Ahead of this year’s Olojo Festival, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has entered a seven-day seclusion in Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he offered prayers for Nigeria’s peace, progress, and unity.
The monarch urged key stakeholders, especially traditional rulers across the Oduduwa race globally, to embrace unity as a vital tool for driving the South-West’s socio-economic development.
This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by his Director of Media and Public Affairs, Moses Olafare.
Speaking before beginning the seclusion, the Ooni prayed for Nigerians in every region to receive divine blessings, healing, and national restoration.
He, however, charged political leaders to act responsibly and govern with fairness, justice, and compassion, noting that no society thrives when its leaders ignore the cries of the masses.
In another development, Artisans, Peasants and Traders Association of Nigeria (APTAN) has called on the federal and Osun State governments, as well as the police, to intervene over alleged constant harassments and extortion of members by purported representatives of the Palace over their refusal to pay the Olojo festival levy.
A statement by the Coordinator and Secretary of APTAN, Ile-Ife branch, Saidi Adegoke and Monsur Jimoh, respectively, said the incident, which occurred at the Ojatuntun Otisese weekly Market on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, witnessed some men claiming to represent the palace of the Ooni of Ife storming the market and forcefully seizing goods belonging to APTAN members.
The seized items, according to them, included clothes, hundreds of litres of vegetable oil and several other items from innocent poor traders.
APTAN insisted that the act also stands in violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
APTAN Coordinator, who similarly called for the intervention of the President of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, the Sultan of Sokoto, however, asserted that APTAN and its members hold Oba Ogunwusi in the highest esteem, saying they believe strongly that the Ooni was not aware of these nefarious acts.
