The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, has firmly denied any involvement in a supremacy battle with the Ooni of Ife or any other monarch, urging the public to disregard a viral video circulating on YouTube that alleges otherwise.
In a statement issued by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Oba Owoade condemned the claims made in the video published by Awikonko TV. The video accused him of ordering the brutalization of the father of a monarch from a village in the United States, allegedly as part of a supremacy struggle.
“The attention of the media office of the Alaafin of Oyo has been drawn to a misleading and wicked fabrication of a video produced by an online medium, Awikonko TV, and shown on YouTube,” the statement began.
Oba Owoade did not mince words in his response to the content and the producer of the video. “The anchor of the video was not only a pathological liar, but should be confined to the dungeon of eternity for being heartless in dishing out such lies,” the monarch said through his media aide.
According to him, the entire narrative lacks merit and factual basis. “What really happened was that the ancestral lineage of descendants of Oyotunji village in the USA is Oyo town. It was more than two occasions, during the reign of the late Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, that the people of Oyotunji village traced their ancestral home to Oyo town and were given a red carpet reception,” he noted.
Oba Owoade added that upon his ascension to the throne, the Oyotunji monarch paid him a congratulatory visit and was warmly received. “Where then did this online medium defecating the social media space get its own story, if not a cooked-up one?” he asked.
He further questioned the logic of the accusation. “How possible is it for the Alaafin to order the beating of a monarch who paid him a visit from a foreign village with Oyo as its ancestral home?” he said, stressing that such action would contradict the expected diplomatic and protective nature of the Alaafin’s office.
Highlighting the sacred responsibility that comes with his title, Oba Owoade stated, “Before anyone can be appointed for the position of Alaafin, he must possess qualities such as diplomacy, energy, and protection of his people.” He added that the Oyo Empire, which lasted over 600 years, was built on such virtues and a resilient traditional structure.
Dismissing the insinuations of rivalry, the monarch declared: “Alaafin is not in a royal supremacy battle with anyone, but rather more concerned about the progress and development of his country home and the emancipation of the entire Yoruba race.”
He appealed to the public to remain vigilant against misinformation and urged content creators to act responsibly. “Let us not pollute the heritage of our ancestors with deliberate lies and disunity,” the Alaafin warned.
