The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, has declared that the Ooni of Ife remains the number one monarch in Yorubaland and should be given the honour due him. The monarch made this known in his Ake Palace, Abeokuta in Ogun State on Sunday when the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, paid him a courtesy visit. Oba Gbadebo went on to identify ego as the reason behind the disunity among traditional rulers and people in Yorubaland, calling for all to bury the hatchet to move the Yoruba race forward. He went on to list the five principal monarchs in Yoruba land according to their order of superiority.
According to Oba Gbadebo, the monarchs are: Ooni of Ife, the Alaafin of Oyo, the Oba of Benin, the Alake of Egbaland and the Awujale of Ijebuland.
He said:
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“Ooni is one of the five principal Obas in Yorubaland. The others are in order of the way they are classified on supremacy basis. After the Ooni is the Alaafin. After the Alaafin is the Oba of Benin, after him comes the Alake of Egbaland and the fifth and by no means the last or the least, the Awujale of Ijebuland. “So, it’s our pleasure that you are in our midst today. We are happy to receive you.
“You have demonstrated good upbringing already since you started. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo came and demonstrated that by prostrating as a man of culture. The papers carried it yesterday. We are proud that is an Egba man who came to visit the spiritual father of Yorubaland. “Actually there is nothing wrong in terms of unity; it is ego-tripping, what people would think of me, I want to promote my own image. That is what has been wrong with us all along. Once we stop promoting self-image, there will be unity among us.
“Every Oba in Yorubaland has a letter of appointment. Nobody has made you Oba of a place that you have not conquered or you think in terms of conquest. Why must you now call yourself what you are not. So, as you go along, let this humility be your watchword.”