A guest essay in TheCable argues that Ifá divination and history confirm the Ooni of Ife’s cultural supremacy over the Alaafin of Oyo, as imperial power fades but origins endure.
A recent commentary in TheCable has reignited debate over the supremacy tussle between the Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo, stressing that cultural authority outlives political power. Citing an Ifá verse, guest writer Damilola Ayeni noted that “Olúkólú kan ò tó Oòni o,” meaning no crown equals that of the Ooni, since Ile-Ife represents the ancestral source of the Yoruba people.
Ayeni argued that while the Alaafin historically embodied imperial might through Oyo’s expansion, that power collapsed with the fall of the empire. “Even if the Oyo Empire still stood, the Alaafin would only be lord over his conquered territories, not the entirety of Yorubaland,” he wrote.
According to him, history demonstrates that empires—from Babylon to Rome—rise and fall, but origin and culture remain constant. He maintained that the Ooni’s supremacy rests on enduring cultural logic rather than conquest, concluding that “cultural power is eternal; wherever a people go, their origin goes.”