A fresh rift has erupted between two foremost Yoruba monarchs, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, over the historical origin of the title “Kabiyesi.”
The Alaafin, during his first appearance at the World Sango Festival, declared himself the first Kabiyesi in Yorubaland, asserting that the title’s roots trace back to Oyo. He narrated that the Kabiyesi tradition originated in Oyo and has since continued to shape Yoruba culture and identity.
However, in a video shared online, the Ooni countered this claim, insisting that “Kabiyesi” originated from Ile-Ife.
He explained, “It’s the Ile-Ife language that was used to pronounce ‘Kabiyesi.’ The early powerful people in Ile-Ife named their head ‘Kabiyesi.’ It was initially called ‘Olofin,’ Ooni. ‘Kabi esi lere’ can be translated to mean ‘What do you want to ask him?’ ‘Esi’ means who do you want to ask something. We can’t ask him any questions—that’s the meaning of ‘Kabiyesi.’ In Yorubaland, it was said ‘ka bi o si,’ which means there’s no question we can ask him. But in Ile-Ife, they would say ‘Kabiyesi.’ It was like calling an alias before it became a general name for monarchs in Yorubaland.”
The dispute resurfaced on Monday after the Alaafin faulted the Ooni’s decision to confer the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland on businessman Chief Dotun Sanusi.
The Ooni had bestowed the title during the unveiling of 2geda, an indigenous social media and business networking platform, at Ilaji Hotel in Ibadan over the weekend.
Reacting through a statement signed by his media aide, Bode Durojaiye, the Alaafin maintained that no traditional ruler apart from him has the authority to confer a title covering the entire Yorubaland.
He gave the Ooni a 48-hour ultimatum to revoke the title or “face the consequences.”
But the Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, dismissed the threat, saying the matter had already been left “in the court of public opinion.”
“We cannot dignify the ‘undignifyable’ with an official response. We leave the matter to be handled in the public court of opinion, as it is already being treated. Let’s rather focus on narratives that unite us rather than the ones capable of dividing us. No press release, please. 48 hours my foot!” he wrote.
The ongoing exchanges mark another public fallout between the two monarchs. In May, a clip from an event hosted by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu showed the Alaafin remaining seated while other monarchs stood to greet the Ooni.
In June, another viral video captured both monarchs avoiding greetings at the West African Economic Summit in Abuja.
Although both palaces have denied any deep-seated rift, repeated clashes have raised growing concerns.
Speaking on the latest development, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, said he had begun consulting Yoruba leaders to mediate and prevent the escalation of tensions.
Adams said, “It is an issue between two fathers. I have been calling Yoruba leaders to look for a way to resolve it. We don’t want the unity of Yorubaland to be tampered with now. I will be in touch with the two fathers. I will talk to them, but I have talked to some of the Yoruba leaders that we should weigh in on the issue. Before I became Aare Onakakanfo, I had been very, very close to the palace of Ooni. At the same time, I was very close to the late Alaafin. So I see them as two fathers. Anything that happens between your two fathers, you must look for a way to resolve it amicably. We don’t want to open our old wounds in public.”
Also weighing in, the Yoruba Council of Elders urged restraint from both royal fathers, warning against any action contrary to the Omoluabi ethos.
The YCE Secretary-General, Oladipo Oyewole, called on the governments of Osun and Oyo States to urgently intervene.
He said, “The Yoruba Council of Elders has been inundated with inquiries on the unfortunate incident in which our royal father, Kabiyesi Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo are in a serious disagreement over the rites of their offices and/or responsibilities as torchbearers for our culture. History has to be understood to sort out the issue in a proper perspective. Pending when that will be done, there is no gainsaying that any action that goes beyond the ‘Omoluabi ethos’ must be avoided by the royal fathers. In this case, the government of both Osun and Oyo states ought to swiftly come to the aid of our motherland by putting measures in place to contain any aberration by the royal fathers. This is an urgent situation.”
Similarly, world-renowned Ifa scholar and Awise Agbaye, Prof. Wande Abimbola, appealed for calm and dialogue to preserve Yoruba unity.
