Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, sitting, and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi

Ggoyega Bello

Sometimes, organisers of big events could be unlucky. They invested resources, put up a show and expected desirable outcomes, but an unplanned incident cropped up and overshadowed their programmes. Those involved in the inauguration of the National Information Development Agency (NITDA) community ICT in Ibadan, which had the President’s wife, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, as the inaugurator a few days ago, suffered such a fate.

What changed the focus of attraction of the event happened innocuously when the usual boisterous Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, burst into the gathering. Seated already was the newly crowned Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade. To his left were other traditional rulers, at least two. But while the other two stood to shake hands with the Ooni’risa, the newly crowned Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Owoade, did so while he remained seated. Hell was let loose on social media. Not from the two scions of Oduduwa, but from non-royals at first, which bug soon infected royals as well. Ever since the incident, their cries have been strident. To them, it was an insult for the Alaafin not to have stood up to exchange pleasantries with the Arole Oodua. They may be right.

The supremacy battle between the two iconic traditional rulers is age-old. There were indeed instances where even the previous holders of the offices tangoed. So far, proxies have fought this battle.

History tipped the line of royalty of Ooni above the Alaafin. The former is assumed to be the inheritor of the original source, the throne of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba. However, the bravado, the awe and the sheer industry that defined the argonaut of an Oranmiyan’s lineage, made the scions to the office of Alaafin audacious, daring and perhaps contemptuous. The peculiarity of the two heritages impacts each of them to date.

Standing: Oba Adeoye Ghandi, the Soun of Ogbomoso and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi

From whichever tradition you may consider the provenance of Ile Ife or its people, Hamitic tradition or autochthonous origin myth, Ife held a prime place in the history of the Yoruba. It is regarded as the cultural and the spiritual base of the people. The belief is that all beaded kings in Yorubaland have their roots cut out from Ife, from where they spread to areas of their present abode. From about ninth century CE, Ife was said to have human habitation. But it was not until about twelfth up until the fifteenth century that it reached the apogee of its political power, with much of its mystique largely woven around the personality of Oduduwa, who was thought either to have migrated to Ife from the Middle East or to have descended from heaven. These myths have subsisted till date.

But while Ooni lorded it over Ile Ife, its political influence never transcended its immediate areas. Neither did it exhibit any hegemonic adventure since all monarchs of Yoruba Origin around it recognised, and till date, accept it as their origin. They regularly paid tributes to the ancient city.

And the kingdom was not noted to have kept a standing army either. Toyin Falola, et al in “A History of Nigeria” affirmed that though the political system of Ife was monarchical, the line of succession of the royalty could be blurry to accommodate wealthy individuals to assume the throne of the Ooni of Ife.

On the contrary, the myth that shrouded the history of Oyo Empire differs from the above. It is a history rooted in valour, heroism and projection of power. Oyo Ile over which much of the history of Oyo was later associated was inhabited since the eighth century CE and became a well-established urban centre by the fifteenth century. The city was said to have been founded by Oranmiyan who was a son of Oduduwa.

At the zenith of its power, Oyo empire was said to have covered 18,000 square miles and expanded from South of the Niger in the Savanna to the forest zone to the south and the south east. Except adjudication by his authorized proxies, the Alaafin had the supreme authority over “policy formulation, execution or creation of new titles in the empire”.

Alaafin Owoade, left, Oba Adeoye Ghandi, Soun of Ogbomoso and another Oba standing to greet Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State

The Alaafin’s claim to descent from Sango, the god of thunder, added to the mystique and awe associated with the office, so say historians of the ancient empire.

What made the empire to tower above its contemporaries was its wealth, which was centred largely around slavery and the slave trade. The empire executed expeditions that served as a source of slaves, and it also served as a middleman for slave traders from the Savanna as it enjoyed access to slave ports of Porto Novo and Lagos, among others.

What you thus have is, perhaps, a clearly set out basis of contention and contestation, from time immemorial, between inheritors of an ascribed ancient stool couched wholesomely in spiritual mystique, and another, who, though, was of the same royal lineage, was nonetheless an embodiment of self-made possibilities and whose relevance was overwhelmingly political. Ruled by success, or intoxicated by it, it is thus not out of human nature for its offspring to attempt to rub shoulders even with a superior royal over whom they believe their forebears towered, politically and/or economically.

The turf war that has pitched social media combatants loyal to either of the traditional rulers has been fierce and acerbic and may offer some salient lessons to advocates of a Yoruba nation, those who appear not to have taken cognizance that the Yoruba, irrespective of certain aspects of the history of the group, is not a monolith. The pattern of the battle line of the proxies has replicated the ancient fault line. In the years before 1886, when the British prevailed to end the internecine Ekitiparapo War, an alliance of combatants from Ekiti, Ijesa, Egba, Ijebu and Ife had fought fiercely with Ibadan for 16 years. Today Oyo appears to be the new old Ibadan and is pitched against the erstwhile combatants of the old alliance. The caustic exchanges and countless clips bearing excoriating messages by the proxies engaged in the verbal warfare might be surpassed only slightly by those between bloggers South-West of the Niger and those from the heartland of the Biafra, especially during and immediately after the last 2023 general election. No need to give examples. They are so ubiquitous on social media.

What lessons can we deduce from the scenarios above? The newly crowned Alaafin Owoade cited one of the most nuanced that may offer a peek that should prick the minds of concerned social media warring proxies. “It has come to our attention”, writes Kolade Oladele, the Alaafin’s Personal Assistant, “that certain bloggers and online commentators are generating needless controversies surrounding the interaction between our revered monarchs in Yorubaland – namely the Alaafin of Oyo and the Ooni of Ife – at a recent public function. This latest instalment in a series of manufactured debates is an unhelpful exercise that distracts and distracts from the truly important issues to which sons and daughters of Yorubaland should devote their energy and focus.”

Oladele then offers specifics: “At a time when our people face profound socio-economic and security challenges, it is incumbent on all of us- leaders, youths, traditional institutions, and citizens alike – to rise above pettiness and prioritise the work of uplifting our communities. The welfare of our people, the protection of lives and property, the empowerment of our youth population, and the revitalisation of traditional values for development – these are the matters that truly deserve attention,” he concluded.

God bless the king. Nothing could be truer than the above pieces of advice from the table of the newly crowned Iku Baba Yeye, the Alaafin of Oyo. Nothing to add as caution to the tribe of idle bloggers feasting on the matter. But there are other lessons. Collectively and individually to the two monarchs that are the subject of the altercation, and even to other beaded ones in Yorubaland.

The late Alaafin , Oba Lamidi adeyemi, right, and Ooni of Ife Oa Adeyeye Ogunwusi

With utmost due respect, I dare say monarchs are only being tolerated in Yorubaland, having had no constitutional roles in the last seven or more decades. And the admonitions to them are: Stop incensing your subjects with inanities. Except for a few, many of the royals have no value addition to their subjects’ lives. Of the very good ones, Oba AbdulAzeez Adebamiji, Akire of Ikire, deserves a mention. He teaches mathematics to students in schools within his community, even as a sitting king. The Orangun of Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, teaches at Abolarin College, founded and funded by him, where students pay no fees to receive quality education. In effect, even amidst the confusion in the lineage of Oduduwa, these exemplary beaded crowns have found relevance in their respective community. Others are good and great because they are respectable. They exude carriage. Among this category are to be found the Awujale of Ijebu Kingdom, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona and the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, among very few others.

There are some scions of Oduduwa that are rogues and roguish. Some are no better than touts and are of questionable character. Never a fit and proper person to hold their office. One was noted to have exchanged fisticuffs with his fellow oba! And he is noted also for allegedly smoking helms for recreation. Some say he was also a dupe and that he committed financial crimes outside the shores of Nigeria before he was made king. At least one of the beaded kings, an offspring of Oduduwa, is cooling his heels in the US for fraud, having, with others, allegedly connived to have dubiously claimed funds under Covid-19 schemes in the US.

Some of them are a sellout. They collaborate with those who torment their subjects once they are settled with heads of cattle. Or they even sell their communal lands to the highest bidders without any recourse for the future. And they are traditional rulers only by name. They soil their exalted offices, committing abominations. E.g. kneeling before religious personages who are no less roguish themselves. Occurrences unheard of in the past.

For the newly crowned Alaafin, for failing to accord due respect to the Ooni, he’d probably taken himself too seriously. But his posture could be understood. He’d just emerged from tutelage, brimming with the infusion of the tales of the heroic deeds of his forbears. Yet, he needs to wean himself from the hubris that might have informed his notion of his flaming genealogy. That era is past. Today, in the current dispensation, that is, the Alaafin is no more than an impotent, cold ash. He probably knows. Otherwise, why didn’t he sit down when the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde walked up to him at the same event. On the contrary, he stood up, at attention, like a soldier. Yes, your forebears were soldiers, but you aren’t now. And for his majesty’s information, even the local government chairman of your locality is your boss. Know this and know peace, as younger people are wont to say these days. With appropriate instruction, he can get the Alaafin reprimanded, interdicted, suspended or removed from office, and nothing, nothing, will happen. Those are the words of Alh. Abubakar Rimi, a former governor of Kano State, speaking on his power and authority over yet another traditional ruler of a time and period in the Savanna. Today, the Alaafin is strictly a public servant. Forget about the shining white beaded staff and the fluffy or silky flywhisk, they are now mere symbolism. It thus pays that the newly crowned Alaafin steer clear of trouble, including with his fellow obas. He needs to avoid controversies like the plague. Your immediate successor worked well with the present Ooni, and he won the respect of his subjects for so doing. Wise king, a word is enough for your majesty.

For the Ooni’risa, there is a need for him to minimise his outings. He needs to reflect and bring respectability to his office. He is said to be the spiritual head of the Yorubas, which placed him in the mold of the pantheon. The Ooni should consider not honouring every invite as if he were being paid for it, as if his life depended on such attendance. Though his office is nothing more than symbolism, he can, nonetheless, carry on with it with honour and respectability and carriage. God does not reveal Himself prodigiously to the people, so says an oriental spiritual philosopher. Ooni’s outlook, going forward, shouldn’t be any different.

May your majesties live long.