 The regents of the town were traditionally styled "Alaketu", and are related directly to Ile-ife in present-day Nigeria.Ketu is one of the sixteen original kingdoms established by the children of Oduduwa in Oyo mythic history, though this ancient pedigree has been somewhat neglected in contemporary Yoruba historical research, which tends to focus on communities within Nigeria.The exact status of Ketu within the Oyo empire however is contested.