- Former President Olusegun Obasanjo insisted that traditional rulers should stand to honor current and former political officeholders at functions
- Obasanjo highlighted the importance of age and position in Yoruba culture, emphasizing respect for governors and presidents
On Friday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was enraged when he ordered traditional rulers at a function to stand and honour him.
When Obasanjo mounted the podium to speak, he was enraged that the monarchs had failed to honour him.
It occurred at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology College of Agriculture and Renewable Natural Resources inaugurated in Iseyin, Oyo State.
Governor Seyi Makinde invited Obasanjo to commission the new Oyo-Iseyin Road, which the government had rebuilt.
The ex-president warned the kings to always respect current and former political officeholders by standing to greet them at functions.
He asked them to show such respect to governors and presidents and then ordered them to stand, and all the Kings stood up in full regalia, as obedient students would to their headmaster.
He said in Yoruba;
I greet the kings and chiefs here sitting; I am grateful that you are here. Let me say this: wherever the president or governor is, the kings present must stand up to honor him.
In Yoruba land, there are two things that are most respected among others: age and position. When a governor is still in power, he’s more powerful than any king.
Even when I was president, I prostrated for kings outside, and when we went inside, the kings would prostrate for me. So, let’s always celebrate our culture.
Alaafin’s stool not for sale – Makinde
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Friday made it crystal clear that the respected stool of Alaafin of Oyo, which became vacant in April 2022, following the demise of the immediate past Alaafin, the late Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, is not for sale because the throne is very important to the Yoruba race.
He spoke at the commissioning of a satellite campus of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, in Iseyin, which houses Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Renewable Natural Resources.
Makinde gave the assurance in the presence of a former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who was the special guest of honour at the event.
Obasanjo had earlier commissioned the 34.85kilometre Oyo-Iseyin Road, which was reconstructed by the administration of Governor Makinde in the state, and also inspected the Fashola Farm Settlement, that has also been transformed by the government of Makinde towards ensuring food security in the state.