Yoruba elders have launched mediation efforts after a renewed feud between the Alaafin of Oyo and the Ooni of Ife over a disputed chieftaincy title sparked public tension.
Prominent Yoruba elders have stepped in to mediate the escalating feud between the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. The dispute reignited after the Alaafin faulted the Ooni’s conferment of the Okanlomo of Yorubaland title on businessman Dotun Sanusi, declaring only he held such authority. He issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding reversal or “face the consequences.”
In response, the Ooni’s spokesman, Moses Olafare, dismissed the ultimatum, saying: “We can not dignify the ‘undignifyable’ with an official response. We leave the matter to be handled in the public court of opinion.”
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, said he was contacting Yoruba leaders to mediate, stressing: “We don’t want the unity of the Yoruba land to be tampered with now.” The Yoruba Council of Elders and Ifa scholar Prof. Wande Abimbola also appealed for calm, urging restraint and intervention by Osun and Oyo government