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The Ekiti are one of the largest historical subgroups of the larger Yoruba people of West Africa. They are classified as a Central Yoruba group, alongside the Ijesha, Igbomina, Yagba and Ifes. Ekiti State is populated exclusively by Ekiti people, however, it is but a segment of historical territorial domain of Ekiti speaking groups. The name Ekiti is a derivation of an earlier term Okiti which means "Hilly" in Yoruba, as characterized by the generally hilly terrain of the areas the Ekiti inhabit. In associating Ekitiland with Ekiti State of Nigeria, it was observed that a good percentage of its people and communities located within the same geographical space of current day Ekiti State (one of the Nigeria’s 36 States) are homogenous. Ekitiland (Ekiti homestead), which is one of the sub-ethnic groups of the Yorubas found in the North-Eastern part, was described by Olomola as an area dominated by ‘rugged hills of relative heights’ along with many other Yoruba communities in the hinterland. Hence, if Ekiti was a toponym derived from its hilly environment, it would extend to areas of Upper Ogun, Ijesaland, Okuku and Igbajo, Iyagba, Owe (Kabba) and Akoko. Other early writers had referred to people of Ekitiland as ‘Efon’ tribes, except Ellis and Akinjogbin who interchangeably used Ekiti and Efon to refer to these same sets of people.
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Olomola also deferred and suggested on the whole that ‘Ekiti has existed from time immemorial as a collective name for the land of a sub-ethnic division of the Yoruba which include parts of Ijeshaland, Igbomina and Ekiti, in the Eastern Yoruba land lying beyond the coastal plains. He was however when he stated that the existing sub-ethnic divisions in Yorubaland have been associated with their own homelands since the rise of the dynasties. Hence, Ekiti could only be properly defined by associating it with areas which constituted Ekiti in 1900, 1913 and from October, 1996 till date.
Language and Dialect
The Ekitis speak a distinct Yoruba dialect also known as Ekiti. Despite its comparatively large geographical spread, it remains relatively uniform within the areas where it is spoken. The dialect generally transients into Ijesha speech towards the west beyond the Effon ridge, and into Igbomina in the north and northwest towards the town of Omu Aran, both of which still fall within the Central Yoruba Continuum. Towards the northeast, as one departs the town of Ikole and Omuo the dialect gradually fades into Yagba and Ijumu types respectively.
It is noteworthy that available records produced in archival, historical and anthropological studies of Ekiti, gave description that Ekiti consists mainly of the sons of Oduduwa who migrated from Ile-Ife over time and speaks a dialect of Yoruba language. The slight differences noticeable in Ekiti dialect were influenced by their spatial locations, particularly in border areas with neighbouring states. Particular mention of the people of Ado showed that they do not speak same dialect with Ijero people while an Ikole person speaks differently from Ikere.
Similarly, Moba towns have been influenced by their location as they speak same dialect of the Igbominas in Kwara State while the people of Okeako, Irele, Omuo-Oke speak a dialect similar to Ijumus of Kwara/Kogi States and Akoko of Ondo State. The people of Efon Alaaye and Okemesi communities speak a similar dialect to Ijesha of Osun State. The uniqueness of speaking and understanding Ekiti language in any locality of the state, regardless of the dialectal variations, would suffice. Ekiti communities whose dominant populations contain a fulcrum and cultural content of Ekiti people in the present day Ekiti State is a wider coverage of areas where the common language, cultural perceptions and historical knowledge are internalized.
Geography
The Ekiti cover an area of 8,557 km², and are culturally bound by the Igbomina to the North, the Ijeshas to the West (The traditional Ekiti-Ijesha cultural boundary is at Ipetu-Ijesha). The Ondos are located to the Southwest, the Owos to the Southeast, and the Akokos, Yagbas and Ijumus to the Northeast. Ekiti country is generally an upland zone, with elevations being generally above 450m throughout. Around Akure, elevations drop to around 360m. It lies on an area underlain by metamorphic rock, and is generally an undulating country with a characteristic landscape that consists of old plains broken by steep-sided outcrops that may occur singularly or in groups or ridges. Such outcrops can be seen in places at Aramoko, Efon-Alaaye, Ikere-Ekiti, Igbara-odo and Okemesi-Ekiti among others. Rugged hills dot the landscape, notable among which are the Olosunta hills of Ikere-Ekiti in the south, Effon ridge which runs longitudinally around Efon Alaaye on the western boundary, and Ado Hills in the centre. The topography was perhaps the single strongest reason why the Ekitis never became a single unit politically. The area enjoys a tropical climate with two distinct seasons. These are the rainy season which lasts from (April–October) and the dry season which commences in late November and ends in March. Temperature ranges between 21° and 28 °C with high humidity. In the South, the vegetation is primarily Tropical hardwood forest, while a mixed / derived type savannah can be observed in the northern peripheries.
Local Administration and Population
After 1854, Akure and other Ekiti towns came under the rule of Ibadan, and many settlements were destroyed. This lasted until a rebellion in 1876 followed by a prolonged war between the Yoruba states. in which the Ekitis combined forces with the Ijeshas and some Akoko towns as Ekiti Parapo, to resist Ibadan rule, led by Fabunmi Oke-Imesi and Ogedengbe of Ijeshaland.
Towards the end of the 19th century the British based on their Lagos Colony had established a protectorate over the area, although they ruled through "native" administrations. The British sought to combine the Ekiti kingdoms of the region into a single administrative unit, against resistance by the Ekiti people who preferred local autonomy. Before 1900, the Royal Niger Company was administering Nigerian territories (Niger Coast Protectorate) as three separate areas. The Colony and Protectorate of Western Nigeria comprised the areas of the present States of Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Ogun (excluding Egba Division). The Protectorate of Southern Nigeria then consisted of the present Delta, Edo, Rivers, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Anambra and Cross River State while the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria which was more or less the same as the present Northern States of Nigeria.
In 1899 Ekiti and Ilesha formed the northeastern division of the protectorate. In 1915, Ekiti, Owo and Ondo were combined to form the Ondo Province with headquarters at Akure.
In looking at the creation of Native Authorities at Oke-Imo, Ilesa in 1900 by Major Reeve Tucker and the re-organization of North East District in December, 1912; the separation of Ijesa, Ekiti and other areas on 1st January, 1913 and the creation of Ekiti Native Authority with its headquarters at Ado-Ekiti; it is obvious that conflicts and agitations for local autonomy had pervaded politics of traditional institutions in Ekitiland. When the British moved its administrative centre for Ekiti District to Ado-Ekiti in 1913 where the Ewi holds sway, the change in political status of Ado-Ekiti spurred a desire in other traditional authorities across Ekitiland to further demand for local autonomies. The heightened struggle did not give credibility to the fact that Ado-Ekiti which was eventually picked was already the official and major administrative capital of Ekitiland since 1st January, 1913, nor did it occur to the agitators that it had over time become a second home for all Ekiti people irrespective of their hometown of place of origin. Hence, the struggle for relevance and supremacy which continue to rear its head is worth a fuller study and understanding to probably find lasting solutions.
In similar vein, when the British mooted the idea of recognizing a paramount ruler for Ekitiland; as it did in Ijebu and Egbaland where the Awujale and the Alake became paramount rulers; its agents faced resistance from Ekiti Obas who opposed the mode of listing and role of traditional rulers at Oke-Imo meetings. The attempt by British colonial enterprise to impose a sole native authority in Ekitiland in pursuit of its indirect rule policy failed because of the rejection of the supremacy theory among Ekiti Obas. Every attempt to further centralize traditional political authorities under the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti with Ado-Ekiti as the capital of Ekitiland, despite the ingenuity of its experimentation, was also resisted.
The creation of colonial territories which transformed into modern statehood after the various colonial interests left Africa resulted to the division of existing traditional communities. Ondo Province later became part of Western State. In 1976 the old Ondo State was formed, and in 1996 Ekiti State was split off from the modern Ondo State, which has Akure as its capital. See the Map/Sketch 1:1 EKITI DIVISION DURING COLONIAL RULE - Diagram source: P.C. Llyod (1962:56) Yoruba Land Law p. 186.
The conflict situation among Ekiti people persisted even when Ekiti community and political leaders came together with their Obas either in the background or in open glare to agitate for the creation of Ekiti State at different times from 1980 and in particular from 1991 to 1996 when the resistance took a heightened dimension due to perceived and real political domination and persecution of Ekiti people by their non-Ekiti counterparts in old Ondo State. This was well displayed at the sittings of Mbanefo Panel on State Creation held at Ondo State House of Assembly Complex, Akure at the verge of the state creation and which suggest that agitation for Ekiti State on October 1st, 1996, would not go unresolved without another conflict over the sighting of State capital and the creation of more local government areas.
LIST OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA IN EKITI STATE S/No. Local Government Areas (LGA) Headquarters Population Census(2006) Population(2011) 1 Ado LGA Ado-Ekiti 313,690 366,283 2 Efon LGA Efon Alaaye 87,187 101,805 3 Ekiti East LGA Omuo-Ekiti 138,340 161,534 4 Ekiti West LGA Aramoko-Ekiti 179,600 209,711 5 Ekiti South-West LGA Ilawe-Ekiti 165,087 192,765 6 Emure LGA Emure-Ekiti 94,264 110,068 7 Gbonyin LGA Ode-Ekiti 147,999 172,812 8 Ise/Orun LGA Ise-Ekiti 113,951 154,074 9 Ikere LGA Ikere-Ekiti 148,558 173,465 10 Irepodun/Ifelodun LGA Igede-Ekiti 131,330 150,745 11 Ijero LGA Ijero-Ekiti 221,873 259,072 12 Ido/Osi LGA Ido-Ekiti 160,001 186,826 13 Ikole LGA Ikole-Ekiti 170,414 198,985 14 Ilejemeje LGA Iye-Ekiti 43,459 133,056 15 Moba LGA Otun-Ekiti 145,408 169,787 16 Oye LGA Oye-Ekiti 137,796 160,899 2006 Population census of Ekiti State & 2011 Annual abstract of Statistics. (Sources: population.gov.ng website and National Bureau of Statistics, 2016)
Culture
The division of Yorubaland with its various sub-ethnic groups remains another distinct feature of the popular race due to its cultural and linguistic spread reaching beyond Nigeria shores. The land mass covered by Yoruba in West African tropics extends beyond Nigeria to her neighbours – Republic of Benin. The Yoruba relatively exist at the lower regions bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, an area that is often identified as a hodgepodge of subdivided ethnic groups which extend mainly across communities of current day Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Ondo and Ekiti State of Nigeria. Yorubaland is described nowadays as the South West of Nigeria, one of the Nigeria’s geo-political zones. Yorubaland also covers the greater proportion of the population and land mass of old Western Region prior to Nigeria’s independence from Britain on 1st October, 1960. The Yoruba remains a major ethnic group in Western Nigeria just like the Hausa-Fulani in Northern Nigeria and the Igbo in Eastern Nigeria.
Coleman in his study of Nationalism in Nigeria, noted that the Yoruba people are not only the largest cultural aggregation in West Africa that possess a long history of political unity and cultural continuity surrounded by socio-economic and religious institutions. He suggested further that Yoruba as an ethnic group was sustained by custodians of its traditions (Obas) for the benefits of successive generations and posterity. Noteworthy is the fact that existing traditions on age-long inter-communal relations and cultural inference indicated that a fraction or portion of the population of Yoruba people and communities are located in present day Kwara and Kogi States in Northern Nigeria. Similar inference is made about the current Adegbola noted that the Yoruba is a major and most prominent race (ethnic nationality) in West Africa that excelled in the process of kingdom building and formation of traditional states in pre-colonial era. He noted that Yorubaland consist of varieties of sub-ethnic groups such as the Ife, Ijesha, Ile Ipetu, Ila Orangun, (Osun) and Igbomina in Osun State; Ekiti in Ekiti State; Ondo, Owo, Ikale, Ilaje, Akoko, Akure and Idanre in Ondo State; Awori, Eko, Egba and Ijebu in Lagos State; Egba, Ijebu, Remo, Yewa/Egbado and Awori in Ogun State; Oyo, Ibadan, and (Oke Ogun) in Oyo State.
History
Ekiti as a nation within the Yoruba race had her progeny in Oduduwa, Just like every other major sub-ethnic division in Yorubaland. However, unlike the more centralized kingdoms and city-states to the West, the Ekitis traditionally lived in smaller less politically centralized kingdoms that were largely independent of one another, although they traded together, and the ruling families of the various kingdoms were involved in dynastic marriages. Olomola traced the separation of Ekiti core areas through colonial boundaries fixed between 1894 and 1917 while looking at the balkanization of Ekitiland as part of developments of colonial era and creation of new territories. He observed that boundary of Ekitiland was shifted several times within a spate of 23 years without regard for the existing practice and norms for identifying or creating traditional boundaries in the African traditional society. He noted that the use of mapping and survey changed the direction of boundary making in Ekitiland like other places where the modern techniques and method of boundary making was introduced. Olomola and Adegbola at separate times also identified the major and subordinate Ekiti towns affected by the shift in boundary for political and administrative realignment as follows:
Table 1.8 EKITI MAJOR AND SUBORDINATE TOWNS TRANSFERRED TO NORTHERN NIGERIA DURING COLONIAL ERA S/No. Main Towns Subordinate Towns 1 Otun (Awtun) Kingdom Otun, Ekan, Aaye Ekan, Iloffa, Eruku, Idofin, Ilale, Erinmope, Ipetu, Orota, Ola 2 Obbo (Obo) Kingdom Osi, Ora Aiyetoro, Ejiu 3 Omuo-Ekiti and neighbours Omuo, Oyin, Iro, Afin, parts of Egbe Oba Kingdom and some Okun/Iyagba communities near Omuo. 4 Eka Community Erinmope Ekiti, Aare Opin, Isolo Opin, Isare Opin, Osi, Ikerin Opin, Oke Opin, Epe Opin, Owaatun Opin, Etan,
Obbo-Ayegunle, Onno-Ile, Eruku, Ajuba, Isapa, Ejiu and others.Sources: Drawn from Olomola References to Ekiti Boundaries and Adegbola’s works on Yoruba History
Table 1.9 EKITI MAJOR AND SUBORDINATE TOWNS TRANSFERRED TO AKURE/OWO/ONDO DISTRICTS IN COLONIAL ERA S/No. Main Town Subordinate Towns 1 Akure Akure, Iju, Itaogbolu, Igbara Oke, Ijare, Ilara Mokin 2 Akoko West Irun, Ogbagi, Ese Sources: Drawn from Olomola References to Ekiti Boundaries and Adegbola’s works on Yoruba History
Adegbola on his part noted further that the effect of modern political development, changing of authorities, geographical changes through delineation and boundary demarcation and state creation actually that led to the carving of some Ekiti kingdoms into other neighbouring states. However, some Ekiti communities actually opted out of Ekitiland in their quest to ascertain their autonomy rather than being forced out.
Ekiti use to exist as 16 Principal Kingdoms or Confederation with each Ekiti Senior Oba superintending over its areas - a Kingdom or city-state. There was never a centralized singular political unit among Ekiti people. Even though The Oore of Otun Ekiti, a town to the north of the Ekiti cultural area was considered the most senior of Ekiti Kings since the advent of British occupation of Ekitiland to the later end of Nigeria's colonial rule, the senior Ekiti Obas of Akure (Deji), Ado (Ewi) and Ikere (Ogoga) presided over the largest towns, and Akure was the Ekiti town with the closest links to Benin.
The view of a section of Ekiti historians like Atolagbe who adduced to the pre-eminence of Oore as the most senior Yoruba and Ekiti Oba was linked to the fact that Oore signed the 1886 peace treaty which the British coordinated with Alaafin of Oyo and the Oowa Obokun amongst others. The Oba of Benin was also made to enter into treaty with the Alaafin of Oyo. Under this treaty, the Oba of Benin would have Ekiti, Ondo, Edo and other parts of his traditional areas of influence as part of Benin zone of influence, and it would be free of Oyo territorial incursions, while the Alaafin of Oyo would have the Western and Northern Yoruba territories, including parts of the non-Yoruba speaking neighbours like the Nupe, Ibariba and Aja in Dahomey(Now Benin). Samuel Rowe the then Governor of Gold Coast Colony documented some useful hints concerning the pre-eminence of Oore of Otun on May 29, 1883, when He said in his own words:
-Ekiti Parapo is a name given to the confederation of "Efon tribes" There are said to be 132 kings among them. The principal of these kings is one Oray (Oore)-.
Due to a controversy between the Northern Government and the administration of Major Reeves Tucker, the territories of Otun, Obo, Ishan, Aiyede and Ikole were carved out of the South and then merged with the territories of Northern Nigeria. Subsequently, and following the readjustment of the boundary between the Ekiti (Southern) and Kabba (Northern) divisions in 1909, Ishan, Aiyede and Ikole returned to the Ekiti division while Otun, Obo and others remained in the North, under Ilorin division. In the period of Owore's absence in Ekiti land, the idea of Ekiti council of Obas became moribund. No meeting of the council held throughout the period due to lack of acceptable leadership among all the Obas. Leadership naturally fell to the Ewi of Ado who in fact represented the Ekiti Obas at the conference of Yoruba Obas held at Ibadan in 1939. Following the return of Otun town to the Ekiti Division in 1936, the council of Ekiti Obas was re-introduced in form of Pelupelu from "Pe Olu" i.e "The calling of Lords", and Oore was again made the president. In the biography of H.R.H Oba Aladesanmi, the then Ewi of Ado Ekiti, he said:
I am in the third position in Ekiti Division Council of Traditional Rulers which has Ajero of Ijero Ekiti as the second. The senior one, Oore of Otun has his district transferred to Ilorin Emirate Council which was later returned to Ekiti division of Ondo province after much agitation from the people to the government
Another school of history, however, contested the supremacy of Oore as the most senior Ooba in Ekiti for several reasons. First is that Oore did not possess the largest kingdom in the pre-colonial era like Ewi of Ado-Ekiti and Deji of Akure. He was more of a mercenary (errand or junior) King at Kiriji war unlike principal kings who hardly leave their palaces ordinarily even in the face of war as attested to the Ewi, except when his town relocated for awhile due to Benin hordes invasion. The Ewi controlled territories that are as large as 10 out of 16 Local Government Area of present day Ekiti State while Oore controlled only one. Atolagbe noted that Oore was not a Prince of Oduduwa dynastic reign but a friend or benefactor. Hence, he was rather an aboriginal personality integrated into Yoruba culture under dynastic reign of Oduduwa and his successors, children and grandchildren including Ewi, Ajero, Alara and Elekole who are direct descendants of Oduduwa. Hence, Oore could not stand in equal stead customarily and traditionally with Oduduwa's sons and grandsons. He could not have been the most senior Yoruba king in Ekitiland, eveb if he's an Ekiti aboriginal Oba that survived or an adherent of Obatala that was conquered. Reference to Oore in Ifa tranche only deduced that he was an Ifa adherent too, whereas the same Ifa tranche adduced that Ado-Ekiti is the home (abode) of Ifa, which invariably made Oore an adherent where the Ewi is a superior custodian of Ifa religion.
Moreover, the pelupelu which Oore chaired at the advent of kiriji war in Otun has few principal Obas in attendance which did not include Ewi, Deji and Ogoga to mention a few. It was a meeting regarded as of less importance except for the coalition of warriors and mobilization of hunters for Ekiti war of liberation spearheaded by Fabunmi. There are records that pelupelu held before then were often held in Ado-Ekiti under Ewi, peradventure the Obas ever met, because tradition forbade Obas from looking into each other’s eyes in Yorubaland before the arrival of the British. The pelupelu where Oore was recognized by the British as the most senior Oba was an imposition at Oke-Imo in 1900 by Major Tucker, owing to recognition of his heroic contributions to Kiriji wars and signing of its 1886 treaty, the age of the Oore at the time of the meeting, a mistake in the itinerary of Tucker's visit to Ekiti upon which he accorded Oore a higher status and the role Oore played as the first Ekiti Oba to accept British colonial rule in Ekitiland. Otherwise, the history of Oore where he adduced a co-equal and friendly role with Oduduwa was never accepted in Ile-Ife tradition as true, but a fabrication of traditions.
According to Babatola, the fact that a school of Yoruba history regarded Oore as Prince of Ile-Ife, while others referred to him as an adherent of the Obatala whom Oduduwa deposed as the senior chief among Ife group heads that he met on arrival at Ife, is ebough reason to ask more questions. On the other part, Falegan insisted that Oore cannot claim any supremacy or superiority that he did not deserve or enjoy in Ekitiland beyond early colonial rule. He insisted that if Oore is a son of Oduduwa, his prominence or status would be in the listing of the eldest or prominent children of Oduduwa who made spectacular gains in their adventurous sojourn away from Ile-Ife, particularly those who drifted towards Ekitiland. Otherwise, if Oore is an Obatala adherent who survived as an aboriginal entity that Oduduwa met at Ile-Ife and integrated, he could not promote himself in tradition above the new dynastic reign of Oduduwa and his sons in Yorubaland.
Falegan therefore remarked thus: ‘The supremacy of Oore as the most senior Ooba in Ekiti is contestable for several reasons... He was more of a mercenary (errand or junior) King at Kiriji war unlike principal kings who hardly leave their palaces ordinarily even in the face of war as attested to the Ewi... The Ewi controlled territories that are as large as 10 out of 16 Local Government Area of present day Ekiti State while Oore controlled only a Local Government. Atolagbe noted that Oore was not a Prince of Oduduwa dynastic reign but a benefactor or friend. How then did he became a king, if he was neither a son or Oduduwa nor his lieutenant? The linkage of Oore to Obatala from other sources shows that Oore was either a prominent Ifa Chief or Obatala adherent who came to Ekitiland, if he was not an aboriginal king integrated into Yoruba culture under the dynastic reign of Oduduwa and his successors, children and grandchildren... He could not have been the most senior Yoruba king in Ekitiland, even if he's not an Ekiti aboriginal Oba or Ife aboriginal or an adherent of Obatala. Reference to Oore in Ifa tranche only deduced that he was an Ifa adherent too, whereas the same Ifa tranche adduced that Ado-Ekiti is the home (abode) of Ifa, which invariably made Oore an adherent while the Ewi who superintends over Ado would naturally remain the superior custodian of Ifa religion...The pelupelu where Oore was recognized by the British as the most senior Oba was an imposition at Oke-Imo in 1900 by Major Reeves Tucker. Otherwise, the history of Oore where he adduced to be a co-equal or friend of Oduduwa was never accepted in Ile-Ife tradition as a legend, but a fabrication of traditions.
Babatola similarly reviewed the version of oore history presented by Atolagbe and other Moba historians and submitted thus: ‘Atolagbe reconstruction of Moba history and the place he advocated for Oore in Yoruba and Ekiti history to boost the status of Oore in eyes of all the world as the most senior Ekiti Oba is a grevious injury to Yoruba history. Indeed, it has an element of profoundly damaging conjuncture of tradition and culture in our history that should be redressed to the extent of its fallacies or distortion. Though the damage done is reversible through the harmonization of different traditions of Ekiti people to expose his delicacies of concoction and false claims, it is obvious that Atolagbe attempted most likely to also score a point during against Ekiti Obas who opposed Oore’s listing ahead of them at Oke-Imo meetings in finding a medium of restoring Oore pre-eminence that was gained at the close of kiriji and early years of British colonial rule in Ekitiland.’
The Ooni of Ile-Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, the Olubuse II, at the launching of Ekiti State Historical and Royal Compendium in December, 2013, bemoaned the growing revisionism of Ekiti history by few senior traditional rulers in Yoruba land ‘claiming to be what they are not’ which ought to be ‘set aside.’ He counsels that ‘until we can put such people in order, it will be impossible to have a lasting peace in Yoruba land.’ Ooni further remarked thus: ‘the very foundation of the historical antecedents of progenitors and founders of the dynasty are being daily twisted, concocted, reconfigured and rewritten only for personal egos, selfish reasons and individual satisfaction.’ The foregoing statement is fallout of the characteristics and framework of power politics and interaction patterns thst persist among Ekiti Obas and their people since 19th century. It also suggests that it is a mirage and inconceivable historical assumption that Ekitiland is totally united and subordinate to each other.
A majority of scholars who studied the history of Ekitiland of that era were consistent and cautious in presenting the 1900 list where Oore is marked as No. 1 without details to validate its relevance. The controversy generated by 1900 list of Ekiti Council membership made reference to Southern Nigeria Handbook (1912) as a better and acceptable list interpretation of the prominence, status and traditional relevance of members of Ekiti Confederation before the kiriji wars owing to the degree of their military might and war adventurism, political influence and territorial gains. Hence, the Oore of Otun would at best stand between the Elekole and Atta, if he had been included in the list, as indicated below:
1912 SOUTHERN NIGERIA HANDBOOK ON EKITI CONFEDERATION AND ITS PRINCIPAL (PROMINENT) SENIOR OBAS 1. Ado under the Ewi 2. Ikere under the Ogoga 3. Ogotun under the Ologotun 4. Ikole under the Elekole 5. Aiyede under the Atta 6. Ise under the Arinjale 7. Ara(moko) under the Alara 8. Ishan under the Onisan 9. Efon under the Alaaye 10. Itaji under the Onitaji 11. Iddo under the Olojudo 12. Okemesi under Oloja Owa 13. Ijero under the Ijero 14. Imesi Ipole under Oloja Owa 15. Oye under the Oloye
Source: 1912 Southern Nigeria Handbook published in England – Also cited by Adegbola, Ile-Ife:The Source of Yoruba Civilization, 2009, p. 614
Another aspect is that Ewi Aladesanmi II's explanation on the status of Oore was in line with colonial government proclamations which he made reference to, in his autobiograpghy. It was however a quote of out of context. The Ewi had vehemently opposed the imposition of Oore as his superior even when he had cause to fight for the return of Oore to Ekitiland from Ilorin Division. A petition sponsored by Mr. J.A. Oyekan - the Patron of Ado Native Improvement Union on 2nd October, 1936 to colonial government stood as part of Ewi’s effort to recount Ado tradition that preceded the British colonial rule in order to sustain his resistance of the British imposition of seniority of the Oore or Elekole and any other Ekiti Oba over him. He had reiterated while tracing the history of traditional relationship between Ewi and Elekole that the Ewi was the most ‘senior Oba of Ekiti from the beginning’ because ‘all the Obas of Ekiti used to hold their meetings at Ado’ which indicate that Ado-Ekiti is the metropolitan centre of Ekitiland. A recently published rejoinder of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti against the speculations of the Oore of Otun-Ekiti suffice on the superiority or supremacy contests among Ekiti Obas as the Ewi denounces Oore’s particular reference to his status as ‘the most senior Oba’ on the basis that it is a distortion of historical facts. The Ewi noted that beyond kiriji, Oore was not a prominently recognized Chief (natural ruler) in Ekitiland. Hence, the historical idea foisting his superiority was suspicious and unnecessary desire for special recognition.
As widely asserted by historians who studied patterns of inter-state relations in the history pre-colonial Ekitiland, particularly Oguntuyi and Akintoye, it was asserted that most Ekiti Obas were independent of each other. For instance, the Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti had no political allegiance to the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti just as the Alaaye of Efon was independent of the Ewi and the Elekole of Ikole was independent of Oore of Otun. However, Alara of Aramoko and Olojudo of Ido-Ekiti only became independent of Ajero of Ijero in 1943 when government reorganized Ekiti towns. It was therefore argued that the British did not take cognizance of these historical facts that Ekitiland was a ‘highly fragmented’ society where each Oba ruled autonomous and independent kingdoms in pre-colonial era. Hence, the extent of paramountcy of each Oba should have limited to the extent of their political jurisdiction and influence at the advent of British colonial rule.
Oguntuyi in the study of the History of Ekiti also asserted that two issues were dominant in the formation, expansion and growth of Ekitiland between 1500 and 1900. The first is that, ‘The Ekiti Obas and their followers are different from the people’ and the second is that ‘migration into Ekiti is still in progress.’ Nonetheless, it is obvious from various historical accounts of migration and resettlements across several Ekiti communities that Ekiti Obas like their counterparts elsewhere in Yorubaland had established their relevance through historical antecedents of tracing the period of their evolution from Ile-Ife to their relationship with Oduduwa in some peculiar instances. This tradition allowed them to gain legitimacy as sons, grandsons or lieutenants of Oduduwa while tracing their Ile-Ife ancestry or placing themselves in the hierarchy of seniority, in the genealogy or in their presumed relevance over time. This is why Oguntuyi would rather rely on the historical ideas of S.C.C. Swayne (Ekiti District Officer in 1935) who concluded that ‘Maybe seniority was forced on the Obas or they tried to avoid it in order not to be forced to be under a particular Oba.’
It is obvious therefore to assert that with the creation of Ekiti Native Authority (Ekiti Division) at Ado-Ekiti in January 1913 and Akure becoming the Provincial centre, and correspondingly with its growth in size and status, the pre-eminence of the Oore and the prominence of Ewi was gradually resolved politically.
Indeed, the historical developments surrounding the formation of Ekiti towns and villages were based on the fact that most settlements had witnessed different stages of dispersal in human settlement, break-apart, dislocation or relocation of towns, migration and the arrival of new settlers shortly before, during and after the Yoruba wars of the 19th century. However, it is an interesting fact that these towns and communities live close-by without capacity to dominate or obliterate each other and they tend to preserve their autonomy as distinct groups with separate traditional institution while professing same kinship (homogeneity) and sub-ethnic identity.
Kenyo compiled a list of existing 104 Ekiti autonomous communities in the 1950s with names of their traditional (natural) rulers who came from Ile-Ife or Benin and other places to Ekitiland, though some are now located outside Ekiti State. Despite the fact that numbers of autonomous communities in Ekitiland was 104 in 1955 (with some of these towns eventually transferred to neighbouring Ondo, Kogi and Kwara States), the number of autonomous local communities in present Ekiti State in 2014 has increased to 134 due to official interventions and government proclamations. The latent question to ask here is whether the Ekiti Obas and their communities who later got local autonomy were initially affected by British Re-Organization of Ekiti Towns or they were subjugated under larger Kingdoms or communities for a long period of time before they successfully asserted their autonomy or whether other issues resulted to their differences, demand for separation and eventual break-up. Whichever way the answers goes, there is an alarming evidence of the increase of drift in inter-communal relations and differences and the sequence of internal separation and or migration aiding the demand for local autonomies from the time of British colonial rule till now.
Below is a list of existing Ekiti Obas and towns at the advent of colonial rule provided by Kenyo viz.
Table 1.1 ODUDUWA SONS CROWNED AS KINGS BEFORE LEAVING ILE-IFE S/N Title of the King Township District Division 1 Ajero Ile Ijero Ekiti Ekiti 2 Alara Ile Ara-moko Ekiti Ekiti 3 Alaye Efon Ekiti Ekiti
5 Elemure Emure Ekiti Ekiti 6 Ewi Ile Ado Ekiti Ekiti 7 Elekole Ikole Ekiti Ekiti 8 Olojudo Ido faboro Ekiti Ekiti 9 Olomuo Omuo Akoko (Ekiti) Owo (Now Ekiti)
11 Onisan Isan Ekiti Ekiti 12 Ore Otun Ekiti Ekiti 13 Ologotun Ogotun Ekiti Ekiti
15 Oloja-Oke (Owa) Okemesi Ekiti Ekiti 16 Oloye Ile Oye Ekiti Ekiti
Source: E.A. Kenyo, 1952, Chapter 2, p. 15-17 Note: Asterisk in columns indicate Ekiti communities transferred to other States
Table 1.2 ROYALTIES GIVEN CROWN BY BENIN KINGDOM S/N Title of the King Township District Division 1. Ogoga Ikere Ekiti Ekiti Source: E.A. Kenyo, 1952, Chapter 4, p. 20
Table 1.3 ROYALTIES GIVEN CROWN IN PART OF YORUBALAND S/N Title of the King Township District Source 1 Arinjale Use (Ise) Ekiti Okeluse 2 Ata (Attah) Aiyede Ekiti Iye 3 Owa Odo Owa Ekiti Ilesa Source: E.A. Kenyo, 1952, Chapter 8, p. 25
Table 1.4 KINGS FROM IFE BARRED FROM WEARING CROWN S/N Title of the King Township District Division 1 Olojudo Ido Irapa (Ido-Ile) Ekiti Ekiti 2 Olosi Osi Ekiti Ekiti Ekiti 3 Onimesi Imesi Lasigidi (Imesi) Ekiti Ekiti Source: E.A. Kenyo, 1952, Chapter 9, p. 26
Table 1.5 KINGS FROM ILE-IFE WITH UNRECOGNISED CROWNS S/N Title of the King Township District Division
2 Alare Are Ekiti Ekiti 3 Alawe Ilawe Ekiti Ekiti 4 Alawo Awo Ekiti Ekiti 5 Alaye Aye Moba Ekiti Ekiti 6 Arajaka Ugbara Odo Ekiti Ekiti 7 Aworoko Iworoko Ekiti Ekiti 8 Ekiri Ero Ekiti Ondo/Akure 9 Elewu Ewu Ileje Ekiti Ekiti 10 Eleda Eda Ileje Ekiti Ekiti 11 Elejelu Ijelu Ekiti Ekiti 12 Elepe Epe Ijero Ekiti Ekiti 13 Elepe Epe Moba Ekiti Ekiti 14 Elesun Ilesun Ikole Ekiti Ekiti 15 Olode Ode Ekiti Ekiti 16 Olosin Osin Ikole Ekiti Ekiti
18 Olukoro Ukoro (Ikoro) Ekiti Ekiti 19 Olupere Ipere Ileje Ekiti Ekiti 20 Oluporo Uporo Ekiti Ekiti 21 Oluro Uro Ikole Ekiti Ekiti 22 Olusi Usi Ekiti Ekiti 23 Olusin Isin Pakunde Ekiti Ekiti 24 Oluyin Uyin (Iyin) Ekiti Ekiti 25 Onigede Igede Ekiti Ekiti 26 Onikun Ikun Moba Ekiti Ekiti 27 Onire Ire Ekiti Ekiti 28 Oniye Iye Ileje Ekiti Ekiti
30 Obaleo Erinmope Ekiti Ekiti 31 Oloja Egosi Ekiti Ekiti 32 Oloja Ora Ido Ekiti Ekiti 33 Olora Orin Ido Akoko (Ekiti) Akoko (Ekiti) 34 Olorin Orin Ido Ekiti Ekiti 35 Owajumu Omu Ijelu Ekiti Ekiti 36 Owalosun Osun Moba Ekiti Ekiti 37 Owalogbo Ilogbo Ekiti Ekiti 38 Owatapa Itapa Ekiti Ekiti Source: E.A. Kenyo, 1952, Chapter 10, p. 28-31 Note: Asterisk in columns indicate Ekiti communities transferred to other States
Table 1.6 OTHER KINGS WHO OBTAINED CROWN FROM BENIN S/N Title of the King Township District Division 1 Onijan Ijan Ekiti Ekiti 2 Oro Agbado Ekiti Ekiti Source: E.A. Kenyo, 1952, Chapter 11, p. 32-33
Table 1.7 KINGS FROM PLACES OUTSIDE ILE-IFE AND BENIN S/N Title of the King Township District Source 1 Adapogun Ipogun Ekiti Ile-Oluji 2 Ajagun Ilu Omoba Ekiti Ile Ado (Ado-Ekiti) 3 Akota Ikota Ekiti Akure 4 Alawo Awo Ekiti Ile Ado (Ado-Ekiti) 5 Alara Ara Ekiti Ikole 6 Alara Ara Ijero Ekiti Ile Ijero 7 Alasa Ilasa Ekiti Imesi Lasigidi 8 Alaye Oke Igbira Ekiti Okene 9 Alaye Aye Ido Ekiti Efon Alaye 10 Apalufin Aisegba Ekiti Ile Ado (Ado-Ekiti) 11 Baale (Elesure) Esure Ekiti Ile Ado (Ado-Ekiti) 12 Elerio Erio Ekiti Ile Ara-Moko
15 Eleyin Odo Eyin Ekiti Ile Ijero 16 Eleyio Eyio Ekiti Ile Ado 17 Esaoye Isaoye Ekiti Otun 18 Elemobo (Balemo) (Araromi) Obo Ekiti Ile Ado 19 Okiti Uju (Iju) Ekiti Akure 20 Olikun Ikun Ikole Ekiti Ikole 21 Olupoti Ipoti Ekiti Ajase Ipo 22 Oluroye Iroko Ekiti Ile Ijero 23 Oluropora Iropora Ekiti Ile Ado 24 Onibule Ibule Ekiti Akure 25 Onifisin Ifisin Ekiti Ido Ekiti 26 Oninu Inu Ekiti Ile Ijero 27 Onio Iogo Ekiti Iwo (Io) 28 Oniyapa Iyapa Ekiti Ile Ijero 29 Oba Igbemo Ekiti Ile Ado 30 Obaisa Igbole Ekiti Ido Ekiti
32 Obala (Obanla) Ijesa Isu Ekiti Ilesa 33 Odofin Afao Ekiti Ile Ado 34 Ojurin Ijurin Ekiti Ile Ijero 35 Oloja Ifaki Ekiti Ile Ijero 36 Oloja Eseta Eseta Ekiti Ile Oye 37 Oloja Egbe Ekiti Ile Ado 38 Olorin Orin Ikole Ekiti Imesi Lasigidi 39 Oloro Oro Ijero Ekiti Ile Ijero 40 Olosan Osan Moba Ekiti Otun 41 Olowa Ugbara Oke Ekiti Ugbara Oke 42 Owa Odo Igbira Ekiti Okene Source: E.A. Kenyo, 1952, Chapter 13, p. 37-45 Note: Asterisk in columns indicate Ekiti communities transferred to other States