the royal father succeeded in rewriting history.
Adams, who is also the founder of Olokun Festival Foundation, said he expected that the governors in the South-West, particularly Akeredolu, would have cautioned the Olugbo as soon as he mooted the idea of installing Yoruba Obas in the Diaspora, insisting that such an action remained an aberration.
The Aare Onakakanfo said it was laughable that anyone would make some attention-seeking fellows Yoruba kings in places like the United States, Ireland and Liberia, without studying the history of such countries and the processes required to crown an Oba.
He said, in Yorubaland, the highest honour that could be given by an Oba is a traditional chieftaincy title in his domain. He said the only influence Olugbo had was over the people and practices in Ugbo, adding that the royal father should have made his three guests chiefs of Ugbo Kingdom.
“No one is saying that our people living abroad should not be given traditional titles. Many of them have been honoured by royal fathers in Yorubaland. But things must be done accordingly. You may even be a leader of an organisation comprising people of Yoruba extraction in the United States, Ireland or Liberia. But for an Oba to proclaim you a king and give you beaded crowns is a joke taken too far. We will not allow it.”
He explained that there were rigorous processes involved in the coronation of a Yoruba king: “Ifa must be consulted and the right person picked. It is never on the basis of wealth or anything. The candidate picked would have to be in a secluded place, called Ipebi, for weeks. These ones that the Olugbo crowned, were they in any Ipebi? Who are their chiefs? When has it become the duty of an Oba to crown another Oba? It is the government, represented by the state governor, his deputy or a commissioner, that presents an Oba his staff of office. These ones are desecrating our culture. They are disrespecting the traditional institution. This is what I have been fighting for and promoting in the past two decades. That is why someone like me must not keep silent.”
Adams noted that some people have been wondering why he would not just let the matter pass. But he said there were cogent reasons he would continue to speak against it.
“Let me analyse the situation to you. If we do not resist this now, very soon, you would see as many as 15,000 Yoruba Obas in the Diaspora. And by then, the royal institution in Yorubaland would have become a huge joke, because everyone would begin to proclaim himself Yoruba king of every city in the United States, China, Europe and elsewhere.”
He recalled that he was a keynote speaker at an event attended by over 300 Yoruba traditional rulers in Ile-Ife last year, where it was unanimously agreed that no one should parade himself as a Yoruba Oba in the Diaspora.
Aare Adams asserted that the institution of the Oba in Yorubaland was initiated by God, noting that it is a serious one that must not be turned into a joke: “Kabiyesi Olugbo is an international businessman. He should know the implication of what he is doing. It is even more annoying that he’s promising to crown more people.”
Aare Adams also advised the Olugbo to halt his persistent jibes against the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. He said it was well known that the Ooni and Alaafin of Oyo are the two most senior royal fathers in Yorubaland. He said anyone saying anything to the contrary would only make himself a laughing stock.
“Even in Ondo State, is Olugbo in the list of the ten most prominent Obas? Is he greater than the Deji of Akure, Osemawe of Ondo, Olowo of Owo, Olukare of Ikare Akoko and many others? How can he even be disrespecting the Ooni when the late Ooni was one of those that helped him attain that throne?” the Aare Onakakanfo wondered.