By Deborah Sanusi
Broadcaster Oriyomi Hamzat has defended his criticism of Peter Obi over his congratulatory message to the newly crowned Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja.
In a post on X on Sunday, Hamzat said the former Labour Party presidential candidate lacks the “history and closeness” that make similar remarks by other politicians acceptable.
The Ibadan-based presenter’s fresh comments came after an X user asked why President Bola Tinubu and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar were not similarly condemned for referring to the monarch as “my brother” in their goodwill messages.
“But Alhaji, how is it right for Tinubu and Atiku to use my friend and my brother in their congratulatory messages to Kabiesi but not right for Obi to use ‘my dear brother’? If it is disrespectful, why condemn only that of Obi and leave the rest?” #mfclothingceo asked Hamzat on X on Sunday.
Responding, Hamzat said Tinubu and Atiku had long-standing personal and political ties with Oba Ladoja, which made their choice of words culturally appropriate.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at 73, is only eight years younger than His Imperial Majesty. More importantly, both men share a history. Tinubu and Oba Ladoja served as senators during the Third Republic and later became governors in the same political season. They were contemporaries in Nigeria’s turbulent democratic journey,” he wrote.
Hamzat recalled that when Oba Ladoja was impeached as Oyo State governor in 2006, Tinubu, then governor of Lagos State, played a pivotal role in mobilising political and legal support for his reinstatement.
“When Oba Ladoja was unjustly impeached as Governor of Oyo State in 2006, it was Tinubu, who happened to be the Governor of Lagos at that time, who played a pivotal role in mobilising political and legal support for his reinstatement.
“That bond, tested in the heat of struggle, is what makes Tinubu’s reference to Oba Ladoja as ‘my brother’ both natural and culturally appropriate,” he noted.
Hamzat also pointed out that Atiku had “some kind of history” with Oba Ladoja.
He wrote, “Mind you, Atiku was the VP at the time and he was present at His Imperial Majesty’s 60th birthday. That shows that both Atiku and Oba Ladoja have some kind of history as well.”
“On the other hand, Mr Obi lacks that history, that closeness, and that cultural context,” Hamzat stated.
“To call Kabiesi ‘my brother’ is to ignore the values of Omoluabi that Ibadan and Yorubaland hold dear — values that honour age, experience, and legacy.”
The presenter’s comments follow an online debate sparked by Obi’s use of “my dear brother” in his goodwill message to the Olubadan, which critics, including Hamzat, described as a breach of Yoruba royal protocol.
“Yoruba people, Ibadan indigenes, Obi has disrespected you. He called Olubadan, a royal head, ‘my friend,’” Hamzat said in a broadcast.
Obi, however, clarified his intention in a post on Sunday, insisting he never meant to slight the throne.
“Certainly, no disrespect intended in my goodwill message to His Royal Majesty. I felicitated with my dear elder brother, the newly crowned, His Royal Majesty, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja,” he wrote.
