A collective of royal leaders hailing from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, and Kogi States has maintained that the manner in which former President Olusegun Obasanjo directed monarchs present at a project inauguration in Iseyin, Oyo State last Friday was highly objectionable.
The group, known as the Yoruba Obas Forum, has subsequently called for a public apology from the ex-president.
During the event, Obasanjo admonished the monarchs for their failure to stand up in welcoming the governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, contending that their actions amounted to a lack of respect for the governor’s office.
Troubled by how the monarchs had treated Governor Makinde, Obasanjo commanded them to rise from their seats, a directive that they all complied with.
Although Obasanjo explained that he had ordered the monarchs to stand up because, according to the constitution, the governor is the highest-ranking official at the state level and thus deserves respect from the monarchs, his actions attracted significant criticism.
However, the Yoruba Obas Forum, in a statement signed by its President, Oba Samuel Adeoye, the Molokun of Atijere in Ondo State, and the General Secretary, Oba Abdulrasaq Abioye, the Olukotun of Ikotun-Ile in Kwara State, asserted that Obasanjo’s outburst was an affront and a deliberate violation of revered traditional institutions in Yorubaland.
The statement further read in part, “On behalf of the entire Yoruba Obas, we are using this medium to call upon the former President of Nigeria (Obasanjo) to immediately apologize to monarchs from Oke-Ogun zone for his undeserved remarks over his claim that they failed to stand up when the governor (Makinde) and himself climbed the podium at the inauguration of LAUTECH’s College of Agricultural Science and Renewable Natural Resources, Iseyin.
“The Forum also noted that even if the Obas at the occasion acted in breach of The Act of Precedence of 1999, Obasanjo should have noted it in his speech rather than scolding them like pupils or military recruits.
“We think respect should be earned, not demanded. An injury to one is an injury to all. Yoruba traditional institution is not like a military setup that anyone can command at will.
“We condemn this act by Obasanjo and we call for his public apology to all the disgraced Obas and the entire Yoruba people by extension without further delay.”
