Ooni’s palace faults viral video on Alaafin, urges media team reform

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The palace of the Ooni of Ife has criticized a viral video shared by The Oyo Legacies, a media wing of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, Elewuetu I, for allegedly misrepresenting the monarch’s interaction with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR.

The video, which circulated shortly after the West Africa Economic Summit held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja on Saturday, appeared to show the Alaafin snubbing the Ooni at the event.

In a statement issued by the Ooni’s spokesperson, Otunba Moses Olafare, the palace described the footage as misleading and not reflective of what transpired between the two monarchs.

According to Olafare, the Alaafin arrived at the venue in full royal decorum and proceeded to the VIP waiting room, where he greeted the Ooni warmly and exchanged pleasantries in the presence of other dignitaries.

He added that Oba Owoade used the opportunity to request an audience with the Ooni in Ile-Ife later in the week, demonstrating goodwill and mutual respect.

“The Alaafin approached Ooni Ogunwusi in a commendable manner, which should have been rightly reported by The Oyo Legacies to portray him as a monarch of peace and harmony, not otherwise,” Olafare said.

He expressed disappointment over the tone of the video, saying it wrongly depicted the Alaafin with arrogance and ignored his gracious conduct at the event.

The Ooni’s palace concluded by urging the Alaafin’s media team to undergo training in professional ethics and image management to better represent their principal in public.