The Kakanfò who went to war over a constitutional principle and lost his town, and the hunter who led the Ẹ̀gbá refugees to the rock at Abẹ́òkúta and governed them without a king.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Dis two men form di two big refugee towns of di nineteenth century in different-different ways. Kúrunmí build Ìjàyè make e become strong power, e refuse to accept change for how Ọ̀yọ́ succession dey go, and e go fight war against Ìbàdàn because of am; e die for 1861 and dem destroy im town for 1862, and dem no ever rebuild am again. Ṣódẹkẹ́ carry di Ẹ̀gbá refugees go di place wey dey under Olúmọ rock around 1830, establish Abẹ́òkúta, and rule am without any crown at all, and e leave confederation of townships wey continue to dey for pass one century after e die. Di two of dem na war leaders for time wey war na di only way to get authority, and none of dem get hereditary claim to anything.
Di source-dem wey dis corpus fit reach no show di exact date wey dem born am, and any specific year wey dem give for am, make dem look am with doubt.
Aláàfin Àtìbà make am Àrẹ̀ Ọ̀nà Kakanfò for 1837, for di settlement wey Àtìbà take divide di old imperial military authority between two provincial powers: Ìbàdàn under im Balógun to protect di east against Ìlọrin, and Ìjàyè under di Kakanfò to protect di west . As custom no allow Kakanfò stay for di capital, Ìjàyè come turn to im headquarters and, for real life, an independent state. Under am, e grow come be one of di two successor powers to Ọ̀yọ́.
Àtìbà die for 1859. When e dey alive, e don secure agreement make im son, di Arẹ̀mọ Adélù, take over after am. Dis na reform, and na big one: Ọ̀yọ́ custom require make di Arẹ̀mọ, di crown prince wey join share authority with di king during im reign, die together with im papa, specifically make e no fit use dat shared authority take become king. To remove dat requirement make di Arẹ̀mọ become heir, and dat one change how di office be .
Ìbàdàn and most Yoruba states accept Adélù. Kúrunmí refuse, and e insist say di Arẹ̀mọ must die as custom demand. E dey important to make am clear say dis na genuine constitutional position, no be just excuse. Kúrunmí hold di Kakanfò title from constitution wey e dey argue say dem just alter without authority, and Yoruba political actor for dat period no get any other language pass custom to take make dat argument.
Wetin trigger di war na property dispute. One rich woman wey im name na Abu, wey dey live for Ìjànnà, one town under Ìjàyè, die without will. Adélù claim im property for di Aláàfin. Kúrunmí drag am and hold di Aláàfin messengers, and Adélù treat dis action as declaration of war, come respond by giving Ìbàdàn authority to make war .
Ìbàdàn hold im war council for 10 April 1860 and Balógun Ìbíkúnlé raise di standard. Di strategy na blockade instead of direct attack: Ìbàdàn cut Ìjàyè food supply from di Òkè-Ògùn flank and make hunger catch di town . Ẹ̀gbá, Ìlọrin and Ìjẹ̀bú support Ìjàyè. Di CMS missionaries wey dey live for di two sides, Anna and David Hinderer for Ìbàdàn and Adolphus Mann for Ìjàyè, write eyewitness record of dat time, wey good well-well for Yoruba war of dat period, and na people wey depend on di protection of di chiefs wey dem dey describe write am .
Dem capture and kill five of Kúrunmí sons during di war, and di sources treat dis as di heavy blow wey e no fit recover from .
Kúrunmí die for June 1861. Abogunrin, wey be im head of slaves, bury am secretly. When dem find di grave, dem cut im head comot carry go give Adélù, as custom demand for any deceased Àrẹ̀ Ọ̀nà Kakanfò .
Ìjàyè fall for 17 March 1862 and dem destroy am. Abogunrin and di chiefs wey survive run go Abẹ́òkúta and establish Ago-Ìjàyè for there . Dem no ever rebuild di town for dat site again, and di Ìjàyè diaspora plus di wahala of resettlement na wetin Toyin Falola study .
Di standard dating for di war na 1860 to 1862. Another small group dey say na 1859 to 1861, and make people recognize say na minority view .
Kúrunmí keep slaves; di person wey bury am, di sources identify am as im head of slaves. Di Ìjàyè war economy, just like dat of Ìbàdàn, run on captives. Dem talk dis one because na so e be for every Yoruba military power for dat period, and to pick only one out go give wrong picture of di structure.
Ola Rotimi play Kurunmi (1971) na di reason why most Nigerians know di name, and na fine tragedy wey dem build on top di constitutional conflict. Na work of drama and e no be evidence for anything. Where everyday account about Kúrunmí dey supply psychology, dialogue or motive, na Rotimi play dem dey usually draw from, no be historical source.
Dem still dey write am as Sodeke and Shodeke. Im title na Ṣeríkí, wey be war-leader title, no be crown .
Nobody know di date wey dem born am. Some sources talk say e die for 1844, and others talk say na 1845, and dis corpus mention di two instead of choosing one .
Di Owu war around 1822 and di general collapse wey follow di fall of Ọ̀yọ́ scatter di Ẹ̀gbá. Dem choose Ṣódẹkẹ́, wey di sources describe as hunter, as leader of di refugee group, and e lead di first migration go one place wey dey under big granite outcrop, Olúmọ. Di name Abẹ́òkúta mean "under di rock," and dem choose di place because e easy to defend, especially against slave raiding from Dahomey . By general agreement, di founding date na around 1830.
Wetin e come build after dat no be kingdom. Abẹ́òkúta na confederation of townships, wey each of dem keep their own chiefs and identity, and Ṣódẹkẹ́ hold supreme authority through consent and reputation instead of official office. As Johnson put am, until Ṣódẹkẹ́'s die, di Ẹ̀gbá never talk say dem get king over dem, as Ṣódẹkẹ́ dey hold supreme power . Around 1834, e convince di Owu refugees make dem also settle for Abẹ́òkúta, come add dem join di confederation .
E welcome the Saro people, the liberated Africans wey dey return from Sierra Leone, and na this decision get the longest consequences. E bring Abẹ́òkúta people wey sabi read and write, business connection to the coast, and the mission. Dem establish the CMS Yoruba mission for Abẹ́òkúta from January 1845 through Henry Townsend, Samuel Àjàyí Crowther and Charles Gollmer .
The timing dey important: Ṣódẹkẹ́ die just as the mission wan arrive, na why e appear inside CMS correspondence as the chief wey invite dem instead of the chief wey dem deal with. The chief wey dem deal with na Ṣàgbùà Okùkẹ́nù, wey later become the first Aláké to rule for Abẹ́òkúta.
Leadership scatter immediately. The Ògbóni and the Ológun, wey be the civil-judicial and military groups, drag for power, and this rivalry cause wetin the sources describe as anarchy. No Aláké rule for Abẹ́òkúta until 1854 . Earl Phillips argument be say after Ṣódẹkẹ́'s die, the Ẹ̀gbá go back to decentralised township governance, and say the attempt wey Saro people make later to enter Ẹ̀gbá politics fail when the military take over control .
Dem dey sometimes claim say Ṣódẹkẹ́ sef na slave before for earlier part of im life, and Johnson text get one passage wey people interpret like that. This corpus never fit verify the claim from Biobaku, Ajisafe or any other scholarly account, and e no support am. If reader see am where dem write am with confidence for online, make dem check the source well before dem repeat am .
Dem establish Abẹ́òkúta as place of refuge from slavery, and Dahomey slave raiding shape im early politics. That one dey well documented. Ṣódẹkẹ́'s own involvement for keeping or trading slaves no dey established for inside the sources wey dey here, and the corpus no make any claim for either side.
The town that replaced Ọ̀yọ́ as the dominant Yoruba power, the achieved-title constitution that let a farmer or an Ifá priest rise to command it, and the men who did.
How Abẹ́òkúta went from a chief without a crown to a crowned Aláké in 1854, and the attempt by returnee intellectuals and traditional chiefs to build a modern state there that collapsed in 1874.
The fall of Ọ̀yọ́, the Ilọrin and Sokoto dimension, the Ọ̀wu war, the rise of Ìbàdàn, the Sixteen Years War at Kiriji, and the political map they left behind.
A historical analysis of Madam Ẹfúnpọ̀róyè Ọ̀ṣúntinúbú, examining her career as a nineteenth-century merchant magnate, political kingmaker in Lagos and Abeokuta, and first Iyalode of Egbaland.
The political career, military rule, and historical debates surrounding Kurunmi of Ijaye, the supreme military commander of nineteenth-century Oyo.
The refugee city under Olúmọ rock, its four townships each with its own ọba, the Aláké, and the Ẹ̀gbá United Government, which was the only Yoruba state Britain recognised as sovereign.