A heated dispute has erupted between two of Nigeria’s most prominent traditional rulers, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi over a Yorubaland chieftaincy title.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass that the dispute began as a result of Ooni’s alleged conferment of the “Okanlomo of Yorubaland title” on Ibadan-based businessman Dotun Sanusi.
This development became more pronounced after the Alaafin, in a statement issued on Tuesday August 18, 2025, by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, described the Ooni’s action as a “direct affront” to his authority.
The monarch asserted that only he holds the exclusive right to confer titles encompassing all of Yorubaland.
Citing a Supreme Court ruling, Oba Owoade argued that the Ooni’s jurisdiction is limited to Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South, accusing him of overstepping traditional boundaries.
“The conferment of any chieftaincy title covering the entirety of Yorubaland remains the exclusive right of the Alaafin, as affirmed by the Supreme Court.
“By bestowing such a title, the Ooni has acted beyond his jurisdiction, disregarding the apex court ruling and undermining the revered institution of the Alaafin,” the statement read.
Responding, the Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, dismissed the ultimatum as an “empty threat” from a “dead empire” in a Facebook post on August 19, 2025.
Olafare stated that the Ooni would not dignify the Alaafin’s demand with an official response.
He said Ooni’s focus is on creating jobs and fostering unity across Yorubaland, brushing off the dispute on the Yorubaland chieftaincy title as a distraction.
He wrote: “My principal has directed me against issuing a press release on the empty threat. I beg to disappoint you, gentlemen of the press.
“We can not dignify the undignified with an official response. We leave the matter to be handled in the public court of opinion, as it is already being treated.
“Let’s rather focus on narratives that unite us rather than the ones capable of dividing us. No press release, please. 48 hours my foot!”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass also reports that this development mirrors a similar occurrence that happened in 1999 when the late Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, wrote to the military governor of Oyo State, Colonel Abdulkareem Adisa, to inform him about an alleged aberration by the late Ooni, Oba Okunade Sijuade, of conferring a chieftaincy title of Akinrogun of Yorubaland on the National Chairman of the National Republican Convention, Chief Tom Ikimi.
Oba Adeyemi described Oba Sijuade’s action as an outright desecration of the sacred institution.
