The Yoruba and Fulani inhabitants of Ilorin, the present capital of Kwara State, Nigeria, have for so long been at loggerheads over who should produce monarch for the town.
The Yoruba people in Ilorin claimed that the throne should always have a Yoruba king on the seat and backed this with historical references which point Yoruba ancestors as the founders of Ilorin.
The Fulani section of Ilorin came up with a counterclaim that no Yoruba king has ever been enthroned from the onset, therefore the throne belongs to their (Fulani) ethnicity.
However, history will never lie and so we brings you the true account of how Aare-Ona-Kakanfo Afonja lost Ilorin to the Fulani people of Northern Nigeria.
Who Was Afonja And Who Originally Founded Ilorin?
The history of Ilorin put it as a Yoruba town which was originally used as a military outpost by the Alaafin, paramount ruler of the old Oyo empire (Oyo-Ile). At the period of creation, Ilorin was administered by Afonja, the sixth Are-Ona-Kakanfo (generalissimo) of the Oyo army and successor of Are-Ona Oku of Jabata.
It was from this outpost that Afonja carried out military functions for the then Alaafin named Aole, the son of Alaafin Abiodun.
Aole reigned between 1789 and 1796. It was during this period that Shehu Alimi, a Fulani cleric, arrived Ilorin with some of his tribesmen and were all welcomed and hosted by Afonja.
Afonja’s Conflict With Alaafin Aole
After a while, conflict broke out between Alaafin Aole and Are-Ona Afonja. Alaafin Aole had ordered Afonja to attack a town named Iwere-Ile which to Afonja was a suicidal mission and he adamantly refused.
Iwere-Ile is the hometown of Aole’s paternal grandmother and a former Alaafin named Ajagbo had placed curses on any Kakanfo that attempt to attack Iwere-Ile. These were the reasons Afonja disobeyed Alaafin Aole’s orders.
While still at disagreement, Alaafin Aole, also called Arogangan (roughly translated as the mean one), ordered Afonja to attack Apomu, a prominent town in Ile-Ife; this was in 1795. The disagreement heated up to the point that both sides resulted to trash things out with violence.
At this point, Afonja sought the support of Shehu Alimi also known as Salih Janta who had both spiritual and military power. On his way from the Apomu expedition, Afonja stopped at Oyo-Ile to deal with Alaafin Aole. Afonja sent an empty calabash to Aole signifying his rejection as the Alaafin and according to the customs of Oyo, he was to commit suicide at such and he did.
We gathered that before Aole took his life, he performed a ritual and cursed the entire Yoruba land that their sons and daughters will be taken as slaves and sold to different parts of the world.
Many believe Aole’s curse plunged Yoruba land into a series of inter-tribal wars that broke out in following years such as the Kiriji war, Egba-Dahomey war, Ibadan-Ijaye war and so on.
Aole was succeeded by Adebo who ruled from 1796 to 1797; Maku succeeded Adebo and also ruled for few months before his death in 1797. From 1797 to 1802, the Oyo throne was vacant. It was in 1802 that Alaafin Majotu was crowned and it was during his reign that Are-Ona-Kakanfo lost Ilorin to the Fulani.
The Death Of Afonja And The Establishment Of Emir Throne In Ilorin
After defeating Aole, Afonja and Alimi’s relationship strengthened to the extent that Afonja enlisted Alimi’s men into his army and disbanded many of his men whom history claimed he didn’t fully trust. Unknowing to Afonja, the Fulanis were gradually infiltrating his army and before he could realize, it was too late.
This was after Sheu Alimi’s death. His son, Abdulsalam, earnestly yearned to rule Ilorin and clandestinely plotted against Afonja. In 1824, Abdulsalam’s men shot Afonja arrows till he breathed his last. He was shot so many arrows that his dead body remained suspended in an upright position for a long while.
“HE FELL INDEED LIKE A HERO. SO COVERED WAS HE WITH DARTS THAT HIS BODY WAS SUPPORTED IN AN ERECT POSITION UPON THE SHAFTS OF SPEAR AND ARROWS SHOWERED UPON HIM. SO MUCH DREAD HAD HIS PERSONALITY INSPIRED THAT THESE TREACHEROUS JAMAS WHOM HE HAD SO OFTEN LED TO VICTORY COULD NOT BELIEVE HE WAS REALLY DEAD; THEY CONTINUED TO SHOWER DARTS UPON HIM LONG AFTER HE HAD CEASED FIGHTING. THEY WERE AFRAID TO APPROACH HIS BODY AS IF HE WOULD SUDDENLY SPRING UP AND SHAKE HIMSELF FOR THE CONFLICT AFRESH.”
SAMUEL JOHNSON.
After Afonja’s death, Abdulsalam declared himself the Emir of Ilorin and pledge allegiance to Sokoto Caliphate. This was how the monarch of Ilorin hold the title of Emir till today instead of Oba or any other Yoruba title for a king.
Afterward, the Yorubas attempted to regain control of Ilorin from the Fulani jammas but failed. Toyeje, the successor of Afonja, led the first and second attempts to drive the Fulani people out of Ilorin.
Nollywood actress Destiny Etiko has revealed that she lost ₦5 million after placing a bet during the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, saying the experience has discouraged her from gambling again.
The actress disclosed this in a post shared on her Instagram handle on Monday, shortly after the conclusion of the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
“First time betting and I lost . Will never try it again. My 5M gone . In fact am done watching football. Anxiety almost killed me,” she wrote.
Etiko, however, did not disclose the particular bet she placed or provide further details about how she lost the money.
Earlier, during the World Cup final, the actress shared a series of updates on her Instagram Story, indicating she was backing Argentina to defeat Spain.
In one post, she wrote, “Argentina all the way. Who can’t wait?”
As the match progressed, she appeared increasingly frustrated with Argentina’s performance, posting, “This ball tough o. Argentina is pissing me off.”
She also praised Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez for keeping the defending champions in the game, writing, “The goal keeper is the savior oo.”
PUNCH Online had reported that Spain defeated defending champions Argentina 1-0 after extra time to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Sunday.
Substitute Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in the second period of extra time to hand Spain their second World Cup title, 16 years after their maiden triumph in South Africa in 2010.
Argentina played the closing stages with 10 men after midfielder Enzo Fernández was sent off for a second bookable offence, while Spain dominated possession before eventually finding the breakthrough through Torres.
The self-styled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, was arrested last Tuesday by the Intelligence Response Team led by Chief Superintendent of Police, Moses Lohor.
It was learnt that Adeyemi was arrested between 11am and 12pm inside a building in the Ijebu-Ijesa area of Osun State.
The suspect’s arrest followed a bench warrant issued against him by a Federal High Court in Abuja after he allegedly failed to appear for arraignment on eight counts.
Giving details of the operation that led to the arrest, a senior police officer in the Osun State Police Command, in an interview with Punch, said Adeyemi’s location was first uncovered in the Aregbe-Fakule area of Osogbo on July 9 after evading tracking by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The police officer said Lohor’s team took over the tracking after the DSS withdrew from the case.
He added that the operatives eventually located Adeyemi in Ilesa and subsequently arrested him on Tuesday morning.
The source said, “The Moses Lohor team were in Osun for surveillance ahead of the August 15 governorship election. They were mapping hotspots and collating other intelligence. As a matter of fact, the Lohor team didn’t report to the Osun State Police Command. They operated from the area commander’s office at Oke-Fia in Osogbo.
“Adeyemi was already on their watch list, but they didn’t act because the case was being handled by the DSS. Adeyemi’s last known location tracked by the DSS was Ibadan, but they couldn’t apprehend him because he regularly switched off his phone.
“A senior police officer from Abuja informed the Lohor team about the DSS withdrawal on Wednesday. Lohor’s team then decided to track Adeyemi’s location on Thursday, July 9. Incidentally, he was located around the Aregbe-Fakule area of Osogbo.
“Luckily for them, late on Monday night, Adeyemi’s location showed he was around Ilesa, and the Lohor team intensified efforts, which led to his arrest on Tuesday morning. The team only informed the Osun State Commissioner of Police when they moved in to make the arrest.”
Adeyemi is reportedly being detained at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, from where he is expected to be arraigned on July 27.
Popular Nollywood actress in the Yoruba movie industry, Biola Fowosere, has opened up about the challenges she faced after her ex-husband left their marriage.
It was reports that Biola, during an interview on African A List, said her ex-husband abandoned her and their children despite not doing anything wrong in the union.
The thespian who broke down in tears during the interview said her ex-husband is the only person she would like to ask why he abandoned his family.
Biola also spoke about battling severe depression after the separation, spending one year and six months in the hospital while struggling to recover emotionally.
According to the movie star, she almost lost her sanity, adding that it has been seven years since they lost contact.
She said, “The only person I’d really want to ask a question is my ex-husband. I’d really like to ask him what I did wrong because I did nothing before he left me and the kids. I want to ask what my children and I did to deserve what he did to us,” she said.
“I spent one year and six months in the hospital battling depression after he left. I almost ran mad. We are not in contact. Since he left, we haven’t seen him. He blocked us seven years ago.”
