When Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the revered Awujale of Ijebuland, passed away on July 13, 2025, at the age of 91, he left behind more than a legendary 65-year reign, he left behind a kingdom facing a delicate transition. His death activated the rotational chieftaincy declaration of 1957, a legal framework that governs the succession to the Awujale stool. The process is intricate, rotating the throne among four ruling houses , Dosunmu, Parklane (Ladoto), Anikinaiya, and Tunwase and relying on four principal classes of kingmakers: Ilamuren, Odi, Osugbo, and Pampa.
At the heart of this transition is the Olisa of Ijebu-Ode, Alaiyeluwa Rasheed Adeoye Adesanya Ademoku II, a figure whose office is as old as Ijebuland’s monarchy itself. Traditionally, the Olisa is the immediate deputy to the Awujale, the "Mayor of Ijebu-Ode," and the regent whenever the throne is vacant. His role is not ceremonial. He is charged with holding the kingdom together until a new Awujale is installed, presiding over interim councils, coordinating kingmakers, and safeguarding cultural protocols during the transition period.
This time, however, history has taken an unexpected turn. In late August, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun announced the formation of an 11-member administrative committee to oversee Ijebu-Ode’s affairs during the transition. Chaired by Chief (Dr.) Folorunso Sunny Kuku Ogbeni Oja and a prominent Ilamuren leader, the committee includes other high chiefs from Ilamuren, Pampa, and Odi classes. Conspicuously absent from the list is the Olisa himself.
The government gave no explicit reason for the exclusion, describing the body simply as a collaborative platform "in line with existing historical and traditional practices." But the move has sparked controversy, with many viewing it as a significant departure from precedent. For generations, the Olisa has been regarded not only as the regent but also as a key kingmaker, one of the six Ilamuren chiefs who must ratify any nomination from the ruling house before a new Awujale can be installed.
On September 4, 2025, the Olisa broke his silence. In a carefully worded public statement, he stopped short of confrontation but asserted that the committee’s composition contradicts both custom and law. Citing the records of a 1977 traditional council meeting which, he said, are in the custody of the Ogun State government, he called for compliance with the rotational declaration and the Chiefs Law of 1957, which codify his regency role. His message was simple but powerful “The record is there. All that they have to do is comply with the law.”
Members of the Ogu’ja Olu-Isa royal dynasty, to which the Olisa belongs, reinforced this position a day earlier in a televised appeal. They reminded the public of the Olisa’s historical status as co-founder of Ijebu political authority, his palace’s centrality to the kingdom’s capital, and his statutory role as chairman of the Ijebu-Ode District Council. To them, excluding the Olisa is not a mere administrative oversight, it risks unsettling a centuries-old equilibrium that has kept Ijebuland united through past leadership voids.
This tension raises profound questions about the balance between state authority and traditional autonomy. Should a government-appointed committee take precedence over a regent recognized in both oral tradition and gazetted law? Is the state seeking to modernize succession processes for transparency, or is it inadvertently sidelining a symbol of Ijebu identity?
For now, the succession process continues. The Funsegbunwa Ruling House, next in line, is screening candidates, while the kingmakers prepare for the decisive stage of nomination and ratification. What remains to be seen is whether the Olisa’s appeal will be heeded and whether his constitutional role will be restored in time to lend legitimacy to the final choice of a new Awujale.
What is certain is that this moment is bigger than personalities. It is about the soul of Ijebuland, about whether tradition and modern governance can walk hand in hand without losing the values that have kept the kingdom stable for nearly a millennium. In the end, the story of the next Awujale’s emergence may be as much about the man chosen, as about the process that brought him to the throne, and whether that process honors the very legacy Oba Adetona spent a lifetime protecting.
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