Alaafin moves to unite Yoruba in West Africa ahead of Oyo Empire Day

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, has launched a fresh cultural diplomacy drive to Yoruba communities in the Republic of Benin, Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast and across West Africa ahead of the forthcoming Oyo Empire Day.

Yoruba on Ivory Coast alone is said to be over 6million people while Yoruba in Togo, Ghana and Benin Republic are indigenous to those countries.

As part of the mobilization, the monarch dispatched a renowned Yoruba historian, Prince Sheriff Adebayo-Onisile, on a three-day consultative visit to the neighbouring West African country.

The development was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin, Bode Durojaiye, in Ibadan.

According to the palace, the mission was designed to deepen ancestral ties, promote reconciliation, and galvanize participation of Yoruba people in Benin Republic towards the historic celebration.

Durojaiye noted that the engagement has reignited the centuries-old bond between the Old Oyo Empire and Yoruba settlements across Beninese territory.

The statement quoted the palace as saying the forthcoming Empire Day is not just a festival, but a symbol of Yoruba unity and civilization.

“The visit further generated enthusiasm for the proposed participation of Yoruba communities in the Republic in the Oyo Empire Day celebration, which is envisaged as a festival of unity and a celebration of the glory of Yoruba civilisation,” the statement read.

During the tour, Adebayo-Onisile was received at Igolo by the Aladjache of Adjache-Ile, Porto-Novo, Oba Rafiu Adesakin.

His itinerary also included meetings with Prince Sanni Onikoyi, retired principal lecturer at Nigeria-French Village, Badagry, Prince Felix Agboluaje, Olori Ebi of Agboluaje family of Ifonyin, and other palace aides.

A major stakeholders’ meeting was later held at the palace of the Aladjache in Porto-Novo, which brought together Yoruba elders, politicians, traders and leaders of socio-cultural groups.

The parley deliberated on the challenges threatening Yoruba unity in Porto-Novo, the need for cultural preservation, the historical ties between Dahomey and Old Oyo, and the proposed visit of the Alaafin to the Republic.

Addressing the gathering, Adebayo-Onisile said ancestral connection remains a tool to restore belonging in a modern world fragmented by technology and migration.

“Even when families are scattered or histories have been lost, intentional remembrance rebuilds continuity,” he stated.

The Alaafin’s envoy also held a high-level meeting with the Minister for Secondary Education and Bashorun of Pobeland, Chief Clement Kouchade, at the Federal Secretariat in Cotonou.

The discussion focused on Oyo heritage in Benin, cultural relations, and the Alaafin’s concern for unity and peaceful coexistence among Yoruba people in the diaspora.

Kouchade welcomed the initiative and conveyed his goodwill to the Alaafin, whom he described as the “titan of Yorubaland.”

He praised the monarch’s fatherly role in fostering unity and cultural understanding among diverse ethnic groups in Benin.