₦airaland Forum

This present Alaafin of Oyo doesn't know his place in whole whole monarch hirachy

This present Alaafin of Oyo doesn't know his place in whole Yoruba monarch hirachy

LeeSmart:
I don't even know who has the higher power amongst these two monarchs. Someone should plss tell me who's more powerful.

None of them have power. Since they're ceremonial.

But normally, the Alaafin of Oyo is the historical emperor of the Oyo empire/Yorubaland. The Ooni of Ife was just relegated to Ife.

But... Obafemi Awolowo had beef with the Alaafin of Oyo during his time. So, he deposed the Alaafin and elevated the Ooni of Ife to the preeminent position within Yorubaland.

That's the cause of all these wahala.

ericmor:
They are all same same. Na politics all the monarch self Dey play

Traditional politics

TempleHouse:
Alaafin may lose his Crown for disrespecting the Supreme Yoruba Ruler-Oonile of Oduduwa kingdom !
No wonder the Oyomesi rejected the ignorant Oba.

He will issue another one after 48 hours deadline !!

Imagine wetin omoeru sef dey talk...
Lose crown to who and by who
Some of una no just get sense I swear

otipoju:
Does the Alaafin have that political authority? His empire does not exist as he has no army to enforce any order and is a defeated Kingdom. Where is his army where is his police, what are the extent and boundaries of his kingdom.

Alaafin is a government employeee wey dey collect salary from government. Alaafin that can be sacked and replaced like the Emir Sanusi by the governor his boss.

Alaafin has no such authority...but Ooni as the spiritual head of the so called cradle of mankind is in a more elevated position.

He has a palace and is considered a priestly king

@Otipoju

Succinctly stated.

The Oyo Kingdom's role is largely ceremonial and of course the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Gani Adams from Ondo State was appointed to that prestigious aristocratic position by the penultimate Alaafin of Oyo. It's even a blessing in disguise that these things are cropping up now, so that in the event that a Yoruba country comes out of a former country called Nigeria like the DEFUNCT Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and USSR, the various Yoruba cousins (States and Kingdoms) from Lagos, Kwara, Kogi and other contiguous States would know how to behave and respect one another from here on out.

The embrace of disruptive technologies, continuous human capacity building, space age tech and a robust focus on the STEM fields from the elementary years to grad school are what the over 70 million strong Yoruba folks spread worldwide in multiple economic capitals require. Same applies to other people as well NOT this lame quarrels over who has powers to issue aristocratic titles.

TempleHouse:
Alaafin may lose his Crown for disrespecting the Supreme Yoruba Ruler-Oonile of Oduduwa kingdom !
No wonder the Oyomesi rejected the ignorant Oba.

He will issue another one after 48 hours deadline !!

Nayapapa set rules of how An Alaafin should be installed abi?
If dem dey talk, shey omoeru sef suppose dey talk?

Your Ọọni wey even still get papa, dem make am king, is this according to Ife tradition?

Shimbo96:
did you ever see ONI OF IFE reply him or antagonize ALAAFIN? That's how you will know that man is not fit for the throne of ALAAFIN.

Nayapapa set rules of how An Alaafin should be installed abi?
If dem dey talk, shey omoeru sef suppose dey talk?

Your Ọọni wey even still get papa, dem make am king, is this according to Ife tradition?

Tell Chief Dotun Sanusi to go and see Alaafin of Oyo too give him his right everything will go down money answer everything

geoworldedu:
Traditional politics

Na so

That's what happens if the rightful heir are not on the throne

foleskay:
Ooni is occupying the throne of Oduduwa while alafin is occupying the throne of Oduduwa 's son. So that makes Ooni superior to alaafin

Jester!
Was Oduduwa barren?
Didn't Oduduwa share his inheritance amongst his children where Oranmiyan inherited the Land?

Oduduwa was never an Ooni of Ife, the throne Ooni inherited is that of the chief priest as his fathers. The son of a slave is also a slave (omo eru, eru naa ni). That's why Ooni has never gotten respect in Modakeke, his border town.

Both Ooni and his fathers served Alaafin, paid taxes to Alaafin. Alaafin is the only Yoruba mortal yet to serve a man (oyo o seru baba enikan).

Everyone here know the role they played during Ohanaeze Igbo presidential general election vis-à-vis Ikwrerre Igbo slot involved.
My Yoruba friend keep urging me to ignore the online misguided touts claiming Yoruba but I have tried to let him understand the damage they are doing to the much respected omoluabis. They should sit up before this few miscreants spoil their name completely.

uchwar1:
This is called respect from other tribes as the matter no concern them. However, had it been these 2 gentlemen kings are from other region, we would have been seeing stewpid comments from them them. I hope such is maintained in this group. I'm surprised I have not heard from Omokirikirikri

That power in trust resides exclusively in the Alaafin stool.... Ooni should regard tradition and stop creating confusion

Konquest:
It's brilliant of you to emphasize these FACTS because I also did the same right above on this same thread page. Oyo Empire didn't cover the whole of the Eastern parts of Yorubaland. So, how can Oyo Kingdom be the one to choose universal titles for everyone? Aare Ona Kakanfo given to Gani Adams who is from Ondo State by the Oyo Kingdom is at their discretion. All the Yoruba kingdoms are directly, ancestrally related to one another but Oyo is just one out of all the Yoruba kingdoms that grew to become an economic and militarily powerful Empire in West Africa centuries ago.

The Ibadan folks too tried to create an Ibadan Empire after decisively defeating the invading foreign Fulani impostors (and sadly, their Yoruba Ilorin collaborators) at the famous battle of Osogbo in 1840, BUT the subsequent repression of the Ijesas, Ekiti, and Ife by the Ajeles of Ibadan led to a massive revolt and the 16-year long Civil War named Ekiti Parapo Wars otherwise known as the Kiriji War (named after the sound from the modern cannons used by the Ekitis and ijesha army which they purchased from Eko or Lagos Island).

Specific people from parts of Yorubaland must learn from the history of the 1700s and largely the 1800s and NOT seek to impose themselves on their fellow Yoruba cousins. Yorubas are known come from warriors backgrounds and so resist oppression and these two Obas (who are even a bit younger than me in age) MUST be wise. Those days of imperialism are over. Mutual respect, human capacity building and the deployment of disruptive technologies are what the Yoruba folks and other Africans require at this moment in human history not some lame controversies over aristocratic titles.

The last sentence is exactly what we need now and not this superiority complex.

Are they saying "if" Yoruba becomes an independent Nation, they will automatically become the paramount ruler. Kkkkkkk. I laugh.

That's delusion grandeur. They had better wake up to the reality of this modernization.

What we need as a people is to leave our differences and come together to chart a way forward for the betterment of our people. Enough said.

Aprocco:
Jester!
Was Oduduwa barren?
Didn't Oduduwa share his inheritance amongst his children where Oranmiyan inherited the Land?

Oduduwa was never an Ooni of Ife, the throne Ooni inherited is that of the chief priest as his fathers. The son of a slave is also a slave (omo eru, eru naa ni). That's why Ooni has never gotten respect in Modakeke, his border town.

Both Ooni and his fathers served Alaafin, paid taxes to Alaafin. Alaafin is the only Yoruba mortal yet to serve a man (oyo o seru baba enikan).

Has Awujale served a man? For your information, Alaafin was disgraced when he went to pay homage to Emir of Ilorin during the fall of Oyo Empire.

Before then, Oyo was sacked by Nupe but the royal house fled to Borgu where they stayed for 80 years. Read history man.

Alaafin actually went to court and won. The same way he won in 1988 in the case of Aare Ona Kakanfo when Ooni backed Ashipa to challenge Alaafin's authority to give a title covering Yorubaland. That epic case had Alaafin represented by Afe Babalola.
Also, there was the case of Alaba Lawson.

Ooni should simply downgrade the issue and change the title to cover Ife alone. If he proceeds then he would be staking it all at the court and he has the higher odds to lose out due to clear cut judicial precedence.

Ignore the drama, Alaafin can also easily descend low and have his aides mock Ooni. What the Alaafin's side did was a clear step prior to a litigation. They have clearly established a valid proof that Ooni is fully aware of the implication of his action.

yummy001:
I don't know how true this story is though.. But I am curious.. What would the Alaafin had done if the old Ooni had gone ahead to call the bluff of the Alaafin considering the fact that the defunct Oyo empire army which would have done the needful no longer exist?

It has gotten so bad that ordinary Ooni's aide is publicly making jest of the Alaafin and nothing will happen. Ooni is not even dignifying him with a response let alone even giving his threat a consideration. Please I am very much interested in what the Alaafin of your story would have done to the Ooni if he ignored the so-called cease and desist assuming the story even happened..

forgiveness:
Has Awujale served a man? For your information, Alaafin was disgraced when he went to pay homage to Emir of Ilorin during the fall of Oyo Empire.

Before then, Oyo was sacked by Nupe but the royal house fled to Borgu where they stayed for 80 years. Read history man.

Awujale served under the emperor of Oyo Empire and even paid taxes to him.

Not to lose focus, I'll quote Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi's letter in 1991 at the first attempt of this rascality.

"I think it will not be out of tune for the Ooni Oba Sijuade to be called upon by the Government to defend his imaginary title of Akinrogun of' Yorubaland by reference to such and similar titles his forebears awarded before, the past recipients and their places of origin. Unless, that is done, one will not be surprised if it becomes the vogue for any Oba to be conferring their town or villages titles and designate them as 'Yorubaland'. And that will be [lawlessness per se. I have said it earlier that Oba Okunade Sijuade is behaving as if there is no Authority to check and call him to order and because of that 'above the law' syndrome of his, he is in the habit of walking on everybody’s' back including Government."

How did Ooni in 2025 develop an authority non of his predecessors ever exercised.

Aprocco:
Awujale served under the emperor of Oyo Empire and even paid taxes to him.

Not to lose focus, I'll quote Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi's letter in 1991 at the first attempt of this rascality.

"I think it will not be out of tune for the Ooni Oba Sijuade to be called upon by the Government to defend his imaginary title of Akinrogun of' Yorubaland by reference to such and similar titles his forebears awarded before, the past recipients and their places of origin. Unless, that is done, one will not be surprised if it becomes the vogue for any Oba to be conferring their town or villages titles and designate them as 'Yorubaland'. And that will be [lawlessness per se. I have said it earlier that Oba Okunade Sijuade is behaving as if there is no Authority to check and call him to order and because of that 'above the law' syndrome of his, he is in the habit of walking on everybody’s' back including Government."

How did Ooni in 2025 develop an authority non of his predecessors ever exercised.

Oga! Stop changing history. Oyo never subjugated Ijebu Kingdom and some other Eastern Yorubas. Which kind lie bi dis?

They tried to with Benin Kingdom too but failed. Learn history and stop peddling lies here.

Hienna1:
Do you also read that the ife kingdom also pays tithe to the Alaafin... There are other kindgom too like the Awujale of Ijebu, alake of ake, soun of ogbomoso and others too..

Just saying you know.. the one we read in history.. the Oyo controls all activities including slave trade, military control, etc..

Your child getting richer and rising to prominence than you wouldn’t make you his subject and son.
Yes, Oyo became so successful, powerful and rich that it became one of the strongest and highly influential and spread empires in Africa but it wasn’t controlling places like Ekiti, Ondo, Ilaje and the rest because these regions were never under the empire but all of them trace their origin to Ile Ife (the foremost Yoruba kingdom). No yoruba man from Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Ijebu, Ibadan, Eko, Ghana, Benin, Cuba, Brazil or the rest would tell you his ancestors are from the Oyo kingdom just the same way no Nigerian Fulani man would claim that the sokoto caliphate is the Father of Futa Jalon and Usman Dan fodio since the later didn’t grow up to the prominence that the Sokoto caliphate had.
Every Yoruba person on earth comes from the ancestral homeland of Ile Ife. All Yoruba kings both home and abroad trace their origin to the Ife Kindgom and this makes the Ooni Orisa, the father of all Yorubas and their Obas.
The first Alaafia Oyo was the son of a prominent Ife King. Being more powerful and successful than your father wouldn’t make you his father.

Aprocco:
Awujale served under the emperor of Oyo Empire and even paid taxes to him.

Not to lose focus, I'll quote Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi's letter in 1991 at the first attempt of this rascality.

"I think it will not be out of tune for the Ooni Oba Sijuade to be called upon by the Government to defend his imaginary title of Akinrogun of' Yorubaland by reference to such and similar titles his forebears awarded before, the past recipients and their places of origin. Unless, that is done, one will not be surprised if it becomes the vogue for any Oba to be conferring their town or villages titles and designate them as 'Yorubaland'. And that will be [lawlessness per se. I have said it earlier that Oba Okunade Sijuade is behaving as if there is no Authority to check and call him to order and because of that 'above the law' syndrome of his, he is in the habit of walking on everybody’s' back including Government."

How did Ooni in 2025 develop an authority non of his predecessors ever exercised.

Succinctly put! This is simple as ABC.

Whoever is deceiving the current Ooni of Ife that he has such authority is clearly setting him up for huge ridicule.

If Ooni Ogunwusi is smart, he will back off immediately. The Alaafin is playing a game of chess here while Ooni is playing ludo with his inconsequential aides

The Alaafin of Oyo has no power over the Olubadan and Oba of Lagos as Ibadan was a rival state, and Eko is under the Oba of Benin.

Edit:

It turns out the issue may be the conferment of anything with the term "of Yorubaland." Only the Alaafin of Oya has the monopoly it seems to use the term.

forgiveness:
The last sentence is exactly what we need now and not this superiority complex.

Are they saying "if" Yorubas becomes an independent Nation, they will automatically become the paramount ruler. Kkkkkkk. I laugh.

That's delusion of grandeur. They are better wake up.to the reality of this modernization.

What we need as a people is to leave our differences and come together to chart a way forward for the betterment of our people. Enough said.

@forgiveness

Absolutely well said my brother.

Indeed, NEVER again must the nonsense strong-headedness and Yoruba Civil Wars that happened from the early 1800s due to lack of effective communication occur. As of today, with proper negotiation skills using video conferencing, WhatsApp video calls, the Internet and more, people can easily resolve their differences before things escalate to dangerous proportions and this is what these folks should be doing! All Yoruba Palaces and Obas from Nigeria to Benin and Togo should have in-house tech teams to oversee the installation of these tech devices for quicker conflict resolutions, security and for wrapping up economic partnerships with local and foreign investors.

There's a major role for Kingship and tradition in the modern world just like in the United Kingdom, Japan and other parts of Asia where monarchies and cultures are still held as representations of pride in past history, BUT Yorubas also operate a unique hybrid monarchy and republican system so everyone MUST respect their boundaries in a modern world where AI and disruptive technologies are now the driving forces for global advancements for any group of people.

I appreciate your insights here.

Cheers.

forgiveness:
Oga! Stop changing history. Oyo never subjugated Ijebu Kingdom and some other Eastern Yorubas. Which kind lie bi dis?

They tried to with Benin Kingdom too but failed. Learn history and stop peddling lies here.

Go and check the map of Oyo empire, it's well documented and in libraries around the world. Even by latitudes and longitudinal dimensions.

Back to Alaafin's question, "where did Ooni derive authority to confer titles in Yorubaland in 2025? Where was that authority before now? Which of his father's ever exercised same?"

These people are taking a cue on how the presidency react to issues. I mean an oita of decorum is expected from a revered institution. Not talking like a drunkard under the influence of alcohol.

Aprocco:
Go and check the map of Oyo empire, it's well documented and in libraries around the world. Even by latitudes and longitudinal dimensions.

Back to Alaafin's question, "where did Ooni derive authority to confer titles in Yorubaland in 2025? Where was that authority before now? Which of his father's ever exercised same?"

This is the issue. The rest is empty noise.

Wickedlywicked:
Your child getting richer and rising to prominence than you wouldn’t make you his subject and son.

Yes, Oyo became so successful, powerful and rich that it became one of the strongest and highly influential and spread empires in Africa but it wasn’t controlling places like Ekiti, Ondo, Ilaje and the rest because these regions were never under the empire but all of them trace their origin to Ile Ife (the foremost Yoruba kingdom). [i]No yoruba man from Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Ijebu, Ibadan, Eko, Ghana, Benin, Cuba, Brazil or the rest would tell you his ancestors are from the Oyo kingdom just the same way no Nigerian Fulani man would claim that the sokoto caliphate is the Father of Futa Jalon and Usman Dan fodio since the later didn’t grow up to the prominence that the Sokoto caliphate had.

Every Yoruba person on earth comes from the ancestral homeland of Ile Ife. All Yoruba kings both home and abroad trace their origin to the Ife Kingdom and this makes the Ooni Orisa, the father of all Yorubas and their Obas.

The first Alaafin Oyo was the son of a prominent Ife King. Being more powerful and successful than your father wouldn’t make you his father.

Brilliant takes.

But then again, other autochtonous communities of Yoruba ancestors existed in what is NOW Yorubaland today, so what is NOW Ile-Ife wasn't the only community in Yorubaland as of the time Oduduwa arrived Ife from his hilly Oke-Ora homeland just 8 miles away from modern Ile-Ife in the same Osun State to start the current 3rd dynasty. The ancestors of the current Olugbo of Ugboland (Oba Frederick Akinruntan, the oil and gas mogul and founder of OBAT) in the oil and gas-rich Ilaje area were the original rulers of Ife and this is an open secret even in Ife and Yoruba traditions.

The former Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Professor 'Jide Osuntokun and Professor Banji Akintoye who are coincidentally both from Ekiti State are some of the great historians whose advanced books on Yoruba history exist on this topic affirming that the start of a dynasty does NOT equate to the beginning of a people. The ancestors of modern Yorubas have lived for centuries long before Oduduwa was born or even arrived from his land of Oke-Ora to begin the 3rd dynasty which the current Ooni of ife confirmed in an interview I read 3 years ago affirming that other dynasties existed in Ife before Oduduwa dynasty. Hence we have over 200 deities in Ife traditions representing past rulers.

appleous:
This new Alaafin appears to be a cantankerous character.

As this is not the first time he is clashing with the Oni of Ife (not that the Oni is even a reasonable person), but I feel it's too early for him to be racking up enemies.

Unless they have prior scores to settle, which would make sense given their open animosity

The Alaafin is quite young. The Ooni might view him as a small boy.

I also sense money was involved in the conferment of the title, and might have made the Ooni act the way he did.

Konquest:
@forgiveness

Absolutely well said my brother.

Indeed, NEVER again must the nonsense strong-headedness and Yoruba Civil Wars that happened from the early 1800s due to lack of effective communication occur. As of today, with proper negotiation skills using video conferencing, WhatsApp video calls, the Internet and more, people can easily resolve their differences before things escalate to dangerous proportions and this is what these folks should be doing! All Yoruba Palaces and Obas from Nigeria to Benin and Togo should have in-house tech teams to oversee the installation of these tech devices for quicker conflict resolutions, security and for wrapping up economic partnerships with local and foreign investors.

There's a major role for Kingship and tradition in the modern world just like in the United Kingdom, Japan and other parts of Asia where monarchies and cultures are still held as representations of pride in past history, BUT Yorubas also operate a unique hybrid monarchy and republican system so everyone MUST respect their boundaries in a modern world where AI and disruptive technologies are now the driving forces for global advancements for any group of people.

I appreciate your insights here.

Cheers.

Thank you for this. Everyone must respect their boundaries. If there's any issue, they can call themselves on phone to express their thought.

I will suggest they have a forum where they can elect a leader among themselves via election. Anyone elected must get the consent of all the other traditional rulers before conferring a Yorubaland title on anybody.

Besides, to discuss pressing issues facing the race. There are many issues that needed urgent attention than this unnecessary ruckus.

Aprocco:
Go and check the map of Oyo empire, it's well documented and in libraries around the world. Even by latitudes and longitudinal dimensions.

Back to Alaafin's question, "where did Ooni derive authority to confer titles in Yorubaland in 2025? Where was that authority before now? Which of his father's ever exercised same?"

Which map? There was never a map of Oyo that included Ijebus and some few kingdoms.

Wake up from delusion.