The palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, has responded to recent controversy surrounding the conferment of a chieftaincy title on Ibadan businessman Dotun Sanusi.
In a statement shared on Facebook, the monarch’s spokesperson Moses Olafare said the Ooni will not dignify the threat issued by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, who had demanded the reversal of the title within 48 hours.
Olafare explained that the Ooni had instructed him not to issue an official reply.
“My principal has directed me against responding to the empty threat. We cannot dignify the undignifiable with an official statement. The matter is already being judged in the public court of opinion,” he wrote, urging instead for focus on issues that promote unity rather than division.
The Alaafin, through his media aide Bode Durojaiye, had earlier condemned the title conferment, describing it as an “affront” to the institution of the Alaafin. According to him, only the Alaafin holds the authority to bestow chieftaincy titles recognized across all of Yorubaland.
Durojaiye further argued that the Ooni’s traditional jurisdiction is limited to Ife, noting that the title conferred on Sanusi—Okanlomo of Yorubaland—exceeded those boundaries. He stressed that the Alaafin was duty-bound to call the Ooni to order and insisted on a reversal of the decision within 48 hours.
The development has sparked heated debate over tradition, authority, and influence among two of Yorubaland’s most powerful thrones, with many watching closely to see how the situation unfolds.
