…as CSOs back Alaafin
By Adeola Badru
Two Oyo-based civil society organisations, the Oyo Scholars Congress (OSC) and the Oyo Global Forum (OGF), have rejected the newly inaugurated Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, warning that its rotational chairmanship undermines the historical authority of the Alaafin of Oyo.
The controversy followed the recent inauguration of the council by Governor Seyi Makinde after about 15 years of inactivity, during which the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, emerged as chairman.
At the event, Makinde announced that the chairmanship would be rotational among the Olubadan of Ibadanland, the Alaafin of Oyo and the Soun of Ogbomosoland, with each serving a two-year term.
The governor said the decision was aimed at promoting unity and cooperation among the traditional institutions, insisting that consultations had been held with the three monarchs.
“No matter how hard an issue is, we will definitely resolve it, my three fathers, the Alaafin of Oyo, the Kabiyesi Olubadan and the Kabiyesi Soun, and the agreement is that they will start the rotation with the Olubadan of Ibadanland,” Makinde said.
However, the Alaafin’s Palace later faulted that claim, denying that Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade ever met with the governor or endorsed a rotational arrangement.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Bode Durojaiye, the Palace said: “There was no time that His Imperial Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba (Engr.) Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, held any meeting with either the State Governor or any of the two traditional rulers mentioned on this issue.”
It added that “the Alaafin did not tell the Governor nor make any categorical statement endorsing rotational chairmanship among the three traditional rulers in the state,” stressing that the position of the Alaafin and the Oyo community had already been formally conveyed to the governor through a memorandum by the Oyo Council of Elders.
Against this backdrop, OSC and OGF, in a joint press statement issued yesterday by Professor Seun Kolade, Convenor of Oyo Scholars Congress, and Mr. Taiwo Hassan Adebayo, Chairman of Oyo Global Forum, expressed “grave concern” over the council’s inauguration, particularly the adoption of a rotational leadership structure that places the Alaafin’s throne on the same level as other traditional rulers.
The groups described the arrangement as “a regrettable act of historical vandalism and cultural philistinism,” adding: “This is not a neutral administrative adjustment. It unsettles a deeply rooted civilisational order and demands immediate correction in the interest of historical truth, cultural continuity and collective dignity.”
They stressed that Oyo should not be seen merely as a modern administrative unit but as a civilisation with enduring global influence.
“Oyo is a civilisation with deep roots. From Cotonou to Cuba, and from the Bahamas to Brazil, the descendants of Oranmiyan continue to sustain a living archive of cultural consciousness and historical innovation. This inheritance is not a relic to be rearranged for convenience,” the statement said.
The organisations argued that Yoruba political tradition recognises the Alaafin as the apex institution of kingship, not merely first among equals.
“The Alaafin of Oyo is not first among equals by administrative convenience. The throne occupies a singular place as the apex historical institution of Yoruba kingship,” they stated, adding that the absence of the Alaafin from the inauguration was symbolic.
“The absence of the Alaafin from the inauguration is not incidental. It reflects a deeper rupture in the moral grammar of Yoruba kingship, where authority is grounded not in rotation or regulation, but in lineage, memory and sacred continuity.”
OSC and OGF warned that any arrangement that diminishes the Alaafin’s status risks eroding a shared inheritance that binds Ibadan, Ogbomosho, Oke Ogun and Ibarapa.
“To diminish that status, whether by omission, procedural redesign or symbolic displacement, is to strike at the heart of a shared inheritance,” they said.
They commended Oba Akeem Owoade for distancing himself from claims that he endorsed the rotational arrangement.
“By firmly and calmly dispelling that impression, Oba Akeem Owoade has upheld the honour of the throne and reaffirmed its moral authority,” the groups said, declaring solidarity with the Alaafin.
The groups called on Governor Makinde and the Oyo State Government to reverse the rotational arrangement and explicitly reaffirm the Alaafin of Oyo as the apex historical and cultural authority.
“We affirm the continued recognition of the Alaafin of Oyo as the historically settled, pre-eminent traditional authority in Oyo State,” they said, adding: “We therefore call for the reversal of any policy, legislative amendment or administrative practice that presents the Alaafin’s throne as equivalent to that of any other traditional ruler.”
While acknowledging the constitutional powers of government, the organisations cautioned against reforms that disregard history.
“Reform divorced from history is not progress; it is erasure.
Tradition is not an obstacle to effective administration. It is one of its deepest sources of legitimacy,” they warned, stressing that their position was “not a plea for privilege, nor a call to diminish any throne,” but “a defence of patrimony.”
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