Outrage as Tinubu ‘disrespects’ Ooni of Ife

 

Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress has drawn the ire of the public for the manner in which he greeted the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi at the coronation of the Oniru of Iruland, Oba Omogbolahan Lawal.

In a now viral video, Tinubu remained seated as he greeted the Ooni, a move seen as being disrespectful to the Ooni and his throne.

Shortly after the video circulated,social media users unearthed videos of late Western region premier, Obafemi Awolowo, who had stood up at the entrance of the then Ooni, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II at an event.

Also, the instances where the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, prostrated for the Ooni, and the monarch of Gbagura, Ogun State, Oba Sabur Bakare, have been shared several times.

As the storm raged, Yinka Odumakin, who is the spokesman for the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, said that the Tinubu should have stood up as a sign of respect for the first class monarch.

Odumakin said, “We are still Yoruba people. With due respect to our royal fathers, we should not say because we are in a modern age, we should not give the proper respect that we give to our oba. You saw the time former President Obasanjo prostrated before the Ooni. So, it is still our culture and we must sustain our culture and give the respect that is due to our monarchs.”

Former minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, also slammed Tinubu for disrespecting Ooni by remaining seated.

“That the Asiwaju of Bourdillon refused to stand up to greet the Ooni of Ife speaks volumes. This was not only deeply insulting to every Ife and indeed son and daughter of Odua but it is also a crying shame. Would a northern political leader refuse to stand up for his traditional ruler?” FFK queried on Twitter.

There are, however, those who believe that times have changed and Tinubu didn’t disrespect the first-class oba as he wields more power than the Ooni.

Chuks.Chinyere (jj) @chukschinyere tweeted, “In today’s political setting, Tinubu wields more power than the Ooni of Ife. Traditional leaders are subject to the democratic set up which means (someone) like Tinubu wields so much control over (them). This is not 1688.”