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A Member of the Presidency Behind Alaafin shunning us — Ooni’s Caucus coordinator, Osuntokun

Mr. Akin Osuntokun, coordinator of a Pan-Yoruba group; Ooni caucus, created by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi to foster the unification and development of the Yoruba people has alleged that a member of the presidency halted the proposed meeting of the group with first-class monarch from Oyo state, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi.

Osuntokun stated this while speaking in an interview with a popular news media platform; the Punch. He disclosed that the Alaafin shunning the group is mischief created by some set of people.

He said: “the whole drama was contrived and cooked up in the first place. It was mischief-making and it would never happen again.”

He revealed that although the move by the Oyo monarch did dampen the group’s spirit, he disclosed that the group has since moved on after due investigation regarding why the action was carried out.

“Oh yes, his actions initially did. I mean, if we were to specifically extrapolate and infer from the experience, we are likely to conclude that the enormity of the challenge we face would prove near insurmountable. To all of us, whose minds were trained and oriented to work methodically and rationally, it was difficult to make any sense of what happened.”

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“Rather than feel honoured that a group of accomplished Yoruba sons and daughters were visiting the Alaafin whom we regard as a father figure and patriarch, the press secretary to the Alaafin took to peddling the fiction that we did not get a visiting day appointment. So, why delay us for hours before ascertaining we had no appointment?

“Is it logical to believe that a delegation of very busy individuals would commit themselves to a perilous and stressful journey from different parts of the country without giving notice and getting acceptance of the same by the personality we were going to visit? That we just mindlessly chose to barge in on the monarch unannounced? How do you square such an idiotic attitude with the fact that we have held high public offices with globally certified rules of protocol and conduct commensurate with best practices?

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“At the end of the day, it was a storm in a teacup. We learnt that the whole drama was masterminded and orchestrated by a bitter and inconsequential political officer in the presidency.”

When quizzed about the identity of the individual, Osuntokun said; “There are some contentions best left unattended.”

While speaking on if the group is hoping to meet similar resistance from top Yoruba policymakers, he said: “It is unlikely that lightning and thunderstorms will strike the same spot twice. Why would any highly-esteemed opinion leader or topmost-rated monarch be resistant to being honoured and paid homage?

Osuntokun, a former political adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo while reacting to the selection process of the members of the group hinted that “the group is made up of more than 28 members and we are primarily constituted to advise and strengthen the Ooni in grappling with the deepening and pervasive crises bedevilling Nigeria. As the Nigerian state rapidly spins out of control, loses legitimacy and the capacity to hold itself together for the good of all Nigerians, the option thereby imposed on us is to look inwards for inspiration and solutions to our existential problems.

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“One criterion that recommended itself was the consciousness that members should generally belong to the generation cohort spanning the 40 to 65 years age bracket.

“Appropriately, the Ooni falls in the same age bracket and culture cohort. Together we have shared relatively the same experience and exposure while growing up. Of course, if there are compelling individuals who fall outside the bracket, especially at the younger end, a waiver shall be expressly extended. I remember Professor Wole Soyinka telling me he had given up on the older generations and assured me he would do all within his powers, including the spiritual, to support any promising group of a public-spirited younger generation.

“As the custodian of the Yoruba spiritual heritage, it was incumbent on Kabiyesi (Ooni) to make consultations with divine entities and the inhabitants of the high end of the Yoruba cosmological order in choosing the members.”

IFRAME SYNC

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Oyo Affairs is an independent news media with the main focus on Oyo state news, politics, current events, trending happenings within and around Oyo state, Nigeria

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