A historical re-examination of the Alaafin’s imperial claims, the Ibadan republican revolution, and what they mean for leadership and chairmanship in modern Yorubaland
The debate over the exclusive chairmanship of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, often rooted in the Alaafin’s claim to the imperial mantle of Old Oyo, requires a clear-eyed examination of two transformative nineteenth-century revolutions.
These events collectively dismantle the notion of an unbroken, divinely ordained supremacy. The reality is that the old imperial order was not merely weakened; it was consciously dismantled from within and forcefully challenged from without.
The Atiba Compromise: A Voluntary Dismantling of Empire
The Alaafinate that exists today is not a direct continuation of the Old Oyo Empire’s political sovereignty. Following the empire’s collapse in the 1830s, Alaafin Atiba, with Ibadan’s military backing, established a new Oyo.
This was a strategic retreat and a radical renegotiation of power, involving the deliberate abrogation of the empire’s core institutions.
1. The abolition of the standing army
The imperial might of Old Oyo was anchored in its professional military, notably the Eso and the Aare Ona Kakanfo. Atiba, reliant on Ibadan’s forces, did not reconstitute this system. The new Alaafin became a spiritual and ceremonial sovereign, stripped of the independent coercive power that defines an empire.
2. The nullification of sacred traditions
Atiba systematically dismantled key traditions that underpinned the Alaafin’s transcendent authority. Most tellingly, he negotiated with Ibadan to end the practice of the Aremo, the crown prince, dying upon the Alaafin’s death. This was not a minor reform but the surrender of a profound sacral principle for political survival.
3. The contraction of succession
Atiba made the throne the exclusive preserve of his direct nuclear family, a departure from the broader dynastic pool of the old empire. The stool became less a symbol of a vast empire and more a heritable title within a single lineage.
In essence, Alaafin Atiba secured the throne’s survival by relinquishing the very pillars of its imperial power. To now claim the privileges of that extinct imperial system, a system founded on a military and bureaucratic machinery that was voluntarily discarded, is a historical contradiction.
The Ibadan Revolution: A Republican Challenge to Kingship Itself
Concurrently, Ibadan emerged not merely as a military power but as the engine of a socio-political revolution, a system of military republicanism.
Its founders, fugitives and warriors such as Labosinde and Oluyole, reasoned that the old monarchies were anachronistic, too slow, too rigid, and too restrictive of personal initiative, valour, and meritorious leadership. In an age of total war, they built a meritocratic alternative.
1. Abolition of sacred kingship
The Baale of Ibadan was a military-administrative chief rather than a divine king. He could be, and often was, challenged and removed by his fellow war chiefs.
2. The meritocratic hierarchy
Power flowed from military success. The Mogaji, the compound head, was the strongest leader rather than the eldest son. The city’s high chiefs, including the Balogun and the Otun Baale, were selected based on achievement and influence. The supreme commander, the Balogun, often wielded more power than the civil Baale.
3. Open-door talent recruitment
Ibadan absorbed talented warriors regardless of origin, including captives, migrants, and disaffected princes. Leaders such as Aare Latosa rose purely through martial genius rather than pedigree.
This Ibadan model was a stark and pragmatic repudiation of the hereditary principle. It proved that a major Yoruba state could be organised, expansive, and powerful without sacred kingship at its core.
For nearly a century, the most potent political force in the region was this republican experiment, imposing its will through a network of military administrators known as ajele.
Conclusion: A Collective Legacy for a Modern Council
These twin histories, the Alaafinate’s strategic downsizing and Ibadan’s republican experiment, demonstrate that the nineteenth century was a period of radical political reinvention in Yorubaland.
No single throne emerged with an unassailable claim to overarching political supremacy derived from the old order. The old empire’s mechanisms were dissolved by its own heir, while its ideological foundation was vigorously challenged by a potent meritocratic system.
Therefore, the claim to exclusive chairmanship based on a diluted imperial legacy ignores this complex historical tapestry.
Oyo State is a modern political entity comprising heirs to diverse traditions, including the symbolic spirituality of a reconstituted Alaafinate, the republican vigour of Ibadan, and the resilient kingdoms of Ogbomoso, Iseyin, and others.
A fair and forward-looking solution must reflect this collective heritage.
A rotational chairmanship or a model based on senatorial district representation would honour the unique contributions of each major tradition without enshrining a historical supremacy that was fundamentally transformed and contested.
True respect for history lies in acknowledging its full and nuanced narrative, not merely the fragments that serve a present claim. Let the council’s leadership stand as a testament to the rich and plural political legacy of all Yoruba people.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
