Oluwo of Iwo’s seniority claim deemed false by Osogbo royal families

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The royal families of Osogbo have dismissed as false the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi’s claim of seniority over the Ataoja of Osogbo and his alleged direct paternal descent from Oduduwa. They emphasized that only the Ataoja has a legitimate ancestral link through the male line of the Yoruba progenitor.

At a joint press conference at Aruru Gbaemu Compound, Osogbo, the Sogbo, Lahanmi, and Matanmi royal families said archival and colonial records confirm that the Ataoja is a fifth-generation descendant of Oduduwa through Owa Ajibogun, one of Okanbi’s seven sons.

Speaking on behalf of the families, Prince Lekan Salami described Oluwo’s claim as “a distortion of history,” noting that the first Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Adekola Telu, was the son of the first and only female Ooni of Ife, Oba Luwo Gbagida, who succeeded Ooni Giesi and hailed from the Otaata family, Owode Compound, Ile-Ife.

Salami added that Ooni Luwo Gbagida married High Chief Obaloran of Ilode Compound in Ife, and the union produced Oba Adekola Telu, the founder and first Oluwo of Iwo. “Thus, Oluwo of Iwo’s claim of seniority over the Ataoja in Osun State is a farce and cannot be substantiated. His only link to Oduduwa is through his mother,” he said.

He cited official documents and letters from the 1940s validating Ataoja Samuel Adenle’s hereditary right to wear the beaded crown as a descendant of Owa Ajibogun.

According to the families, historical records rank the Ataoja fourth among Osun traditional rulers and the Oluwo seventh—a hierarchy allegedly altered during the administration of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

The royal families called on Governor Ademola Adeleke to restore the original seniority order, stressing that “the fourth position of the Ataoja in the roll call of Obas in Osun State dates back to the colonial administration period. We urge the state government to ensure this is respected.”