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                  What is the Yoruba kingship system?

The Yoruba kingship system is a traditional form of government that has been practiced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria for centuries. The Yoruba kingship system is based on a hierarchy of rulers who are responsible for the governance and administration of their respective territories.

At the top of the Yoruba kingship system is the Ooni of Ife, who is considered to be the spiritual leader of the Yoruba people and the custodian of their cultural heritage. Below the Ooni are other kings and rulers, including the Alaafin of Oyo, the Oba of Benin, and the Alake of Egbaland, among others.

Each king or ruler is responsible for the governance of their own territory or city-state, and they are expected to maintain law and order, promote economic prosperity, and uphold the traditions and customs of the Yoruba people. The kings are also responsible for settling disputes and conflicts within their territories and maintaining good relations with neighboring kingdoms.

The 16-principle system seems to have its earliest history in West Africa. Each Niger–Congo-speaking ethnic group that practices it has its own myths of origin; Yoruba religion suggests that it was founded by Orunmila in Ilé-Ifẹ̀ when he initiated himself and then he initiated his students, Akoda and Aseda. Other myths suggest that it was brought to Ilé-Ifẹ̀ by Setiu, a Nupe man who settled in Ilé-Ifẹ̀. 

According to the book The History of the Yorubas from the Earliest of Times to the British Protectorate (1921) by Nigerian historian Samuel Johnson and Obadiah Johnson, it was Arugba, the mother of Onibogi, the 8th Alaafin of Oyo who introduced Oyo to Ifá in the late 1400s. She initiated the Alado of Ato and conferred on him the rites to initiate others. The Alado, in turn, initiated the priests of Oyo and that was how Ifá came to be in the Oyo empire. Odinani suggests that Dahomey Kings noted that the system of Afá was brought by a diviner known as Gogo from eastern Nigeria.

A video of Yoruba monarchs, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Abimbola Akeem Owoade at Baba Ijebu’s 90th birthday party in Lagos is trending online The highlight was the brief handover of the mic between the Ooni and the Alaafin The exchange has stirred a debate on respect and lack of trust between the two kings as netizens shared their takes Legit recalls reporting…

Naija247news—New York, USA – Tensions are rising in the Nigerian diaspora community in the United States as calls intensify for a high-level, independent investigation into the tragic death of Chief Lukman Ojora Arounfale, a U.S.-based Yoruba traditional leader, who reportedly died after a brutal assault allegedly ordered by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade. The late Arounfale, who…

Senator Sharafadeen Alli (APC-Oyo South) has congratulated Prince Akeem Abimbola Owoade on his emergence as the Alaafin of Oyo and formal presentation with the instrument of office. This is contained in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Akeem Abas, and made available to newsmen on Monday in Ibadan. Alli, who is also Ekarun Balogun of Ibadanland, described the choice and approval…

The appointment of Owoade Abimbola as the new Alaafin of Oyo State has been met with fierce opposition from princes of nine royal families in Oyo, collectively known as the Atiba 9. In a statement signed by Prince Sina Afolabi of the Adeitan royal family, the princes expressed their rejection of Abimbola’s appointment, citing concerns over the governor’s authority to make such a decision. Other…