I’M THE HEAD OF THE YORUBA TRIBE – OONI TO OLUGBO…AS FEUD GETS MESSIER

The Oonirisa of Ile-Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwunsi,Ojaja II has told whoever cares to listen and indeed the Olugbo of Ugbo,Oba Fredrick Akinruntan that according to the powers vested in him and by divine choice, he remains the undisputable supreme head of the Yorubas in Nigeria and in the Diaspora even as the on-going feud between the two Monarchs is gets messier by the day.You would recall that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwunsi Ojaja II and the Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan had recently thrown themselves in the media spotlight over the statue and indeed the status of Moremi Ajasoro, one of the most revered female figures in Yoruba history. Whilst the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwunsi regards Moremi as a heroine who deserves to be honored and revered for saving her people, the Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Obateru Akinruntan ,believes that she was a traitor who betrayed her people when they needed her most.The two well- respected Monarchs, according to sources close to the two palaces, are not ready to sheath their swords and are ready to fight to finish even as influential and highly-placed Leaders of thought in Yorubaland are trying hard to settle the discord before it escalates further.The feud started when the Ooni erected a 42-foot statue in Moremi’s honour, an act which saw the Olugbo accusing him of misrepresenting Yoruba history. But as the main custodian of Yoruba history, Oba Ogunwusi quickly replied Olugbo by saying Moremi’s place in Ife history is important and that Olugbo cannot wake up one day and attempt to re-write history.And as two prominent and well-respected Yoruba leaders in the persons of ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo and Nobel Laureate , Professor Wole Soyinka and other leaders of thought in the South-West states have given their backing to the Ooni on the issue, he is now prepared to fight Oba Akinruntan to a standstill. Just last week during his one year coronation anniversary in Ile-Ife, both Obasanjo and Soyinka assured Ooni that
all the Yorubas are behind him and whilst telling him to ignore anyone trying to let him lose focus on the task ofuniting all Yoruba sons and daughters across the globe.We also gathered that the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi – who had earlier described the comment of Olugbo of Ugbo,Oba Obateru Akinwuntan that Moremi Ajasoro “was a traitor and should not be celebrated as a heroine as a royal rascality that deserves no response”- is not ready to take it easy with Oba Akinruntan as according to Ooni “nobody can attempt to re-write the history of the Yorubas and the Yoruba”.According to a close source to Ile Oodua in Ile-Ife, the Arole Oodua who is about now concluding plans to present a proper and detailed chequered history of the Yoruba tribe to the world is making consultations with different power blocs and opinion leaders on how Yorubas need to come together and present a common frontand secure its pride of place in the nation’s scheme of things.