…call for restoration of the Alaafin’s historical authority
The Oyo Scholars Congress (OSC) and the Oyo Global Forum (OGF), as civil society groups representing scholars, professionals, and community leaders of Oyo extraction across the world, have expressed grave concern over the recent inauguration of the Oyo State Council of Obas by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.
In a joint statement signed by Professor Seun Kolade, Convenor, Oyo Scholars Congress, and Mr. Taiwo Hassan Adebayo, Chairman, Oyo Global Forum, made available to Saturday Telegraph, the duo in a shared sense of civic duty and cultural responsibility, said that “The substance and symbolism of the government’s action, particularly the institutionalisation of a rotational chairmanship that places the throne of the Alaafin on the same plane as other traditional thrones, constitute a regrettable act of historical vandalism and cultural philistinism.
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”.
The groups said, “Oyo is not merely a contemporary administrative space. It is a civilisation with deep roots. Long after the political eclipse of the historic empire, the civilisational currency of Oyo has not waned. On the contrary, it has accumulated new layers of meaning and value, becoming an enduring adhesive that binds memory, ritual, language, and identity across continents.
From Cotonou to Cuba, from the Bahamas to Brazil, the sons and daughters 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. It is a trust to be stewarded with care.
“Against this backdrop, the inauguration of the Oyo State Council of Obas, with a rotational chairmanship commencing with Oba Rashidi Ladoja, without an explicit and principled affirmation of the Alaafin’s historically settled preeminence, represents a serious misreading of Yoruba political tradition.
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. Any arrangement that relativises this long-established reality risks reframing history through the narrow lens of procedural symmetry.
“More troubling still is the resulting absence of the Alaafin of Oyo, Kabiyesi Oba Akeem Owoade, from the inauguration. This absence is not a procedural footnote, nor can it be dismissed as incidental. I
“t 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. In cultures sustained by historical consciousness, symbols are not decorative flourishes.
“They are load-bearing pillars upon which identity, legitimacy, and collective meaning rest. When such symbols are unsettled, the consequences reverberate far beyond the immediate moment.
“The throne of the Alaafin does not lend itself to parity arrangements that flatten history or blur civilisational order. It is not one throne among many to be rotated at will, but a sacred institution that embodies the historical unity of Oyo and the wider Yoruba polity.
“Its significance belongs equally to Ibadans, Ogbomoshos, Oyos, the peoples of Oke Ogun and Ibarapa, and indeed to every part of Oyo State, just as it belongs to Yorubas at home and those in the diaspora.
“Every subregion of Oyo bears historical, political, and cultural ties to the Alaafin and to Old Oyo as the civilisational centre from which authority, identity, and order once radiated. To diminish that status, whether by omission, procedural redesign, or symbolic displacement, is to draw a dagger at the heart of a shared inheritance”.
OSC and OGF also commend Kabiyesi, the Alaafin of Oyo, for the clarity, restraint, and dignity with which he has addressed public claims suggesting that he endorsed the present arrangement. “By firmly and calmly dispelling that impression, Oba Akeem Owoade has upheld the honour of the throne and reaffirmed its moral authority.
Both organisations stand in full solidarity with Kabiyesi in his principled defence of Oyo’s historical and cultural inheritance, and recognise his conduct as exemplary of the wisdom, patience, and custodianship that have long defined the Alaafin institution.
“For the avoidance of doubt, OSC and OGF state their position clearly and unequivocally. We affirm the continued recognition of the Alaafin of Oyo as the historically settled, pre-eminent traditional authority in Oyo State, by virtue of culture, history, and civilisational continuity.
“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 within the state.
“Recognition of other crowns must proceed in a manner that preserves dignity and mutual respect, without erasing historically grounded order.
“Accordingly, OSC and OGF call for the immediate correction of this historical anomaly and cultural aberration. We call on Gov Seyi Makinde and the Oyo State Government to reverse, without delay, any arrangement that places the Alaafin’s throne on the same footing as other traditional thrones, and to explicitly reaffirm the Alaafin of Oyo as the apex historical and cultural authority within the traditional order of Oyo State.
“This corrective action is necessary to restore balance, uphold historical truth, and safeguard the integrity of Yoruba political culture, while fully respecting the dignity of all other traditional rulers.
“OSC and OGF recognise the constitutional authority of government to pursue reforms and the legislative role of the Oyo State House of Assembly in amending laws to improve governance.
“Yet 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. Where reforms fail to respect this truth, they risk producing administrative order at the cost of cultural dislocation and historical disfigurement.
“A people without history risk losing their identity. And when identity is weakened, the moral bonds that sustain community begin to fray. This is the central question that must now engage all conscious Yorubas everywhere. What becomes of a people when their history is treated as negotiable?
“The civilisational legacy of Oyo is a collective treasure, not solely of Oyo State, not even solely of Nigeria, but of the Yoruba world in its entirety. It cannot be recalibrated by decree without grave consequences.
“This is not a plea for privilege, nor a call to diminish any throne. It is a defence of patrimony. Correcting this course is essential for the integrity of Yoruba history, the coherence of our cultural institutions, and the moral education of future generations.
“Oyo’s legacy has endured conquest, colonisation, and the passage of centuries because it has been guarded with reverence and restraint. It deserves no less today”, the release stated.
