The Adeyemi branch of the Anikilaya dynasty has raised objections over their exclusion from the Anikilaya ruling house—one of the recognized royal houses eligible to produce candidates for the revered Awujale stool of Ijebuland, in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
It will be recalled that the Anikilaya ruling house produced the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who passed away last month.
In a statement released to the press on Sunday and signed by Adedeji Ademola Adeyemi, the Adeyemi family accused some members of the Anikilaya ruling house of deliberately altering historical records to erase the Adeyemis from the royal lineage.
According to the statement, Adeyemi Anikilaya was the eldest crown prince of the late Oba Anikilaya Saagun. The monarch’s other two sons were Ogbagba and Ademolu.
Ademola Adeyemi further stated that “Prince Ademola Aiyegbajeje Adeyemi was selected for the Awujale throne following the death of Oba Daniel Adesanya, Gbelegbuwa II, in 1959, but declined the position. His brother, Prince Mubashiru Adedipupo Adeyemi—father of the late Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona—stepped in and successfully presented his son as a candidate. With the kingmakers’ approval, Sikiru Kayode Adetona of the Adeyemi Anikilaya family became Awujale in 1960.”
The Adeyemi family has rejected claims by certain individuals within the dynasty who have denied the Adeyemis their rightful place as descendants of the first son, instead assigning headship to a younger sibling and including individuals not originally part of the royal lineage.
“To set the record straight,” the statement continued, “we reject the inclusion of Mabadeje, Adekoya Ofirigidi, and Adeire Adeewu—alleged sons of Oba Anikilaya Saagun Figbajoye, who reigned in 1821—because there is no credible record linking them to our lineage.”
The Adeyemi family reaffirmed their status as direct descendants of Adeyemi Anikilaya, the eldest son of Oba Anikilaya Saagun Figbajoye, and dismissed recent public statements from a few family members as baseless, misleading, and historically inaccurate.
They urged the public and relevant authorities to disregard those claims and to recognize the legitimacy of the Adeyemi family’s place within the Anikilaya ruling house and the royal succession of Ijebuland.
