All human beings are equal before God; the Almighty. He is our Sustainer. The Creator of the worlds. However, God in His infinite wisdom has created man and placed some above others. It is a providential design to achieve universal order, harmony and peace. He has placed the kings over their subjects to ensure coordination. I love history, and I loathe history being distorted. I am neither an ethnic chauvinist nor jingoist. But I have special affinity for history. It is worrisome when people concoct genres of myth in the face of impeccable facts. I wish to delve a bit into in the history of Obaship in Yorubaland ,with a special focus on His Imperial Majesty, The Alaafin of Oyo and His Royal Highness, The Ooni of Ile-Ife.

History has been so kind and friendly to the Alaafin that he does not need to get into any battle for supremacy with any Oba, either in Yorubaland or anywhere in the universe. No other Oba had combined humility with royalty to meet the demands of modernity like the incumbent Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty, Kabiyesi Iku Baba Yeye,Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III .

According to impregnable sources of Yoruba history, Oduduwa is the ancestor of the Yorubas. Oduduwa gave birth to a son, Okanbi. Okanbi gave birth to seven male children (Oranmiyan, Olowu, Alaketu, Onisabe, Orangun, Olupopo, Oba Benin). Nowhere in history is Ooni mentioned as one of the Yoruba Royal Families. The Ooni is no blood relation of the seven sons of Okanbi. Historically, Ooni has no traditional or political authority in the Yoruba hierarchy. Riches and political fame of the Ooni from 1954_when Ooni Adesoji Aderemi was made the Governor of Western Region by the Awolowo Administration cannot undo the pristine history or invalidate the truth about the Yoruba race.

History has acquainted us with copious facts that Ooni is known to have been appointed by the Alaafin as the custodian and keeper of the rituals and oratory of the gods in Ile-Ife. The stool of Ooni was never known to be big on hereditary kingship. Oonis have been the descendants of Adimu the Olorisa, instead of being the direct descendants of Oduduwa. The Alaafins of Oyo have been the paramount kings and rulers of the Yorubas. Alaafin, in recognition of his leadership,had intervened in numerous boundary disputes involving the territories of the Ooni and Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland

Some years back, when Oba of Benin visited Ile-Ife, the comments made by Ooni Sijuade (I am happy to welcome back my son and brother to the land of our ancestor, Oduduwa) was quickly refuted by the Oba , through his response:"who is the son of who?"

Moreover, The British as it was in their tradition recognized lineage as meaning supremacy and legitimacy, preferring to sign the Treaty of Cessation with the Alaafin as the Head of the Yoruba Nation.

Also, on August 8th,1960, when Sir Adesoji Aderemi held sway as the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin Bello Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II was appointed the Chairman of the Council of Obas for two years, Oba Adesoji never batted an eyelid. In 1962, when Ooni had ceased to be Governor, he reverted to his traditional stool and was attending the meetings of Obas which had The Alaafin as the Chairman. When the first term of Alaafin Gbadegesin expired, he was reappointed for another two-year term. The Alaafin was reappointed for the third time in 1965 until the military struck.

In 1966, Lt Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo made the Ooni Chairman and the Alaafin his Deputy. Only the Alaafin,among other Obas, protested the awkward appointment and sought redress, as Alaafin does not play a second fiddle to any Oba in Yorubaland. In 1976, the military government had to reinstate the Alaafin as the Chairman of the Council.

It is also a distortion to address the Ooni as "His Imperial Majesty". This is another gaffe! Only the Alaafin is addressed as His/Your Imperial Majesty. You cannot assume the title when you have no empire you rule over. Alaafin ruled over a vast empire (From Ilorin to Dahomey and to some parts of Ghana; Ashanti) while Ooni did not have that royal privilege.The Ooni is better addressed as His/Your Royal Highness. This is history,my people!

The preeminence and supremacy of the Alaafin is obvious from the above assertions and as deeply espoused in many Yoruba books of history. We should not distort the history by pitching the Alaafin against the Ooni. Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi made an unequivocal statement on his coronation day that he was not into any supremacy contest with the Alaafin. Therefore, Alaafin remains the undisputed leader of all Yoruba monarch.

© Adejare Ibrahim

Another foolish person. The Ooni has said he wants unity not supremacy battle
You fools are here bringing up excerpts from incompetent historians.

Oduduwa had nothing less than 16 sons. .I expected yorubas to have grown beyond the "7 sons of Okanbi" package by Samuel Johnson

dunno what the thread is about.

macof:
Another foolish person. The Ooni has said he wants unity not supremacy battle
You fools are here bringing up excerpts from incompetent historians.

Oduduwa had nothing less than 16 sons. .I expected yorubas to have grown beyond the "7 sons of Okanbi" package by Samuel Johnson

True. The Ooni has clearly said he is more interested in developing his Kingdom (Ife first) then a Yoruba agenda and is not interested in any story of who is the lesser or greater. Aint not time for that.

I was impressed that he sat down with Modakeke Chiefs to talk about how to end the fighting between them and yet these ones are going everywhere discussing irrelevant issues.

Funny thing is that even the Alaafin does not have time for this joystick waving.

Dem don come again.

A REJOINDER TO ADEJARE IBRAHIM'S 'BEFORE YORUBA HISTORY IS DISTORTED'

Ile-Ife is the Mecca of the Yoruba, and Ooni is the Ruler:

Readers,

The writer of this piece BEFORE YORUBA HISTORY IS DISTORTED - Adejare Ibrahim is the greatest deceit and failure of mind and honour that ever traverse the length and breadth of Yoruba history.
He's not better than a beast of burden in narratives of historical and sociological ascendancy. Despite the desires to abandon and not dignify his falsehood and hatred for the Oduduwa and his descendants, few questions should be placed on his epitaph of lies in finding critical constructs to answer and unveil the historical truth thus:

1. If Alaafin is said to be a grandchild of Oduduwa among others, how does the headship of Yoruba race becomes his permanent or paramount ascendancy?
Is it a culture of permanence, superiority, sorority or ignorance?
Is it an agreement among Yoruba Obas and race or act of domination and superficial ignorance?
To what extent can we sustain the fact that a grandson who is unable to occupy the space vacated by his grandfather would amount to a leader in the realm after creating a stool in another realm?

2. If Ile-Ife remains the cradle of Yorubas and the ruler over Ife is Ooni and not Alaafin, how would Alaafin translate to a superior of Ooni when he failed to rule at Ife?
How many times Ife relocated the way Oyo did was relocated in Yoruba history to determine the stability of Oyo and her preeminence over Ife, the cradle.

3. Why is it a general consent among Yoruba kingdoms that Ife should not be attacked under any circumstances until the violations resulting in wars in the 19th centuries?
Why should Ife enjoy such immunity that Oyo never enjoyed nor his Ibadan extension, to therefore assume a superficial supremacy in the affairs of the Yoruba?

4. If Alaafin is a superior and a leader of the Yoruba's, why did he engaged in wars of conquests and expansion across Yoruba nation before the collapse of Oyo Empire after engaging in a self-destructive phenomena despite the Are Ona Kankanfo disloyalty and the Fulani invasionary wars? Is this not a further attempt of Oyo to hijack Yoruba leadership which it failed to acquire by concord and respect?

5. Did Ibadan that rose as Oyo protégé in the fall out to Oyo overlord over other Yoruba kingdoms not behaved like Oyo until it met its doom and Waterloo while fighting in different Yoruba fronts simultaneously?

6. If indeed, the strength of Oyo Alaafin signifies the type of respect and traditional propaganda that you now project, you should have seen a mammoth of Yoruba Obas going to pledge loyalty to Oyo instead of Ife?

7. Why did Ife took the centre stage even during colonial era? Why the Oni determined Oba Alades instead of Alaafin?

8. Is it not a beastly array of lack of common sense to project that a harmless and unifying Ife is less important than a cantankerous and warmongering hostile Oyo in the comity of Yoruba's?

9. If Ooni is not the son of Oduduwa (Odu’a) but a member of the tribe and Odu'a lieutenant who became successor in title to the throne of the founder, does it disqualifies him from being addressed as the most senior Yoruba Obas?

10. What disqualified Ooni? Are you talking purely from perspective of Divine Monarchy? Can you provide adequate information on how Odu'a founded the Race? Could he do it alone without his lieutenants and army? What disqualifies others from stepping to his shoes after him? Is Odu'a God or a mere mortal and founder?

12. Can you take Ife to Oyo or bring Alaafin to rule at Ife? If per chance, other grandchildren of Oduduwa had transit to establish new kingdom and hold sway in new domains while Ife stand, can they now circumvent their position elsewhere with the guardian and custodian of Oduduwa’s heritage left at Ife?

13. To what extent is your assessment of supremacy or superiority of Alaafin valid and reasonable in the foregoing circumstances? Is it not a triviality or assumption rather than historical truth or sequence?

Conclusively, if Ife Ooye remains the origin of the Yoruba race and the ruler is Ooni, no deranged historian or storyteller can change the established rules and precedent which places Ooni above others despite the status of the occupier or his ascendancy in Yoruba history.

Mind you, mister writer of failed historical antecedents, I have more than enough record of history to disprove your attempt to bastardized Yoruba history and culture.
The more you attempt it, the more those of us who have knowledge of authentic history of the Yoruba's would either remain silent or rebuff your stupidity and childishness.
If the best answer for a fool is silence, I would have embraced it, but to save younger generations of internet readers who hardly read books or make proper research from being foolhardy and misled by your misappropriation of historical facts, hence my interjection and reaction.
Learn to respect history and human nature than to foist irrelevant and shameless idea of history around that cannot upturn what is laid for centuries.

The deferment of Onirisaa (Ooni) to avoid supremacy struggle is merely to avoid distraction that people like you and Alaafin may set as another trap to unleash unending disunity and insults on traditional Yoruba institutions.
The new Ooni is wiser and not a fool. He's younger and better educated. He adopted sophistication so as to lay the matter to rest and allay the fears of the majority of Yoruba standing behind him.
Ooni is the holder of Odu'a succession just as the Opa Oranyan and other deities remain on Ife soil. No other Yoruba traditional institutions or Obaship can claim any greatness above the Ooni of Ife as long as Ife remains the cradle.
The seniority of Alaafin as the eldest grandchild is not in perpetuity among Yoruba obas since it is not a matter for life and death. Agba Oye koni koba maje. A senior ranking Oba cannot use his position or status to underrate the capacity and status of others.
If Oyo was once that powerful, colonial trends and modern political developments has placed things right by restricting such unfortunate unpleasantries and derogatory assumption.
Ife is the Mecca of Yoruba and Ooni is the ruler. Let the macabre of masquerading dance in disgraceful manner that tends to divide us be still. Ile Odu'a ko ni da rudurudu mo.
My advice is that you stop all divisive and incisive propagandas and comments to underrate Yoruba's in the eyes of the world. I am an historian of Yoruba history and culture and I take exception to your demented, questionable, unreasonable and disreputable assertions that can set Yoruba's against one another.
You cannot rewrite Yoruba history despite the errors that began with Samuel Johnson, another Yoruba of Oyo extraction. Our history and tradition are sacrosanct.


By
J.E.T. BABATOLA
B.A (Hons) History, M.Sc (Political Science)
Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

http://www.authenticnewsnetwork.com/2015/12/ile-ife-is-mecca-of-yoruba-and-ooni-is.html

Am here not to prove anyone wrong. If we study history well enough we will find out the Yoruba tribe existed before Oduduwa came around, he (oduduwa) was accepted as yoruba leader because Ifa talked about his coming ealrlier before he came