The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has asserted that the power to bestow chieftaincy titles bearing the name “Yorubaland” rests solely with the Oyo throne.
The monarch made the assertion on Sunday at the Aganju Forecourt in Aafin Oyo during the installation of Senator Abdul-Aziz Yari as Obaloyin of Yorubaland and Barrister Seyi Tinubu as Okanlomo of Yorubaland.
Speaking at the ceremony, Oba Owoade said chieftaincy titles in Yoruba tradition are not honorary decorations but sacred offices that demand commitment, service, and accountability to the people.
He explained that historically, the Oyo throne has functioned as a unifying authority for the Yoruba, a status acknowledged during the colonial era and sustained in post-independence administration.
According to the Alaafin, titles that carry the name “Yorubaland” are not tied to any single town or kingdom but symbolise collective representation of the entire Yoruba nation, making it necessary for such honours to be conferred by an institution with overarching authority across the region.
He added that this position is backed by colonial documentation, post-independence traditional councils, academic writings, and rulings of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, all of which recognise the historic role of the Oyo monarchy.
Oba Owoade described the newly conferred titles as offices of trust, calling on the recipients to demonstrate bravery, loyalty, and dedication in the service of the Yoruba people.
He noted that the essence of such titles is to deepen the bond between the holders and Yorubaland, while upholding respect for tradition, authority, and defined cultural boundaries.
The monarch urged Senator Yari and Barrister Tinubu to carry their new responsibilities with humility, ensuring that their conduct promotes unity, preserves dignity, and advances the collective interest of the Yoruba people.
He said partly, “We are gathered here today for a purpose that goes beyond celebration. We are here to witness history and to place responsibility where tradition has long placed it. Chieftaincy, in our culture, is not an act of favour. It is not decoration. It is duty, conferred only when history, authority, and responsibility align.
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“From the earliest organisation of the Yoruba people, authority was never vague. Our forebears understood structure. This understanding gave Yorubaland stability long before modern governance arrived.
“The throne of Oyo emerged in that history as a coordinating authority, by responsibility. When colonial administration came, it did not invent this reality; it encountered it and recorded it. By 1914, Oyo Province had become the largest province in Southern Nigeria, covering 14,381 square miles. It was bounded in the north by Ilorin and Kontagora, in the east by Ondo and Ijebu, in the south by Ijebu and Abeokuta, and in the west by French Dahomey. This reflected recognised leadership over a wide and diverse space.
“This history explains why certain chieftaincy titles are different in nature. Titles that bear the name “Yorubaland” are not local titles. They are collective titles. They speak not for one town or one kingdom, but for the Yoruba people as a whole. Such titles must therefore proceed from an authority whose reach, by history and by law, extends across Yorubaland.
“Today, I do not speak to provoke debate. I speak to state order. Among the Yoruba, authority has never been a matter of assumption or convenience. It has always been a matter of history, structure, and law. Thrones were not created equal in function, even though all are sacred in dignity. From the earliest organization of Yorubaland, the Alaafin of Oyo occupied a central and coordinating authority—an authority that extended beyond the walls of Oyo and into the collective political life of the Yoruba people. This was not self-declared. It was recognised, enforced, and sustained across generations.
“Colonial records acknowledged it. Post-independence councils preserved it. Scholars documented it.
“And finally, the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed it. The law is clear. History is settled. Chieftaincy titles that bear the name Yorubaland—titles whose meaning, influence, and obligation are not confined to a single town or kingdom—fall under a singular, established authority. That authority is the throne of Oyo.”
