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Tuesday, October 14, 2025
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HomeNationalTension grows as Ooni declines response to Alaafin’s ultimatum over chieftaincy title...

Tension grows as Ooni declines response to Alaafin’s ultimatum over chieftaincy title dispute

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has declined to comment on the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, over the conferment of a chieftaincy title.

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The Alaafin had demanded that Ogunwusi revoke the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland, recently bestowed on businessman Dotun Sanusi, insisting that the Ooni lacked the authority to grant such a title.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Moses Olafare, spokesperson for the Ooni, said the monarch had directed him not to issue an official response, dismissing the ultimatum as an “empty threat.

“We cannot dignify the undignifyable with an official response. We leave the matter to be handled in the public court of opinion as it is already being treated,” Olafare wrote. “Let’s rather focus on narratives that unite us rather than the ones capable of dividing us. 48 Hours My Foot!”

The dispute highlights growing tension between the two first-class monarchs over the scope of their traditional authority.

On Monday, Bode Durojaiye, director of media and publicity to the Alaafin, released a statement asserting that only the Alaafin holds the “exclusive right” to confer titles that cover the entire Yorubaland.

He argued that the Ooni’s jurisdiction is restricted to the Oranmiyan Local Government Area, which has since been split into Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South.

The conferment of a chieftaincy title that bothers on Yorubaland by the Ooni of Ife is not only an affront to the revered institution of the Alaafin, who is the Titan of Yorubaland, but also a violation of his exclusive right to confer such titles, the statement read.

The Alaafin warned that failure to withdraw the title within 48 hours would attract unspecified consequences.

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