The death of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona in July 2025, after an extraordinary 65-year reign, has opened the path to the selection of a new Awujale of Ijebuland. By law and tradition, the stool now returns to the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
But the Olufadi Royal Family, one of the two main male lines within the house, has moved to set the record straight: the revered stool is not open to outsiders. Only direct descendants of Awujale Fusengbuwa, through either the male or—if necessary—the female line, can legitimately contest.
Prince Adeleke Adeyemi, General Secretary of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, emphasized this restriction in clear terms. “The royal family is large and extensive and we are all one and continue to welcome all distant relations of the ruling house. But the primary right to the stool is restricted to the male line descendants, and the secondary right to the stool is restricted to the female line descendants,” he stated.
This principle is not merely custom—it is law. The Chiefs Law of 1959 explicitly recognizes the Fusengbuwa Ruling House as the custodian of the Awujale stool. It stipulates that candidates must be direct descendants of Awujale Fusengbuwa, thereby protecting the throne’s integrity and ensuring its continuity through authentic bloodlines.
Historical precedents reinforce this. Successions within the Anikilaya and Fidipote ruling houses show how different male lines within the same house have alternated on the throne. The Fusengbuwa House itself consists of eight branches, but seniority rests first with the Olufadi line, descended from Olufadekemi—the monarch’s first Abidagba—and then with the Tunwase line, descended from Fusengbuwa’s younger son, Ali Adesimbo. Other branches may only be considered if both these lines are unable to present candidates.
The Olufadi line’s history has not been without struggle. When Awujale Oba Theophilus Adenuga Tunwase was deposed in 1929, Oduwole Obanlefa Olufadi petitioned colonial authorities to reclaim his family’s rightful turn. Though his petition was rejected, it safeguarded the family’s claim for posterity. Over the decades, Olufadi descendants have remained central to Ijebu heritage and service, with figures like Prince Fasasi Adebisi Obanlefa Adeyemi leading the family for 25 years.
