Yinka Odumakin, spokesman for the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, said Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), should have shown more respect to Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, by standing up to greet him.
Odumakin stated this in an interview on Wednesday in reaction to a viral picture, which showed Tinubu sitting down while the Ooni stood up to greet him at the coronation of the Oniru of Iruland, Oba Omogbolahan Lawal.
According to the Afenifere spokesperson, monarchs may no longer hold political power but they are still relevant in the traditional setting and should, therefore, be accorded respect.
He recalled that former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who is many years older than the monarch, bowed down to greet the revered ruler in 2016.
He said: “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.”
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