A fresh wave of traditional leadership crisis has erupted in Oyo State as the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Olaoye, declared the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, Oba Francis Olusola Alao, and the Onpetu of Ijeru as “strangers” in Ogbomoso land, ordering them to vacate territories he claimed were historically granted by past Souns.
The monarch, in a strongly worded video address circulated online and monitored by PLATFORM TIMES, accused the two prominent Obas of historical revisionism, insubordination, and sowing disunity within the traditional institution of Ogbomoso.
“Some of those whom past Souns accommodated during the inter-tribal wars, who were given land for refuge, have now grown wings and are claiming to be independent monarchs. They are strangers,” Oba Olaoye declared.
The Soun stated that a recent meeting of 24 traditional rulers from Ogbomoso was convened, with 21 in attendance. He noted that both Olugbon and Onpetu declined to honour the invitation, instead sending a letter to the council secretariat questioning the legitimacy of the gathering.
“They said the meeting I organised was illegal. I responded to them—Soun is the head of all traditional rulers in Ogbomoso. That is not up for debate,” he said.
The monarch further accused the duo of peddling false historical narratives, alleging that they claimed seniority over the Soun and were spreading misinformation about the origin of their crowns.
“If you came with a crown from wherever you migrated from, you came to Soun to bow. He gave you the land. The present territories they claim were not theirs originally,” Oba Olaoye insisted.
The crisis deepened following public opposition by the Olugbon to the recent Council of Obas and Chiefs (Further Amendment) Bill 2025, passed by the Oyo State House of Assembly. Olugbon had described the bill as a flawed political manoeuvre and called for wider consultation before its implementation.
Reacting to the ongoing tussle, the Mogajis (family heads) of the five Soun Ruling Houses—Aburumaku, Gbagun, Laoye, Bolanta, and Odunaro—issued a joint statement condemning Olugbon’s comments and reasserting the historical supremacy of the Soun stool.
“We were again treated to a circus show by the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon,” the statement read. “His remarks are not only ignorant but an affront to the historical records and traditional hierarchy in Ogbomoso.”
Quoting The History of the Yorubas by Samuel Johnson, the Mogajis argued that the Olugbon of Ogbomoso was historically subordinate to the Baale (later Soun) of Ogbomoso.
They claimed that during the 19th-century tribal wars, many displaced groups, including Igbon settlers, were resettled in Ogbomoso through the benevolence of past Souns.
“The so-called Igbon Kingdom he refers to fell under Ogbomoso’s authority after the decline of the old Oyo Empire,” the Mogajis asserted.
They further alleged that the present Orile-Igbon being ruled by Oba Alao historically belonged to a different lineage and not his ancestral line.
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