OGBOMOSO RULING HOUSES REJECT MOVE TO MAKE ALAAFIN PERMANENT CHAIR OF OYO OBAS COUNCIL
A major traditional leadership crisis is brewing in Oyo State as the Mogajis (family heads) of the Soun Ruling Houses in Ogbomoso have condemned a proposed amendment to the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs Law, which seeks to make the Alaafin of Oyo the permanent chairman of the state’s traditional rulers’ council. The amendment bill, now before the state House of Assembly, has sparked tensions across Yoruba towns, especially Ibadan and Ogbomoso, whose monarchs—Olubadan and Soun, respectively—would lose their right to rotational leadership under the new law.
In a powerful joint statement, five Mogajis—Prince Olawuyi Itabiyi (Aburumaku), Prince Sikiru Oyeyiola (Gbagun), Prince Amos Olawole Olaoye (Laoye), Prince Samuel Oyebamiji Oyedeji (Bolanta), and Prince Stephen Ilufoye Layode (Odunaro)—called the amendment “an affront to history and tradition.” They argued that assigning permanent leadership to the Alaafin disregards the historical decline of Oyo supremacy following the fall of the old Oyo Empire in 1837. According to them, towns like Ogbomoso and Ibadan rose to fill the political and military vacuum left by the disintegration of the empire.
The Mogajis also claimed that the current Oyo Kingdom, established in 1875 by Prince Atiba, is not a continuation of the original empire, and that Oyo town itself sits on land historically linked to Ogbomoso’s Oja lineage. They recalled how Ogbomoso played a pivotal role in stopping the Fulani advance during the 19th century, preserving Oyo and Yoruba territory.
Referring to past legal victories, including a 1984 Supreme Court ruling that awarded disputed land to Ogbomoso over Oyo, the Mogajis insisted the Soun had previously chaired the council—during the reign of Oba Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III—and that the rotational arrangement must be preserved to ensure fairness and unity. They warned that history must not be distorted for sentimental or political gain, urging the state legislature to maintain the current structure to avoid sowing division among Yoruba monarchs.
