By ADEOLA SOETAN
“The Ooni of Ife is behaving as if there is no authority to check and call him to order. Because of that ‘above-the-law’ syndrome of his, he is in the habit of walking on everybody’s back, including the apex court in the country, the Supreme Court, which had ruled on the exclusive preserve of the Alaafin to confer any chieftaincy title that covers the entire Yorubaland.
“The Alaafin hereby demands revocation of the so-called Okanlomo of Yorubaland chieftaincy title conferred on Engineer Dotun Sanusi within 48 hours or face the consequences.”
My interpretation of Alaafin’s statement.
This public statement from Alaafin of Oyo (who just spent 4 months on the throne) to Ooni of Ife (10 yrs on the throne) reflects a predetermined, premeditated grumbling and braggadocious anger of the new Alaafin bordering on suspected hidden hatred and undue needless competition or supremacy contest with the Ooni. It can’t be because of a mere non-traditional insignificant chieftaincy title gifted to one man by Ooni which Alaafin considered as trampling on his own exclusive authority.
If it’s because of the disagreement over the chieftaincy title award, the first paragraph I quoted here is unnecessary, particularly where it says:
“The Ooni of Ife is behaving as if there is no authority to check and call him to order.” How many of such alleged Ooni’s behaviours has Alaafin noticed and reported and how many people’s backs Ooni has walked on as claimed by Alaafin within his 4 months on the exalted throne? Because he’s always saying that there’s no rift between him and the Ooni, even despite not visiting Ooni to appreciate his presence at his coronation ceremony before travelling far away to Sokoto to appreciate the Sultan of Sokoto for attending his coronation. I’m not sure he has done so till today. Bad habit, Alaafin can’t be preaching unity of Yoruba on one hand and his moves on the second hand are suggesting anti-unity.
Good students and scholars of usage of lexis and structure in language in public communication would know that “The Ooni has behaved…” instead of “The Ooni is behaving…” is a better substitute to limit his message to the subject matter of the conflict.
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In Yoruba interpretation, it means “Bi Ooni se ma n’se ni yen…” instead of “Ooni n’se bi….” Culturally, the two sentences have wide different meanings and implications.
That this public statement was issued without a prior telephone conversation with the Ooni as a brotherly Oba by the Alaafin to express his opinion and dissatisfaction on this before coming out publicly to fight Ooni and giving him an ultimatum gives credence to a premeditated anger. The 48 hours ultimatum handed over to Ooni by Alafin can be aptly described as mere delusions of grandeur.
Any Oba’s relevance today is not about any supremacy war or the number of palace servants in red or white clothes following them with fanfare and noisy distraction at times, not in the number of Owambe parties attended, or the number of exotic expensive SUVs in their convoys.
I don’t know what Alaafin was told in Ipebi as one of those few real Obas who went through proper Ipebi unlike Oba Igbolabis, but our young royal father sitting on the revered throne of Alaafin needs to calm down and reflects better on his mission and how best to accomplish his vision of a greater throne than he met it than engaging in meaningless competition or supremacy battle overtly or covertly.
Those “Yoruba Ponu” advocates who are blaming Alaafin’s media spokesman and not Alaafin are only being insincere by hiding under a nebulous Yoruba unity not based on principle, frankness of minds and ability to say the bitter truth so that Yoruba unity can be based on entrenched values, societal ethics and integrity in order to move forward properly. The “Yoruba Ponu” peace advocates are only leaving the main Ete infection to treat Lapalapa, i.e. treating ringworm instead of leprosy. No community or nation develops when truth and principle are sacrificed.
As a Yoruba elder who does not know how to sit on the fence when things are going wrong and cherished values are being destroyed because of patronage or blind loyalty, I want to advise the two young highly respected traditional kings and reasonable others that the relevance of any Oba is the socio-economic development relevance they bring to their immediate community in various ways including youth and educational development of their people and other people.
Any Oba’s relevance today is not about any supremacy war or the number of palace servants in red or white clothes following them with fanfare and noisy distraction at times, not in the number of Owambe parties attended, or the number of exotic expensive SUVs in their convoys. I hope necessary lessons have been learned and expected moderation would be made as we keep on learning while speaking the truth always, no matter whose ox is gored.
Happy Isese Day. Isese a gbe wa o.
*Soetan (08037207856)
