Videos revealing the moment the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, exchanged pleasantries with the governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, by extending a handshake has surfaced online, drawing reactions from netizens

Netizens on X, formerly Twitter, have begun to express their opinions regarding the monarch’s act of rising up to greet the governor and others; while others fault the governor for shaking a monarch.

Dimeji7676 tweeted, “An Oba in Yoruba land shouldn’t be standing to greet his subjects.”

IsabellaAmara1 supported this by asking, “Why would a king stand up to greet anyone?”

Addressing the governor’s act, AjoEmmanuel1 wrote, “In Yoruba land, you are not to shake a king. You prostrate to him.”

Sweet Topensy supported this stating, “Why can’t Adeleke prostrate as our culture commands?”

AJOrhewere wrote, “In my tradition, Edo, it would have been an affront to actually attempt to shake the hands of the King. Rather, here’s a king who seems unsure of his stature. For no reason should he rise to greet anyone in that crowd or offer to have a handshake with them. Gov. knows better!”

Omofolaranmi01 tweeted, “You can’t shake a king, that’s Yoruba culture for you. It’s the king’s humility to stretch forth his hand, but IMOLE must not shake him.”

Street_king_007 also tweeted, “It’s a sign of respect not to shake the king. If you are from a traditional home you will understand, even if the king stretch his hand regardless you don’t have to shake him unless he insist and gave you the permission.”

AntidotNg similarly wrote, “You can’t shake a king even if stretches his hand to shake you. It’s out of respect.”

Others also condemn a scene in one of the videos, alleging that the governor snubbed a handshake from the monarch.

Realtonyblack1 wrote, “The greatest snub I will see for a highly respected monarch. This is a clear indication that our culture as lost is values. Gov Adeleke should be cautious about this.”

AnnangQueen opined that the alleged snub may not have been intended tweeting, “Might be an oversight.”

Official_adags wrote, “Governor Adeleke too like play, probably be wanna greet the Ooni respectfully and he wants the Ooni to be the last person he greets. This particular Ooni is a happy man and he is almost friends with a lot of people and he is quite approachable. I guess that’s why many men likes him for his likable and jovial character.”

A media assistant to the Osun Governor, Gbenga Lawrence, who also shared the videos on X stated that the governor “did not ignore the Ooni of Ife,” and that they exchanged warm greetings.

Netizens on the micro-blogging website, Instagram, had earlier in May 2023 disagreed over the viral video showing the moment the Oni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Enitan, was exchanging greetings with veteran Nollywood actors, Pete Edochie and Kanayo O. Kanayo.

The duo delighted to see the Ooni extended handshakes simultaneously and ended with the traditional and popular Igbo backhand handshakes.