ANCESTORY
THE GENEALOGY OF HRM OBA JOSEPH ADEBAYO ADEWOLE, AROJOJOYE II, THE OWA AJERO OF IJERO KINGDOM
by Femi Alufa
The lineage of the generation of His Royal Majesty Oba Joseph Adebayo Adewole, Arojojoye II, The Owa Ajero of Ijero Kingdom.
Olofin Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race from Ile-Ife begot the crowned Princes who are paramount rulers of their Kingdoms. Orangun of Ila, Olowu of Owu, Ajero of Ijero, Olowo of Owo, Owa of Ilesa, Oranmiyan (The father of the first Alaafin of Oyo and Oba of Benin)and their brothers and sisters.
Ijero oral tradition and history revealed that Ajero ki osa was the fourth direct Prince of Olofin Oduduwa. Ajero Ki Osa begot Ajero Akikodiye, Ajero Akikodiye was the father of Ajero Owarede, a sibling of Orangun Ogboye and Alara of Aramoko, their mother’s name was Iwa (also known as Ademiregun).
Ajero Owarede was the father of Ajero Alakeji 1.Ajero Alakeji 1 was the father of Ajero Ogbe and Prince Otutu. According to T.B.Bovell-Jones, Intelligence Reports on the Ijero District 1936:
“The Oyiyo and Okeruku branches of Ajero dynasty were named after the sons of Ogbe,the first Ajero,the Arojo branch after the son of Ogbe’s younger brother,Otutu.”
Ajero Ogbe begat Ajero Alaworo, a contemporary of Owa Obarabara Olokun Eshin of Ijesha. Ajero Ogbe was also the father of Ajero Apa , the ancestor of Oyiyo and Okeruku dynasty.
Ajero Atakumosa who reigned from 1396 to 1409 A.D was reputed to be a son of Prince Otutu (Ajero Ogbe younger’s brother) and a grandson of Ajero Alakeji 1.Ajero Atakumosa who built the first religious shrine at Ijero palace (Esu Atakumosa)was the ancestor of Arojojoye dynasty.
Ajero Atakumosa was the father of Ajero Agbagba, Ajero Agbagba was the father of Ajero Otipiri, Ajero Otipiri was the father of Ajero Ajiboye.
Ajero Ajiboye was the father of Ajero Okinbaloye, Ajero Okinbaloye’s mother hailed from Otun-Ekiti as a Princess of Oore Agbayangoye (Hence, the maternal cognomen of the family as “Omo Olorogbo jegi l’Otun). Ajero Okinbaloye was the father of Ajero Eyebiokin Afesojoye, Ajero Eyebiokin Afesojoye was the father of Ajero Afinbiokin. (This is why the panegyric cognomen of the Arojojoye dynasty of three Kings with Okin (Peacock-a sort of a royal bird) prefix and suffix with their names takes its root.”Omo Oba meta t’Okin t’Okin lona Oke Ijero”. (AfinbiOkin, EyebiOkin and Okinbaloye).
Ajero Afinbiokin begot his first Prince on the throne called Adebusuyi, who had his family clan around Elemikan compound, Ododara street ,Odo Ese Quarters,Ijero-Ekiti till today. Ajero AfinbiOkin was also the father of Ajero Agbeleja who was the father of Princess Helena Fatoregun Doherty (mother of Oga Josiah Henryson Doherty, the Prince merchant of old Lagos).Princess Helena Doherty was one of the pioneers of Christianity in Ijero Kingdom and indeed Ekitiland in 1895.
Ajero Agbeleja was also the maternal grandfather of Oba Agunsoye, the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti(reigned 1910-1936)and maternal ancestor of Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, CON, The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti(ABUAD).
Ajero Agbeleja was also the father of Prince Aderuku, who became Ajero Arojojoye 1, who reigned between 1916 to 1930.Ajero Aderuku Arojojopye 1 was the father of Prince Famutimi Adamu (who was one of the pioneers of Roman Catholic Church in Ijero-Ekiti in 1917). Ajero Aderuku Arojojoye 1 also begot Prince Adewole Aderuku whose Queen mother Olojo came from Awo-Ekiti. Prince James Adewole was the father of Prince Joseph Adebayo Adewole who started his reigns on December 26, 1991 as Oba Joseph Adebayo Adewole, Arojojoye II, the Owa Ajero of Ijero Kingdom.
At this moment, all the generations from Ajero Atakumosa (the patriarch of Arojojoye Dynasty in Ijero metropolis) to Ajero Adebayo Adewole, Arojojoye II is twelve (12) generations in all. The impact of a leader’s heritage is also in their genealogies.
May God bless the Owa Ajero Dynasty forever. Amen
BIOGRAPHICAL VIGNETTE:
HRM OBA JOSEPH ADEBAYO ADEWOLE, JP, OFR, THE OWA AJERO OF IJERO KINGDOM
HRM Oba Joseph Adebayo Adewole, Arojojoye II,The Owa Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti and the paramount ruler of Ijero Kingdom, Ekiti State. He was crowned on December 26, 1991. He became the first Chairman of the Ekiti State Council of Obas and Chiefs at the creation of Ekiti State in 1996.Prior to his Obaship, he was a civil servant with the Ondo State Ministry of Lands and Housing as a Principal Surveyor.
He was trained at the Federal Survey School, Oyo, Nigeria and also in Netherlands where he did his Postgraduate studies in Surveying and Area Mapping.HRM Oba Adewole also attended the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) where he studied Mathematics for his first degree.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Administration and Management of Nigeria, Fellow Nigeria Institution of Surveyors and in 2003,the highly regarded monarch was conferred with the Officer of the Federal Republic(OFR),he is also a Justice of Peace (JP)and awarded several honours at home and abroad.
His Royal Majesty, The Owa Ajero of Ijero Kingdom is a reformer and promoter of the cultural heritage of his people. He is also a catalyst of societal development.