The Yoruba Obas Forum, which comprises monarchs from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states, yesterday, condemned in strong terms the installation of Yoruba kings and or traditional rulers in the Diaspora.
Spokesman of the Forum, who is also the paramount Ruler of OdoAyandelu Kingdom, Oba Asunmo Ganiyu Aderibigbe, said that having a Yoruba Oba in states like Dallas in the United States (U.S.) and countries like France, Holland and Ireland, is nothing but a complete denigration of Yoruba culture and tradition.
The forum said Yoruba traditional institution remains the only sacred one that has endured the rigours of civilisation, stressing that there is always a successive plan for the installation of a king in the region to avoid anarchy from the traditional institution.
“In Yorubaland, there are royal houses that are mostly qualified to appoint an Oba traditionally, and that there are procedures that must be followed to sustain the culture and tradition of our race.
“The need to condemn this ugly trend became pertinent for us as traditional rulers to restore the lost glory of our race and that of the traditional institution.
“Nobody can duplicate our sacred culture abroad. It is never done anywhere in the world. It is very bad when some people masquerade as a Yoruba king in a foreign land and as the custodian of Yoruba culture and tradition, we would not allow them to misrepresent us to the world.
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“However, it must be stated that there are other nationals in Nigeria like the Arabs, Indians and Chinese that are residents in Nigeria that didn’t have a king in Nigeria.
“Having a Yoruba Oba in the Diaspora is despotic, unfortunate and always opens the door for anarchy among Yoruba in the Diaspora.
“We condemn it totally because such practice is only an aberration to our traditional institution, and we are also appealing to other leading and prominent Obas in the South-West to rise against the ugly trend.
“We appeal to all the embassies to stop this trend in their respective countries. We are also appealing to all Yoruba sons and daughters in the Diaspora to rise against the trend that had been tarnishing the image of our race and causing unnecessary tension both within and outside the country.”
“We have written several letters to the Ministry of External Affairs, but it is now time for the public to know that the Yoruba Obas’ Forum are not in support of having a Yoruba Oba in the Diaspora and we totally condemn the bad practice as it is a complete fraud and disrespect to the traditional institution,” the Forum stated.
It, however, harped on the need for unity across the South-West, saying that the unity of all stakeholders is key to actualising peace, progress and development of the race both in Nigeria and in the Diaspora.
