Following the dust raised after the Oba of Lagos ‘snubbed’ the Ooni of Ife recently, some Yoruba elders have spoken out on whether or not the former should apologise to the latter.
The dust raised by the way the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, snubbed the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at a public event recently has yet to settle, as more persons have continued to react to the incident. In the 25 seconds video, which revealed what transpired between them, the Ooni of Ife arrived at the venue of the event where Oba
Akiolu sat beside the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe. The Ooni walked over to greet the monarchs, but as soon as he
offered the Oba of Lagos a handshake, Oba Akiolu looked away and dismissed him with
a wave of the hand. Given the outrage that had greeted the incident, with many castigating the Oba of Lagos for such disposition towards the Ooni,
Saturday Punch spoke to some Yoruba elders to get their reactions to the issue It’ll be good if Oba Akiolu can apologise –
Chief Ayo Adebanjo
The action of the Oba of Lagos is
condemnable; it is not done in Yorubaland.
It does not depict the office of a monarch.
Going by the outrage that his action has generated, it will be a step in the right direction if he could apologise to the Ooni. I
think he should do it, but I doubt if he will, knowing the type of person that Oba Akiolu
is.
I’m sure Akiolu wouldn’t intend to insult Ooni – Senator Anthony Adefuye, Secretary, Yoruba Unity Forum I don’t think I should make a comment now, but I feel we are just trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. That is Oba of
Lagos’ usual way of greeting people. It may not be good, but that is his usual way of
greeting people. Sometimes, when you are greeting him, you would only hear his voice.
But I’m sure he wouldn’t have intended to insult the Ooni at all. We will look into it and make sure the whole thing is resolved. Of
course every Yoruba man would be worried with what happened, but we should try not to exaggerate what has happened.
The Ooni, who is supposed to be the number one traditional ruler in Yorubaland must be respected. We must all give him the respect.
Even if I go to the Ooni, I roll on the ground, regardless of his age. We are doing it for the crown and the kingdom, more so that the
person on that throne has been very good.
He’s a man of peace and since he got there, he has always looked for ways to unite the Yoruba kingdom. I remember when the
Alaafin was celebrating his 50th year on the throne, the Ooni was there even though he wasn’t invited, and that is magnanimity.
He went there and I’m happy all Oyo people welcomed him. Since then, there has been a cordial relationship between them. He has also visited many of them at home. So, the Ooni is a man of peace and he immediately
replied after the story went viral that there was no issue and that he would continue to respect the Oba of Lagos. I think we should
all help them to achieve peace and we shouldn’t exaggerate what is happening. I’m very sure the Oba of Lagos meant no harm;
that’s his style.
It was an unfortunate incident – Former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran It was a most unfortunate incident which I
believe should be avoided in future. It was surprising and really embarrassing and no matter what may be personal between them, they are our royal fathers. They should lay good examples for others to follow by being friendly as brothers. Their appearances, utterances and behaviours
should send good signals to the generality of the people. And we would prefer a situation where they convey to the outside
world that we Yoruba people love one another and are our brothers’ keepers and that we are descendants from the same
origin. And what is more important is that because we know the value of friendship,
peaceful coexistence and so on, we also show it in our personal interactions and relationships with others. And when in public, we put up the highest level of
decorum, so it is unfortunate it happened but it shouldn’t be blown out of proportion.
Nobody is above mistakes and it could be that the Oba (of Lagos) was in a particular mood, so let us close that chapter and move
forward. Calling on the Oba of Lagos to apologise to the Ooni of Ife is not necessary.
All of us have already apologised to the Ooni of Ife with the way people have risen to show that the way he was treated was not
right.
