I COPIED AND PASTED THIS PRESS RELEASE SOME YEARS AGO AND I AM EXPECTING THIS SAME OBA TO SAY SOMETHING THIS TIME AS WELL AS REGARDS THE ISSUE OF OBA IN DIASPORA CROWN BY OBA AKINRUNTAN.


BUT, WHO IS OLUGBO TO DESERVE A RESPONSE?
OBA OLADAPO OLAFIRANYE
OBA OSOGUN AGBAYE
OKEMOGUN
ILE IFE.

As the custodian and living spirit of ogun (the pace setter
among the dieties in yoruba land), i have a responsibility to
educate and enlighten individuals and or groups that may
want to turn down the history, culture and tradition of the
yoruba people.This is because ogun saw it all! It is for this
reason that i consider it appropriate to respond to the
disparaging statement on aspects of yoruba history credited
in this instance to Oba Fredrick Akinrutan Obateru, Olugbo
of Ugbo land.The monarch in recent times has embarked on
self-delusion with regards to his status and position among
the traditional rulers in yoruba land,among other erroneous
postulationscoming from the Olugbo' palace. Also he
dishonestly condemned the celebrationof Moremi as a
patriotic heroine by the good people of Ile Ife . My first
impression to this untoward outburst was to ask the
pertinent questions: (a)who is olugbo to deserve a response?
(b)what led to their emigration away from Ile-ife?The
controversial Obateru should endeavor to find out.An
acclaimed yoruba king, Olugbo of Ugbo,Obateru Akinruntan
whose mentality has misled him into distorting history and
by extension, ife history. it is disheartening to hear a yoruba
Oba being extremely ignorant of the history just like a
sectional king in ilaje local government area of ondo
state.Without justification, how could somebody in his right
senses claim that moremi Ajasoro is not an heroine while
the brave woman is regularly celebrated all over for her
effort in bringing freedom to the source.In another sense,
olugbo, a sectional baale(in real hierarchy) intends to
undermine our most revered father, Ooni Adeyeye by
ignorantly challenging the monarchial stool of Ooni. How on
earth could somebody claim to be more catholic than pope?
Obateru is an attention seeker indeed.This man, a conflict
maker categorically stated that the Ugbos are the aboriginal
settlers and owners of ife! A sharp response to this would
trigger ones thought of asking who his father was?As in all
yoruba lands, the most important of our sources of ile-ife
history are orally transmitted(Biobaku 1992). Thus, we ask
Obateru of the pedigree of his father that orally transmitted
the history to him?It is on record that Obateru was born
1950into the family of fredrick adetolugbo but unfortunately,
his father died 1964 when he was 14 years old. So, it is not
too astonishing how he could have gone astray on history as
his arrogance could have perhaps engendered elderly curse
to accelerate his playing to the gallery.Someone that lacks
parental guides and guard should not be scold for saying
ooni should not have a father.
how could we assist a man who said that Oduduwa was not
part of yoruba? how could we address him when he
proclaimed that it was Osangangan Obamakin, son of oranfe
that founded ile- ife? how do we start to educate an
acclaimed man who lamented that his forefather of his
throne descended from heaven, and that is why they were
called Ugbo Atorunwo, whose mentality accommodation has
been eroded than a man who challenged Oonirisa to
confirm his ancestral root?
To set the record straight,i am really not sure of the state of
mental affairs of the Obateru Akinrutan else i would have
started educating a mediocre. i hereby urge the Olugbo in
council to institute a step towards examining the mental
psychology of obateru perhaps through psychiatric experts
at Aro in Abeokuta of Ogun state. May i urge that you should
not see this clarion call as insult but rather an affectionate
and passionate call to rescue a fellow.
For the record, i will like to state that certain rebellious
group was displaced in ile ife at the dawn of a new era. this
displaced group of people eventually settled at iwinrin/igbo
igbo, where they became wild and call themselves ugbo.
when they were threatened by famine, the began to behave
like hawk like bird which goes by the name igbo, well known
for his aggressive nature. those who are very close to the
elderly persons in yoruba land would have been told that
whenever Igbo bird approaches other birds, the latter will
disperse for fear of attack. Hence the yoruba maxim that
"igbo wonu eye ki eye tuka" meaning the presence of igbo
bird disperses other bird. it was this disruptive nature that
the refuge group adopted in their attack on ife township in
search of what to eat to survive. in an effort to put an end to
the incessant raid, a valiantwoman by name moremi
Ajasoro, after seeking the consent of her husband who was
then the Ooni of ife deployed her diplomatic prowess by
given herself up for capturingby the marauding beasts. this
tactic of the stunning woman led to their conquest of the
men from the bush. those who were captured during the
surprise counter attack were given state pardon and
resettled within ile-ife township.
From the above, it would seem that someone is turning
history upside down to consider as an act of betrayal, the
sagacity, valor and intrepidity of moremi Ajasoro. it is
important to note that those who were captured and
resettled among the igbo invaders could today be found in
compounds within iremo quarters of ile- ife. thus, if anyone
from anywhere now found it necessary to seek relevance by
connecting himself with ile ife, it should not be at the
expense of our cherished history.
However, it is very bad for people of riverine area of Ondo
state to have had the likes of Obateru Akinruntan as Oba.
this is because every traditional ruler in yoruba land
necessarily passed through certain process of tutelage
before they finally assume the throne of their forefather,
this i doubt happened in the case of the incumbent Olugbo.
this is affecting his sense of reasoning. it is a bad omen for a
supposed Oba to not just think but said openly that Obas
dont have biological father, what a poor student of history is
this man! on this particular issue, i consider it as a threat of
attack on the father of our Ooni who by the special grace of
olodumare is still hale and healthy. i would like to seriously
warn olugbo to stop forth with such thought. any attempt on
the life of prince oluropo ogunwusi-the father of Ooni
Adeyeye Ogunwusi, or any member of his household will be
disastrous for him and everything connected to him.
Ogun disapproves threat to life and by himself, is not use to
make empty threat. those who are close to fredrick Obateru
Akinruntan should speak to him on his listening ears. ife
does not and will never allow anyone to smear the sacred
Ooni. i think this man has forgotten so quickly that it took
the intervention of the late Ooni of ife- Oba Sijuwade
Okunade to have him installed some four miles away from
his town. it seems he has forgotten too that Ooni Sijuwade
Okunade ordered his crown to be removed publicly to the
admiration of those in attendance. how ungrateful can this
man be for insulting the personality of his benefactor? it is
for this, i said earlier that it does not worth it to reply to the
ranting of an ungrateful mind.
Sincerely, i will want for say that Akinruntan's vituperation
was as a result of his lack of historical facts because it has
been established that his forefathers were irresponsible and
wayward sons who choose to destroy their father's house. if
he traces his dirty steps, better for him, but if he persists,
this piece should be considered as an introduction.