Royal Tension: Sunday Igboho Reacts As Alaafin, Olubadan Rift Sparks Buzz

Yoruba nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has urged traditional rulers across Yorubaland to set aside personal rivalries and ego and unite to confront the growing insecurity in the region.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Igboho described it as “unimpressive” for prominent monarchs—whose thrones are central to the historical evolution of the Yoruba people—to be embroiled in internal disputes.

According to Naija News, his comments were in response to the ongoing disagreement between the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, over the rotational chairmanship of the Oyo State Council of Obas.

Igboho stressed that the royal fathers should be more concerned with pressing challenges, particularly the activities of bandits, terrorists, and other criminal elements who have overrun forests across the South-West.

He appealed to the monarchs to remain symbols of unity and drivers of economic development, urging them to work together to safeguard their people rather than engage in disputes over what he described as temporary positions.

The activist also called on prominent Yoruba leaders, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and the Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oba Francis Olushola Alao, to intervene and help ease tensions surrounding the permanent chairmanship of the Oyo State Council of Obas.

Questioning the priorities of the traditional rulers, Igboho said it was troubling for them to expend energy on power struggles while insecurity continues to claim lives, citing recent killings of guards at Old Oyo National Park and other parts of Oyo State.

He emphasized that traditional rulers, regardless of rank, must unite to defend Yoruba territorial integrity, promote peace, and ensure sustainable development across the South-West.

Igboho concluded that monarchs should continue to serve as custodians of harmony, cohesion, and economic progress, noting that disputes over fleeting positions are inappropriate at a time when rural communities, especially farmers, are under deadly threat.