The impending succession to the revered stool of the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland has triggered renewed historical and legal scrutiny, with growing consensus among historians, customary law experts, and prominent Ijebu stakeholders that the next monarch should emerge from the Bubiade section of the Fusengbuwa Royal House.
According to respected voices, including Balogun Ibrahim and other concerned stakeholders, selecting a candidate from the Bubiade lineage would finally complete a long-overdue rotational cycle rooted in Ijebu custom and restore equity among the ruling houses.
The Awujale institution, one of the most enduring traditional stools in Yorubaland, is governed by deeply entrenched customs of lineage, rotation, and fairness. Central to the current debate is what experts describe as an unfinished rotation among the descendants of Oba Jadiara, whose dynasty forms the foundation of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
Historical records trace the Fusengbuwa lineage in Ijebu-Ode to Oba Jadiara, who reigned between approximately 1680 and 1695. From his lineage emerged three principal royal sections — Fusengbuwa, Tunwase, and Bubiade — each traditionally entitled to present candidates to the Awujale stool in a rotational sequence designed to ensure balance and harmony.
Although the Fusengbuwa Ruling House gained formal recognition during colonial administrative reforms between 1957 and 1958, scholars emphasize that it consists of multiple sub-lineages, including Bubiade. Records further show that Oba Jadiara had four children: Bubiade (the first), Adeberu, Adelubi, and Fusengbuwa (the youngest).
Historical evidence indicates that Fusengbuwa himself became the 41st Awujale between 1790 and 1820, while Oba Tunwase, from another branch of the same lineage, ruled between 1886 and 1895. Subsequent Awujales — including Oba Adekoya (1916) and Oba Adenuga (1925–1929) — also emerged from the Jadiara/Fusengbuwa ruling house. Notably, all came from two of the three sections, leaving the Bubiade lineage unrepresented to date.
Observers describe this exclusion as a glaring anomaly that contradicts established Yoruba customary law, which holds that the passage of time does not extinguish an unfulfilled rotational right. As such, Bubiade’s claim is widely regarded not as a settled matter, but as a lingering injustice.
Legal backing for this position is drawn from the Chiefs Law of 1957, particularly Section 4(2), which formally recognises four ruling houses in Ijebu-Ode — Gbelegbuwa, Anikinaiya, Fusengbuwa, and Fidipote — a declaration approved on August 25, 1959. Scholarly works by Badejo Adebonojo (1947) and Tunde Oduwobi (2017) further document the legitimacy of the Jadiara lineage, including Bubiade.
The issue resurfaced prominently during the political crisis of June 1983 surrounding the attempted deposition of the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona. At the time, Prince Adeoye Odedina warned in the National Concord that appointing another Awujale from the Fusengbuwa section would be “customarily wrong,” stressing that the rights of other lineages — particularly Bubiade — must be respected.
The Bubiade lineage continues through Adefowokan, son of Bubiade, whose descendants — including Basorun, Adesalu Agadaya, Olufeko, Bojela, Paseda, and Ase-Ilelo — remain eligible under custom to present a candidate.
As consultations intensify, pressure is mounting on the Ogun State Government, kingmakers, and Ijebu elders to uphold the principles of rotational justice that have historically sustained the Awujale institution. Stakeholders argue that recognising Bubiade’s turn would prevent the concentration of royal authority within a single lineage and reinforce unity in Ijebuland.
Analysts maintain that history, customary law, and documented precedent converge on one conclusion: the rotational process for the Awujale stool remains incomplete without the ascension of a Bubiade prince. Honouring this claim, they say, would not only correct a historical imbalance but also preserve the integrity and legacy of the Awujale institution.
As the succession question looms, the decision before Ijebu’s custodians of tradition is increasingly framed as a defining one — between expediency and justice, or between repeating history and finally completing it.