The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, has denied being in any supremacy battle with any other monarch in Yoruba land or anywhere else.
The monarch is speaking on the backdrop of a face-off between him and the Ooni of Ife after he issued an ultimatum to the Ooni to withdraw a chieftaincy title he gave to businessman, Dotun Sanusi.
In a statement endorsed by his media aide, Bode Durojaiye, the Alaafin said he was the veritable custodian of Yoruba culture and tradition.
Durojaiye said the monarch was always concerned about the safety and welfare of his subjects.
He also said his principal would never compromise tradition, culture, or development for personal gain.
The media aide said history had been so kind to Alaafin Owoade since he assumed the reins of administration of the Oyo kingdom.
He said the monarch enjoyed the grace of royalty with unusual humility to meet the demands of today.
Citing some of his pynegyrics, Durojaiye asserted that the Alaafin was inducted into the mysteries of various gods like Sango and Ifa, to be their direct representative on earth.
He also noted that the Alaafin Owoade had made a covenant with the Yoruba ancestors that he would defend the Yoruba customs and traditions.
Durojaiye described the Oyo Empire as the largest in West Africa, as well as the most authoritative of all the early Yoruba principalities.
The media aide also noted that the British opted to sign the Treaty of Cessation with the Alaafin then because they recognised his position as the Superior Head of the Yoruba Nation at the time.
