Why Alaafin didn’t visit Ooni during Osun trip — Palace speaks

D.O. Akintoye 15:01 - 07 June 2025

Contrary to public speculation, the Alaafin did plan to visit the Ooni as the first stop on his itinerary. However, according to the monarch’s Personal Assistant, Kolade Oladele, the Ooni was reportedly out of the country at the time.

The palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, has cleared the air on why the monarch did not visit the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, during a recent trip to Osun State.

Contrary to public speculation, the Alaafin did plan to visit the Ooni as the first stop on his itinerary. However, according to the monarch’s Personal Assistant, Kolade Oladele, the Ooni was reportedly out of the country at the time.

“We didn’t ignore the Ooni,” Oladele told Saturday PUNCH. “Our protocol officer reached out to the Ooni’s palace and was told he wasn’t around. That’s why the Alaafin visited the Oluwo first.”

The visit to the Oluwo of Iwo, which took place on Tuesday, stirred controversy and reignited long-standing debates over the hierarchy of traditional rulers in Yorubaland — especially after the Oluwo declared the Alaafin superior to all other kings in the region.

Tensions also rose following claims that there was a rift between the Ooni and the Oluwo, and by extension, between the Ooni and the Alaafin. But Oladele dismissed those claims.

“There is no cold war between the Alaafin and the Ooni,” he said. “Baba (Alaafin) is focused on the unity and progress of the Yoruba people. He bears no grudges. We’ll be paying an appreciation visit to both Governor Ademola Adeleke and the Ooni very soon.”

Backing this claim, the Olowu of Kuta, Oba Adekunle Oyelude, confirmed that the Alaafin had indeed planned to visit the Ooni before heading to Iwo.

“I was aware of the arrangement. The Alaafin never intended to sideline the Ooni,” he said.

However, the Ooni’s camp offered a slightly different account. According to Moses Olafare, Director of Media and Public Affairs at the Ooni’s palace, they received no official notification of any planned visit.

“We weren’t informed — not by letter, not by phone call,” Olafare stated. “One of our security operatives got a call from someone in the Alaafin’s camp asking if Baba was around, and that was it. That doesn’t count as formal communication.”

Despite the confusion, both camps maintain there is no feud between the two royal fathers, and plans for future visits remain on the table.