Oba of Benin is Below Ooni of Ife — Alake Insists

The Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo has maintained his stand on the contentious ranking of Yoruba Obas.


The Alake who spoke through his Special Adviser on media Affairs, Chief Lai Labode said he does not want to engage in controversy with anyone. He had on Saturday stirred the hornet’s nest, declaring that the Ooni of Ife remained the highest in the ranking of Obas in Western Nigeria.

The Alake who identified ego as the cause of disunity among traditional rulers of Yoruba extraction, said the Ife monarch is the highest of the five principal Obas in Yorubaland.

The respected monarch pledged to release evidence to back his position against Oba of Benin.

The Alake had listed the other Obas below the Ooni to include the Alaafin of Oyo and the Oba of Benin coming second and third, respectively, in that order.

He also listed his own title, the Alake of Egbaland as the fourth while the Awujale of Ijebuland occupies the fifth position.

The Alake said, “Ooni is one of the five principal Obas in Yorubaland. The others are in order of the way they are classified on supremacy basis. After the Ooni is the Alaafin. After the Alaafin, the Oba of Benin. After the Oba of Benin, it comes to the Alake of Egbaland and the fifth and by no means the last or the least, the Awujale of Ijebuland."

In fact, sources say the Alake had sent an evidence to support his position. Watch out for the evidence.