Oladimeji To Alaafin, Ooni: Unite For Yorubaland Sake

Former chairman of the Nigerite Ltd., Prof. Yemi Oladimeji has pleaded with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II to unite in the interest of Yoruba race.

Oladimeji who blamed politicians for spotting the gaping hole of superiority contest to reduce the enormous powers of the royal fathers begged them to “sheath their swords, abandon egoistical interests” and come together to protect the Yoruba race.

The one time governorship aspirant of the Alliance for Democracy in Osun State said anything short of this expectation, “will spell doom for the race, which remains a leading light, not only for Nigeria but for the African continent.”

He maintained that nothing could be more important about the fight for superiority than the interest of the people through which the two monarchs enjoy their representation and relevance.

His words: “While I believe that the two great thrones of the Alaafin and the Ooni have significant and historical influence on the Yoruba race, as it is now, it requires creative measures and not only historical account to solve the crisis being created by jostling for a supreme royal position.

“I am appealing to our revered royal fathers, the Alaafin and the Ooni, to know that the survival of the Yoruba race, our age-long tradition, norms and customs largely depend on them and they must never compromise this for any narrow interest.

“I am afraid the politicians have seen a gaping hole in the struggle for a number one position, not only between the Alaafin and the Ooni, but among leading Yoruba traditional rulers, and even at another dangerous dimension which extends to some elements in the Northern, South-Eastern and South-Southern traditional rulers and they are prepared to maximise the plot to reduce the enormous powers of these royal fathers while they further and farther reposition their own authorities.

He urged them to rather prioritize peace and unity and start to think big for the Yoruba race, knowing that what should be important is pushing for more powers for their stools collectively so that the traditional institution can regain its lost glory, potency and authority.

Oladimeji admonished them not to hesitate to make a recess into the sanctuaries of their palaces naked and with the ancient crowns on their heads and invoke the spirit of the ancestors upon the politicians working against our tradition if it is necessary to do so.