A major traditional tussle unfolded in Yorubaland in March 1991 when the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, petitioned the then Military Governor of Oyo State, Colonel Abdul-Kareem Adisa, over plans by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse II, to confer the title of “Akinrogun of Yorubaland” on Chief Tom Ikimi, National Chairman of the National Republican Convention (NRC).
In a strongly worded letter dated 4th March 1991, Alaafin Adeyemi described the Ooni’s proposed title as “imaginary,” stressing that the Ooni had no authority in history or tradition to bestow a military-style title meant to represent all of Yorubaland.
According to the Alaafin, the title *Akinrogun* was of Egba military origin in pre-colonial times, and all Yoruba military titles were historically tied to the Aare-Onakakanfo, who served as the Yoruba generalissimo under the Alaafin as Commander-in-Chief. He argued that the Ooni, as chief priest and custodian of shrines, had no military heritage to justify such a conferment.
Quoting colonial records, Alaafin Adeyemi also reminded the government that during conflicts such as the 1903 Ife-Modakeke crisis, the Ooni of Ife had to seek help from both the Alaafin and colonial administrators, underscoring Ife’s lack of independent military power in Yoruba history.
The monarch further accused Oba Sijuade of overstepping his authority by frequently interfering in partisan politics and warned that creating pan-Yoruba titles outside recognized procedures could distort history and breed “lawlessness.”
He urged the state government to call the Ooni to order, noting that under the Instrument of Office of 1980, the Ooni’s traditional authority was confined to Ife land (then Oranmiyan Local Government, later split into Ife Central, Ife North, and Ife South).
Three days later, on Thursday, 7th March 1991, Governor Adisa convened a meeting of monarchs in the state. The meeting resolved that no traditional ruler should confer titles outside his legally defined jurisdiction. The principle was summed up in one line: “No one should give what he does not possess.”
This decision effectively halted Ooni Sijuade’s plan to confer the “Akinrogun of Yorubaland” title on Chief Ikimi.
Chief Tom Ikimi, though widely respected as an architect, politician, and statesman from Bendel State, never received the proposed chieftaincy honor following the intervention.
The incident remains one of the most notable traditional disputes of the early 1990s, highlighting the tension between history, culture, and politics in Yoruba traditional institutions
Culled Facebook Babatunde
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