The Alaketu of Ketu, Oba Anicet Akanni Aderomola Adedunloye, reputed to be the first son of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race, but cut away from his kinsfolk as a result of the colonial division of Africa, has revealed that his bond with his ancestry and his kith and kin in Nigeria remains cordial and intact, despite the colonial partition which placed him in the Republic of Benin.
Oba Adedunloye made this known while speaking in an exclusive interview recently in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, at the opening ceremony of the international conference on “Comparative African History And Borderlands Studies” held at the Cultural Center, Kuto, Abeokuta.
According to Alaketu, he never for once forgot his ancestral land and as the first son to receive the crown of his father, Oduduwa, he not only treasured and glory in the rich cultural heritage of his people, he oiled it unceasingly, despite being across the border in another country.
He revealed that until the demise of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, they had a thriving relationship which was nurtured on exchange of personal visits, emissaries and constant touch.
Alaketu said he had such fraternal relationship with several Obas and chiefs strewn across Yorubaland, noting that one of such very cordial relationship was that which he had going with the Onimeko of Imeko, Oba Benjamin Alabi Olanite, Egi-Ogboye, Akanki IV, who was also at the conference.
He noted that the brotherliness between Ketuland in diaspora and the ancestral land even predated his own ascension to the throne, saying that Late Ooni Sijuade also visited his own immediate predecessor, Alaketu Aladeife.
The monarch explained that Yoruba as a people had a very thriving culture, strengthened by a strong bond hence the cordiality existing among them wherever they found themselves.
He insisted that the division by the colonial masters would never be allowed to be a barrier in his relationship with other Yoruba Obas in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
Alaketu stressed the need for a strong bond among the yorubas, noting that it was this that could guarantee the unity of the race all over the globe.
Oba Adedunloye expressed his gratitude to the governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, for supporting Emeritus Prof. Anthony Ijaola Asiwaju as the international conference on “Comparative African History And Borderlands Studies” which he had come to grace was held under the auspices of the state government in honour of Emeritus Professor Asiwaju whose father hailed from Ketu and his mother from Imeko in Nigeria.
Asked how he ascended the stool of Alaketu after the demise of his predecessor, the former teacher turned custom officer explained that Oba comes from five lineages in Ketu and that he was chosen by Ifa from among other princes.
He stressed that nobody could ascend the throne in Yorubaland without Ifa saying so.
The monarch insisted that Ifa as an Oracle was sacrosanct to Yorubas, adding that nothing could be done without the oracle.
Oba Adedunloye who claimed to be the 51st on the throne of Alaketu and had spent six years on the throne noted that when he dies, he would be buried according to the rites of his fathers, adding that Ifa would also play a prominent role in his rite of passage.
