…..Calls for Yoruba Global Cultural Reorganisation and Leadership Model

By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

A non-governmental organisation, Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has called on Yoruba elders, statesmen, and cultural custodians to rise above partisan or parochial leanings and intervene decisively in the current row between the Ooni of Ife and Alaafin of Oyo.

In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, made available to Vanguard on Tuesday,the NGO also noted that 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.

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 said in the statement that the decisive intervention became necessary because the ongoing chieftaincy dispute between the Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo, goes far beyond traditional rivalry and touches the very essence of Yoruba civilization.

PeacePro described Yoruba as a cross continental nation with significant influence across Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and beyond, stressing that “such a global cultural nation must have a clear order and hierarchy to preserve unity, heritage, and identity.”

Hamzat further argued in the statement 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.

He further noted that “Ife, as the cradle of Yoruba civilization, 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.