By Stephen Gbadamosi, Ibadan
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade 1, has debunked the notion that he is in a supremacy contest with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, or any other traditional ruler.
The first-class monarch made this known following reports that he fancies his position as being above those of other South-West royal fathers.
Head of Alaafin Media Office, Bode Durojaiye, made the clarification in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday, April 22.
The statement read: “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, Awikonko TV, and shown on YouTube.
“We hold that in the malicious video, the anchor narrated how the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1, ordered his men to beat to a pulp ‘father of the monarch’ of a village in the United States of America and later handed him over to the police.
“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 dungeon of eternity for being heartless in dishing out such lies.
“What really happened was that the ancestral lineage of descendants of Oyotunji village in the USA is Oyo town. It was more than two occasions during the reign of the late former Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, that the people of Oyotunji village traced their ancestral home to Oyo town and were given red carpet reception.
“When a new Alaafin was appointed and after the coronation, the Oyotunji monarch thought it expedient to pay congratulations visit to his ancestral Royal Father, which he did. He was well received by the Alaafin before his departure.
“Where then did this online medium defecating the social media space get its own story, if not a cooked up one?”
Durojaiye said further that the video shown neither correlated nor synchronised with the anchor.
“How possible is it for the Alaafin to order the beating of a monarch who paid him a visit from a foreign village and with Oyo town as its ancestral home?
‘However, to those who are bereft of Yoruba history, as a purveyor of authentic Yoruba traditions and given the responsibility of the Alaafin who is expected to be diplomatic, energetic and protective of his people, he could not have condescended so low as to have ordered his men to beat a father of a monarch from a village that belongs to Oyo in the United States of America.
“Alaafin Owoade 1 is a royal father who puts emphasis on his own integrity, works to develop a strong ethical foundation with an understanding of Godly behaviour.
“He has been living to please God with a good character and a clean conscience, before his appointment as the 46th Alaafin. The paramount ruler is man of commendable standards, as not many leaders have the credentials of placing public good above even the most reasonable of arguments like Alaafin Owoade,” Durojaiye said.
