Nigeria: Dust over conferment of Yorubaland chieftaincy titles

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade I, has stirred controversy by insisting that chieftaincy titles bearing the name “Yorubaland” can only be conferred by the throne of Oyo. Speaking on Sunday at the Aganju Forecourt of Aafin Oyo during the installation of Senator Abdul‑Aziz Yari as Obaloyin of Yorubaland and Mr Seyi Tinubu as Okanlomo of Yorubaland, he stressed that such honours are not decorative favours but lifelong duties rooted in history, law and collective responsibility.

Tracing the claim, Oba Owoade said the Oyo throne historically occupied a central coordinating position that extended beyond Oyo town to the wider Yoruba nation, a role he said was recognised across generations, preserved through colonial records, post‑independence councils and even affirmed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He asserted that “titles that bear the name ‘Yorubaland’ are collective titles… They must therefore proceed from an authority whose reach, by history and by law, extends across Yorubaland.”

Afenifere, the pan‑Yoruba socio‑political organisation, swiftly rejected the Alaafin’s claim, calling it “legally untenable, historically deceptive and royally imprudent.” Organising Secretary Kole Omololu told Vanguard that under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), traditional institutions have no supra‑regional authority; chieftaincy matters fall within the competence of individual states, and the Alaafin’s certificate of recognition is limited to Oyo State. He added that imperial history does not translate into modern legal jurisdiction, and no Supreme Court decision vests exclusive “Yorubaland” authority in the Alaafin.

Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, a high Ifá priest, offered a different perspective, insisting that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, remains the supreme authority over Yorubaland. He explained that while the Ooni is traditionally the spiritual head of the Yoruba, the Alaafin historically wielded political power, and the two roles co‑existed without supremacy until colonial intervention created rivalry. “Ile‑Ife is the source from where every other throne derived authority,” Elebuibon said, adding that Yorubaland still derives its supreme authority from Ile‑Ife.