VIDEO: ‘Yoruba Oba professing any other faith above traditional religion is a fraud’
Two eminent personalities in Yorubaland, Dr. Oladoyin Odebowale and Dr. Festus Adedayo, have argued that traditional rulers in the Southwest who do not identify with Yoruba religion should not be described as kings but as frauds and cheats.
According to the duo, such individuals should not be accorded the honour and respect deserving of an Oba.
Adedayo and Odebowale, who are former aides to two different ex-governors of Ondo and Oyo States, spoke at the weekend while on a Yoruba language radio current affairs program, monitored in Ibadan.
Their comments came on the heels of the recent controversy generated by the election of the new Alaafin, who, according to reports, emerged through Ifa divination following scandalous bribery allegations against some of the Oyomesi (kingmakers).
The development has sparked debates about the corruptive influence of power and politics in kingship and chieftaincy matters, leading to the gradual erosion of Yoruba values and calls for a return to those time-tested values.
Speaking during the program, Odebowale, who is also a university lecturer, contended that any heir to the throne in Yorubaland who professes any other religion above the traditional religion of the people has no business aspiring to the throne.
He argued that Yoruba customs require traditional rulers to not only uphold the culture and traditions of the land but also preserve and pass them on from one generation to the next. Odebowale frowned at modern-day kings who profess Christianity or Islam, describing them as fraudulent individuals who seek to enjoy the perks of their office without fulfilling its demands.
Watch the full discussion in the video below:
