Legal Representative Challenges Alaafin's Assertion Regarding Pan-Yoruba Superiority
=========================================================================================
In a recent dispute, the Alaafin of Oyo has issued an ultimatum to the Ooni of Ife over the conferment of a chieftaincy title, raising questions about the Alaafin's claim to supreme authority over pan-Yoruba affairs. However, Abuja-based lawyer Pelumi Olajengbesi has firmly rejected this claim, emphasising that the law recognises traditional rulers through state chieftaincy statutes, not residual claims of imperial conquest.
Historically, Ile-Ife is recognised as the cradle and primordial seat of the Yoruba people. It was here that Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yorubas, established the foundation of legitimacy for all Yoruba kingdoms, including Oyo. The Ooni of Ife is thus regarded as the ancestral and spiritual head of the entire Yoruba nation, a status recognised and codified during colonial administration and upheld by postcolonial governments.
Legally, no statute, Supreme Court ruling, or constitutional instrument explicitly grants the Alaafin exclusive or supreme jurisdiction over all Yoruba or pan-Yoruba affairs, including the exclusive right to confer titles of pan-Yoruba significance. The law respects traditional rulers as recognised by individual state chieftaincy laws, not by historical conquest claims.
Regarding the specific dispute over the conferment of the title "Okanlomo of Oodua" on Chief Dotun Sanusi by the Ooni of Ife, Olajengbesi emphatically supports the Ooni’s action. He argues that this title is a cultural honor symbolic of fraternity and Yoruba unity, which squarely falls within the Ooni’s lawful, hereditary, and cultural prerogatives as the custodian of Yoruba identity.
Olajengbesi has dismissed claims that the Alaafin of Oyo holds supreme authority over pan-Yoruba affairs. He describes the Alaafin's recent threat against the Ooni as "wholly gratuitous and constitutionally unsound." He argues that the Alaafin's order constitutes an impermissible assault on the very foundation of Yoruba heritage.
The controversy began after the Ooni of Ife conferred a chieftaincy title on Ibadan businessman, Engineer Dotun Sanusi. The Alaafin of Oyo, however, has claimed exclusive authority over such titles, issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to the Ooni to revoke the title or face "severe consequences."
In summary, the historical consensus and legal opinions shared by Olajengbesi and reflected in recent Yoruba and Nigerian commentary strongly support that the Alaafin of Oyo does not hold supreme legal authority over pan-Yoruba affairs and that the Ooni of Ife’s role as the cultural and spiritual custodian remains valid and recognised. The Supreme Court decision that is often cited to vest authority in the Alaafin should be properly confined to its specific facts.
Read also:
- United States tariffs pose a threat to India, necessitating the recruitment of adept negotiators or strategists, similar to those who had influenced Trump's decisions.
- Weekly happenings in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Southwest region's most popular posts, accompanied by an inquiry:
- Discussion between Putin and Trump in Alaska could potentially overshadow Ukraine's concerns
