Alaafinate: Where is Oyo Kingdom’s interest in all of these?

THE news of the approval of Prince Akeem Abimbola Owoade as the 46th Alaafin of Oyo Kingdom came as a cheery one. So was the presentation of instruments of office to him by the governor of Oyo State, His Excellency, Governor Oluwaseyi Abiodun Omo Makinde.

Though the circumstances of the presentation came with a bit of disappointment, because as a bona fide Oyo son from Isokun, I was expecting such occasion to come with much pomp and ceremony such that I could brag to hundreds of my friends that the saying, a ji se bi Oyo laari, is true, the process was nonetheless commendable. Why? Because the installation of Oba Akeem Abimbola Owoade put an end to about three years hiatus in the Alaafinate.

Respected, adored and highly elevated, the throne of Alaafin has endured for centuries, weathering different storms and undergoing minimal changes. In all these years, Alaafinate has become the centrepiece of royalty in Nigeria, becoming a cynosure for global attraction. It was, therefore,…