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The True And Sad Story How Afonja Lost Illorin To Fulani People

The Yoruba people in Ilorin
claimed that the throne should
always have a Yoruba king on
the seat and backed this with
historical references which point
Yoruba ancestors as the
founders of Ilorin.
The Yoruba and Fulani
inhabitants of Ilorin, the present
capital of Kwara State, Nigeria,
have for so long been at
loggerheads over who should
produce monarch for the town.
The Fulani section of Ilorin came
up with a counterclaim that no
Yoruba king has ever been
enthroned from the onset,
therefore the throne belongs to
their (Fulani) ethnicity.
However, history will never lie
and so
OldNaija brings you the
true account of how Aare-Ona-
Kakanfo Afonja lost Ilorin to the
Fulani people of Northern Nigeria.
Who Was Afonja And Who
Originally Founded Ilorin?
The history of Ilorin put it as a
Yoruba town which was originally
used as a military outpost by the
Alaafin, paramount ruler of the
old Oyo empire (Oyo-Ile). At the
period of creation, Ilorin was
administered by Afonja, the sixth
Are-Ona-Kakanfo (generalissimo)
of the Oyo army and successor of
Are-Ona Oku of Jabata.
It was from this outpost that
Afonja carried out military
functions for the then Alaafin
named Aole, the son of Alaafin
Abiodun.
Aole reigned between 1789 and
1796. It was during this period
that Shehu Alimi, a Fulani cleric,
arrived Ilorin with some of his
tribesmen and were all welcomed
and hosted by Afonja.
Afonja’s Conflict With Alaafin Aole
After a while, conflict broke out
between Alaafin Aole and Are-Ona
Afonja. Alaafin Aole had ordered
Afonja to attack a town named
Iwere-Ile which to Afonja was a
suicidal mission and he adamantly
refused.
Iwere-Ile is the hometown of
Aole’s paternal grandmother and
a former Alaafin named Ajagbo
had placed curses on any
Kakanfo that attempt to attack
Iwere-Ile. These were the
reasons Afonja disobeyed Alaafin
Aole’s orders.
While still at disagreement,
Alaafin Aole, also called
Arogangan (roughly translated as
the mean one), ordered Afonja to
attack Apomu, a prominent town
in Ile-Ife; this was in 1795. The
disagreement heated up to the
point that both sides resulted to
trash things out with violence.
At this point, Afonja sought the
support of Shehu Alimi also
known as Salih Janta who had
both spiritual and military power.
On his way from the Apomu
expedition, Afonja stopped at
Oyo-Ile to deal with Alaafin Aole.
Afonja sent an empty calabash to
Aole signifying his rejection as
the Alaafin and according to the
customs of Oyo, he was to
commit suicide at such and he did.
OldNaija gathered that before
Aole took his life, he performed a
ritual and cursed the entire
Yoruba land that their sons and
daughters will be taken as slaves
and sold to different parts of the
world.
Many believe Aole’s curse plunged
Yoruba land into a series of inter-
tribal wars that broke out in
following years such as the Kiriji
war, Egba-Dahomey war, Ibadan-
Ijaye war and so on.
Aole was succeeded by Adebo
who ruled from 1796 to 1797;
Maku succeeded Adebo and also
ruled for few months before his
death in 1797. From 1797 to 1802,
the Oyo throne was vacant. It
was in 1802 that Alaafin Majotu
was crowned and it was during
his reign that Are-Ona-Kakanfo
lost Ilorin to the Fulani.
The Death Of Afonja And The
Establishment Of Emir Throne In
Ilorin
After defeating Aole, Afonja and
Alimi’s relationship strengthened
to the extent that Afonja
enlisted Alimi’s men into his army
and disbanded many of his men
whom history claimed he didn’t
fully trust. Unknowing to Afonja,
the Fulanis were gradually
infiltrating his army and before
he could realize, it was too late.
This was after Sheu Alimi’s death.
His son, Abdulsalam, earnestly
yearned to rule Ilorin and
clandestinely plotted against
Afonja. In 1824, Abdulsalam’s men
shot Afonja arrows till he
breathed his last. He was shot so
many arrows that his dead body
remained suspended in an upright
position for a long while.
“
"HE FELL INDEED LIKE A HERO.
SO COVERED WAS HE WITH
DARTS THAT HIS BODY WAS
SUPPORTED IN AN ERECT
POSITION UPON THE SHAFTS
OF SPEAR AND ARROWS
SHOWERED UPON HIM. SO
MUCH DREAD HAD HIS
PERSONALITY INSPIRED THAT
THESE TREACHEROUS JAMAS
WHOM HE HAD SO OFTEN LED
TO VICTORY COULD NOT
BELIEVE HE WAS REALLY DEAD;
THEY CONTINUED TO SHOWER
DARTS UPON HIM LONG AFTER
HE HAD CEASED FIGHTING.
THEY WERE AFRAID TO
APPROACH HIS BODY AS IF HE
WOULD SUDDENLY SPRING UP
AND SHAKE HIMSELF FOR THE
CONFLICT AFRESH."

After Afonja’s death, Abdulsalam
declared himself the Emir of Ilorin
and pledge allegiance to Sokoto
Caliphate. This was how the
monarch of Ilorin hold the title of
Emir till today instead of Oba or
any other Yoruba title for a king.
Afterward, the Yorubas
attempted to regain control of
Ilorin from the Fulani jammas but
failed. Toyeje, the successor of
Afonja, led the first and second
attempts to drive the Fulani
people out of Ilorin.
The second attempt is known in
history as Mugbamugba war in
which Yoruba people suffered
untold defeat in the strive to
regain the throne of Ilorin.

OP, you want to deliver Afonjas this afternoon

smart one op

Op wetin awon head slammers do you naah

Ok
Next

Lol op na you be their medicine.

You know the ways of those biased mods.

69 views vs 5 post. They were disappointed upon seeing they reason their failed to achieve ilorin and they could not comment. OP alaha niyi.

helinues:

Afonja is disappointed

Okpotokpo:
Op wetin awon head slammers do you naah

lolz just want to calm them down... their wahala too much 4 NL

horsepower102:
smart one op

tanx... actually posted it wt the real title 3 times bt d mods kept deleting

Ardar:
Lol op na you be their medicine.

You know the ways of those biased mods.

ahswear those mods wicked and over biased