A man by the name “Elesi Ekun Ogoji” was credited to have first stumbled into this town while hunting, and settled at “Efiyan”. Then, one Chief Ogbolu was sent from Ijebu-Ode to be the overseer, and he settled at “Odo-gbolu”. But because of his lackluster attitude, another person named Chief Layanra or Madegun ( a friend to one of the children of then female Awujale), was sent to replace him. Chief Layanra settled at “Odo Layanra”. Since that time, no other replacement was sent until 1943, when Onasanya was installed as chief.
One day, Elesi went hunting in the forest and ran into a man named Aderohunmu, who was a child of Oba Awujale Ajano (1642). Prince Aderohunmu was reported to have been banished from Ijebu-Ode for lying. However, the condition in which Elesi found him in the forest was so pathetic that on getting back home, he went directly to the Awujale and reported that while hunting in the forest, he ran into a dark complexioned man behind river “omen” (“okunrin dudu lehin omi omen”) who claimed to be the Awujale’s son, and pleaded for clemency for the prince. The Awujale, apparently still bitter about what his son did, was not as sympathetic and even joked, saying: “O mo le da ni” meaning, that’s what you get for being a traitor. It was since then that this prince became known as: “Moloda” (Okunrin dudu ehin Omen).
Elesi was so filled with pity for Prince Aderohunmu that he pleaded with the prince to leave the forest and come and stay with him. So, in 1850, Prince Aderohunmu obliged to leave his settlement at Orule Iloda, and relocated to Odogbolu, and named his new area “Iloda”, which later became one of the prominent areas in Odogbolu.
It was since this time that Odogbolu had known no peace. This was because of the claim that the area known as “Moloda” should be the center of leadership for the entire Odogbolu area, but Oremadegun disagreed, thus creating a tug-of-war over territorial supremacy. This rift dragged on till 1903 when General Reef Talker had to intervene. Also in 1915, General Moore House intervened. In 1916, Mr. Sawyer, the District Administrator also intervened; same in 1924 by General Major Rockson. It was at this time that the Moloda made up the story he received his crown form Ile-Ife. As a result of this apparently false claim, he was dethroned.
In March 1929, Oba Dagburewe of Idowa, Idi Mobulejo, accompanied District Commissioners Rowel Jones, and T.B. Dew, undertook an investigation into the records of Odogbolu indigenes regarding the Moloda matter. During the investigative proceedings, Oba Dagburewe advised the Odogbolu people to consider merging the three royal titles (then existing) into one and then rotate ascendancy to the throne among the three areas. This advice was rejected. Then in 1930, Awujale Fibiwoga decreed that the three competing areas (Remadegun, Elesi and Moloda) would form the leadership for Odogbolu. This was how Odogbolu became a town with three leaders! It was after this that James Idowu became the chief of Moloda. In 1939, Odogbolu became separated from Idowa and Eyinwa became part of Odogbolu. Then in 1944, Chief Mobaranku became the head of Moloda.
Source: Itan Ido Ijebu by Dr. Badejo Oluremi Adebonojo, First published in 1990 by John West Publications Ltd., John West House, Plot “2″ Block “A”, Acme Road, Ogba, P.M.B. 21001, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Some information also taken from an unpublished manuscript by the same author, who has since died.
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