Gani Adams to southwest governors, monarchs: Call Olugbo to Order

By Patrick Okohue

The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, has called on the Ondo State governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, other governors in the South West and leading monarchs in the region to should call the Olugbo of Ugbo kingdom, Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan to order for installing some persons as Yoruba Obas in the Diaspora in his palace in Ugboland, against the position of monarchs across the region.

Adams who said the action of the Olugbo was a desecration of Yoruba culture and tradition, noted that it was a shock to millions of Yoruba when they heard that the monarch installed some characters as Yoruba Obas in the Diaspora.

He said, “As the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, I swore during my installation in January 2018, to always protect the name and project the image of Yorubaland.  That is exactly the purpose of my intervention at this moment.

“What Akinruntan did is a complete desecration of our culture, tradition and value and I urge South-West governors, especially Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, and Yoruba monarchs to please call him to order immediately before it is too late.

“This impudence is fraudulent; a clear and present danger that can destroy our tradition if something urgent is not done immediately.

“In November last year, I was a keynote speaker at an event in Ile Ife, where the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi met over 300 monarchs, while the Alaafin of Oyo, His imperial majesty, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, sent  a powerful delegation, to a three-day- meeting, organized under the auspices of Heritage Forum to discuss all the pertinent issues in Yorubaland.

“After the meeting, which was held at Ife Grand Resorts, all the royal fathers present at the gathering issued a communique, where they unanimously agreed  that nobody should parade himself as Yoruba Oba in the Diaspora. They condemned the act, adding that nobody has the right to install an Oba outside the shores of Nigeria.

“What Olugbo did, he did it single handedly, against the wishes of all the Yoruba Obas in Nigeria as a whole.

“A good example of this historical hiatus happened not long ago, when some surrogates came from France, asking the Oluwo of Iwo land, Oba Abdul Rasheed Akanbi to install them as Yoruba Oba in France. But rather than toeing the path to perdition as Olugbo just did, the Iwo monarch resisted, saying he will never go against the wishes of the Yoruba Obas. Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi knew what was right from what was wrong.

“I am delighted to say it anywhere that Yoruba history is rich in all ramifications. Nobody has the audacity to distort our history.

“For instance, one can only become an Oba either by hereditary or by conquering territories. None of the newly installed Obas in Olugbo’s Palace has a history of being related to royalty, either by blood (hereditary) or by conquering a territory.

“In Yoruba history, Ile Ife remains the cradle of our existence, with over 99 percent of the race migrating from Ile Ife. Apart from Ile Ife, Oyo has always been a foremost institution in Yorubaland, with Oranmiyan being the great progenitor. The two ancient towns occupy the most prominent position in Yoruba history. So, who among the great Yoruba indigenes and Progenitors migrated from Ugbo land? It is a story for another day,” Adams said.

He advised Oba Akinruntan to learn from Yoruba history, saying that, “If Akinruntan is a student of history, he will know that those who tried to betray the Yoruba race never ended well.

“Against all known laws and customs of our land, Akinruntan ‘crowned’ three characters living abroad who are not even known by Yoruba living at home and abroad, as traditional Rulers. The three ‘chiefs’ have no royalty in their blood. The three characters are, according to Akinruntan, the Oriade of Georgia, Oba Bernard Shola Akinrimisi; the traditional ruler of Yoruba in Liberia, Oba Omobolaji Ogunkoya,Oodua Gbadewolu I and the traditional ruler of Yoruba in the Republic of Ireland, Oba Saheed Ibrahim Adufe.

“As the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, I want to tell Akinruntan that he only crowned these characters as chiefs in his domain, not as Yoruba Obas in the Diaspora, because he doesn’t have the power. It is fraudulent, it is an affront on our history and we will not allow anybody to distort our history,” he said.