Lawyer Breaks Silence, Dismantles Alaafin’s Assertion Of Pan-Yoruba Supremacy

An Abuja-based lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has rejected claims that the Alaafin of Oyo wields supreme authority over pan-Yoruba matters.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

In a statement shared on his Facebook page on Tuesday, Olajengbesi argued that no Supreme Court ruling grants such powers to the Alaafin, describing the monarch’s recent threat against the Ooni of Ife as “baseless, gratuitous, and constitutionally indefensible.”

The dispute erupted after the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, conferred the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on Ibadan businessman, Engineer Dotun Sanusi. The Alaafin, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, considered the move an affront and gave the Ooni 48 hours to withdraw the title or face “grave consequences.”

Reacting, Olajengbesi said the ultimatum not only disrespected revered Yoruba thrones but also contradicted constitutional principles.

He maintained that the Ooni acted within his ancestral and cultural rights, adding:
“These prerogatives are inherent, sui generis, and cannot be usurped by any other stool. Yoruba history clearly affirms Ile-Ife as the cradle of existence, where Oduduwa laid the foundation of legitimacy from which all kingdoms, including Oyo, draw authority.”

The lawyer further noted that neither law nor history supports the Alaafin’s claim of overarching authority, insisting that chieftaincy matters are regulated by state laws, not by historical conquest or inherited supremacy.

According to him, judicial rulings cited in defence of the Alaafin’s supremacy are often misrepresented:
“No Supreme Court decision has ever declared the Alaafin as the sole custodian of Yoruba legitimacy, nor does any statute in Yoruba-speaking states confer such powers.”

Olajengbesi concluded that the Ooni’s conferment of the Okanlomo of Oodua title on Chief Dotun Sanusi was purely symbolic — a cultural honour within his authority as custodian of Yoruba heritage — not a political office or military role.