The Royal Families in Osogbo have refuted claims suggesting that the Oluwo of Iwo holds seniority over the Ataoja of Osogbo in the hierarchy of traditional rulers in Osun State, revealing that Oluwo has no paternal relationship with Oduduwa.
The seniority crisis in the traditional council of Osun state, most especially, between Oluwo and Ataoja has continued to generate issues between the two current occupants, Oba Adewale Akanbi and Oba Jimoh Olanipekun.
Speaking on behalf of the royal houses at a press conference held at Gbaemu Compound in Osogbo on Wednesday, Prince Lekan Salami provided detailed historical records to establish that the Ataoja of Osogbo shares a direct paternal lineage with Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race.
According to Salami, historical documents and colonial correspondences confirm that Ataoja Samuel Adenle, one of the forebears of the Osogbo throne, was officially recognized by the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, as a direct descendant of Oduduwa through Okanbi and his son, Owa Ajibogun, the founder of Ibokun.
Prince Salami stated that archival letters dated between 1947 and 1948 from the Oyo Province Administration and the District Office in Ibadan explicitly placed the Ataoja of Osogbo above the Oluwo of Iwo in the official roll of beaded crown Obas in the old western region.
He explained that the Ataoja’s beaded crown was inherited through Owa Ajibogun, “a direct son of Okanbi, the only son of Oduduwa,” while the Oluwo of Iwo traces his lineage maternally through Queen Luwo Gbagida, the only female Ooni of Ife.
“The Oluwo of Iwo, without mincing words, is only maternally related to Oduduwa through her mother, Queen Luwo Gbagida, the daughter of Ooni Otaata, while the Ataoja of Osogbo is a son of Ajibogun, the first Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland and a direct son of Okanbi, the only son of Oduduwa,” he noted.
The royal families maintained that historically, the Ataoja of Osogbo occupied the fourth position in the ranking of traditional rulers in Osun State, following the Ooni of Ife, the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, and the Orangun of Ila.
Prince Salami alleged that this established order was “unjustifiably altered” during the administration of former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, when the Oluwo of Iwo was elevated above the Ataoja. He emphasized that Osogbo’s royal houses had previously written to the state government in protest, requesting the restoration of the original hierarchy.
In his remarks, Prince Abdulhameed Adejumobi said the essence of the press conference, stressing that the gathering aimed to correct “prevailing impressions and narratives concerning traditional crowns and lineage.”
He explained that the Ataoja’s crown is inherited from “his forefather, Oba Ajibogun, the first Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland,” while the Oluwo’s crown comes through maternal descent from the first female Ooni of Ife.
Adejumobi added that historical and colonial records consistently placed the Ataoja in the fourth position among traditional rulers in Osun State a recognition the families urged Governor Ademola Adeleke to restore.
In an interview, Alhaji Kamarudeen Ayodele Makinde, the National President of the Osogbo Progressive Union (OPU), commended the royal families for presenting verifiable historical facts before the public.
“First and foremost, special thanks to the royal families for organizing this type of special conference to let people throughout the world know the fact about what is happening between Osogbo and Iwo,” Adejumobi said.
Makinde emphasized Osogbo’s long-standing peaceful reputation and appealed to the state government to act swiftly.
“So I’m just appealing to the government to do something urgently about it. They should put Osogbo to where Osogbo belong, that’s what we want. We are already there, so there is no argument about that. You must not come now and say a senior Osogbo in any way and by any means, so let it just be as it is, so that we will continue to be together and live in peace and harmony,” he stated.
The press conference concluded with a renewed call for respect of historical order and recognition of Osogbo’s rightful place in the traditional hierarchy of Osun State.
Advertisement
