From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The popular Yoruba rights activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, fondly called Sunday Igboho, has said he holds the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja I, in high esteem.
He spoke against the backdrop of a viral video in which he accused the first-class monarch of not telling President Muhammadu Buhari the whole truth about the atrocities being committed by some criminal Fulani herdsmen in the South West geo-political zone of Nigeria.
Ooni had visited Buhari in the Presidential Villa in Abuja some days ago. On the same day, Mr. President also received separately, the Ondo State governor and Chairman of South West Governors’ Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu; and Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, towards finding lasting solution to insecurity in the South West.
The outburst by Igboho attracted condemnation from home and abroad that the stool of Ooni of Ife should not be desecrated in such manner. He immediately apologised and the monarch said Igboho committed a sacrilege, but he has accepted his apology.
In a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan by Igboho’s media aide, Mr. Dapo Salami, on Friday, the rights activist averred that nobody must try to insinuate otherwise or that he has any rift with the Ooni of Ife.
According to him, “Oba Ogunwusi is not only my father but also a father of all Yoruba. There is no misunderstanding between me and the first-class traditional ruler. The Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty is a great leader that has tried a lot in promoting peace and progress in the South West region of the country.
“There is no cause for any rift between me and my father. Members of the public should stop crying wolf where there is none. All of us know what is going on in Yorubaland. We are all stakeholders in this struggle. We cannot look on while Fulani herdsmen will constitute themselves as threats to our lives.
“What I am saying is that I don’t have any issue with my father, the Ooni of Ife. He remains my father anyday.
Igboho, however, commended all Yoruba leaders for their support in making sure that Yorubaland is peaceful.