𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗜𝗕𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 - 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗜𝗕𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘. The Iconic city of Ibadan has been settled and resettled many times over in Yoruba history. The first Ibadan was founded c.1530-1542 by Lagelu, nicknamed Oro Apatamaja. Lagelu was born at the Degelu compound in Ile Ife an was Ife war chief (Jagun) and prince. He was the grandson to the Obalufe (Ọ̀rúntọ́) of ife while his mother was the daughter of Ooni Luwoo Gbagida, the only female Ooni of Ife to date. Ooni Luwoo was married to the Obaloran, an Iharẹ Ifẹ chief. This first Ibadan by then was surrounded by several Egba villages like Ido, Ojoo, Ika and the Owu town of Erunmu. which gave the impression that Ibadan was also one of the Egba Agura (gbagura) settlements, although it was Ife with some Egba people from the surroundings. The city's name comes from the term "Ẹ̀bá Ọ̀dàn" which means; 'Edge of the grassland', describing Ibadan's location at the edge where the forest zone ends and the open lands or savanna begins. The first Ibadan was destroyed after about 100 years due to an unfortunate event at an Egungun festival according to Oba I.B. Akinyele, the first educated Olubadan of Ibadan, and Lagelu and his children who survived the war had to seek refuge on Eleyele Hill around Awotan before establishing the second Ibadan at Ori iyangi which became the site of Labosinde market. During the reign of Basorun Oluyole, the market was renamed to Oja Iba (Iba is the title for Basoruns in Yorubaland just as Oba is the title for Kings), which has remained the name to this present time. Till today, the village they established at Awotan has a Baale under the suzerainty of the Olubadan. The second Ibadan was established c.1829 by Basorun Oluyole of Oyo, who was a 'Jagun' or general of Ife and was created as a conglomerate of population elements from Oyo, Ife, Owu, Isheri and Ijebu. The influx of people changed the character of the town. One of the most important migrants were the Owu group led by Olowu Akinjobi after the destruction of Owu town by an allied army of Ijebus and the Ifes as a result of trade conflict at the important commercial town of Apomu. The second Ibadan ended when the Olubadan invited the allied army from their camp at Iperu led by Maye Okunade, an Ife War General, and Lakanle, an Oyo Leader to avenge the death of Olubadan’s daughter at the hand of the Owu leader Akinjobi whom she had earlier been given in marriage to. This war marked the end of the second Ibadan. Thus, Ibadan was again re-peopled around 1829 (The 3rd Ibadan) not by the original founders of the town but by the victorious allied Army consisting of Egbas, Ijebus, Ifes and the Oyos. Maye Okunade of Ife became the Baale of Ibadan assisted by Labosinde as Baba-Isale and Lakanle as leader of the Oyo group. The Oyos and Ifes settled at Oja-Oba, the Ijebus around Isale-Ijebu and the Egbas at Yeosa. The Egbas resorted to Ibadan which proved to be the rallying point of the Yorubas and later the bulwark of their defence against Fulani jihadists. However, as a result of interclass rivalry among the settlers, the Egbas withdrew from Ibadan to Abeokuta led by Sodeke, in 1830. Between 1830 and 1833, the political supremacy of the Ifes was shattered after “Gbanamu” war between the Ifes and the Oyos around 1833. The Ife Army was defeated by the strong Military power of the Oyos in Ibadan. This was followed with the destruction of Erunmu, Ikija, Ojoo and other Egba and Owu villages. Olowu was captured and killed in Erunmu and was buried at the confluence of Odo-Oba and River Osun. This incidence forced the Owu settlers to Abeokuta to join the Egbas on December 25, 1834. After the fall of Erunmu, an Owu vassal town, the Oyo War chiefs returned to Ibadan with the rest of the people who joined the war as volunteers. “At a public meeting held to consider their future course, the war Chiefs resolved that as they now intend to make Ibadan their home, they should arrange for settled government and take titles.” The present crop of Oyo-Ibadan rulers did not gain control of Ibadan administration until after the Gbadamu war with Oluyedun becoming the first OIubadan Baale of oyo origin, followed by Oluyole who was later installed Basorun by Alafin Atiba in 1839. However, the republican system of Obaship was firmly established in 1851, when Oyesile Olugbode succeeded Opeagbe as the Baale of Ibadan and Ibikunle became the Balogun, Sunmola Laamo became the Otun Baale while Ogunmola was installed ‘the Otun Balogun’. The innovation became a regular feature whereby, there evolved two separate Chieftaincy lines namely: Baale line and Balogun Isoriki line. The Baale title gave the holder mainly the civic responsibility while the Balogun line comprised of war Chiefs held purely military titles. From that point onwards, Ibadan continued to swell and grow tremendously, until it became the biggest Indigenous African city. It then became the capital and seat of Nigeria's Western Region government and later on the Western State and eventually, Oyo state.