“Quarrels end, but words once spoken never die”  
–African Proverb

By CHIDI OBINECHE

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the halloo is not in dissolving the distance, the aura or regal carriage of the king. It is not a scoff at the symbolism of grandeur, to hinder halcyon days or force an emerging make- believe . It comes with the bile, the trappings of vent and the affective mould of the patricians.
The Awujale, Kayode Adetona, Ogbagba 11, a  diodorus  Siculus among kings, is kitted with  gloves in the ring box with former president Olusegun Obasanjo, a veteran of feisty duels. In the melee, little has been left sacrosanct and the ashes fly back into the face of him who throws them.
Their interests always run parallel, cruelly and certainly never converging at any point. The bone of contention is in the Awujale’s autobiography, “Awujale: The Autobiography of Alaiyeluwa Oba SK Adetona, Ogbagba 11”, published in 2010. For some inexplicable reasons, the book ascended a sudden consciousness, virally invading the innermost sanctuaries of men and their consciences at the tail end of December last year.
An excerpt in the work described Obasanjo’s eight years tenure in office as president as a complete waste, “short of tangible achievements”. The former president, never one to let go, fired a fiery letter dated December 30, 2016 to the monarch describing him as a ‘liar’ and a ‘rumour monger’. “Your assertion in the publication was a tissue of lies and untruths”, he said. That was all that was needed to open a thrilling flurry of punches at the jugular, mindless of the regal and presidential robes, and the sobriety of their ages.  They obviously discovered the sediments of their hate many years too late.
With cross diatribe pried loose, the impulses of rancour jarred the ears and pulsated in a war-like passion. A keen acrid smell of unlavendered heap filled the air. The hit below the belt is the excerpt from chapter 12 of the book, pages 171 to 183 where the king called Obasanjo “Judas” and further accused him of persecuting his cousin, billionaire businessman and founder of Globacom, Mike Adenuga when he was president. That left the ex-president reeling on the canvas in pains. More flanks are likely to be opened in the blast.
The Awujale, like his sparring partner has had an unsparing string of shrieking combats in the past. His clash with the Second Republic governor of Ogun State, the late Bisi Onabanjo, led to his brief dethronement. He, at a time, stood up to the then Ooni of Ife, the late Oba Okunade Sijuade over prime issues of protocol and hierarchical order.
Only recently, he was locked in an entertaining gnarling bout with the Alake of Egbaland, Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo. Although a timorous intervention from Yoruba elders is unfolding, the character of the duel has shown that you do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself.   The book, which is now drooling in controversies, swims with the currents that when the heart overflows, it comes out through the mouth.
Born on May 10, 1934, the Awujale has reigned since 1960. He is the son of Prince Rufai Adetona and Alhaja Ajibabi Adetona ( nee Onagbile) and represents the Anikinaiya ruling family.