A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State, Mr. Olumide Akinrinlola, has condemned former President Olusegun Obasanjo for allegedly insulting some monarchs in Oyo State.
Obasanjo, in a viral video, was seen ordering the traditional rulers in Oyo State to stand up and greet Governor Seyi Makinde of the state at a project inauguration in Iseyin on Friday.
The Ondo PDP chieftain, in a statement on Saturday, said it was a mark of disrespect to the monarchs and the entire Yoruba land, for Obasanjo to order the royal fathers to stand up and also to rebuke them for not standing when the governor entered into the arena.
According to him, there was a need for the former president to write a letter of apology to the traditional rulers.
He said, “With due respect to the elder statesman, a father, and former president of our country, I am sorry to say that this is an insult taken too far. This is because traditional thrones are sacred and older than any president, governor, or any human being in existence.
“Traditional institutions are revered all over the world. The respect we have for our monarchs is for the throne/seats they occupy and not the occupier. The moment a king is installed, he becomes the oldest in the land and a father to all. Not because of his age, but because he is occupying a throne that is older than any human or government institution in existence.”
Insisting that Obasanjo was wrong, Akinrinlola noted that “being a governor or president does not make you older or bigger than the royal fathers who are symbols of their communities.”
“We can’t continue to denigrate our royal fathers in the name of political positions. Can Baba (Obasanjo) order the Oba of Benin to stand up for him like that? I repeat it is an insult to take it too far. Baba OBJ should please apologise to the entire Yoruba race.”
Meanwhile, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere said the matter would be part of the discussion of the group in its next meeting.
In a chat with The Punch’s correspondent on Sunday, the National Organising Secretary of the group, Kole Omololu, said the matter has been reported to the National Leader of the association, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.
Omololu said, “Papa (Fasoranti) and the national leaders will deliberate on it, at the general meeting of Afenifere on September 27, and communicate their opinion to the world.”
