By Peter Omopo / 20th August 2025
Prominent Yoruba elders and leaders have stepped in to calm rising tensions following renewed hostilities between the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.
The fresh row erupted on Monday when the Alaafin faulted the Ooni’s conferment of the title Okanlomo of Yorubaland on businessman Chief Dotun Sanusi at an event in Ibadan. In a statement by his media aide, Bode Durojaiye, the Alaafin insisted that only he holds authority to bestow titles with pan-Yoruba significance, issuing a 48-hour ultimatum for the title’s withdrawal.
In response, the Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, dismissed the ultimatum as baseless, saying the monarch would not dignify the statement with an official reply. “Let’s rather focus on narratives that unite us than those capable of dividing us,” he said.
This confrontation adds to a string of public disagreements between the two monarchs. In May, footage from an event hosted by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu showed the Alaafin seated while other monarchs stood to greet the Ooni. In June, both rulers appeared to snub each other at the West African Economic Summit in Abuja.
Calls for Mediation
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, on Tuesday appealed for calm and revealed that consultations were underway among Yoruba leaders to mediate. “It is an issue between two fathers. We must not open old wounds. I am reaching out to both of them and other Yoruba leaders to resolve it amicably,” he said.
Similarly, the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) urged restraint. Its Secretary-General, Oladipo Oyewole, warned that further escalation would undermine Yoruba cultural values. “The governments of Osun and Oyo states must urgently intervene to prevent aberrations by the royal fathers,” he added.
Renowned Ifa scholar, Prof. Wande Abimbola, also appealed for calm. Speaking with The PUNCH, he hinted at quiet peace efforts among Yoruba elders. “There’s no need for conflict. Often, it is third parties who stoke these misunderstandings,” he said, disclosing plans for a high-level meeting of Yoruba rulers and elders across six Yoruba-speaking states and Kwara to find a lasting resolution.
Reactions Across Yoruba Land
In Ibadan, Mogajis and leaders of the Ibadan Compound Peace Initiative condemned the Alaafin’s ultimatum, describing it as divisive. “The kind of Alaafin we have now may end up being an embarrassment to Yorubaland. Ibadan will resist any attack on its pride,” they said, accusing him of disrespecting both the Ooni and Ibadan leaders.
Socio-political group Afenifere threw its weight behind the Ooni. Its Organising Secretary, Abagun Omololu, traced the dispute to colonial divisions of Yorubaland, arguing that while the Alaafin’s authority was historically confined to Oyo Province, the Ooni’s supremacy transcended all Yoruba territories.
“It is historically evident that the Alaafin’s power was geographically limited, while the Ooni’s authority as spiritual head of the Yoruba race endured across all Yoruba land,” Omololu said.
Supporting this stance, legal practitioner Pelumi Olajengbesi insisted the Ooni acted within his rights. “No court judgment vests pan-Yoruba authority in the Alaafin. The Ooni, as ancestral custodian of Yoruba heritage, is well within his powers to confer honours of symbolic unity,” he said, urging that the Alaafin be properly advised.
The Road Ahead
As elders and cultural leaders rally to douse tensions, stakeholders warn that the feud risks undermining Yoruba unity at a sensitive time. Plans are underway for broader consultations to restore harmony between the two foremost monarchs.
