By Waheed Olatunde Lawal
There is a quiet but devastating war being waged against the soul of Yoruba culture in Oyo State. And the weapon is not Islam. It is not Christianity. It is not even modernity.
The weapon is democracy โ or rather, the ugly, unaccountable face of political power dressed in democratic robes.
In Oyo State today, a governor can install an Oba without kingmakers, without a ruling house, without a declaration, without ancestral rites, and even without the king being present. Yes, you read that correctly. Coronations in absentia. Like a Nollywood script written by someone who hates tradition.
This is not governance. This is desecration.
And the worst part? The loudest defenders of Yoruba culture โ the Yoruba Nation agitators, the Isese traditionalists, the culture warriors โ are strangely silent. They are quick to scream scream “Islamization” when a Muslim prince is about to be nominated and refuses to do fetish rites, but when a politician tramples on Ifa, on custom, on the very stool of the ancestors, they say nothing.
Why?
Because their enemy is not desecration. Their enemy is Islam.
Let me lift the veil.
Let us be honest with ourselves, democracy Has overthrown Ifa.
Let us speak plainly. In pre-colonial Yorubaland, no one became Oba without the sacred voice of Ifa, without the approval of kingmakers who were themselves custodians of history, without the blessing of the ancestral lineage.
Today? A governor can sack the king makers, reject their recommendations and pursues them with EFCC. Yes, our governors have become emperors themselves. They can just wake up, pick up their phone, and a “king” is announced. No divination. No consultation. No traditional rites.
We have reached a point where democracy has overthrown Ifa in the appointment and installation of Obas. The oracle is silent. The politician speaks. And the people clap because their “son” has become Oba โ even if that son has no kingdom, no chiefs, and no legitimacy.
Only in Oyo State do we now have:
ยท A king without a kingdom
ยท A king who is at the same time a chief in another palace
ยท A king without chiefs
ยท A king without kingmakers
ยท A king without a declaration
ยท A king without a ruling house
And the latest absurdity: kings pronounced in their absence. As if the crown is a parcel to be delivered by a dispatch rider.
What a mockery. Ere ori itage โ a stage drama.
The Selective Silence of Culture Warriors
Let me take a swipe โ a necessary, honest swipe โ at those who claim to be the guardians of Yoruba culture.
When a Muslim governor or a Muslim prince is involved in chieftaincy matters, the same people shouting “culture” today will scream Islamization of Yoruba culture. They will accuse Muslims of destroying Ifa, of imposing foreign religion, of polluting the tradition.
But when a democratically elected governor โ whether Christian or Muslim or traditionalist โ suspends an Oba, appoints a non-royal, ignores kingmakers, or crowns an absentee king, these same culture warriors are nowhere to be found.
Why?
Because they are not fighting for culture. They are fighting for religious turf. They are happy to see tradition trampled โ as long as the person doing the trampling is not a Muslim.
This is hypocrisy of the highest order. And it is an insult to every true defender of Yoruba heritage.
Oyo State: Setting the Pace in Bad Things
There is a famous Yoruba saying: Ajisebi Oyo laari โ whatever happens in Oyo becomes a reference point for others.
Unfortunately, Oyo State is now setting the pace in bad things.
If this continues, Oyo politicians will soon reduce our traditional rulers to the status of local government councillors. Appointed by the governor. Removed by the governor. Silent and powerless.
And when we, as Yoruba people, flagrantly ridicule and disrespect our own Obas โ crowning them in absentia, making them political errand boys โ how can we expect the ordinary Igbo man or Hausa man on the street to respect our monarchs?
You cannot mock your own father and then demand that strangers honour him.
Ibadan vs. Okeogun: Two Worlds, One State
Let me speak as a son of Okeogun (Saki, to be precise) who now practices law in Ibadan. I have seen both worlds.
In Okeogun, tradition still holds weight. Our leaders are not politicians in disguise. When a king is installed, the process is sacred, not transactional. Politics is kept at arm’s length. It is not perfect, but it is recognizably Yoruba.
Then there is Ibadan.
Ibadan is a different beast entirely. As the late political titan Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu once confessed when urged to disengage from chieftaincy matters: “Ibadan chieftaincy is inherently political. It is in our blood.”
And he was right. Most Olubadan elites have political backgrounds. The line between high chief and politician is not just blurred โ it is nonexistent.
This raises uncomfortable questions:
ยท Does Ibadan’s approach empower or undermine its traditional leaders?
ยท When a chief is also a political operative, where does loyalty lie โ with the crown or with the party?
ยท Can tradition thrive when it is soaked in political ambition?
I am not here to condemn Ibadan’s model. I am here to ask: Is this the future we want for all of Oyo State?
Because if it is, let us stop pretending we are preserving culture. Let us admit that we have replaced the sacred stool with a political seat.
The Consequences of Desecration
Let me be clear about the stakes.
When a king is installed without kingmakers, he has no legitimacy. When he is crowned in absentia, he has no dignity. When he serves as a chief in another palace, he has no identity.
And when the common man sees all this, he learns one lesson: tradition is a joke. Power is everything. The Oba is just another politician.
That lesson destroys more than chieftaincy. It destroys the moral fabric of society. If the king is a fraud, why should the citizen tell the truth? If the crown is a political gift, why should the youth respect elders?
We are reaping what we are sowing.
Proposals for a Way Forward
I am not just a critic. I am a legal practitioner and an activist. So let me offer practical steps โ solutions worth discussing in every town hall, every palace, and every political meeting in Oyo State.
- A Chieftaincy Autonomy Law
The Oyo State House of Assembly must pass a law that ring-fences traditional appointments from political interference. Kingmakers must be certified by a traditional council, not appointed by the governor. Any installation without a valid declaration and ruling house shall be null and void.
- Independent Chieftaincy Registry
Create a non-political registry of legitimate Obas, managed by traditional rulers and retired judges. Any Oba not on this registry receives no state recognition or benefits. This will kill the culture of “absentia coronations.”
- Cultural Impact Assessment
Before any chieftaincy reform, the government must commission a report from accredited traditional historians, Ifa priests, and anthropologists. That report must be binding unless overruled by a two-thirds majority of a Traditional Rulers’ Assembly.
- Reorientation Campaign
We need a media and school curriculum campaign titled “Honour the Oba, Honour Ourselves.” Let us remind our people that a society that mocks its own kings cannot command respect from others.
- Study the Okeogun Model
Let us document why Okeogun communities have resisted political chieftaincy corruption. Let us learn from them. And let us ask Ibadan honestly: is your model sustainable, or is it a slow suicide of tradition?
Conclusion: Stand for Something
I write this not as an enemy of democracy. I believe in the will of the people. But the will of the people cannot erase the wisdom of the ancestors.
If democracy means destroying Ifa, abolishing kingmakers, crowning kings in their absence, and turning Obas into political pawns โ then that democracy is a curse, not a blessing.
To the Yoruba Nation agitators and Isese traditionalists: stop fighting shadows. If you truly love culture, speak against political desecration as loudly as you speak against Islamization. Otherwise, your silence is complicity.
To the politicians of Oyo State: you are not kings. You are servants. Stop crowning yourselves through your puppets.
And to the people of Oyo State: let us lift the veil. Let us demand respect for our Obas. Let us refuse to clap for absurdity.
Because if we don’t stand for something โ for tradition, for dignity, for truth โ we will fall for everything.
Ajisebi Oyo laari. Let what happens in Oyo be a reference for good, not for shame.
Waheed Olatunde Lawal is a Legal Practitioner based in Ibadan and a Political Activist from Saki, Okeogun, Oyo State. He writes on law, culture, and governance.