A former Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to the late Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, Doyin Odebowale, has criticised the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, over his demand that the Ooni of Ife revoke a chieftaincy title recently conferred on Ibadan businessman Dotun Sanusi.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Odebowale argued that traditional rulers hold authority only within their local government areas and are constitutionally subordinate to elected officials at that level.
“With respect to most of these rulers, there is a misapprehension of roles. They want to be addressed as Kabiyesi, but they are not. They are under their local government chairmen. So this idea of somebody sitting in Oyo and legislating on what happens in Ile-Ife is a misnomer,” he said.
He suggested that the Alaafin had been misled into believing a jurisdictional conflict existed between his office and that of the Ooni.
Odebowale blamed recurring disputes among monarchs on what he called “permissive decadence” in the system, claiming many no longer understood their functions and were “in a hurry to discard tradition.” He added that British colonial rule had reduced powerful empires to “stools” and codified their diminished influence in chieftaincy laws.
“By government structure, their powers do not go beyond their local government. The Ooni of Ife is in Osun State with its traditional council. The Alaafin of Oyo is in Oyo State with its own council. By the Oyo State chieftaincy law, only four Obas are recognised as imperial majesties. By law, the Alaafin is under his local government chairman,” he stressed.
The row follows the Ooni’s conferment of the title “Okanlomo of Yorubaland” on Sanusi at an Ibadan ceremony last weekend.
On Monday, the Alaafin issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the Ooni revoke the title, calling it an “affront” and citing a Supreme Court ruling he claimed affirmed his sole right to bestow titles across Yorubaland.
The Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, dismissed the demand as an “empty threat,” saying the palace would not dignify it with a response.
In a follow-up statement, the Alaafin’s aide, Bode Durojaiye, clarified that the monarch was not seeking supremacy over other rulers but was defending the sanctity of Yoruba tradition.