Alaafin condemns supremacy battle report
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, on Tuesday, dismissed claims made in an online publication (not The PUNCH) alleging a royal supremacy battle between him and another traditional ruler.
He insisted, “I’m not in supremacy battle with any monarch.”
Oba Owoade made the clarification in a statement issued by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.
The monarch condemned the misinformation, emphasising that such reports should be ignored by the public.
He further criticised the anchor of the viral video, describing the individual as a “pathological liar” who “should be confined to the dungeon of eternity for being heartless in dishing out such lies.”
In the statement, Oba Owoade urged the public to disregard the malicious video and the fabricated claims made by the anchor on YouTube.
The statement reads in part, “The attention of the media office of the Alaafin of Oyo has been drawn to a misleading and wicked fabrication of a video produced by an online medium and shown on YouTube. In the malicious video, the anchor narrated how Oba Owoade I ordered his men to beat to a pulp the ‘father of the monarch’ of a village in the United States of America and later handed him over to the police.”
He continued, “The misguided anchor said the action was in attestation of Alaafin Owoade’s supremacy battle with the Ooni of Ife. The anchor of the video was not only a pathological liar, but should be confined to the dungeon of eternity for being heartless in dishing out such lies.”
Oba Owoade clarified the truth behind the situation, stating that the Oyotunji village in the USA traces its ancestral lineage to Oyo town.
He explained that on more than two occasions during the reign of the late Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, the people of Oyotunji village visited Oyo town and were warmly received.
“The Oyotunji monarch, after the coronation of the new Alaafin, thought it expedient to pay a congratulatory visit to his ancestral royal father. He was well received by the Alaafin before his departure,” Oba Owoade noted.
He expressed disbelief over the fabricated story, stating, “Where then did this online medium, defecating the social media space, get its own story, if not a cooked-up one? The video shown neither correlates nor synchronises with the anchor.”
Oba Owoade further questioned the plausibility of the fabricated claim, asking, “How possible is it for the Alaafin to order the beating of a monarch who paid him a visit from a foreign village, with Oyo town as its ancestral home?”
He emphasised the role of the Alaafin as a diplomatic, energetic, and protective leader of his people.
“As a purveyor of authentic Yoruba traditions, the Alaafin, who is expected to embody these qualities, could not have condescended so low as to have ordered his men to beat the father of a monarch from a village that belongs to Oyo in the United States of America,” the statement said.
Oba Owoade also highlighted the significance of the Alaafin’s position within Yoruba history, asserting,
“Before anyone can be appointed to the position of Alaafin, he must possess all these qualities. This is why the Oyo empire was a titan in Yorubaland, building one of the strongest and longest-reigning empires in the world, lasting over 600 uninterrupted years.”
The statement concluded with Oba Owoade reaffirming, “Alaafin is not in a royal supremacy battle with anyone. Rather, he is more concerned about the progress and development of his homeland and the emancipation of the entire Yoruba race.”
