The Rise and Fall of Oyo; the Greatest Empire in Present Day Nigeria.
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The great and revered Oyo Empire may no longer be an empire; it is currently a Yoruba state in present-day Nigeria.
The Oyo empire started in the 1300s in the West African savannah north of the tropical forests and its name was derived from a great Yoruba ancestor Oduduwa, who was said to have migrated to Ile-Ife, his son became the first Alaafin (Alafin), or ruler, of the Oyo empire.
But Oyo wasn't great from the start. It was not until the 16th century, it transitioned from a minor and powerless nation conquered by the Borgu and Nupe to one of the greatest empires in Africa.
By the end of the 16th century, the Oyo had experienced massive growth, this was due to the immense wealth of Alaafin Orompoto, the first and only female Alaafin Oyo ever.
After the death of her father's first (the previous Alaafin's first son) and a unanimous decision by the kingmakers after considering the fact her two younger brothers were too young to ascend the throne, she was made Alaafin.
Orompoto was well known for her organisational and administrative skills, with the wealth she derived from trade, she established a cavalry force.
Oyo forced the kingdoms of Allada and Dahomey into subjugation, this gave them access to European slave trade merchants through the port of Porto Novo earning it the name 'Slave Coast'
Structure
Even though the Alaafin of Oyo was the both spiritual and political head of the empire, he wasn't a dictator, the Oyo empire was democratic; as much as the Alaafin (who is usually the first son of the deceased king) was revered he could still be checked by institutions like Oyomesi, Ogboni cult and warlords, for example, the Aare Ona Kakanfo.
Let's start with the Oyomesi
Oyo mesi:
Oyomesi can be regarded as the kingmaker. They were composed of seven prominent chiefs representing each of the seven Oyo cities and headed by the Bashorun. However, the consent of the Oyomesi is required before any reasonable decision could be taken by Oba.
The Oyomesi are so powerful that they can compel the king to open a calabash if he is found to be dictatorial and arbitrary in ruling the people.
To open calabash meant to commit suicide.
The second on the list is the
Ogboni cult
Due to their covert activities, the Ogboni cult is often regarded as secret. They exist to check the excesses of both the Oba and kingmakers and were headed by Oluawo.
The third on the list is the
Aare Ona Kakanfo:
This group of people are warlords who provided adequate security, protected lives and properties and provided military support to the king.
The leader of this group is Aare Ona Kakanfo.
Similar to the Alaafin, Aare Ona Kakanfo is expected to commit suicide if he losses any battle which meant that he will never be defeated at the war front.
The Decline of the Great Oyo Empire.
In the late eighteenth century, the Oyo empire came to rely too much on the slave trade with the Europeans.
However, sometime around the mid-1700s, a very powerful Oyo warrior in the name of Afonja emerged, his great-grandfather Laderin was also the founder of Ilorin city.
Aole became Alaafin, about the same period Afonja was Kakanfo, but Afonja lived in Ilorin, which was a vassal state of the Oyo empire.
Aole was not a fan of Afonja and that was because the two were suspicious of each other, their problems worsened when Aole began killing people mercilessly and selling them into slavery and worst still ordered Afonja to attack Iwere-Ile the hometown of Aole's paternal grandmother.
This didn't sit well with Afonja, by doing so, this would spell doom for him as the previous Alaafin placed a course before his death on any Kakanfo who attacked Iwere-Ile.
With that, Afonja refused to obey the order given by Alaafin Aole.
By his refusal, he made himself stench in the nostrils of the Alaafin.
After Afonja refused to sack Iwere-Ile, Aole gave Afonja another order to sack Apomu, a town that forms part of the territories of Ile-Ife, the acclaimed source of the Yoruba people.
With this, Afonja knew immediately that Aole was conspiring against him.
He teamed up with the Bashorun and stormed the palace, after weeks of besieging the city.
They presented an empty covered calabash to the King, which meant he had been rejected and had to commit suicide.
With the Alaafin off his back, Afonja returned to Ilorin; at some point, the Oyo throne was vacant after the death of several Alaafins.
Afonja made friends with a Fulani cleric known as Salih Jinta, also known as Shehu Alimi, a slave trader who settled in Ilorin. With time Afonja began to nurse the idea of employing Fulani mercenaries instead of his people.
He disbanded his troops and inducted Hausa slaves and slaves of other nationalities into his fighting force.
But things didn't go as planned. After the death of Shehu Alimi, his son Abd Salaam, an ambitious opportunistic man, infiltrated the force, and instigated a revolt amongst the Fulani in the army; using the advantage of language, he killed Afonja before declaring himself emir.
Abd Salaam pledged his allegiance to the Sokoto caliphate and since then, no Yoruba person has ruled as King or emir in Ilorin despite the fact most of the inhabitants of Ilorin are Yorubas.
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Credit
Britannica
WorldHistory
Vanguard
Internationalaffairsbdm
SlaveandRemembrance
Wikipedia.