Oluewu was the Alaafin of Oyo from 1833-1835. During his reign, the Fulani empire had already captured Ilorin after an internal coup and transformed it into a Fulani emirate.Oluewu was then bound to Shita, the Emir of Ilorin. However, he refused to embrace the Islamic religion and sought help from Borgu to defeat the Fulanis. Initially, he recorded some success in battle, but a final putsch to recover the northern part of Yorubaland from the Fulanis led to his death and that of many of Oyo's leading nobles.