Atiba Atobatele was the 36th king of the Oyo empire, succeeding Oluewu. He grew up at a time of decline and great upheaval in the empire after the old capital had been destroyed.
He moved the capital from Oyo to Ago Oja(present Oyo). During his reign, the remnant of the Yoruba army moved South and camped in an area that belonged to the Egba of Gbagura clan. The war camp later became the city of Ibadan and it emerged as the new power centre in Yorubaland. Oba Atiba sought to preserve what remained of Oyo Empire by placing on Ibadan duty of protecting the capital from the Ilorin in the north. Atiba was a great leader but he came at a time of crises. Yoruba had lost Igbomina. Ijesha, Ekiti and Akoko at this time were under threat. Ogbomoso, Ede, Iwo, axis were under attack-even Osogbo had been defeated, occupied by Fulani.
In fact, the entire Yoruba land was under Ilorin-Fulani siege. Ibadan would not allow the onslaught to continue, by 1840, Ibadan soldiers defeated and pushed Fulani warriors back to Il?rin but could not take the city. Atiba died in 1859. He was the last really great king Oyo had. He tried to restore Oyo’s glory, but the decline was bound to happen as all the tribes were fighting one another.
Ref: History of the Yorubas, Cambridge
