The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Aremu Akiolu, has defended his
controversial reaction to the affectionate greeting of the Ooni of Ife,
Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, at a public event, as seen in a viral video
last week.
In the 25-second recording, the Ooni of Ife is seen
arriving at the venue of the event, which has the Oba of Lagos, Oba
Rilwan Akiolu II, in attendance, seated among an unidentified monarch.
The
Ooni walks over to embrace the monarchs, but as soon as he approaches
the Oba of Lagos, Oba Akiolu looks away, only acknowledging the Ooni
with the wave of a hand.
The visibly embarrassed monarch then quietly returns to his seat.
The
video clip was met with outrage on social media and among prominent
Nigerians, with many describing Oba Akiolu’s action as disdainful and
unbecoming of a Yoruba monarch.
However, speaking to a national daily, the Oba of Lagos sounded undisturbed by the controversy surrounding the awkward greeting.
Oba
Akiolu, explaining that he was constrained by tradition from receiving
and returning the Ooni’s greeting, said the widespread belief that he
snubbed the Ooni was “their own thinking.”
He added, “Anybody can
imagine anything. There was nothing. The custom or tradition is like
that in Lagos. We don’t hold each other; we don’t hug.”
Asked if
the wide age gap between both traditional rulers had anything to do with
the way he acknowledged the Ooni, the Oba of Lagos said, “Which age
difference? A monarch is a monarch. There is no age difference.”
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