The palace of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has said that all is well between him and the Ooni and Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade.
The palace recently revealed that the viral clip hinting at a discord between them was edited to misrepresent their peaceful interaction at a meeting in Abuja.
Reacting to the video that circulated online, the Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, disclosed that the monarchs interacted peacefully at the gathering, and Oyo Legacies, a media wing of the palace, is responsible for the edited video that went viral.
According to him, the true situation at the event showed the Alaafin going straight to greet the Ooni as soon as he arrived, before returning to his seat in the VIP centre, and then proceeding to the main stage.
Olafare stated that Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi reciprocated the honour accorded him by the Alaafin, rising to welcome his brother and fellow traditional ruler, while sharing a few jokes.
“The Ooni of Ife had already been ushered in and was majestically seated at the VIP waiting room of the conference centre alongside some of his business associates and friends
His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo few minutes later arrived his own royal candour and walked straight (even ignoring his allocated seat) to the Ooni’s seat for royal greetings while the Arole Oduduwa(in his usual 2nd-To-None humble character) reciprocated the honour accorded him by the Alaafin as he rose to welcome his brother traditional ruler while both exchange pleasantries and few jokes before Alaafin eventually went to take his seat, which he had earlier bypassed alongside his amiable queen.
When they were both called upon to move into the main hall of the conference centre, it was the Ooni that first left the VIP waiting room, and almost same time followed by the Alaafin to take their respective seats officially tagged in their names inside the hall where the event was ready to be kicked off by the Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
Blaming the Alaafin media handlers for the misleading clip on social media, Olafare emphasised the need for the media wing to be better representatives of the palace and its activities to avoid making Nigerians assume the wrong things.
He noted that the media handlers should take their crucial role as a communication bridge between their principal and the public more seriously.
Olafare concluded by saying that Alaafin Owoade has always shown that he is a man of peace, stressing that his media team should not be portraying him otherwise.
“Having set the record straight above, it is hereby found so disheartening the manner Oyo Legacies, who blatantly refused to report their principal in his true and positive conduct of virtuous greatly displayed in his exchange of pleasantries with the Ooni and other dignitaries in Abuja yesterday. Either you like it or not, members of the public must react to such information disseminations.
The roles of media handlers to their principals primarily involve acting as a communication bridge between the principal and the public and other stakeholders, they must work to support their principal by managing his image in a way to get him loved and respected in the society not to get him hated and disrespected as the said video has caused.
Kabiyesi Alaafin Owoade did excellently well in his approach to Kabiyesi Arole Oduduwa, Ooni Ogunwusi in Abuja yesterday (Saturday) and it should have been so adequately reported by The Oyo Legacies showcasing him as a monarch of peace and harmony that he is and not the otherwise, which the video has portrayed him.
Alaafin Owoade, going by his conduct yesterday, is a man of peace and someone who values relationships. He even seized the opportunity yesterday to book an appointment to visit the Ooni at Ile-Ife before this week runs out,” he added.
