Only Oyo Throne Can Confer Chieftaincy Titles With ‘Yorubaland’, Alaafin Insists

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has declared that only the Oyo throne has the authority to confer chieftaincy titles that carry the name “Yorubaland.”

The monarch made the declaration during the installation of Senator Abdul-Aziz Yari as Obaloyin of Yorubaland and Barrister Seyi Tinubu as Okanlomo of Yorubaland at the Aganju Forecourt, Alafin Oyo.

Oba Owoade said chieftaincy in Yoruba culture, “is not an act of favour or decoration, but a duty that comes with responsibility,” stressing that the throne of Oyo has historically served as a central coordinating authority for the Yoruba people.

According to him, titles bearing the name “Yorubaland” are collective in nature, representing the entire Yoruba people rather than any single town or kingdom, and must therefore be conferred by an authority whose influence spans the whole region.

Alaafin added that colonial records, post-independence councils, scholarly works and the Supreme Court of Nigeria have all affirmed this historical authority.

He described the newly installed titles as positions of trust that demand courage, loyalty and service to the Yoruba people, urging the recipients to serve with humility and promote unity and dignity across Yorubaland.

“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 put it. Chieftaincy, in our culture, is not an act of favour. It is not decoration.

It is a duty, conferred only when history, authority, and responsibility align.

“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 broad and diverse space.

“This history explains why certain chieftaincy titles are different in nature. Titles that bear the name ‘Yorubaland’ are not local. They are collective titles.’’