Oba Francis Adefarakanmi Agbede, a Yoruba monarch, is the 13th Olowa of Igbara-Oke kingdom, Ondo State since 2017.
[1] Igbara-Oke, a nodal town that is located on a mountain top, with a panegyric, "ọmọ ẹlẹ́yẹ ti ń ṣe wẹ́yẹ̀wẹ́yẹ̀," (roughly translated as "the baby bird is singing").
A man by the name of Arajaka, who is said to be a son of Obalufon Alayemore of the Ife Kingdom is believed to have been the first king of Igbara Oke.
Arajaka is believed to left with a crown given to him by Obanifon, as well as the sword of Alayere (a deity), Igba-Ifa, guns and some farm implements.
They stopped and stayed briefly at numbers of places before they arrived at the present day Igbara-Oke.
Amongst the places they stopped were present day Ilesa, Alaaye, Igbo Onigbagbara, Onikolo.
This disease epidemic may be referring to the smallpox outbreak of that region that had claimed the lives of Arajaka's father Obalufon and other Ife nobles.
[3] Alarelu and his group departed South wards of Olowinrin to Odo-Oko, which later became Igbara-Odo, while Adeyigba went upwards to Oke-Oko, which later became Igbara-Oke.
Alarelu and Adeyigba likely were able to conquer the small independent villages of the region and establish themselves as rulers.
The forest also contains a kind of leave called "Ewe Aigbara" that serves as herbs to cure diseases during that time.
Notably, the reigns of these Obas have been marked by significant achievements, with them playing a pivotal role in rural development and fostering social and economic integration.
For most of its history, Igbara-Oke was under the control of the Akure Kingdom and by extension, the Benin Empire 1.
Orikadun Igbara-Oke was involved in many Yoruba inter-tribal wars against the Ibadan, Ijesa and Ekiti Parapo.
Records also show that after Ado-Ekiti, Igbara-Oke was the next town that have standard six class in the then entire Akure Division.
After Oba Adeyiba, different Olowa from the three ruling houses, Oberubese, Ogidi and Aruogbon have ascended the throne.
His paternal grandfather was Prince Joseph Famibio Agbede, and his great-grandfather was Oba Adejuri Ogidi I.
Francis Adefarakanmi Agbede known as Oba Ilufemiloye Ogidi III, is a Nigerian and Yoruba businessman and monarch who has been the 13th Ọba, or Olowa of the town of Igbara-oke, Ondo State since 2017.
A seasoned public administrator and former Head of Service and Secretary to the Western State government of Nigeria between 1973 and 1975.
Appointed in 2021, he currently serves as the pioneer chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.
He served at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in various capacities including as group general manager, Special Duties, group general manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division and executive director (commercial) Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC).
He is credited for formulating several strategic policies including electronic tracking of petroleum products distribution nationwide.
After the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) came into force in 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Komolafe as the pioneer chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC and was confirmed by the Senate in September same year.