Oba (ruler)

Oba means king in the Yoruba and Bini languages of contemporary West Africa. Kings in Yorubaland, a region which is in the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria and Togo, make use of it as a pre-nominal honourific. Post-colonial examples of Yoruba bearers include Oba Ogunwusi of Ile Ife, Oba Aromolaran of Ilesha and Oba Adeyemi of Oyo. An example of a Bini bearer is Oba Ewuare of Benin.

The Yoruba chieftaincy system can be divided into four separate ranks: royal chiefs, noble chiefs, religious chiefs and common chiefs. The royals are led by the Obas, who sit at the apex of the hierarchy and serve as the fons honorum of the entire system. They are joined in the class of royal chiefs by the titled cadets of their royal families. The three other ranks, who traditionally provide the membership of a series of privy councils, sects and guilds, oversee the day-to-day administration of the Yoruba traditional states and are led by the Ogbonis, the Babalawos and the titled elders of the kingdoms' constituent families.

There are two different kinds of Yoruba monarchs: The kings of Yoruba clans, which are often simply networks of related towns (for example, the oba of the Egba bears the title "Alake of Egbaland" because his ancestral seat is the Ake quarter of Abeokuta, hence the title Alake, which is Yoruba for Man of Ake. The Oyo oba, meanwhile, bears the title "Alaafin", which means Man of the palace), and the kings of individual Yoruba towns. For example, the king of Iwo - a town in Osun State - bears the title "Olu'wo" (Olu of Iwo, lit. Lord of Iwo).

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