I want to thank Mr. Richard Akinola for this message. It would not be the first of its kind to Sunday Igboho. I hope he would take the counseling.
I, however, disagree with you on the way and manner traditional rulers should be handled. It is something that many would not want to hear that some of these Obas are very dangerous to the health of our existential survival.
They are easily bought. They do not have loyalty to the people. They keep quiet as their people suffer, as they are murdered, raped and kidnapped.
Any small incident, they run to Abuja to sell us out, compromising our interests.
It is not a taboo to call out any errant Oba in Yorùbá Culture. That is why we depose kings.
This particular Ooni of Ife is becoming a problem for the Yorùbá Nation. He frequents parties. He junkets around as if he is an ordinary man. No self dignity or same for the stool. Repeatedly, he has been an object of disrespect because he doesn’t know how to be a King. Within a very short time, he has brought the stool into disrepute than in the last 100 years put together.
How many times has he seen the Oba of Benin attending useless parties? How many times has the Oba of Benin run to Aso Rock for any reason at all? How many times has the Oba of Benin been credited with controversial statements?
Must Ooni disgrace the Yorùbá at all times compulsorily? Mut he say anything at all? Can’t he operate like a King? Sit in his palace? Keep a dignified silence? Operate in the shadows by carrying his people along? What is his problem?
On this matter at hand, Ooni did not say anything publicly on this issue before he went to Aso Rock? He did not counsel any of the Governors, privately or publicly? He did not comment on the fate of his Yorùbá peope in the hands of the FULANI? He did not commiserate with the victims? He did not even invite Sunday Igboho or any other person for advice and guidance. The first thing he did was to fly to Abuja. So what happened in Aso Rock?
We depose kings in our Culture. Any Oba who misbehaves repeatedly would have himself disrespected. Àgbàlagbà tó so Àgbàdo mó’di, ló so ara è di eni yèyé f’adìye.
This Ooni Ògúnwùsì should be advised by his close pals to please, be a King and not a hustler. The Yorùbá Nation at this point would not allow any Oba or politician to play roulette with their lives. This is a matter of life and death.
He needs to be on the side of his people, otherwise he would be the first casualty of the slippery floor.
We must all recognize that it is difficult to be an Omoluabi in the face of death. To be an Omoluabi, one has to be alive. Omoluabi is not an expectation from the dead.
We must be on the same page in addressing these threats to our existential survival. This is no time for hustling for any Oba or politician by any stretch of imagination.
Thank you.
Rèmí Oyèyemí
