The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, clashed over the conferment of a chieftaincy title on Ibadan-based businessman, Dotun Sanusi.
The Alaafin had given the Ooni a 48-hour ultimatum to revoke the title, describing it as an “affront” to his institution.
The Ooni of Ife conferred the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on Dotun Sanusi, and it has sparked controversy over the monarch’s authority to bestow such titles.
The Alaafin objected, citing a Supreme Court ruling that granted him exclusive rights to confer titles covering the entire Yorubaland.
The Alaafin claimed that he is the only one with the sole authority to confer titles that cover the entire Yorubaland, while the Ooni’s spokesperson argued that the monarch’s actions were within his rights.
The Alaafin emphasised that the Ooni’s traditional authority was limited to Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South Local Government Areas of Osun State.
The Alaafin warned that failure to revoke the title within 48 hours might attract “consequences”.
The Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, has declined to comment on the matter, stating that the monarch will not dignify the Alaafin’s “empty threat” with an official response.
According to a statement on his Facebook, Olafare said, “The Ooni of Ife has directed him not to reply to the Alaafin, who had issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the Ooni to reverse his conferment of the chieftaincy title.
“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 can not 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 on Tuesday.
