Ilorin — A non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro), has called on Yoruba elders, statesmen, and cultural custodians to rise above partisan or parochial leanings and intervene decisively on the current feud between Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade and Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi.
A feud has come up between the two monarch over the installation of an Ibadan business mogul, Engineer Dotun Sanusi as Okanlomo of Yorubaland by Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi.
A statement issued in Ilorin, Kwara state capital yesterday by the PeacePro, signed by its Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, said that the intervention of the Yoruba elders and statesmen became imperative as the matter goes far beyond traditional rivalry and touches the very essence of Yoruba civilisation.
According to him, "the current dispute presents a unique opportunity to reorganise and reorder Yoruba leadership by establishing a global cultural leadership model with multiple layers of function, responsibility, and authority."
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Such a model, the group maintained, would redefine the relationship between major Yoruba thrones, prevent recurring conflicts, and reposition the Yoruba nation as a global cultural powerhouse with structured leadership.
Hamzat further noted that "Ife, as the cradle of Yoruba civilisation, cannot be replaced or prevented from playing its cultural leadership role, neither can Oyo's Alaafin be relegated from its historic political leadership and heritage.
"Both thrones, and others like them across the world, must be accorded their rightful place in Yoruba global leadership to foster growth, peace, and unity," he said.
Hamzat described the Yoruba as a cross continental nation with significant influence across Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and beyond.
"Such a global cultural nation must have a clear order and hierarchy to preserve unity, heritage, and identity," he said.
He argued that a sovereign court in Nigeria should not be burdened by cultural issues of history and heritage it cannot adequately resolve, since the dispute concerns not merely local traditional institutions but a global cultural order with deep historical and international dimensions
'Ife and Oyo maybe small towns in South West Nigeria under their respective local government areas, but what they represent in global culture is far bigger," Hamzat said.
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PeacePro therefore, called on Yoruba elders, statesmen, and cultural custodians to rise above partisan or parochial leanings and intervene decisively.
