The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has said that he forgives Yoruba rights activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, over the viral video in which Igboho lambasted the monarch.
The media aide to Ooni, Moses Olafare, who made this known on Thursday, said the monarch is “still solidly behind” Igboho’s move to drive “criminal herdsmen” away from the South-West.
Olafare explained that Ogunwusi was silent on Igboho’s allegations because “it is not in the style of the Ooni to make an official response on any matter that threatens the unity and peace of the country, especially as it affects the descendants of Oduduwa worldwide”.
Igboho had on Wednesday morning at a virtual ‘Townhall With Yoruba In Diaspora’ said that the Ooni and other Yoruba leaders were Fulani slaves.
The activist also accused the monarch of disappointing the Yoruba people when he visited the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the herdsmen crisis rocking the South-West region. that the monarch decided to tackle him instead.
He also claimed that Ooni did not tell Buhari about the true situation of things in Yorubaland.
Ogunwusi had after meeting the President commended Igboho for speaking for the downtrodden but asked him not to take laws into his hands by allowing constituted authorities, including the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, to take charge and handle the security challenges in the state.
Igboho later apologised, saying that he was pained by the issue and his tongue was caught up in the moment.
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Olafare also said Ooni was unperturbed by Igboho’s abusive and derogatory words against him.
He said, “Sunday Igboho still remains a son to the Ooni. Baba has already forgiven him because he had tendered an apology via a video clip he produced via social media yesterday evening.
“The royal father could not bicker with any of his sons even in the face of quantum of provocations.
“Sunday Igboho thereafter released the video in which he tendered his apology. Even though the way and manner Sunday had behaved was sacrilegious to the Oduduwa throne but he has already apologised and I can confirm that Arole Oodua has forgiven him, because, there is no perfection in humanity. Sunday is a human being like any other normal human being who could misbehave as well. No one is perfect!.
“As the father of all, the Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula remains his father who had even identified with him in the past two weeks he had begun with the struggle and he is still solidly behind him for the liberation of the Yorubas from criminal herdsmen who have adamantly terrorised our land. Just that he must watch his back so that people with ulterior motives will not hijack his movement.”
The traditional ruler, however, appealed to all and sundry to “let the sleeping dogs lie on the matter because Sunday had been forgiven and life must go on”.
