Alaafin dismisses UI don’s claims of arriving three hours late to Oyo event

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The Alaafin of Oyo, Akeem Owoade, has dismissed allegations by a professor of English at the University of Ibadan, Ademola Dasylva, that he arrived three hours late to a university event without apologising.

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The monarch’s media aide, Bode Durojaiye, said the Alaafin’s arrival followed a schedule that had been formally communicated to the organisers ahead of time.

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Dasylva had, in an article titled “Of Mythography and Mythognosis: A Complementary Perspective on Yoruba Mythology and The Relevance, Today,” published on the Toyin Falola Network on Wednesday, criticised the monarch over his conduct at the inauguration of the Alaafin Institute of Yoruba Studies at the Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo, held on July 14, 2026.

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He described the conduct as disrespectful and inconsistent with the values of the revered Yoruba royal institution.

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The don said the event was scheduled to begin at 9am, with dignitaries, including a retired bishop, Ladigbolu, already seated, and that the programme had listed the Alaafin’s arrival for 9:55am.

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“However, the event had to be kept on hold, courtesy of Alaafin Owoade, who arrived at the venue at 12:20pm.

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“In other words, people, including yours truly, were kept waiting for over three hours before the event finally took off,” he wrote.

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Dasylva said the wait would have been more bearable had cultural dances or other activities been used to fill the gap.

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“Perhaps it wouldn’t have mattered much had other important and peripheral activities including cultural dances, been allowed to fill up the gap pending the Alaafin’s arrival, but no.

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“Everyone was kept waiting and wondering what could have taken the monarch that long to attend to a great honour bestowed on the revered Throne of the Alaafin and Ancestry,” he added.

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He said what disappointed him most was the absence of an apology from the monarch or his representatives.

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“Unfortunately, not a word of apology for the lateness of the Imperial Majesty and his entourage, either by his spokesperson or directly by His Imperial Majesty!

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“But as a teacher of culture, a proud Yoruba, and an advocate of our rich African cultural heritage, I found that rather strange and incomprehensible,” he wrote.

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The professor argued that such conduct, though common among some politicians, should not be attributed to a foremost Yoruba monarch.

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“I do know that many uncultured Nigerian politicians who have refused to outgrow their adult delinquency regularly do that a lot and take the people they are meant to serve for granted.

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“However, may I say in all humility, it is least expected of a foremost Yoruba monarch, a significant institution that embodies Yoruba cultural values and the requisite discipline.

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“To whom much is given much is required. Again, in all humility, I stand to be corrected,” he wrote.

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Responding in a press release on Saturday, Durojaiye, Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin, described Dasylva’s remarks as reckless and culturally injurious.

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“To reduce a sacred institution, a custodian of Yoruba civilization, and a monarch of global reverence to the object of public ridicule over time is not only intellectually lazy, it is culturally injurious,” he said.

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He said the university’s original schedule had proposed 11am for the Alaafin’s arrival, and that the Palace’s Director of Administration had informed the university beforehand that the monarch would be arriving alongside other paramount obas travelling from outside Oyo State.

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“Consequently, it was made unequivocally clear that His Imperial Majesty’s entourage could not arrive earlier than 12:00noon or 1pm,” he said.

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Durojaiye said the communication was deliberate and made in good faith to allow for proper planning, and faulted the professor for going public without verifying the facts.

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“This communication was not an afterthought. It was made deliberately and in good faith to enable proper planning. To therefore feign surprise and launch into public castigation is either a willful disregard of facts or a deliberate act of provocation,” he said.

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He said Dasylva was not part of the event’s protocol team and had no knowledge of the correspondence between the palace and the university.

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“Prof. Dasylva is not the convener of the event. He was not part of the protocol team. He was not privy to the correspondence between the Palace and the University,” he said.

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Durojaiye said the professor should have sought clarification from the organisers rather than criticise the monarch publicly.

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“Accusation without verification is slander. Criticism without context is recklessness. And when such is directed at the throne of Oduduwa, it ceases to be commentary and becomes desecration,” he said.

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He described the Alaafin as the spiritual head of the Yoruba nation and said his presence at the event, despite a demanding schedule, was itself an honour to the institute.

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“Must we now demand that the Custodian of our heritage abandon royal procedure to satisfy individual impatience? Must we trade 700 years of institutional dignity for a wristwatch?” he said.

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Durojaiye acknowledged Dasylva’s standing as a scholar but said his conduct fell short of expected restraint.

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“We acknowledge Prof. Dasylva’s contributions to Yoruba scholarship. But scholarship without humility becomes arrogance. Criticism without facts becomes calumny,” he said.

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He demanded a retraction and an apology from the professor, insisting the Alaafin had not arrived late.

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“The Alaafin did not come ‘late.’ He came according to schedule, as duly communicated. To say otherwise is to bear false witness,” he said.

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Dasylva could not be reached for comments on the Palace’s response as of the time of filing this report.

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