Yoruba World Congress (Worldwide), a social and sociocultural organization of Yoruba heritage, has requested traditional leaders in Yoruba country to revoke all chieftaincy titles granted upon the former president Olusegun Obasanjo with immediate effect.
The group also commanded the traditional leaders to leave any occasion where Obasanjo is present or has the authority to speak going forward.
According to DAILY POST, Obasanjo ordered several traditional leaders to sit and stand up on Friday, September 15, 2023 at a gathering in Iseyin, Oyo State.
The previous president was requested to formally apologize to the traditional leaders in response to popular uproar.
However, the YWC has encouraged the traditional leaders to immediately revoke the elder statesman’s traditional titles for failing to provide an apology.
The organisation urged the traditional rulers in a statement issued by its Secretary General, Stephen Ajayi, to speak with one voice regarding the distinguished cultural legacy and the respect it deserves and not accept any invitation that was not deserving of their position.
The organization requested that the National Assembly pass legislation establishing a ministry for traditional rulers in a statement made accessible on Monday.
“Through this open letter, we, the Yoruba World Congress Worldwide (YWC), founded in the UK, oppose and distance ourselves from Obasanjo’s acts and demand that the constitution be revised with relation to traditional councils.
We demand that the Federal House of Representatives and the Senate immediately establish a Federal Ministry for the Traditional Rulers connected to the Presidency to oversee, protect, and preserve our traditional values and history. In order for our Royal Fathers to once again receive the respect they so richly deserve, this should have nothing to do with the governmental or any governmental ministry.
“We eagerly awaited Olusegun Obasanjo’s honest and public apologies to the traditional rulers (our Obas/Kings) present at the ceremony as well as to the Yoruba race as a whole for disobeying our cultural legacy in a humiliating and inhumane manner in public, which was never offered. YWC thus recommends to our Kabiyesis’
“Leave any function where he (Obasanjo) is present or has the authority to speak. refuse to accept any invitation that is not honorable for the position they already hold.
“Represent our illustrious cultural history with the reverence it merits by speaking with one voice. Remove all Yoruba Chieftaincy titles that have been given to Obasanjo with immediate effect.
