Osun: No rift between Ooni, Adeleke — SA Durojaye declares
By Jeleel Olawale
The Special Adviser to Osun State Governor on Cooperatives and Empowerment, Hon. Durojaye Isaac Kolawole has urged the public and most especially the good people of Ile-Ife to ignore the video which had gone viral indicating cold war between Governor Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke and the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II.
The purported fake online video showed Adeleke ignoring the pleasantry by the Ooni at a function in Ondo town during the weekend, where Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi (Ajagunla) representing Osun Central Senatorial District was bestowed with a chieftaincy title at the palace of Osemawe of Ondo.
Durojaye, in a statement he personally signed, described the fake video as the handiwork of some faceless people who are threatened by the popular cordial relationship that exists between the Governor and Ooni of Ife.
He said the video circulated in social media is a doctored one which the opposition attempted to show that Governor Adeleke and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi are no longer enjoying a cordial relationship.
The Special Adviser noted that the author of the doctored video has failed in his bid to mislead the public because there is an original video which showed that the Governor did not snub the handshake extended to him by Ooni.
The two are in a joyful mood, he said, though, the purported video has been generating controversy among members of the public but the said video is fake.
He stressed further that the opposition is jittery of the cordial relationship that exists between the Governor and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, saying “the Governor holds the reverred royal father in high esteem and cannot therefore disrespect him in any form because he, the Governor, understands our culture and tradition better than many of his critics.”
The Governor’s Special Adviser further emphasised that the two personalities are on the same page of moving the state forward, especially the economic development of the state. He recalled that the Governor visited Ooni in his palace recently to witness the signing of an MoU by the largest Chinese firm on the industrialisation of the state.
“The Governor went to greet the Monarch. Most people that were there saw clearly but the camera men were not there at the time the Governor came to greet Ooni. They only captured the tail end of the event.
“This is a ploy made by some jobless individuals to create acrimony where there is none. This attempt has failed woefully. They wanted to create crisis to show that things have fallen apart in the state.
“The video they shared online was an edited one, premised to indicate that the Governor snubbed Ooni at the event. The original version of the video is online, in which they refused to share due to their purpose of portraying the cordiality between both as diminishing. Our Baba, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi respects constituted authority, and our Governor has so much respect for our traditional institutions,” Durojaye said.
He therefore, called on the public to disregard the purported doctored video spreading on social media.
He admonished the good people of Ile-Ife and Osun State at large to promote peace among our traditional institutions and constituted authority.
