Obasanjo, Senator Iyabo Visit Alaafin Amid Deepening Dispute With Ooni of Ife
By: Israel Adeleke
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports as gathered that the Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday paid a courtesy visit to the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, at his palace in Oyo Town, as tensions intensify between the monarch and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.
OTN News further reports as gathered that the visit which was Obasanjo’s first since Oba Owoade’s installation in April 2025 as the 46th Alaafin of Oyo, drew attention given the backdrop of the ongoing rivalry between the two prominent Yoruba traditional rulers.
The former president was accompanied by his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, and a small entourage of dignitaries.
OTN News had earlier reported that Oba Owoade recently stirred controversy by openly questioning the authority of the Ooni of Ife for conferring the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on Ibadan-born businessman, Engineer Dotun Sanusi.
The Alaafin argued that the Ooni lacked the jurisdiction to bestow a chieftaincy title covering the entire Yoruba nation, a role he insists rests primarily with the Alaafin of Oyo.
Although the details of Obasanjo’s closed-door discussions with the Alaafin were not disclosed, palace insiders suggested that the visit may have been part of efforts to mediate and ease growing tensions between the two foremost Yoruba monarchs.
Efforts by journalists to obtain an official statement from the Alaafin’s media aide, Mr. Bode Durojaye, were unsuccessful as his mobile line remained unreachable.
The unfolding developments continue to attract keen interest across Yorubaland, as observers await possible reconciliatory moves to prevent further escalation of the royal dispute.
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