A former Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to the late Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, Doyin Odebowale, has faulted the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, for demanding that the Ooni of Ife revoke a chieftaincy title recently conferred on an Ibadan-based businessman.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Odebowale said traditional rulers are only recognised within their local government jurisdictions and remain under the authority of local government chairmen.
“With due respect, many of these rulers misinterpret their roles. They want to be addressed as Kabiyesi, but constitutionally, they are not. No monarch in Oyo can dictate what happens in Ife,” he said.
Odebowale argued that the Alaafin must have been misled into believing there was a jurisdictional clash with the Ooni, describing the row as an unnecessary distraction. He linked recurring tussles among Yoruba monarchs to “permissive decadence” and a gradual abandonment of traditional values.
According to him, colonial rule had already reduced once-powerful empires into mere stools, with chieftaincy laws further limiting their reach. “By law, their powers do not extend beyond their local government. In Oyo State, only four Obas are recognised as imperial majesties, but even they cannot act beyond their councils,” he said.
The remarks follow a row between the Alaafin and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, over the conferment of the “Okanlomo of Yorubaland” title on businessman Dotun Sanusi in Ibadan last weekend.
The Alaafin had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Ooni to withdraw the title, claiming only his throne holds exclusive authority to confer titles covering Yorubaland, citing a Supreme Court ruling.
But the Ooni’s spokesman, Moses Olafare, dismissed the demand as an “empty threat,” saying the palace would not dignify it with a formal response.
In a follow-up statement, however, the Alaafin’s media aide, Bode Durojaiye, clarified that Oba Owoade was not seeking supremacy but was only defending the sanctity of Yoruba tradition.
