Stop meddling in our affairs, Ekiti monarchs warn Alaafin

The Traditional Council of Obas in Ekiti State has cautioned the Alaafin Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi to desist from meddling in the internal affairs of Ekiti monarchs, and also accused him (Alaafin)  of distorting facts and meddlesomeness.

 Penpushing reports that, the Ekiti Council of Traditional rulers made the appeal to Alaaafin through a letter sent to the Oyo State Governor, Engr  Seyi Maklnde, calling on him to tell Alaafin of Oyo, to stop meddling in the internal affairs of Ekiti monarchs.

The Ekiti Council Obas  in the  letter dated March 14 and signed by its Chairman, Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi, explained that the letter was the latest rebuttal on the heel of Alaafin’s memo to the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, over a recent query sent to 16 monarchs in the State.

Penpushing recalled that,  Alaafin had in the said letter  dated March 12, which he claimed  he wrote  on behalf of seven paramount royal fathers in Yoruba land,  urged Governor Fayemi  to desist from meddling into the affairs of the traditional rulers.

“From time immemorial, Obaship Leadership in Ekiti Land had been within the sixteen Obas without any dispute or quarrel among them and indeed to the admiration of other Yoruba Kingdoms,” Alaafin wrote in the letter to the Governor, advising him (Fayemi) not to degrade the traditional institution in Yoruba land.

Penpushing also reports that, in further reaction to the Alaafin’s letter, the Ekiti State Traditional Council  advised Governor Fayemi to disregard Adeyemi’s letter “because it was clearly ill-motivated and in bad faith.”

The rebuttal  titled “Request to stop undue interference of His Majesty, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, in the internal affairs of Ekiti Obas,”  the Ekiti Royal father declared that  Alaafin goofed, stressing that his letter was “borne out of ignorance” and asked to know why the other six traditional rulers mentioned in the letter did not sign to ensure concurrence.

The monarchs emphasized that, Alaafin’s interference in the matter was “absolutely unwarranted” as he “cannot superintend over the monarchy in Ekiti State” because “Ekiti was never and can never be part of Oyo empire.”

“We say with all sense of authority and responsibility that Alaafin’s letter is borne out of ignorance. Let him remove the log in his eyes before seeking to remove the speck from others. Moreover, the little disagreement amongst Ekiti Obas has not affected the functionality of our Traditional Council. We hold our meetings statutorily unlike the Traditional Council under Alaafin that has long been grounded,” the letter read.

“Alaafin is no doubt an Oba that enjoys stirring controversies and (crises) where there are none. He is without doubt a meddlesome interloper who is bent on exporting the crisis he engineered during the old Oyo Empire during which the Traditional Council was unable to hold a single meeting as a result of leadership tussle between him and Ooni of Ife until Osun was carved out of old Oyo State.”