The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade I, has refuted claims suggesting he is entangled in any royal supremacy tussle with another traditional ruler, describing such reports as false and misleading.
In a statement released on Tuesday through his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, in Ibadan, the monarch urged the public to disregard a viral YouTube video circulated by Awikonko TV, which alleged a rift between the Alaafin and the Ooni of Ife.
Oba Owoade strongly criticised the content and anchor of the video, calling the claims baseless, malicious, and a fabrication meant to mislead the public. He further described the video’s narrator as a “pathological liar” and dismissed the entire content as unfounded.
“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 reads.
According to the Alaafin’s media office, the controversial report claimed that Oba Owoade had ordered an assault on the father of a village monarch from the United States, supposedly as a show of supremacy over the Ooni of Ife—a claim the Alaafin said is both illogical and laughable.
The palace clarified that the village in question, Oyotunji in the United States, traces its ancestral origin to Oyo town. The monarch of Oyotunji, according to the palace, had paid a peaceful and congratulatory visit to the Alaafin after his coronation and was warmly received.
“How can the Alaafin order the assault of a guest who came on a peaceful visit, especially from a village that shares ancestral ties with Oyo?” the statement questioned.
The palace reiterated that the Alaafin is more concerned with the growth and unity of the Yoruba race, not petty rivalries. “The Alaafin is not in any supremacy battle
