• Says cultural practices very important to progress, improvement
• Merchants, artisans in Ile-Ife accuse Ooni’s aides of extortion over competition
Forward of this 12 months’s Olojo competition, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has begun a seven-day seclusion ceremony in Ile-Ife, Osun State, the place he supplied prayers for the nation’s peace, progress and unity.
The monarch additionally admonished related stakeholders, significantly conventional rulers throughout the size and breadth of the Oduduwa race worldwide, to embrace unity as the one veritable device for enhancing the socio-economic progress of the South-West area.
This was contained in an announcement, yesterday, by Oba Ogunwusi’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Moses Olafare.
Ooni, who spoke earlier than going into seclusion, prayed for Nigerians throughout all areas to expertise divine blessings, therapeutic, and nationwide restoration.
He, nevertheless, charged political leaders to behave responsibly and govern with equity, justice, and compassion, noting that no society thrives when its leaders ignore the cries of the lots.
In one other improvement, Artisans, Peasants and Merchants Affiliation of Nigeria (APTAN) has referred to as on the federal and Osun State governments, in addition to the police, to intervene over alleged fixed harassments and extortion of members by purported representatives of the Palace over their refusal to pay the Olojo competition levy.
An announcement by the Coordinator and Secretary of APTAN, Ile-Ife department, Saidi Adegoke and Monsur Jimoh, respectively, stated the incident, which occurred on the Ojatuntun Otisese weekly Market on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, witnessed some males claiming to symbolize the palace of the Ooni of Ife storming the market and forcefully seizing items belonging to APTAN members.
The seized objects, based on them, included garments, a whole bunch of litres of vegetable oil and a number of other different objects from harmless poor merchants.
APTAN insisted that the act additionally stands in violation of the 1999 Structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Adegoke, due to this fact, described forcing Muslims to pay levies that contradict their religion as unacceptable, saying these males and their sponsors are breaching the very basis of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.
APTAN Coordinator, who equally referred to as for the intervention of the President of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, the Sultan of Sokoto, nevertheless, asserted that APTAN and its members maintain Oba Ogunwusi within the highest esteem, saying they imagine strongly that the Ooni was not conscious of those nefarious acts.
