Activist, Yinka Odumakin, says All Progressives Congress chieftain, Bola Tinubu, should have stood up to greet the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at the coronation of the Oniru of Iruland, Oba Omogbolahan Lawal.
Odumakin, who is also the spokesman for pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, said this in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday while reacting to a viral picture showing Tinubu sitting down while the Ooni stands to greet him.
He said although monarchs no longer hold political power, it was important for traditional institutions to be respected especially by the Yoruba people.
The activist recalled that in 2016, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is many years older than the monarch, bowed down to greet him.
Odumakin stated, “We are still Yoruba people. With due respect to our royal fathers, we should not say because we are in a modern age, we should not give the proper respect that we give to our oba.
“You saw the time former President Obasanjo prostrated before the Ooni.
“So, it is still our culture and we must sustain our culture and give the respect that is due to our monarchs.”
Is there a position of national leader in APC constitution. In any democracy around the world, the elected President from the ruling party automatically becomes the leader of the party. We have a man whose ego would not allow him to see that his being used by the ruling party as their errand boy. They schemed away from the appropriate title of the BoT Chairman. This is the man some Nigerians would like to see negotiating treaties with USA, China, Russia, UK, Germany etc. SMH in disbelief. This reminds me of a king who doesn’t know that his walking around the town naked.