By Desire Emmanuel
All is now set for the conferment of the title of ‘Okanlomo of Yorubaland’ on Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade.
This is coming a few months after the Ooni of ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, gave the same Okanlomo of Yorubaland title to a prominent Ibadan businessman, Dotun Sanusi.
The conferment ceremony for Tinubu’s son will be held on Sunday, December 21, at the Oyo palace of the foremost traditional ruler.
According to the invitation card regarding the ceremony, while Tinubu’s son will be conferred with the Okanlomo title, the former Zamfara State governor and a current senator, Abdulaziz Yari, will be conferred with the title of Obaloyin of Yorubaland.
The news about the Alaafin of Oyo planning to confer the title Okanlomo of Yorubaland on Seyi Tinubu suggests a new development or perhaps a re-assertion of authority following a major dispute where the Alaafin challenged the Ooni of Ife for granting a similar title to Sanusi.
Alaafin had claimed that the pan-Yoruba titles are his exclusive right and no monarch in Yorubaland should give such a title without his approval.
This conferment on Seyi Tinubu therefore signals the Alaafin’s move to solidify his traditional role as the ultimate authority for pan-Yoruba titles, a claim contested by the Ooni’s palace.
