There seems to be brewing tension in Osun State between the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Oyetunji and Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, over the ranking of monarchs.
Oba Oyetunji has vowed to reclaim what he described as the rightful fourth-ranking position of his throne in Osun State’s traditional council.
Speaking during a lecture held to commemorate his 15th coronation anniversary at Osun State University, Osogbo, on Monday, the monarch had maintained that the Ataoja stool had historically occupied the position before it was displaced.
He recounted the loss of the seat occurred during the reign of his predecessor, Oba Iyiola Oyewale Matanmi III, who travelled abroad at a crucial time.
According to him, the Oluwo of Iwo assumed the fourth position while his predecessor was absent, a shift that altered the historical ranking of the Ataoja stool.
He stressed that his demand was not a personal attack on any monarch but a call for the restoration of tradition.
He said: “My father, King Iyiola Oyewale Matanmi III, travelled abroad, and before he returned, they moved his seat aside and placed the Oluwo there.
“That was how the Oluwo got to the fourth position. The fourth position belongs to Ataoja. That was what I met. I am not fighting any king, but the seat of the Ataoja is fourth in Osun.”
The monarch explained that he had been silent on the matter for years but now intended to pursue restoration, stating: “Since then, I have been silent on the matter, not knowing the way forward. I am taking steps underground, but there is no way we will cook inside, and the flame will not show outside.”
However, in a swift response, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, rejected the Ataoja’s claims, describing his argument as historically inaccurate.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Alli Ibraheem, on Wednesday Oba Akanbi stated: “Ataoja should note that the claim to seniority is not by chair. Oluwo is a Natural Paramount Ruler with no history of Coronet.
“Ataoja is strongly advised to seek extension unadulterated history from great men and women of Osogbo well versed in the history of Osogbo and Yoruba by extension.”
The statement emphasised that the Oluwo’s crown derived directly from Oduduwa, adding: “As far as we know, Ataoja was a Baale until 1948.”
The palace insisted that the Oluwo remained a paramount ruler recognised historically and culturally, with authority over more than 35 installed kings, stressing that the throne’s status was not open to contention.
“While I agree we are in era where even thew newest Baale can challenge the oldest crowns with little consequences, yet I still feel hurt by what we deliberately surrendered in the last generation (25 years).
“The conquest of Yorubaland from the invasion of the Fulanis in Osogbo was not without the front war leadership of Iwo warriors such as Balogun Ali-Iwo, Basorun Ogunmola, Balogun Oderinlo, Orowusi, who are Iwo indigenes (Omo Bibi Ilu Iwo) before they left for Ibadan.
“The statement made by Ataoja was an overreach and cannot cause friction between the good people of Iwoland and Osogbo. The inference is like the Olu of Ikeja to Akiolu of Lagos,” he concluded.
