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Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson - Culture (5) - Nairaland

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Samuel Adegbola: Supreme Court Dethrones First-Class Oyo Monarch, Eleruwa / 30 Things You Should Know About Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther / Some Chronicles About The Fulani-yoruba Tussle For Ilorin (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Nobody: 3:27pm On Dec 13, 2016
dEastActivist:


Egyptian is the thread not about afonja...
Afonja is a coward,treachrous backstabber.
Or is afonja not a Yoruba?
Are his characters not synonymous to Yoruba characters today??

You see the correlation there so why being mischievous unnecessarily?

I am not ashamed to read about Afonja, he was part of my history. Tell your own history......if you have any.

16 Likes 1 Share

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by gatiano(m): 3:35pm On Dec 13, 2016
Good work Brother. There are a lot of truth here about the last 200 years or so. Samuel Johnson's work is however from the cleric point of view, The original writer had a lot of trouble publishing, as such could not before He died. After which a bunch of manuscripts got missing miraculously before it was re-edicted. It is good one to start with.

Atleast Our people should stop wordhipping white people and other cultures, they all could not defect Us, We all did that to ourselves. It was a 4000 (four thousand year) war we have been battling with since we was in the Middle-east/North Africa axis. This war is still battling on today as we speak.

Good work naijalander.

6 Likes 1 Share

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by dEastActivist: 3:39pm On Dec 13, 2016
Aigbofa:


I am not ashamed to read about Afonja, he was part of my history. Tell your own history......if you have any.

Lol...
If this should be my history. I will obviously reject it.
BC you guys don't learn a hoof from it thus accumulating past events for nothing.
I guess you don't know why history are made? cheesy
Your type thinks is to prove existence and identity but is way bigger than that.
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by tunene66: 3:53pm On Dec 13, 2016
naijalander:
Further Commentary:

Islam has never gone through the separation of Church and state and so it makes sense to assume that the entry of Islam into main stream Yoruba society would arouse a civil war. For all we know, it could be main cause of the civil war. Ilorin could have been trying to wage a jihad against other Yoruba states to spread Islam. Note that from Kurumi on wards, most Yoruba leaders were Muslims. Latosa of Ibadan was a practicing Muslim!

A conflict is Islamic philosophy and Yoruba philosophy may have been a major initiator of the rebellion. Much like today, even neutral chiefs would have taken advantage of the upheaval.


My opinion on that was Afonja used the apparent weakness in the Alaafinate against the empire. Alimi was an ally who used the growing popularity of Islam among the ordinary folks to assist Afonja n then subsequently in line with the wishes of the teeming populace against idol worshiping (and its attendant sacrifices) to establish an Islamic based Govt aligned (or better put subjected) to the Sokoto Caliphate

5 Likes

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by naijalander: 4:00pm On Dec 13, 2016
After Ilorin fell to Ibadan, it became subject to Ibadan. There has never been any real proof that Ilorin was completely subject to the Caliph at Sokoto.

tunene66:



My opinion on that was Afonja used the apparent weakness in the Alaafinate against the empire. Alimi was an ally who used the growing popularity of Islam among the ordinary folks to assist Afonja n then subsequently in line with the wishes of the teeming populace against idol worshiping (and its attendant sacrifices) to establish an Islamic based Govt aligned (or better put subjected) to the Sokoto Caliphate

6 Likes

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by naijalander: 4:08pm On Dec 13, 2016
But Yorubas in what came to be called Ibadan marshaled all their forces with the help of their cousins the Baribas to finally put an end to the Ilorin threat. You will see this as the story progresses. The Fulanis could not have overrun the Yorubas regardless of topography. The Yorubas came to be better armed and organized in the latter years of the revolutionary wars. I do not believe Afonja's rebellion should be looked at as betrayal of his country. His plan was to become Alaafin, with the support of Mohammedan nobles. This did not work since he himself, though a Mohammedan, was an unrepentant pagan. Islam those times was a lot more conservative than it is today, you either became a Muslim though and through or you don't go there at all. Again, please try to look at it from an objective point of view, making the name Afonja synonymous with treachery is a bit far fetched, his rebellion was not to come under the rule of the Fulanis but to be Alaafin.


LordAdam7:


If that were so, there wouldn't be no USA, Mexico, Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Russia, India, Pakistan...

Each of these powers I mentioned came to a cross-road at some point where they had a major foe that threatened their very existence, and they came together to disband that foe (even with their intra-rivalries).

So no, this is not just about the fall of the Oyo empire, this is about an educated people hampered by the treachery of a significant proportion of them.

If it wasn't for the topography, the Fulani would have overran the Yorubas (supported of course by greedy, self-centered Yoruba chiefs). That's the line I'm drawing. It is one thing to have rivalry between each other (every tribe has intra rivalry), it is a whole other thing for powerful people with a large followership (not just a few Judases) to allow a common enemy to kill their own blood.

Only I can slap my brother. If someone else outside the family slaps him, na police cell straight.

I hope u get my point.

-Lord

9 Likes 1 Share

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by naijalander: 4:19pm On Dec 13, 2016
4. How Ibadan came to be

After the fall of Erumu the war chiefs returned to Ibadan and the rest of the people who joined the war as volunteers returned to their respective homes. It was not till this time that Ibadan was peopled by Oyos chiefly. Everyone of these war-chiefs entered the allied army of Ife and Ijebu at Idi Ogugun as a private volunteer, but they soon showed their capabilities in the various wars. Oppressed and enslaved by the Ifes, scorned by the Ijebus, in pure self-defence they banded themselves together under a leader for mutual protection and notwithstanding the great disadvantage under which they were placed, they vindicated their superiority and at last obtained the ascendancy in the town. Under such circumstances did the Oyos become masters of Ibadan. Hence the allegation that it was they who expelled the Egbas from their original home and took possession of the same is wholly inaccurate, and the bad feeling which this impression has created and perpetuated between the two peoples unto this day is hereby shown to be groundless. Ibadan then consisted of the central market and about half, a mile of houses around. The town wall was where the principal mosque now stands. Hitherto Ibadan has been occupied as a military headquarter for marauding and other expeditions, but after this war, at a public meeting held to consider their future course, it was resolved that as they now intend to make this place their home they should arrange for a settled government and take titles. Oluyedun came first. He was the son of the late Afonja of Ilorin, and as such, the scion of a noble house. He was honored and respected by all. He might have been the Bale, but he preferred to adopt his father's title of Kakanfo and it was conceded him, not for his valor, but for his age and dignity, being a survivor of the men of the preceding generation.

Next came Lakanle " the bravest of the brave." He might have taken the title of Balogun or commander-in-chief, as he had hitherto been their principal leader in war, but Kakanfo being a military title, that of Balogun would be superfluous. He then became the Otun Kakanfo and Oluyole the Osi Kakanfo. The others were : Adelakun the Ekerin (fourth), Olumaiye the Ekarun (fifth) Abitiko Ekefa (sixth) Keji the Are Abese. To Osun was the honor given to confer these titles, and he in turn was created the Sarumi (chief of the cavalry). Only a single Ife chief remained at Ibadan and that was Labosinde, and even he (as was mentioned above) had Oyo blood in his veins through his mother. He was very gentle, good-natured and fatherly to all. Even during the days of Maye the Oyo chiefs had an affection and great respect for liim as a father. At the expulsion of Maye when the other Ife chiefs joined him, he took no sides and hence he was allowed to remain. After Maye's tall he did not aspire to the leadership of the people, preferring private life to the responsibilities of government. He was a man who loved peace; he would never carry arms nor allow any to be carried before him even in those turbulent days, except in the battlefield. A bundle of whips was all usually carried before him, as used to be done before the Roman Tribunes of old, and with this token of authority he was able several times to disband men in arms and put an end to civil fights. The combatants as soon as they saw the bundle of whips coming would cease firing, saying to one another '!Babambo " "baba mbo" (father is coming, father is coming). His title now is Baba Isale i.e. chief adviser, lit father underneath (for counsel).

1 Like

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by dEastActivist: 4:21pm On Dec 13, 2016
Olu317:
nope,write it out as others do.Proof it with your research
Lol.. I need to leave it to those that specialises on that field whom I have great respect for like somebody like Onwuka, you should agree with me that I need to engage myself more on things that should relate to my discipline which here is computer science.
Having said all that, I can get you link as I can't start derailing this treachery exposé of a thread called some people's history. grin

1 Like

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by naijalander: 4:26pm On Dec 13, 2016
How Ibadan came to be. (contd.)


It will be noticed that (except this last) all the principal titles were military titles. Ibadan has kept that up unto this day. Although they seemed to be now settled, yet they really lived by plunder and rapine. A single stalk of corn could scarcely be seen in an Ibadan farm in the days of Maye, and although Lakanle encouraged husbandry, yet the people were so much given to slave hunting that they could not grow corn enough for home consumption. The women of those days were as hardy as the men, and often went in a body—as caravans—to Ikire and Apomu for corn and other foodstuffs although the road was unsafe from kidnappers. They supplied the town with food whilst the men were engaged in slave hunting. One company returning would meet another just going out, and often, an unsuccessful individual returning would go back with the outgoing company to try another chance without first reaching home. Ill-luck of one did not prevent another company venturing out. At home violence, oppression, robbery, man-stealing were the order of the day. A special gag was invented for the mouth of human beings to prevent any one stolen from crying out and being discovered by his friends. No one dared go out at dusk for the men-stealers were out already prowling about for their prey. Thus even the great Maye was once stolen on going out one night. He offered no resistance but went quietly with the man-stealer, who, on reaching home, called for a light to inspect his victim. Finding to his dismay that it was the great chief Maye himself, he nearly died of fright. Quaking and trembling he prostrated at his feet and begged for his life. So bad were those days at Ibadan and so callous had the people become that if a woman or a child was heard to cry out "Egbami, won mu mi o " (O help me, I am taken) the usual answer from indoors was " Maha ba a lo " (you can go along with him). The moral and social atmosphere of such a place as has been described could easily be imagined. Yet they were destined by God to play a most important part in the history of the Yorubas, to break the Fulani yoke and save the rest of the country from foreign domination; in short to be a protector as well as a scourge in the land as we shall see hereafter.

A nation born under such strenuous circumstances cannot but leave the impress of its hardihood and warlike spirit on succeeding generations, and so we find it at Ibadan to this day. It being the Divine prerogative to use whomsoever He will to effect His Divine purpose, God uses a certain nation or individual as the scourge of another nation and when His purposes are fulfilled He casts the scourge away.

1 Like

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by ipledge10(m): 4:31pm On Dec 13, 2016
LordAdam7:


If that were so, there wouldn't be no USA,Mexico, Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Russia, India, Pakistan...

Each of these powers I mentioned came to a cross-road at some point where they had a major foe that threatened their very existence, and they came together to disband that foe (even with their intra-rivalries).

So no, this is not just about the fall of the Oyo empire, this is about an educated people hampered by the treachery of a significant proportion of them.

If it wasn't for the topography, the Fulani would have overran the Yorubas (supported of course by greedy, self-centered Yoruba chiefs). That's the line I'm drawing. It is one thing to have rivalry between each other (every tribe has intra rivalry), it is a whole other thing for powerful people with a large followership (not just a few Judases) to allow a common enemy to kill their own blood.

Only I can slap my brother. If someone else outside the family slaps him, na police cell straight.

I hope u get my point.

-Lord
if you know what you are saying, you will know same thing happened in Latin America, and that's why Spanish remain the language in Latin America... You should read about the period when Europeans were ruled by Kings and Queens

3 Likes

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Nobody: 4:34pm On Dec 13, 2016
dEastActivist:


Lol...
If this should be my history. I will obviously reject it.
BC you guys don't learn a hoof from it thus accumulating past events for nothing.
I guess you don't know why history are made? cheesy
Your type thinks is to prove existence and identity but is way bigger than that.

Busy body. Your entire history is replete of treachery and back stabbing.
- Have you forgotten how Azikiwe abandoned Biafra and was supporting the Federal troupe?
- Have you forgotten how Chinua Achebe abandoned Biafar and ended up hiding in Lagos?
- Have you forgotten how Arthur Nzeribe became Nigeria army Gun supplier that killed millions of your people?
- Have you forgotten how Emeka Ojukwu left you to your fate after leading millions of you to their untimely death and fled away?

Oh common, never forget these important events of treachery and back stabbing by important Igbo people. Don't let hypocrisy makes you forget this important events.
For every one Afonja, there are 10 Ojukwu's, Achebe's, Nnamdi Azikiwe's, Arthur Nzeribe's etc.
While at it, don't forget your history how millions of your people were kidnapped and sold into slavery by the Arochukwus, to the Ijaws and to the trans atlantic trade missions.

Learn to be mindful of these things.. It is extremely important.

17 Likes 3 Shares

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by naijalander: 4:38pm On Dec 13, 2016
we are about to enter into the period of Oluyole of Ibadan & co. Very interesting section. Please stay tuned. Thanks.

To better understand the complexity of Yoruba history, please read the book. Its only 32 MB in size.

https://ia600302.us.archive.org/34/items/historyofyorubas00john/historyofyorubas00john.pdf
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Nobody: 4:40pm On Dec 13, 2016
deji15:


Busy body. Your entire history is replete of treachery and back stabbing.
- Have you forgotten how Azikiwe abandoned Biafra and was supporting the Federal troupe?
- Have you forgotten how Chinua Achebe abandoned Biafar and ended up hiding in Lagos?
- Have you forgotten how Arthur Nzeribe became Nigeria army Gun supplier that killed millions of your people?
- Have you forgotten how Emeka Ojukwu left you to your fate after leading millions of you to their untimely death and fled away?

Oh common, never forget these important events of treachery and back stabbing by important Igbo people. Don't let hypocrisy makes you forget this important events.
For every one Afonja, there are 10 Ojukwu's, Achebe's, Nnamdi Azikiwe's, Arthur Nzeribe's etc.
While at it, don't forget your history how millions of your people were kidnapped and sold into slavery by the Arochukwus, to the Ijaws and to the trans atlantic trade missions.

Learn to be mindful of these things.. It is extremely important.
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by obiageIi(f): 4:42pm On Dec 13, 2016
LordAdam7:


If that were so, there wouldn't be no USA, Mexico, Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Russia, India, Pakistan...

Each of these powers I mentioned came to a cross-road at some point where they had a major foe that threatened their very existence, and they came together to disband that foe (even with their intra-rivalries).

So no, this is not just about the fall of the Oyo empire, this is about an educated people hampered by the treachery of a significant proportion of them.

If it wasn't for the topography, the Fulani would have overran the Yorubas (supported of course by greedy, self-centered Yoruba chiefs). That's the line I'm drawing. It is one thing to have rivalry between each other (every tribe has intra rivalry), it is a whole other thing for powerful people with a large followership (not just a few Judases) to allow a common enemy to kill their own blood.

Only I can slap my brother. If someone else outside the family slaps him, na police cell straight.

I hope u get my point.

-Lord
I'm talking empires you are mentioning countries, what killed the roman empire

1 Like

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by naijalander: 4:44pm On Dec 13, 2016
Commentary:

Here again, we see what appears to have been an attempt at forceful conversion of Yorubas by Yoruba Muslims.


naijalander:
The Rebellion of the Oyo Chiefs contd.

Under Solagberu's standard also flocked Mohammedans from Gbanda, Kobayi, Agoho, Kuwo, and Kobe. All in his quarter being Moslems, he named that part of the town Oke Suna, i.e., the quarter of the faithful. They held themselves separate not only from the pagans, but also from the Fulahs or Fulanis their co-religionists. From this time began the Jihad or religious war in the Yoruba country. Those who were enlisted as soldiers called themselves Jama (a Hausa word for the rank and file, as distinguished from the leaders). The mark of distinction between themselves and others was the Kende, two large iron rings one on the thumb, the other on the 3rd or 4th finger of the left hand ; with this they
welcome each other, striking the rings against each other to produce a sound. This is the sign of brotherhood ; hence they often say
'O re kende si mi, okan na ni wa," (he welcomed me with the Kende, we both are one). The operations of the Jamas were directed against the Igbona tribe. The only towns of Yoruba proper destroyed were amongst the Ibolos viz., Iresk, Ejigbo, and Ilobu. The reason why these towns were destroyed we shall notice afterwards.
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by obiageIi(f): 4:46pm On Dec 13, 2016
dEastActivist:


Which kingdom? Don't just lie on the bed and start churning out baseless unverifiable facts.

Treachery, backstabbing and betrayal has always been part of a specific ethnic group throughout their history and present as I have currently witnessed.
Romans?

2 Likes

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by obiageIi(f): 4:52pm On Dec 13, 2016
I'm so much enjoying this, how i wish this rich history will hit the cinemas someday, i am an addict of history film, Korean mostly. Reading this write up, all i can think of is the costume

6 Likes

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by naijalander: 4:55pm On Dec 13, 2016
Afonja's ancestry is discussed here.

naijalander:
The fall of Afonja

The Kakanfo was closely besieged in his quarters, but he fought with his characteristic bravery. When he found himself overwhelmed by numbers, he dispatched Bugare his head slave to solicit the aid of Solagberu ; but Solagberu treacherously detained him, saying, " Your Master has hitherto looked down upon us as his menials, and why does he now require our aid ? " This treachery, he lived to regret. The great Kakanfo was disappointed on all sides. As neither Bugare nor Solagberu made an appearance, he could not hold out till the Onikoyi's arrival ; he was compelled to fight within the walls of his house; but when the house was set on fire, he rushed out again into the streets surrounded by his faithful few. The insurgents surrounded them, charged again and again, but could not break their ranks, Afonja himself in the midst of them was fighting most desperately, surrounded by the corpses of some of his faithful attendants. Seeing the day was lost, some of his followers became disheartened and deserted him., but the rest chose to die with him. 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 spears 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 ; not till one of them, bolder than the rest cautiously went near and placed an arrow in his hand and they saw he could no longer grasp it, that they believed he was reallydead! His corpse was taken up and burnt to ashes.


The crafty Alimi his treacherous friend took his helpless children and family under his own protection, alleging that it was a misunderstanding that led to the civil fight between himself and his old friend, in which the latter unhappily lost his life. His house was rebuilt, and the remnant of his people were permitted to occupy it, but the government of the town passed over to the conqueror. His family, however, are highly respected at Ilorin to this day. Thus passed away one who will always be remembered in the annals of the Yoruba country as the leader of the revolution which ended in the dismemberment of the Yoruba country. The late Afonja was a native of Ilorin. The city was built by his great grandfather, Laderin, whose posterity bore rule in her in succession to the fourth generation. Laderin the founder, was succeeded by Pasin, his son, a valiant chief who opposed the renowned Gaha when he was in the zenith of his glory. Fearing his rising power, Gaha drove him out of Ilorin and he escaped to Ola. He sent an army after him there which reduced the town and Pasin was taken and slain. Alagbin the son of Pasin succeeded his father, and in turn handed the government to his valiant son Afonja with whom the rule ended. Ilorin is sometimes spoken of as Afonja's Ilorin. This is because he was the most renowned of her rulers, and not only so, but also because it was he who made it into the large city it now is.

There were several towns and villages around at no very great distance from Ilorin e.g. Kanla, Oke Suna, Ganma, Elehinjare, Idofian, Oke Oyi, Ibare, Igbon, Iresa etc. Most of them this restless warrior captured one by one and resettled them around Ilorin so as to make it into what it has become. The able-bodied men he enrolled among his soldiers, and several women and children he sold into slavery, in order to have wherewith to maintain and supply arms to his war boys. He was not actually of the royal family although often reckoned as such, but his mother was said to have been a home born slave of the palace, and he was brought up among the children of the royal family, hence the Ibamu facial mark across the face seen in his descendants to this day.Ilorin now passed into the hands of foreigners, the Fulanis who had been invited there as friends and allies. These being far more astute than the Yorubas, having studied their weak points and observed their misrule, planned to grasp the whole kingdom into their own hands by playing one chief against another and weakening the whole. Their more generous treatment of fallen foes and artful method of conciliating a power they could not openly crush, marked them out as a superior people in the art of government.
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by dEastActivist: 5:00pm On Dec 13, 2016
deji15:


Busy body. Your entire history is replete of treachery and back stabbing.
- Have you forgotten how Azikiwe abandoned Biafra and was supporting the Federal troupe?
- Have you forgotten how Chinua Achebe abandoned Biafar and ended up hiding in Lagos?
- Have you forgotten how Arthur Nzeribe became Nigeria army Gun supplier that killed millions of your people?
- Have you forgotten how Emeka Ojukwu left you to your fate after leading millions of you to their untimely death and fled away?

Oh common, never forget these important events of treachery and back stabbing by important Igbo people. Don't let hypocrisy makes you forget this important events.
For every one Afonja, there are 10 Ojukwu's, Achebe's, Nnamdi Azikiwe's, Arthur Nzeribe's etc.
While at it, don't forget your history how millions of your people were kidnapped and sold into slavery by the Arochukwus, to the Ijaws and to the trans atlantic trade missions.

Learn to be mindful of these things.. It is extremely important.

Do you expect human being to really agree to what you've just said?
All these are red Herring
Try and get me facts and proves
Or will you rewrite my own history, in this present space and time?? grin
Just get over it and ask yourself if your history is not full of treachery crap meant for incinerator?
By the way, since you don't learn from it why keeping it?
Damn!! in this thread alone the treachery activity and betrayal I've witnessed is just too enough for one to run away from it. cheesy
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by dEastActivist: 5:05pm On Dec 13, 2016
obiageIi:
I'm so much enjoying this, how i wish this rich history will hit the cinemas someday, i am an addict of history film, Korean mostly. Reading this write up, all i can think of is the costume

Mrs parody
You are just confirming the original intent of the original history script writer... grin

Why dump the history of using witchcraft, roots and herbs and babalawo known to you for Korean sophisticated traditional setting?
What are you shying away from really?

The delusion of grandeur from these specific set of people make me lol cheesy
Awaiting the film though grin
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Nobody: 5:05pm On Dec 13, 2016
dEastActivist:


Do you expect human being to really agree to what you've just said?
All these are red Herring
Try and get me facts and proves
Or will you rewrite my own history, in this present space and time?? grin
Just get over it and ask yourself if your history is not full of treachery crap meant for incinerator?
By the way, since you don't learn from it why keeping it?
Damn!! in this thread alone the treachery activity and betrayal I've witnessed is just too enough for one to run away from it. cheesy
[/i]

lol. Keep living in denial. I should provide proof of what is written here ? So you do not know about the betrayers of the people listed? As the ostrich that you are, keep burying your head in the sand.
After providing the proof (which you know, but pretend not to know), will that reset your brain that is drenched in hypocrisy?

3 Likes

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Nobody: 5:09pm On Dec 13, 2016
dEastActivist:


Mrs parody
You are just confirming the original intent of the script writer... grin

Why dumb the history of using witchcraft, roots and herbs and babalawo to Korean sophisticate traditional setting?
What are you shying away from really?

The delusion of grandeur from these specific set of people make me lol cheesy
Awaiting the film though grin

You are lacking in originality and enmeshed in inferiority complex. "Korean sophisticate traditional setting" How about "Igbo sophisticate traditional setting"? Or there is nothing like that?

6 Likes

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by dEastActivist: 5:13pm On Dec 13, 2016
deji15:


lol. Keep living in denial. I should provide proof of what is written here ? So you do not know about the betrayers of the people listed? As the ostrich that you are, keep burying your head in the sand.
After providing the proof (which you know, but pretend not to know), will that reset your brain that is drenched in hypocrisy?

Ogbeni try change your history if it proves useless now o, it won't make you a bad person nor your people, afterall nah Nigeria we dey, everything happens just like that and everything goes. Since is even now a Yoruba norm grin
Like someone said to copy the Korean history should be a better objective as they dealt more on invasions than internal sabotage and most atimes in favour of external invasions. cheesy
For it to be represented better as a nice package, I will arrange an Ankara-like custome and Ile ife will be used as the original setting with few skyline and landscape korea state of art finishing... cheesy
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by dEastActivist: 5:18pm On Dec 13, 2016
deji15:


You are lacking in originality and enmeshed in inferiority complex. "Korean sophisticate traditional setting" How about "Igbo sophisticate traditional setting"? Or there is nothing like that?

grin grin grin

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Nobody: 5:24pm On Dec 13, 2016
dEastActivist:


Ogbeni try change your history if it proves useless now o, it won't make you a bad person nor your people, afterall nah Nigeria we dey, everything happens just like that and everything goes. Since is even now a Yoruba norm grin
Like someone said to copy the Korean history should be a better objective as they dealt more on invasions than internal sabotage and most atimes in favour of external invasions. cheesy
For it to be represented better as a nice package, I will arrange an Ankara-like custome and Ile ife will be used as the original setting with few skyline and landscape korea state of art finishing... cheesy

Here is your History.. Let us start with this one...
Aro Confederacy
Previous (Arnold van Gennep)Next (Aromaticity)
Aro Confederacy

The Niger Delta area was where most of the Gold Coast trade took place. The Aro grew rich by trading slaves with the Europeans in this region.
Official language Igbo, Ibibio, Ijaw, Delta Ibo, Urhobo, Isoko, Itsekiri, and etc.
Capital Arochukwu
Largest city Arochukwu
Form of Government Economic Confederacy
Ruler EzeAro (King of Aros), Chiefs, and High Priests
Area N/A
Population;- Total 3,000,000? (1900)
Currency Cowry shells and Slaves
Created 1690
Dissolved 1902
The Aro Confederacy was a large slave trading network and league of Igbo and Cross River allies led by the Aro people which flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Their influence and presence was distributed across parts of Nigeria's West Delta region, entire Eastern region, and Southern Igala. It is claimed that it extended through parts of present-day Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The Arochukwu Kingdom was an economical, political, and oracular center as it was home of the powerful Long Juju oracle, the Aro King, Chiefs, and High Priests.

Contents

[hide]
1 The Rise
2 The Confederacy Era
3 Decline
4 Cause of the war
4.1 Cannibalism
5 Aro Invasions
6 The Aro Expedition
7 The result of the war
8 Legacy
9 Major Battles
10 Notes
11 References
12 External Links
13 Credits


This Confederacy owed its origin to the rise of the slave trade in the interior. The combination of slavery with what the British (who withdrew from the Gold Coast slave trade in 1806, and banned slavery in 1833) alleged was a dangerous, cannibalistic fetish, resulted in moral outrage and efforts to annex Igboland. In the resulting Anglo-Aro wars (1901-1902) the Confederacy was dismantled, and its territory added to the British Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, formed (with the Northern Protectorate) the previous year when the Royal Niger Company was wound-up and the colonial administration was established. The following year, what the British referred to as the pacification of the Niger was complete when the historic sultanates of Kano and of Sokoto, the remaining pockets of resistance, were defeated. The office of the Eze-Aro, or King, continues and he is constitutionally recognized by the Republic of Nigeria as one of eight Paramount Chiefs. Alongside that of other Emirs and chiefs, his role is mainly ceremonial although he remains a focus of Aro pride and identity. The king’s official website describes the British attack of 1902 “on the peace loving citizens” as “unwarranted,” “pointing out that it was carried out only for the selfish economic interest of the then British Empire.”[1] British depictions of the Aro as cannibals and blood-thirsty differ markedly from Aro self-descriptions.

The Rise
The slave trading Confederacy was founded shortly after Arochukwu formed. Making alliances with several Igbo and eastern Cross River neighbors, the Aro people began slave trading activities around Igbo and Ibibio lands. Among many of the ethnic groups of eastern Nigeria, anyone who enters a shrine and begs the deity of the shrine for help instantly becomes an osu (sometimes called a "juju slave"wink, a slave of the shrine and a social outcast. The priests of the Ibini Ukpabi oracle (also known as the Long Juju Shrine), popular in midwest and southeast Nigeria, exploited this in order to force travelers and pilgrims into slavery, at least according to European reports. The story goes that agents of the oracle would pose as bandits and chase their victims into the shrine, hoping they would beg the intervention of the god and become osu, so the priests could then sell them off for profit. As this continued, Aro businessmen from Arochukwu migrated across southern Nigeria and also to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and founded numerous settlements. There they spread the Aro trading monopoly.

The Confederacy Era
This activity became very popular as coastal Niger Delta city-states became important centers for the export of slaves. Such city-states included Opobo, Bonny, Brass, Calabar, as well as other slave trading city-states controlled by the Ijaw, Efik, and Igbo. The Aros formed a strong trading network and incorporated hundreds of communities that formed into powerful kingdoms. The Ajalli, Arondizuogu, and Bende Kingdoms were the most powerful Aro powers in the Confederacy after Arochukwu. Some were founded and named after great Commanders and Chiefs like the legendary Izuogu Mgbokpo and Iheme whom led Aro forces to destroy and conquer Ikpa Ora and founded Arondizuogu.

Decline

Flag of the Royal Niger Company.
In the late nineteenth century, European colonists moved into Igboland. Their power was not affected as Germans colonized Cameroon in 1884 and Spaniards colonized Equatorial Guinea in 1900, because either minor colonies and settlements of Aro were located there or they didn't exist. The Royal Niger Company of Britain bore friction with the Aros because of their alleged human sacrifice, trading network, and economic control of the hinterland. Aro control was threatened with Europeans pressuring their territory and populations and with Christian missionaries like Mary Slessor. This led to a war known as the Anglo-Aro War which began in 1901 with an Aro invasion of British-controlled city of Obegu. The picture that the British paint of the Aro is somewhat different from how they depict themselves. Alex Ukoh describes the Aro as a peace-loving, progressive and enlightened people with a mystical-type religion governed by chiefs and priests who served bini Ukpabi, the all powerful God and acted as custodians of His sacred shrine, the chukwu, or Chuku.[2]

Cause of the war
The Aro Confederacy, whose powers extended across Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon, was crumbling in the late nineteenth century due to the European colonists. The Aro people felt a need to take action against the colonists who threatened their culture and sovereignty.

For the United Kingdom, it was

"To abolish slave trade which is secretly carried on throughout the entire territories belonging to, and dominated by the Aros. To abolish the fetish of the Aros known as Longjuju, which they by superstition and fraud causes many evils among the tribes generally, and to all the outlying tribes of the entire protectorate, who continually appeal to it. Finally, to establish throughout the territories a labour market to take the place of slavery." (quote by Sir Ralph Moore, the high Commissioner of Nigerian Coast Protectorate in a dispatch to the under-secretary of State, September 9, 1899.)[3]
The desire to extend their own power-base and client territory was therefore not far from the minds of the British, whose anti-slave policy was a convenient platform for their wider imperial agenda.

Cannibalism

Reports of cannibalism were rarely "first hand." Most were from deeper into the heart of Africa, in the Congo.[4] True or false, they provided another moral excuse for the Western colonial powers to intervene. Without attempting to justify the practice of eating human flesh, these reports did serve to confirm the European idea that Africans occupied a different moral universe. They required supervision, possibly on a permanent basis. Given the passage of time and the one-sidedness of reports, which contemporary Africans often deny, verifying their veracity is problematic. On balance, it seems likely that cannibalism was not unknown in Africa. On the other hand, critics point out that the charge of cannibalism has a historical legacy as a device by which one culture asserts superiority over others, and has been characterized as cultural libel. Some have questioned the authenticity of most if not all "accusations" of cannibalism.[5]

Aro Invasions

The Aros knew that British penetration would destroy their dominance. They also opposed their religion, Christianity, which some of the Aros were converting to. Aro rulers saw the new religion as a British method of peacefully capturing Aro territories. Aro raids and invasions on many communities were conducted in order to bully those who favored the British. But the Aro invasion of Obegu around November 1901 signaled for the direct invasion of Arochukwu. 400 people died and the government of Obegu was destroyed. Obegu was a town belonging to the rival Ngwa clan which had been at war with the Aros for many years and was siding with the British. After this attack, the British would retaliate.

The Aro Expedition

Sir Ralph Moore and the Royal Niger Company, had planned the attack on the Aros and Ibini-Ukpabi since September 1899. The Aro invasion of Obegu marked their signal for the Expedition which began in 1901. The British had several allies during the war: the Aro Christians, the Ibibio and Igbo clans, and slaves who wanted their freedom. Two months of battles in Arochukwu would occur.

A formal military operation was launched against Aro and the shrine of the Long Juju in November 1901. On November 28, Lt. Col. H. F. Montanaro led 87 officers, 1,550 soldiers and 2,100 carriers in four axes of advance from Oguta, Akwete, Unwuna and Itu on a counter-insurgency campaign. The Long Juju shrine was blown up. The Aro expedition, then, was reputedly carried out by the British to stop or subdue the Aro slave trading oligarchy and its cult of human sacrifice ending months later in January 1902.

The result of the war
Serious opposition to British rule in Nigeria, however, ended with the Aro expedition, though there were still pockets of resistance in different parts of the country which called for a number of patrols. It did not succeed in securing control of Igbo territory entirely. In the years that followed, repeated "military patrols" had to be sent out to various parts of Igboland.

The Aro Confederacy officially lost its dominance and the power it had had over their neighbors and rivals. After the war, many Aro communities throughout Igboland fell to the British as a result of the war. The war had a greater impact than just Aro power dying and Arochukwu being destroyed. It made European control of the Aro people and allies much easier. Though the majority of Aros were based in Nigeria, the war affected the Aro culture, populations, and treatment not only in Nigeria but in other neighboring European colonies.

Legacy
In Arochukwu, the Aros suffered badly. Leaders of the Aro resistance were arrested and hanged. The priceless artifacts were lost. Many Aros were killed from the war while Ibibio and non-Aro Igbos slaves and servants were freed. Also Christians were free to worship and they also took a major role rebuilding the city which had been burned down. Revolts led by the Eze-Aro's son and other Aros still occurred until he was crowned King. For many years, the rebuilt town suffered a poor population and land disputes. Aro dominance fell apart, and Aro culture did not revive for quite some time. There are now a number of networks of Aro people and associations dedicated to preserving Aro history and culture, many centered around the person of the current king.

The office of King, however, survived despite these revolts, as did those of the Emir of Kano and the Sultan of Sokoto, among others although their roles were more or less reduced to ceremonial functions, or in some cases to spiritual leadership. Nonetheless, the Aro can arguably trace their monarchy back across a hundred centuries. Known as the Eze-Aro, the king is “one of the eight (cool Traditional Paramount Rulers in the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, and the only one in Abia State of Nigeria, whose positions as First Class Paramount Traditional Rulers were entrenched in the 1960 Constitution of Eastern Region of Nigeria as well as in the 1963 Constitution of Eastern Nigeria when Nigeria became a Republic” according to ARO Newsonline.[6] The king is described as the “embodiment of peace.” The title of Paramount Chief was used by the British so that only the British Queen or King would be a monarch (similarly, the Indian rajahs and maharajahs were called princes, not kings.)

Major Battles
Aro raids on Anglo allies (1890s-1901)
Aro invasion on Obegu (1901)
Aro expedition (1901-1902)
Notes

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Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by LordAdam7: 5:30pm On Dec 13, 2016
obiageIi:

I'm talking empires you are mentioning countries, what killed the roman empire

Empires became countries.

And you can't compare the Roman Empire to the Oyo Empire. 95% of the expanse of Oyo Empire were ethnic Yoruba lands. 90% of the expanse of the Roman Empire were not Roman lands. Rome itself was a relatively small city compared to the size of the Empire.

So like with every Empire that went beyond their reach, the Empire crumbled like a pack of cards because of the nationalism factor of most of the subdued states. The Afonja precipitated fall of Oyo Empire was not because several different regions under the Alaafin chose to get independence (how could they? the Alaafins were generally good kings and were of the same ethnic group as the conquered)...

The Oyo Empire may have whittled in influence at some point, but not to the extent that it did.

Look at the Bini Empire as a case study. And the Sokoto Caliphate even after the British sacked the Sultan.

-Lord

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Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Ovamboland(m): 5:30pm On Dec 13, 2016
dEastActivist:


Lol... Igbos have the best recorded history on earth...
The Yorubas can't be said to be the same...
That's why ooni and one other king are always at loggerhead on what story of their history is true...
Meanwhile do you know oduduwa fell from the sky and was even partially blind?
Lol!! Do you know that Yoruba was a name given to some group of ethnicity just to lord over them?
Have you tried finding your destiny to ascertain your original identity?
Do you know ileife is not the ancestral home for all Yorubas??
With all these flaws can you still say that your fabricated story you called history is defined and not jargon grin

Pray show us a link to the beautiful Ibo story you allude to or forever shut up. Tell us who founded the tribe, the first family, how the villages or towns if any, were founded, who fought for the settlements and who defended it, if any such stories exist.

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Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by LordAdam7: 5:39pm On Dec 13, 2016
ipledge10:
if you know what you are saying, you will know same thing happened in Latin America, and that's why Spanish remain the language in Latin America... You should read about the period when Europeans were ruled by Kings and Queens

I'm not even understanding you.

The Spanish marched on Latin America like they did on African kingdoms. Without negotiation. Be submissive to the King or Queen willingly or fall.

They didn't need a strong prince to lord over their armies to sack the native people (like in the case of Afonja) or coerce feuding tribal leaders to stand down while they marched. They didn't have to. The native American people and Africans were crushed like flies.

They captured empires and kingdoms, leave the monarch if he or she is submissive or depose the monarch and install a puppet.

This is very different to what happened in Illorin and neighboring towns. The Fulanis planned to exterminate paganism and all its pretexts in Yoruba land and make Islam the dominant religion. So it was not enough for a Yoruba king to surrender, at some point the king had to become a Muslim and enshrine all forms of paganism.

This system was firmly entrenched by the Fulani Jihad grand patron Dan Fodio whose creed was that the religion of a city or kingdom was the religion of the ruler, chief, or king.

So maybe you need to read your history slowly and comprehensively and more importantly draw firm lines on the different forms of conquests that happened in then days.

-Lord
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by LordAdam7: 6:09pm On Dec 13, 2016
naijalander:
But Yorubas in what came to be called Ibadan marshaled all their forces with the help of their cousins the Baribas to finally put an end to the Ilorin threat. You will see this as the story progresses. The Fulanis could not have overrun the Yorubas regardless of topography. The Yorubas came to be better armed and organized in the latter years of the revolutionary wars. I do not believe Afonja's rebellion should be looked at as betrayal of his country. His plan was to become Alaafin, with the support of Mohammedan nobles. This did not work since he himself, though a Mohammedan, was an unrepentant pagan. Islam those times was a lot more conservative than it is today, you either became a Muslim though and through or you don't go there at all. Again, please try to look at it from an objective point of view, making the name Afonja synonymous with treachery is a bit far fetched, his rebellion was not to come under the rule of the Fulanis but to be Alaafin.



I put it to you that if the whole of Yoruba land was like the Sahel or Sahara, virtually 80% of Yorubas today would have been Muslims and the Oyo and Ife thrones would have been completely Islamized to become Emirates.

Just look at any 19th century map and consider the Golden century of Fulani dominance in what is now present Nigeria, Niger, and Chad. And how these extended to modern day Mali, Senegal, Gambia et cetera.

The topography was the same and the indigenous tribes fell to the Islamic Fulanis, Berbers, and Arabs.

Even Jerusalem fell to the Islamists. And the Pope launched at least two unsuccessful Crusades against the Muslims.

So don't give the Yorubas too much credit. I know the Yorubas are brave and formidable opponents, but if they couldn't win back Illorin then you should know that if all of Yorubaland had the topography of Illorin, a descendant of Dan Fodio would have dipped a Koran in the Atlantic ocean.

Afonja's betrayal to Yorubaland and his fellow countrymen was an indirect act of his rebellion to his King.

I'm not sure why you guys rever him that much (apart from his well-honed Machiavellian skills). He was a traitor to the sworn King of the Yoruba people, and single-handedly created the vermins that threatened Yoruba independence the most and almost revamped Yoruba land as we know it.

Even the woman that helped Ife win against their invaders deserves more commendation that Afonja.

Anyway, it is all a matter of perspective. And a people are free to treat their important figures how they deem fit.

But perhaps this tendency of the Yorubas to extol people who every neighbor deem to be repulsive is why Yorubas are seen as scheming, back-biting, and treacherous people.

I'm forced to say it's in your genes. It's how you guys see life. And it is why you guys would never be trusted.

And it is why regardless of how you paint AFONJA to be a hero (practically revising history), we'd always tag Yorubas as AFONJAs to mean a people who have no problem being treacherous.

It may seem harsh. But the truth is BITTER.

Awolowo could have reigned on Gowon to uphold the Aburi Accord that would have prevented the war and actually made Nigeria more prosperous. But he didn't and in fact made it possible for Gowon to win the war. This is despite a more astute Yoruba at the time Soyinka spending time in prison for the exact opposite thing. Today, no Yoruba would want to tag that singular action of Awolowo as a mistake or treachery of Southern interests.

Tinubu repeated same in 2015, essentially rebelling against the Afenifere (like Afonja against the Alaafin) and led Yorubaland to the pillaging of Northern interests and in treachery of Southern interests. Even today, while the same Afenifere he so despised are closing ranks to see that no Yoruba son suffers the Abiola treatment again, powerful Yoruba men (like in times of old) such as Fashola and Fayemi are actually helping the Fulanis do the opposite.

Is it just me, or don't u guys see history repeating itself.

You guys can make NL a pan-Yoruba forum and seek to police opinion and effectively remain in an echo chamber of "All Yorubas are Heroes," or "Yorubas aren't more treacherous than other ethnicities." But your actions prove otherwise.

Now as 2019 approaches, you guys have started courting your cousins and neighboring Southern groups because like again the Fulani monster than an AFONJA re-incarnate created has become too destructive, and you guys want to rein in for the good of Yorubaland and to protect Southern interests.

Exactly the same as a few centuries ago.

So maybe, we have to rest this issue of AFONJA and talk about something less divisive as the importance of Eko (Lagos) to the development of Nigeria (in fact, North, South Protectorate, and Colony of Lagos were joined in 1914 because the North Protectorate was bleeding money and the British wanted the South Protectorate and Colony of Lagos especially to provide the money to maintain their hold of the North). Apparently the feeding bottle system in Nigeria is exactly 112 years old.

And more importantly, how much it benefits the Yorubas (especially with their media behemoth) to rally around with other Southern interests to make fiscal restructuring happen before 2025.

Because as far as this AFONJA issue is concerned, there's no amount of lipstick that would make non-Yorubas see him as nothing more than what Johnson portrayed him as--a reckless, mindless power-crazed traitor who reared the beast that killed him and sacked his ancestral home.

-Lord

4 Likes

Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Sormeh: 6:13pm On Dec 13, 2016
naijalander:
we are about to enter into the period of Oluyole of Ibadan & co. Very interesting section. Please stay tuned. Thanks.

To better understand the complexity of Yoruba history, please read the book. Its only 32 MB in size.

https://ia600302.us.archive.org/34/items/historyofyorubas00john/historyofyorubas00john.pdf

Nice job naijalander!
Is hard copy of the book available and where?
Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by LordAdam7: 6:25pm On Dec 13, 2016
deji15:


Here is your History.. Let us start with this one...
Aro Confederacy
Previous (Arnold van Gennep)Next (Aromaticity)
Aro Confederacy

The Niger Delta area was where most of the Gold Coast trade took place. The Aro grew rich by trading slaves with the Europeans in this region.
Official language Igbo, Ibibio, Ijaw, Delta Ibo, Urhobo, Isoko, Itsekiri, and etc.
Capital Arochukwu
Largest city Arochukwu
Form of Government Economic Confederacy
Ruler EzeAro (King of Aros), Chiefs, and High Priests
Area N/A
Population;- Total 3,000,000? (1900)
Currency Cowry shells and Slaves
Created 1690
Dissolved 1902
The Aro Confederacy was a large slave trading network and league of Igbo and Cross River allies led by the Aro people which flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Their influence and presence was distributed across parts of Nigeria's West Delta region, entire Eastern region, and Southern Igala. It is claimed that it extended through parts of present-day Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The Arochukwu Kingdom was an economical, political, and oracular center as it was home of the powerful Long Juju oracle, the Aro King, Chiefs, and High Priests.

Contents

[hide]
1 The Rise
2 The Confederacy Era
3 Decline
4 Cause of the war
4.1 Cannibalism
5 Aro Invasions
6 The Aro Expedition
7 The result of the war
8 Legacy
9 Major Battles
10 Notes
11 References
12 External Links
13 Credits


This Confederacy owed its origin to the rise of the slave trade in the interior. The combination of slavery with what the British (who withdrew from the Gold Coast slave trade in 1806, and banned slavery in 1833) alleged was a dangerous, cannibalistic fetish, resulted in moral outrage and efforts to annex Igboland. In the resulting Anglo-Aro wars (1901-1902) the Confederacy was dismantled, and its territory added to the British Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, formed (with the Northern Protectorate) the previous year when the Royal Niger Company was wound-up and the colonial administration was established. The following year, what the British referred to as the pacification of the Niger was complete when the historic sultanates of Kano and of Sokoto, the remaining pockets of resistance, were defeated. The office of the Eze-Aro, or King, continues and he is constitutionally recognized by the Republic of Nigeria as one of eight Paramount Chiefs. Alongside that of other Emirs and chiefs, his role is mainly ceremonial although he remains a focus of Aro pride and identity. The king’s official website describes the British attack of 1902 “on the peace loving citizens” as “unwarranted,” “pointing out that it was carried out only for the selfish economic interest of the then British Empire.”[1] British depictions of the Aro as cannibals and blood-thirsty differ markedly from Aro self-descriptions.

The Rise
The slave trading Confederacy was founded shortly after Arochukwu formed. Making alliances with several Igbo and eastern Cross River neighbors, the Aro people began slave trading activities around Igbo and Ibibio lands. Among many of the ethnic groups of eastern Nigeria, anyone who enters a shrine and begs the deity of the shrine for help instantly becomes an osu (sometimes called a "juju slave"wink, a slave of the shrine and a social outcast. The priests of the Ibini Ukpabi oracle (also known as the Long Juju Shrine), popular in midwest and southeast Nigeria, exploited this in order to force travelers and pilgrims into slavery, at least according to European reports. The story goes that agents of the oracle would pose as bandits and chase their victims into the shrine, hoping they would beg the intervention of the god and become osu, so the priests could then sell them off for profit. As this continued, Aro businessmen from Arochukwu migrated across southern Nigeria and also to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and founded numerous settlements. There they spread the Aro trading monopoly.

The Confederacy Era
This activity became very popular as coastal Niger Delta city-states became important centers for the export of slaves. Such city-states included Opobo, Bonny, Brass, Calabar, as well as other slave trading city-states controlled by the Ijaw, Efik, and Igbo. The Aros formed a strong trading network and incorporated hundreds of communities that formed into powerful kingdoms. The Ajalli, Arondizuogu, and Bende Kingdoms were the most powerful Aro powers in the Confederacy after Arochukwu. Some were founded and named after great Commanders and Chiefs like the legendary Izuogu Mgbokpo and Iheme whom led Aro forces to destroy and conquer Ikpa Ora and founded Arondizuogu.

Decline

Flag of the Royal Niger Company.
In the late nineteenth century, European colonists moved into Igboland. Their power was not affected as Germans colonized Cameroon in 1884 and Spaniards colonized Equatorial Guinea in 1900, because either minor colonies and settlements of Aro were located there or they didn't exist. The Royal Niger Company of Britain bore friction with the Aros because of their alleged human sacrifice, trading network, and economic control of the hinterland. Aro control was threatened with Europeans pressuring their territory and populations and with Christian missionaries like Mary Slessor. This led to a war known as the Anglo-Aro War which began in 1901 with an Aro invasion of British-controlled city of Obegu. The picture that the British paint of the Aro is somewhat different from how they depict themselves. Alex Ukoh describes the Aro as a peace-loving, progressive and enlightened people with a mystical-type religion governed by chiefs and priests who served bini Ukpabi, the all powerful God and acted as custodians of His sacred shrine, the chukwu, or Chuku.[2]

Cause of the war
The Aro Confederacy, whose powers extended across Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon, was crumbling in the late nineteenth century due to the European colonists. The Aro people felt a need to take action against the colonists who threatened their culture and sovereignty.

For the United Kingdom, it was

"To abolish slave trade which is secretly carried on throughout the entire territories belonging to, and dominated by the Aros. To abolish the fetish of the Aros known as Longjuju, which they by superstition and fraud causes many evils among the tribes generally, and to all the outlying tribes of the entire protectorate, who continually appeal to it. Finally, to establish throughout the territories a labour market to take the place of slavery." (quote by Sir Ralph Moore, the high Commissioner of Nigerian Coast Protectorate in a dispatch to the under-secretary of State, September 9, 1899.)[3]
The desire to extend their own power-base and client territory was therefore not far from the minds of the British, whose anti-slave policy was a convenient platform for their wider imperial agenda.

Cannibalism

Reports of cannibalism were rarely "first hand." Most were from deeper into the heart of Africa, in the Congo.[4] True or false, they provided another moral excuse for the Western colonial powers to intervene. Without attempting to justify the practice of eating human flesh, these reports did serve to confirm the European idea that Africans occupied a different moral universe. They required supervision, possibly on a permanent basis. Given the passage of time and the one-sidedness of reports, which contemporary Africans often deny, verifying their veracity is problematic. On balance, it seems likely that cannibalism was not unknown in Africa. On the other hand, critics point out that the charge of cannibalism has a historical legacy as a device by which one culture asserts superiority over others, and has been characterized as cultural libel. Some have questioned the authenticity of most if not all "accusations" of cannibalism.[5]

Aro Invasions

The Aros knew that British penetration would destroy their dominance. They also opposed their religion, Christianity, which some of the Aros were converting to. Aro rulers saw the new religion as a British method of peacefully capturing Aro territories. Aro raids and invasions on many communities were conducted in order to bully those who favored the British. But the Aro invasion of Obegu around November 1901 signaled for the direct invasion of Arochukwu. 400 people died and the government of Obegu was destroyed. Obegu was a town belonging to the rival Ngwa clan which had been at war with the Aros for many years and was siding with the British. After this attack, the British would retaliate.

The Aro Expedition

Sir Ralph Moore and the Royal Niger Company, had planned the attack on the Aros and Ibini-Ukpabi since September 1899. The Aro invasion of Obegu marked their signal for the Expedition which began in 1901. The British had several allies during the war: the Aro Christians, the Ibibio and Igbo clans, and slaves who wanted their freedom. Two months of battles in Arochukwu would occur.

A formal military operation was launched against Aro and the shrine of the Long Juju in November 1901. On November 28, Lt. Col. H. F. Montanaro led 87 officers, 1,550 soldiers and 2,100 carriers in four axes of advance from Oguta, Akwete, Unwuna and Itu on a counter-insurgency campaign. The Long Juju shrine was blown up. The Aro expedition, then, was reputedly carried out by the British to stop or subdue the Aro slave trading oligarchy and its cult of human sacrifice ending months later in January 1902.

The result of the war
Serious opposition to British rule in Nigeria, however, ended with the Aro expedition, though there were still pockets of resistance in different parts of the country which called for a number of patrols. It did not succeed in securing control of Igbo territory entirely. In the years that followed, repeated "military patrols" had to be sent out to various parts of Igboland.

The Aro Confederacy officially lost its dominance and the power it had had over their neighbors and rivals. After the war, many Aro communities throughout Igboland fell to the British as a result of the war. The war had a greater impact than just Aro power dying and Arochukwu being destroyed. It made European control of the Aro people and allies much easier. Though the majority of Aros were based in Nigeria, the war affected the Aro culture, populations, and treatment not only in Nigeria but in other neighboring European colonies.

Legacy
In Arochukwu, the Aros suffered badly. Leaders of the Aro resistance were arrested and hanged. The priceless artifacts were lost. Many Aros were killed from the war while Ibibio and non-Aro Igbos slaves and servants were freed. Also Christians were free to worship and they also took a major role rebuilding the city which had been burned down. Revolts led by the Eze-Aro's son and other Aros still occurred until he was crowned King. For many years, the rebuilt town suffered a poor population and land disputes. Aro dominance fell apart, and Aro culture did not revive for quite some time. There are now a number of networks of Aro people and associations dedicated to preserving Aro history and culture, many centered around the person of the current king.

The office of King, however, survived despite these revolts, as did those of the Emir of Kano and the Sultan of Sokoto, among others although their roles were more or less reduced to ceremonial functions, or in some cases to spiritual leadership. Nonetheless, the Aro can arguably trace their monarchy back across a hundred centuries. Known as the Eze-Aro, the king is “one of the eight (cool Traditional Paramount Rulers in the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, and the only one in Abia State of Nigeria, whose positions as First Class Paramount Traditional Rulers were entrenched in the 1960 Constitution of Eastern Region of Nigeria as well as in the 1963 Constitution of Eastern Nigeria when Nigeria became a Republic” according to ARO Newsonline.[6] The king is described as the “embodiment of peace.” The title of Paramount Chief was used by the British so that only the British Queen or King would be a monarch (similarly, the Indian rajahs and maharajahs were called princes, not kings.)

Major Battles
Aro raids on Anglo allies (1890s-1901)
Aro invasion on Obegu (1901)
Aro expedition (1901-1902)
Notes

How can you say the official languages of the Aro confederacy were Igbo, Ibibio, Ijaw, Delta Ibo, Urhobo, Isoko, Itsekiri?

Have you lost your mind?

The Aros never went pass Igboland. They didn't have the military strength nor the machinery to enact such invasions or influence.

And all of the languages except Igbo and Delta Ibo (which is an aberration in itself because Delta Ibo is not a language) you mentioned there were not spoken in historic Igboland.

So you can stuff all the gibberish you wrote in a place where the sun does not shine.

Many more Igbo clans other than the Aros had influence on the non-Igboid ethnicities east of the Niger. But west of the Niger, the influence stopped at present day Delta North Senatorial zone. And even then the influence was solely based on language and cultural similarities, it was nothing like the vassal states in the old Bini or Oyo Empire.

The Igbos are republican. And personally, I don't think you guys have to give excuses as to why you guys didn't fight baseless intra-tribal wars and establish a mammoth tribal country like the Yoruba country or Bini country. But it borders on insanity to say that there was anything in pre-Independence Igbo land that rivaled the Oyo or Bini Empire in the West of the Niger or the Sokoto Caliphate, numerous Emirates in the North (such as the Kano Emirate) or the Bornu Empire in the North.

-Lord

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Re: Yoruba Revolutionary War Chronicles. By Samuel Johnson by Nobody: 6:40pm On Dec 13, 2016
dEastActivist:


Mrs parody
You are just confirming the original intent of the original history script writer... grin

Why dump the history of using witchcraft, roots and herbs and babalawo known to you for Korean sophisticated traditional setting?
What are you shying away from really?

The delusion of grandeur from these specific set of people make me lol cheesy
Awaiting the film though grin

Funny guy, I would do exactly what you are doing right now if the only thing memorable about my history was a bunch of savages running wild and hunting each other for food.

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