EFUNPOROYE Osuntinubu Olumosa, later known as Madam Efunroye Tinubu, was an astute businesswoman, kingmaker and the first woman to kick against British rule in Nigeria during the colonial era. She was a major figure in Lagos and Abeokuta (Egba) politics.

Born in 1810 in Ojokodo, currently in Ogun State, Tinubu remarried to Oba Adele Ajosun in 1833 after the death of her first husband. She moved with the exiled Oba to Badagry, which was the traditional place of refuge for Lagos monarchs.

At Badagry, she leveraged Adele’s connections and built a formidable business, dealing in tobacco, salt and slaves. Oba Adele was reinstated in 1835, but died two years after. Before his death, Tinubu had strengthened her trade with the expatriate community, the indigenous population of Lagos and Abeokuta, as well as other communities in Yoruba land.She later remarried Yesufu Bada, alias Obadina, who was Oba Oluwole’s war captain.

Tinubu had a great influence in the palace and contributed in making Akitoye, her brother-in-law, king after Oba Oluwole. In 1851, when Oba Akitoye was fully in charge of the throne, he granted Tinubu favourable commercial concessions, which made her to still trade in slaves for guns with Brazilians and Portuguese traders. She also obtained a tract of land from him, which now makes up part of the current Tinubu Square and Kakawa Street. Tinubu had so much influence over Akitoye that in 1853, two Lagos chiefs — Possu and Ajenia — rose in rebellion against him for giving Tinuba so much privilege.

With the ban on slave trade in the country, Tinubu put more efforts into internal trade, dealing in palm oil, salt, pepper and tobacco. By 1850, she was the leading middleman in the interior of Lagos.

Tinubu played prominent roles in installing and removing kings. She, however, supported Dosunmu, the son of Akitoye to ascend the throne in 1853. Under Dosunmu’s reign, Tinubu had a massive security force, composed of slaves and she sometimes executed orders usually given by the king.

In 1855, she led a campaign against the Brazilian and Sierra Leonean immigrants in Lagos for using their wealth and power against Dosunmu, and for subverting the customs of Lagos. The British Consul, Benjamin Campbell, felt threatened by Tinubus’s nationalistic acts and in 1856, instigated Dosunmu to expel Tinubu and her followers from Lagos to Abeokuta.

In Abeokuta, Tinubu identified with the United Board Management Government and expanded her business activities to include a wide range of wares, such as arms and ammunition. Her influence began to be felt in Abeokuta politics, when she contributed to the successful defence of the Egba town during the Dahomey invasion of 1863. For her support, she was given the title of Iyalode (first lady) in 1864. The title placed her in a position of power, which enabled her to boldly participate in Egba affairs.

Tinubu opposed colonial policies in Lagos. She was the first woman to play a proactive part in the resistance to British rule during the colonial period.
She died in 1887. Tinubu Square on Lagos Island, a place previously known as Independence Square, is named after her. She was buried at Ojokodo Quarters in Abeokuta.

Controversy had it that Madam Tinubu told a slave trader that “she would rather drown the slaves [20 in number] than sell them at a discount”.

She sold slaves to Brazilian and European merchants in violation of a 1852 treaty with Great Britain outlawing the slave trade in Lagos. Her economic hegemony over Lagos and secret slave trading resulted in her coming into conflict with the British, as well as other Lagos merchants. She was exiled to Abeokuta under British pressure after plotting an unsuccessful conspiracy to remove British influence from Lagos. While in Abeokuta, she helped supply the city with munition during its victorious war against the Kingdom of Dahomey, thus granting her the chieftancy title of Iyalode in her honour.

She died in Abeokuta in 1887. The landmark Tinubu Square in Lagos, Nigeria is named after her and also contains a statue of her. She also has a statue in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Source:
Wikipedia
The Guardian- Omiko Awa
Yorubaness

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

The story of Efunsetan Aniwura is perhaps one of the most motivating thrillers in Yoruba political history. It captivates, in the most astounding manner, the place of women in Yoruba political history. But all along, the story of Efunsetan had been written and foretold by her tormentors and painted grimly by mostly chauvinistic men.

It must be understood the context of Efunsetan’s coming into global fame, at least at this time, the World was defined as the circumference within which local people operated within a phenomenon.

The 1700s up to 1900 were centuries of great wars and arms build-up in the vast Yoruba country of old. It was a period of great revolutions and social upheavals across the Yoruba country. It saw the massive production of weapons and the importation of military hardwares by Yoruba leaders, from as far as Hambourg in Germany.

I visited the Ogedengbe of Ilesa few months ago and was thrilled by the amazing exploits of Ogedengbe, the war General who led the Ekitiparapo war and who by 1860s was importing military weapons from Europe in the prosecution of war.

To show the grandeur of the Yoruba nation, around 1880, it was reported that the then King of England had invited Ogedengbe for a state visit. England marveled at the military tactics of Ogedengbe, his command structure, his Spartan lifestyle, his mysticism and above all, his science of war which he largely derived from the painstaking study of the movement and behavior of animals in moments of ferocious encounters with death or engagement with trembling. It was at this period that a bomb was invented at Okemesi, which turned around the fortunes soldiers of Ekitiparapo war led by Ogedengbe. Contrary to widespread assumptions, the word KIRIJI actually emanated from the sound of the new weapon produced at Okemesi Ekiti. General Ogedengbe, who was in command of about 100,000 soldiers, had declined the request for a state visit to England, saying that he was too busy with state matters. In Ilesa, during my visit, I saw the picture of the then King of England which the later had sent to Ogedengbe as a mark of respect and honour.

Back to the main topic. The story of Efunsetan Aniwura is intriguing. Her date of birth remains uncertain, but she must have been born around 1790s or around that period. Yoruba epic films and folklores portray Efunsetan as a very vicious woman, filled with prejudice, a woman who died in tragic circumstances. But there are hidden thrills and heroic feat that those who wrote his history continue to undermine. There is nothing as perplexing as having the story of a great woman being relayed by men, in a society credited for not giving women any chance in socio-political affairs, especially in the primordial times, where women were seen as objects consigned to the kitchen and on the mat top. It is to the glory of Moremi, that her story definitely ignited passion in subsequent Yoruba women, one of which was Efunsetan Aniwura.

This woman of substance has been consistently portrayed as a villain who ran a Gestapo of sorrow and blood, a blood-sucker who beheaded people’s head at will. No. We must deconstruct the narrative that veiled real stories under the cover of the superiority of men over the distinction of some brave women in our troubled history. Efunsetan was the son of an Egba farmer, Ogunrin, a native of Egba Oke-Ona. She rose to become the Iyalode of Ibadan. She was the first woman to set up a flourishing agrarian economy that employed no fewer than 2000 men and women. Around 1850, worried by the spread of war and combat in the Yoruba country, she introduced infantry military training into the midst of her workers. She was said to have had her own military training in urban and guerrilla warfare after which she requested that the same training be impacted on her slaves, about 2000 of them.

The workers mainly worked in the vast farmland. They produced cash crops, cotton, groundnuts, maize and beef. She was said to be in possession of a vast dairy farm that could feed the entire Yoruba country and beyond. She traded up to Ghana and the Hausa country and even exported her produce to Europe. In her book, A History of the Yoruba ,Prof Banji Akintoye wrote about Efunsetan who she described as a rich “woman trader” that ‘had more than 2000 workers employed on her farms.” This was at a time the industrial revolution was gaining strength in Europe and agriculture had become the most industrious enterprise in Yorubaland, being one of the service points for European products.

David Hinderer, a missionary who wanted to erect a Church in Ibadan could not source human labour because all the men and women were engaged in large scale farming. The Generals of the Yoruba Army had also taken to farming to beat famine as a direct consequence of war. Hinderer wrote of his travel to Ibadan in 1853 with a caravan of traders and carriers “consisting of not less than 4000 people.” Prof Akintoye wrote “It is not unlikely that Efunsetan was the richest person in the whole of the Yoruba interior in about the late 1870s.” Efunsetan had her own pains and anguish. She had no child after several years of marriage. Unfortunately, her only daughter died in 1860 during child birth. She also adopted a son, Kumuyilo. Now, having lost her only daughter, she went into recluse and became suspicious of life and living. She even became an atheist, ignoring all the gods wondering why she should lose her only daughter.

She may have been pushed to some form of extremism. She ordered that no one among her 2000 workers must marry or have sex within and non of the girls must conceive. It came that one of the workers broke the law. She ordered that the woman be executed. No doubt that she carried out outrageous order of execution, but this was nothing compared with her heroic contributions to the economy of the Yoruba nation. Due to this act, the Aare ordered that she be brought to justice. This was just the proverbial hawk that was looking for every opportunity to clawlift the chicken.

It is believed that her persecutors merely waited for her to carry out a dastardly act as an opportunity to seek revenge against her perceived emergence as a strong and influential woman, whose mutual rival was Madam Tinubu of Lagos who was also her friend. It was at a time her own army had become a threat to the fiery army of Latoosa. How could a woman raise such a vast array of armed soldiers? There are two varying accounts of her death. One claimed Aare Latosa led a strong infantry army to lay siege on her house and instead of being overpowered, she committed suicide by drinking the Hemlock.

At this period, her army had been divided and the loyalty fractured due to the execution of some of the 2000 workers for acts inimical to her authority. The other story said Kumuyilo was bribed by Latoosa to poison her but that the attack on her was carried out in the night by two of her slaves who sneaked into her apartment through the ceiling and clubbed her. There were events that indicated that the Ibadan chiefs were unhappy with the way Efunsetan was brought on her knees. Infact, with Latoosa there was a meeting on 8th of July when the Egba leaders came to Ibadan requesting for a Commission of Inquiry on the murder of Efunsetan.

The two slaves were subsequently brought before the Ibadan traditional court on 10th of July 1874. They were impaled right at the Basorun market. Efunsetan has been painted in forbidding pictures through Yoruba history. It is time to deconstruct and give her due honour as a heroine. At death, Efunsetan’s property was declared the property of the Yoruba country. `But there were other reports that she was indeed given a befitting burial with full military honours by Ibadan military rulers, after her enforced death.

Source by:By Akinlolu Damilare a.k.a Da-Vinci, Written By: Akinlolu Da Vinci

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

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.

The second attempt is known in history as Mugbamugba war in which Yoruba people suffered untold defeat in the strive to regain the throne of Ilorin.

Source: Yorubaness

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM