Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi has ignored the 48-hour issued him by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade to revoke the Okanlomo of Yorubaland title conferred on business tycoon, Dotun Sanusi.
Ooni’s media aide, Moses Olafare disclosed this on his Facebook page early Tuesday morning.
Olafare, who described the Alaafin’s ultimatum as “the Empty Threat of the Alawada Babasala”, however said the Ooni had directed him not to respond to the statement by the Oyo monarch on the Okanlomo chieftaincy crisis.
“We cannot dignify the undignifiable with an official response,” Ooni’s spokesman added, saying, “we leave the matter to be handled in the public court of opinion as it is already being treated.”
Olafare wrote on his Facebook page, “My Principal has directed me against issuing a Press Release on the Empty Threat of the Alawada Babasala.
“I beg to disappoint you gentlemen of the press.
“We cannot dignify the undignified with an official response. We leave the matter to be handled in the public court of opinion as it is already being treated.
“Let’s rather focus on narratives that unite us rather than the ones capable of dividing us.
“No Press Release pls
“48 Hours My Foot!!!”
On Monday, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade had given the Ooni of Ife a 48-hour ultimatum to revoke the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland he the Ife monarch had conferred on businessman, Dotun Sanusi.
The Oyo monarch had described the action of the Ooni as an affront to his authority, warning him of some consequences.
The Alaafin had in a statement issued by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, expressed strong concerns over the alleged conferment of the chieftaincy title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on the matter.
The Oyo monarch had also stressed that only the Oyo monarch holds the exclusive right to confer titles that cover the entire Yorubaland.
The Alaafin had further stated that the Ooni’s traditional jurisdiction is confined to Oranmiyan Local Government—now divided into Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South—making the conferment of a title with pan-Yoruba relevance beyond his authority.
