“48 Hours My Foot”: Ooni Dismisses Alaafin’s Ultimatum Over Sanusi’s Chieftaincy Title

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has dismissed the 48-hour ultimatum issued by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, over the conferment of the title “Okanlomo of Yorubaland” on Ibadan businessman Engineer Dotun Sanusi, popularly known as Ilaji.

Speaking through his spokesperson, Moses Olafare, on Tuesday, the Ooni described the ultimatum as “empty” and undeserving of an official response. Olafare revealed in a Facebook post that the Ooni had directed him to ignore the threat, insisting the matter was already being debated in the “court of public opinion.”

In the post, Olafare mocked the Alaafin, likening him to the late comedian Moses Olaiya, known as Baba Sala. “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,” he wrote. He further urged the media to focus on narratives that unite the Yoruba people, dismissing the ultimatum with the remark: “48 Hours My Foot!!!”

The Alaafin, in a statement on Monday signed by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, had accused the Ooni of acting beyond his authority, calling the conferment an “affront” to his stool. He argued that only the Alaafin holds the exclusive right to bestow Yoruba-wide titles, citing a Supreme Court ruling as precedent. The statement warned that the Ooni must withdraw the title within 48 hours or face unspecified consequences.

This latest clash revives long-standing tensions between the two foremost traditional institutions in Yorubaland. In 1991, the late Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, openly criticized the then Ooni, Oba Okunade Sijuade, after he conferred the “Akinrogun of Yorubaland” title on Chief Tom Ikimi, then National Chairman of the National Republican Convention.