http://www.nubiarepublic.com/2019/06/aare-ona-kankanfothe-yoruba-warlords-of.html


Over the past centuries and millenniums,the world has played host to great armies of conquest.Armies who at the behest of their Kings and rulers,have gone into battle for the pride,preservation and,expansion of their motherland.At the helm of affairs,the strategies and brilliance of the theater commanders and Generals determines the success and failure of any military outfit.Just as exceptional soldiers both in the armies of the modern and ancient world have risen to great ranks,not all could attain the greatest and most prestigious of all ranks which is reserved only for the most powerful warrior of them all:- The rank of the Field Marshall.

Centuries ago,the Oyo empire in its Optimus Primus,created a title which was to be bestowed on the fiercest warrior in the entire Yoruba nation :-The title of the Aare Ona Kakanfo.The title and its beholder symbolized the dominance and supremacy of the Oyo empire.At the control of the Aare Ona Kakanfo is is the entire armed forces of the Yorubas, and he is laden with the task of leading the forces into battles,defending the empire from external threats and internal revolts and,the assembling and training of soldiers into formidable merchants of death.

Furthermore,the recipient of the title of the Aare Ona Kakanfo undergoes series of compulsory rituals.These includes the famous 201 incision on the occipital part of the head using 201 different lancets and 201 different vials of very mysterious and potent preparations which remains classified till this day to the public.Also,the recipient is made to take an oath of allegiance to the Alaafin of Oyo to always obey,never to betray and, never wage war on the empire.Further instructions concerning the art of warfare is handed over to him which includes;never to retreat from a battle,never to loose a war and,when faced with an obvious defeat in battle,he is mandated to kick the bucket and perish along with the battle.With this done,the lord of war is then handed an equally mysterious staff and sent out into a military outpost far away from the capital.This is done so as not to give room for any entertaining thoughts of an attack or invasion on the part of the Warlord.

Conversely,the Yoruba nation before now, has been able to produce 14 of this warlords with the inclusion of another one recently(Gani Adams of Akoko) which have risen the number to 15 with the later 3 been more of a ceremonial role rather than the actual regular combatants of old.Briefly,we shall look into the lives of some of these supreme commanders who, through villainy or heroism have earned an exceptional or spectacular spot amidst them.

Kokoro Gangan of Iwoye

First on this list is the pioneer recipient of the title.If we take a good look at our history books,we would agree that there is actually nothing special about the exploits of this warrior, yet again,it should be noted that before him, there was no such title.The title itself was a brainchild of the 16th ruler of Oyo,Alaafin Ajagbo who during his days as a prince had a close childhood friend in the person of Kokoro Gangan.On ascension to the throne of his forefathers,he inaugurated the title and made his bosom friend the first warrior to bear the title hence,making him the very first Aare Ona Kakanfo of the empire,a title which could be roughly interpreted as
“the fearless leader in battle”.

Oyabi of Ajase
Another great warrior is Oyabi of Ajase,the third Aare Ona Kakanfo,a perfect example of a true hero and loyal soldier.During the reign of Alaafin Abiodun,the dreadful Basorun Gaha who was already in total control of the empire including the Oyomesi and the Ogboni was at his peak in terms of tyranny.Having disposed two previous Alaafins in a space of 2 years,he was becoming a great threat to the further existence to the throne and occupants.For fear of the continuity of his own life,Alaafin Abiodun decided to put an end to the madness of the Basorun for good.The king secretly left the palace for a town known as Akala in search of his friend and namesake, Adegbolu who was the Baale of the same town.

After a lengthy conversation,they discretely left for the Army outpost at Ajase which was the abode of the then supreme commander of the Yoruba forces whose name was Oyabi.It was from here that the decision to destroy the Basorun and his household revealed itself.Like a good and obedient soldier,Oyabi rose up to the clarion call of his king and ,together with his Calvary, stormed the capital where a great carnage was let lose on the household of the powerful king-maker Basorun Gaha and his allies.That incident marked the freedom of the people of Oyo from the mad king-maker and also exalted the office of the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Afonja L’aiya L’oko of Ilorin

The 6th Aare Ona Kakanfo of the Yoruba nation played a more devastating role in history which also contributed immensely to the decline of Oyo empire.This warrior open rebelled against his King the Alaafin Aole and the entire Yoruba nation and also demanded for the king’s head in 1817.Due to his insatiable quest for power,he declared war on the Oyo empire together with some Yoruba traitors.To enforce his power and dominance,he made himself king of Ilorin which hitherto was a military outpost on the outskirt of the Oyo empire.He also took in slaves from Nupe who had escaped or committed grievous offenses from the empire into his new illegitimate kingdom.This he did for a while in other to swell and increase the population of the inhabitants of Ilorin.

Perhaps,his greatest undoing was the invitation of the Fulani cleric Alimi into his fold and kingdom.He had thought that an alliance between him and the Islamic cleric would yield fruitful tidings,and for a while it did.With the help of Alimi and his soldiers Afonja was able to successfully repel and raid the Yoruba nation.But their alliance was short lived.Sooner than later,the real intent of Alimi started to unfold in remarkable ways that caught Ilorin and Afonja unaware.After the death of Alimi,his son Abdulsalam also rebelled against Afonja his father’s host and in the ensuing power tussle,a conflict broke out between them which eventually led to the assassination of the Generalissimo Afonja.Legend has it that he actually died on his feet with his body ridden with hundreds of arrows trained on him by the Fulani warriors of Abdulsalam.

Subsequently,Abdulsalam took the throne of Ilorin and pledged allegiance to the Sokoto Caliphate hence making him the first Emir of Ilorin.This was the beginning of the encroachment of the Jihadist into the Yoruba lands.Ultimately,the Fulani waged war against the empire,subjugated some of the Yoruba cities, and successfully sacked and destroyed the city that the Alaafin himself had to relocate from the Old Oyo-Ile(old Oyo).This made the Alaafin place a curse on the Yoruba race in the year 1835.Unfortunately,their conquest on the Yorubas was short lived as they were soundly defeated at Osogbo by the forces forces of the Ibadan garrison.

Till date,the treachery of Afonja against his countrymen is still legendary as it serves as a form of didactic lesson to would-be betrayals in Yorubalands.The emergence of Islam into the Yorubaland could be linked to this power-drunk generalissimo who bit more than he could chew.

Ojo Aburumaku of Ogbomosho

The 11th Generalissimo was more of a restless warrior who longed for a war when there was none and could wait no longer.This warrior then decided to take a condescending figure in midwifing a civil war of his own in his own native land Ogbomosho.A civil which he superbly quelled with such finesse and efficiency.

Obadoke Iyanda Asubiaro Latoosa of Ibadan

The 12th lord of war of the Yoruba nation was the fearsome Ibadan warrior Iyanda obadoke Asubiaro Latoosa Agadagudu, the son of Ore Orisa.It was during his reign that the most ruthless feminine figure in the history books of the Yorubas was permanently put to sleep.The all powerful Iyalode Efusetan Aniwura went on rampage in Ibadan with minimal interference from the chiefs due to her position within the society.For someone of her status,she was a very wealthy and industrious woman whose bulk of income was realized from her exploits in the slave market.Her overbearing nature,atrocities and, disregard for laws and order from the ruling council of Ibadan after several stern warnings and counseling, initiated her eventual destruction.Legend has it that she once boastfully made a damning statement in which she openly made it known that “God should keep ruling the heavens,while she rule down here on earth”.Perhaps,the great Warmonger of the Yoruba nation had enough of the tantrums thrown at him by this feminine nuisance who was fast becoming a pestiferous vermin to his existence hence,his decision to summarily decommission and relieve the female slaver off her duties on earth.

Nevertheless,the reign of Aare Latoosa brought a spectacular crescendo to the Yoruba civil wars.After the fall of the Oyo Empire,Ibadan took the role of Sovereignty over the Yoruba nation which did not go down well with the leaders and people of the Yoruba city states.Aare Latoosa,perceiving a growing rebellion against him and Ibadan,declared an epic war on those who opposed the hegemony of Ibadan.There onward,the Yoruba nation was plunged into a brutal civil war that put to asunder the very fabric of the Yoruba race.

Aare Latoosa along with his Ibadan war machines and allies,waged and fought wars on five different fronts.His first was against the Egba nation in the South,who engaged them in a Guerrilla type of warfare.Their second encounter,to the same South,was against the Ijebus this time who pitched their war camp at Oru .Their third to the east at Kiriji was perhaps,the main center of attraction due to the fact that they fought a long battle with the Ekiti-Parapo forces of Ijesa and Ekiti.Their fourth was at Offa in the North,where they faced the Ilorin Fulani emirate.The fifth was against Ile-Ife, the ancestral origin of the Yoruba race.It should be noted that the Ibadan forces suffered series of setbacks in terms of weapons,but were still able to withstand the combined forces of their enemies thus,elongating the span of the war until the eventual intervention of the British empire during the scramble for and partition of Africa.

Unfortunately,after a fracas ensued between Latoosa and his deputy commander which deteriorated into palace coup,the great lord of war out of rage,went into his room where he gently laid on his bed after an intake of poison thus,ending the life of a true magnificent warrior of the 19th century .

Ladoke Akintola of Ogbomosho

The 20th century marked the dawn of a new era to the Yorubas and other ethnic nations around the Niger area as they were eventually clamped or amalgamated together into a single entity called Nigeria.By this time,there were no more wars and the British administration were in-charge of the affairs of the nation.Also,it brought about the very first Aare Ona Kakanfo of the modern era in the person of Ladoke Akintola,the then Premier of the Western region.A title more or less a ceremonial office now,bestowed to the most noble and distinguished among the Yoruba people.

Such as a fate would have it,Premier Akintola was not speared from the bloody path previously navigated by his predecessors-in-crime.The first Republic had a promising beginning,but soon drifted into calamity waiting to engulf not only the Yoruba nation,but the country at large. It started with the conspiracy and plot against Awolowo,the first Premier of the Western Region.The whole issue soon escalated into chaos in the region with the subsequent arrest and sentence of Awolowo for an alleged coup plot against the Nigerian Government coupled with the audacious partnership between the Action Group and the Eastern power bloc party NCNC.All these was followed by a mass rigging of the election in the Western Region with Premier Akintola playing a dominant role of a villain in the whole saga which inevitably led to cocktail mixture of bedlam which soon fermented into mayhem;toxic and odoriferous.Soon,they were rampant killings and intimidation in the streets and corners all over the western region with frequent political clashes via thugs which made the region totally unsafe for civilians.This soon earned the region the nickname “wild west”.consequently,this did not go down well with some fairly young, armed and, experienced skeptics thus,leading to the historical uprising of the 5 Majors.

To be a beholder of a title such as that of the revered trouble-prone Aare Ona Kakanfo,its either you go looking for trouble,or trouble comes looking for you.The former and latter was the case of the Premier.On the night of 15th January 1966,a company of soldiers dropped-by on a deadly courtesy visit at his residence in Ibadan,which he did not hesitate to reciprocate in same coin.Akintola,sensing the essence and intent of these August visitors,bravely took up arms against the first Coupists in Nigeria.

After a lengthy battle that spanned over to the next morning at the expense of the lives of almost a company of soldiers,he was eventually mortally wounded by series of bullets from the Coupists,who had replenished their dwindling ranks with new hands.It was said that Akintola,whose dying body had hitherto been dumped on the bare floor at the old Adeoyo Hospital in Ibadan,was still breathing and remained in that helpless state several hours after his epic gun battle with the Coupists.He eventually gave up the ghost at sunset.

Moshood Abiola of Abeokuta

The next in line to assume the much dreaded title of Generalissimo albeit, ceremonial now was an industrial tycoon by the name Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of Abeokuta.He was conferred with the title of the Aare Ona Kakanfo in the year 1988.He assumed office 22 years after the ghastly death of the former holder Akintola of Ogbomosho.

Unlike Akintola who was a powerful political figure in the South western region in the early 50’s to mid 60’s,Moshood Abiola was a businessman,entrepreneur and industrialist who,made bulk of his vast income from banking,publishing,retail, and other forms of enterprise.With his new found wealth,he was able to stand out amidst the other wealthy Nigerians of Yoruba descent mainly due to his philanthropist aura.
Ironically,he was soon cobwebbed into one of the greatest series of scandals in the history books of Nigeria.

First of his alleged atrocities was his involvement in the coup of 1985 against Major Muhammadu Buhari.Nigeria, before the coming of the dynamic duo of Buhari and Idiagbon was in an abysmal state of hopelessness and corruption.The military duo then thought it wise to salvage the country from its current predicaments.This they did with their famous campaign for War Against Indiscipline(WAI),which tackled the corrupt practices of civilians,civil servants,politicians,companies and contractors,top government executives and,the military.This did not seem to go down well with this league of persons..Moshood Abiola soon,in his philanthropic stead,generously contributed financially to the overthrow of the Buhari-Idiagbon regime.Moshood Abiola and the guys in the military sensing the full wrath of the hammer of justice about to fall on them,ousted the Dictator and his de facto ruler.It was a move which then brought in the beasts in persons of Babangida and Abacha who eventually saw to his ruin.

The second was his involvement in the saga of the late Samuel Doe of Liberia.The Liberian dictator,foreseeing his own doom,decided to divert a very large sum of money in tune of 5billion dollars looted from the Liberian coffers which he then diverted to Nigeria and left under the watch of his very good friend,the then Military President General Badamassi Babangida.Hopefully,Samuel Doe had financially prepared and strengthened the future of his family pending his imminent demise.His orders were for his family to visit Babangida for the looted money if he eventually felled in active duty.Babangida,who apart from been in a top position as the then military President, had no proper means nor provision for that amount of money instead,gave the money to Moshood Abiola ,his good friend,for safe keeping.This was a costly mistake.Abiola as we were told then paid the money into the account of one of his wives Kudirat, and this was done with her name as the signatory to the account hence,making her sole owner of the money.Alas,the time came and Samuel Doe,the hitherto Dictator of Liberia perished under the new dictator Charles Taylor.As instructed ,the family of the deceased dictator came to Nigeria to claim their cash prize from the hands of Babangida.The Nigerian military president then called unto his friend Moshood Abiola to produce the money he had been given for safe keeping ,but this was not the case as the drama took a new turn.Abiola,who had gotten wind of the death of Samuel Doe saw this as an opportunity to put a claim on the money in question,refused to give it back to Babangida with an excuse that the money has been invested into a business by his wife Kudirat.This was a very treacherous move by Moshood Abiola against a man who himself is master of such humane attributes.

The third was perhaps,the most spoken about fraudulent act by the business tycoon.Abiola was the head of the Nigerian branch of the controversial communication company International Telephone and Telegraph corporation.There was an initial agreement that the company was to provide an effective and workable telephone service s for the country.This deal would have a telephone he contract was booth on every street of Nigeria.The contract,which was said to worth a staggering 75million was increased and manipulated to a gargantuan amount in the tune of 750 million by Abiola and his cronies mainly in the military.This financial stunt pivoted Abiola into a multi-millionaire overnight.His partners in crime also benefited immensely from this savagery.The deal itself was a Trojan horse as there was no trace of the execution of the contract.In order words,there was no single telephone or telecommunication device installed anywhere in Nigeria through the project rather,it was only a means for greedy men to increase in wealth.It was a scheme so legendary,it literally had a musical track named after it by Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

The climax hurriedly came later-on during the presidential election of 1993.An election,which he went into as the favorite candidate for the post and the day for election was set for the 12th of June 1993.Ironically,it seems karma never forgets the sins of man and had Abiola right where it wanted.Abiola, who had hitherto found solace in acquaintanceship with the military guys was astounded as to the sudden paradigm shift by General Babangida in annulling the election.An election which had been conducted and victoriously won in a free and fair atmosphere devoid of electoral malpractices in which Babangida had claimed was his reason for annulment.The events which followed the June 12 stolen mandate further highlighted the intense grip of barbarism in the country as rebellions on all fronts were quelled,homicides committed like in the case of Kudirat Abiola,and necessary mouths were financially oiled to sing new songs about the election.This did not deter Abiola as he continued to agitate for the return of his stolen mandate even after an Interim government had been set up to replacing the outgoing Military president.His demise became imminent when the late General Sanni Abacha seized power from the interim government of Earnest Shonekan.Despite warnings from various quarters not to go about pronouncing himself president,Abiola against these adherence,fancied his chances and continued to do so thus,going toe-to-toe in a clash of power interest with the brutal dictator until he was finally arrested by by the Junta.After several cases of deteriorating health in military captivity,Abiola,the 14th Aare Ona Kakanfo and second and last of the 20th century, gave up the ghost on the 7th of July 1998.His death came as mysterious as his birth.


Source: http://www.nubiarepublic.com/2019/06/aare-ona-kankanfothe-yoruba-warlords-of.html

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2 like for you.

Despite not liking the lies about Basorun, who's history still needs to be written to correct the disinformation peddled about him!

mickeyenglish:
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kk