There has been an age-long rift between Aare Gani Adams and Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho, for more than a decade. These two powerful individuals are like cat and dog. They don’t see eye to eye. In fact, a few years ago when these two men met at a party, they fought. It was an event that had the creme de la creme, kings and high profile personalities in attendance. Chief Igboho who was known as a freedom fighter was then rumoured to have cautioned Aare Gani Adams for his utterances against Yoruba Kings at that event. And since then both have not really had any cause to be together.
Fast forward, in October 2021, Igboho called for yoruba nation independence over the incessant killings of people by the Fulani herdsmen.
With the declaration, the activist called on Yorubas who are resident in Hausa/Fulani or Igbo territory, to return home before war breaks out.
He said that all traditional rulers in Yorubaland must support the movement to free the South-West from slavery or they will not ‘see the light of the next day.’
“Why are we being slaves in our fatherland? Why are we being enslaved in our own land?” He asked.
A few days after, Igboho went to the community and flushed out majority of the Fulanis living in Igangan community including their leader and this generated lots of debates.
Shortly after this, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Adams, said most of the methods being adopted for the actualisation of Yoruba Nation by the self-appointed freedom fighter, Sunday Igboho, were wrong.
He also faulted Igboho’s threat to forcefully reopen the borders, adding that claims that 1,000 policemen would not return if they invaded his house was uncalled for.
In his words, the Aare Onakakanfo, expressed displeasure that things which should be kept secret were being uploaded on the social media.
Recently, the rivalry between the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams; and the Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, has defied interventions by notable Yoruba sons and daughters including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.
Efforts to resolve the frosty relationship between Adams and Igboho seem not to be yielding fruits.
The cold war between the two has been in existence for a long time.
Sunday Igboho has a house in the Soka area of Ibadan and most of the time, the interest of the loyalists of the two men fighting for superiority and control of the area often clash.
There has been friction between them ever before the invasion of Igboho’s residence by security agents during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
They are two parallel lines that cannot meet on the agitation for self-determination which popularized Igboho.
When the crisis had almost become a thing of the past, a viral audio clip surfaced where Adams, who is the National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, allegedly accused Igboho and the Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Mr Tayo Ayinde of plotting to kill him.
Also, one of the allegations bordered on the assassination of the former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, the late Chief Bola Ige in December 2001.
Other allegations, according to Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, counsel to Mr Ayinde, include hiring Igboho to kill him (Adams).
Olumide-Fusika, claimed that in the viral voice note, Adams allegedly said: “I would send you a letter signed and sent by these people to the President, imploring him to stop wasting time and give them the go-ahead to eliminate me (Adams).
“So, be careful associating with Igboho. Just last night, he was with Tayo Ayinde, the Lagos State Governor’s Chief of Staff. He was heavily paid. You know that I have an extensive intelligence network as Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. Until about 2:45 am, he was with Tayo Ayinde, the Lagos State Governor’s Chief of Staff, who Tinubu also uses in Lagos to coordinate the execution of his evil machinations. He has been doing work of that nature for Tinubu since his days in the SSS”
Igboho’s counsel, J. A Sanusi, while denying all the allegations, said: “That the malicious lies against our client only exist in the figment of your imagination as our client is a law-abiding citizen, whose only offence at the time was to protect the interest of the Yoruba race, a responsibility which you were ordinarily saddled to discharge but failed to do so.”
Also, counsel to Sunday Igboho, J. A Sanusi claimed Adams said: “Our client is an assassin who used to work for President Bola Tinubu.
“Our client is rumoured to be one of the persons that assassinated the late Chief Bola Ige, SAN, together with another man.
“That our client was involved in a series of murder cases but escaped prosecution as a result of his political connection.
“Our client received the sum of N45 million sometime in 2022 to carry out some dirty jobs for the President.
“That our client swindled Nigerians in diaspora for a fake self-determination agenda of the Yoruba race.”
Both Igboho and Ayinde have threatened legal actions against the Are Ona Kakanfo.
