The Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Dr Frederick Akinruntan, has kicked against what he called the growing distortion of Yoruba history, rejecting claims that the Igbo people founded Ile-Ife.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Prince Ademibo Akingboye, the monarch said recent attempts to rewrite the story of Yoruba civilisation were based on fiction, not fact. According to him, the Ugbos — not Igbos — were the original settlers of Ife.
“This heresy must stop,” the monarch warned. “There is an effort to legitimise lies through books, but the facts remain clear. Ugbo people were the first at Ife.”
Oba Akinruntan pointed to academic works by respected historians, including Emeritus Professor Anthony Asiwaju and Professor Isola Olomola, who have both maintained that the Ugbo, not the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria, were the pre-Oduduwa inhabitants of Ife.
He also referenced prominent Igbo scholars who never made such claims. “Even Professors Kenneth Dike, Adiele Afigbo and Elizabeth Isichei leading voices in Igbo historical studies never said the Igbos founded Ile-Ife,” he stated.
Taking it further, the monarch explained that ancient Ife was known as Ugbomokun, with names like Ugbo Akira for the market and Ule Ugbo for the palace. He added that the Ifa corpus itself acknowledged Ugbo rule in its verses, saying, kutukutu oba ugbo, osangangan obamakin, meaning “the king of Ugbo ruled at the beginning, Obamakin came later”.
He cautioned against allowing what he described as “jankara historians” to distort centuries of tradition and cultural knowledge.
“These falsehoods, if left unchecked, could destroy the historical and spiritual foundation of Ile-Ife and erase the Ugbo people’s central role in Yoruba heritage,” Oba Akinruntan warned.
