₦airaland Forum

Some of the agricultural products widely produced and at commercial quantity in Yorubaland.

Palm Oil
Cocoa
Cotton
Shea Butter
Coconut
Kolanut
Gum
Camwood

Add more...

CabbieAC:
True talk! I spoke about it in my earlier post.It was difficult to find info about some kings tho

I'm also thinking of profiling the ones in the diaspora as well

Quimicababes do you have any Obas in Trini? we still dey wait for the treatise

Eleko oun re

Add to that list...

Ayangburen of Ikorodu
Olu of Ikeja
Akran of Badagry
Olu of Epe
Oloja of Epe

The brown roofs and red mud house of Ibadan, the London of Negroland...

Aare,

Here is the next stage on this website. We need to know our Obas. Please raise the point. Lets start from Jebba and work our way down to the coast. People should post pictures of their Obas and name his/her domain. It is optional to add a short history.

What ya think?

CabbieAC:
Haha! e ba mi mu niwonba. I don't even know any of these places

Lol. I will assign tpia to take you on a tour.

Will someone please tell Mrs Adeosun to keep a gele on her head for God's sake!

CabbieAC:
Haha! You captured the true picture of Shitta with this post lol

That's why when you threaten people with Medube,that's like pointing an AK towards an enemy

Where in Lagos is Oko Awo?

As per the emboldened, truer words have never been said.Even people from the Island come to that part of Surulere to have fun and its close to Shoprite and Filmhouse cinemas

Surulere is just a blend of everything

Yep yep!

If you go south from Eleko's palace, past Obun Eko, past Idoluwo, you will hit Oko Awo right by Pedro street.

tpiadotcom:
Can someone explain to me what is political about the crap being posted here?

What kind of spoilt brats are these?

They must not move the thread, nobody must view the thread, we must do whatever we like on the thread, mynd must talk trash on the thread, and other such rubbish. Ki le gbe ki le ru?

Who is upseting my tpia nau?

I dont like when her mood is soured. Tpia dont mind them abeg, na jealousy.

CabbieAC:
Medube is in Shitta.Just a small part of Shitta.I still want Tupacshakur to help me confirm whether Its the same as small London

Yeah Its a rough place and as the Eleko, you're not supposed to be in places like that

Shitta has always been a bad @ss hood since its inception. Remember, these were residents of Offin, Oko Awo that were displaced from Island. You know what a bad hood Offin was, and even till today! Imagine bringing those elents, mixed with those from Oko Awo.

Oko Awo was reorganized and tidied up after plague and was afterward renamed Reclamation Street. Offin was torn down and its people displaced to build the ramps for Eko Bridge.

If you lived in Surulere and you are not in the social life in Akerele/Shitta then you are nobody in Surulere. You are right...it is small London... Back in the days you could not just walk in to Oluwole to do business. You had to be introduced by facilitators. Shitta guys made a living back then facilitating in black market. When they got involved in hard currency and laundering on forex their world changed. Drugs, guns, women, dollars and sterling.... it was on a different level and like you said, I had to find my level elsewhere.

tpiadotcom:
You have the wrong person.

You are so lovely. How would Nairaland be without you?

tpiadotcom:
Another reason why women should learn the art of self defence.

whatsup sweetie. Lol.

Hey dont mind CabbieAC, he's jealous cause he doesnt have a girl as beautiful as you. You gotta show him what you working with.

CabbieAC:
Did you see my question regarding Medube? Small London

I no know that. Who he be? I stopped going to Shitta after everywhere turnsdcto ground zero for narcotics and hard substance.

shymm8x:
She's down to earth and funny.

But with chics, you can never tell cos they're always pretentious.

You gotta tame her @ss and hold her in bondage with da pipe. Er'time she buck up you spice it, turn da b1tch to an addict. Its you or suicide! Lol.

These women behind veils....have you been in privacy with one before?

If not I recommend it as a good therapy for curing a man of his demons.

Hey shymmex,
That Ijebu chic is pretty. Whats her attitude like? If she good heart thats who should wear your ring.

All these other skeets - coco, lexus, shaniqua - dem gotta go!

Most guys here have not seen tpia. If they do they will tidy up a bit and learn to adore you.

Ain't that right sweetie gal?

CabbieAC:
Eleko MayorofLagos you better tell him

He thinks he's in London

Ofe fe Omo kwara la layi mura bi Afa

Lmao! Shymmex, you need a tasbih, a beard and a turban if the Ilorin girl is muslim. If she's christian no need to stress.

Jalabiya...

shymm8x:


[img]http://media./media/KCW8Gcg1T8PK/giphy.gif[/img]

Sir, is jalabiya also kaftan?

Shhyyyte!! Kaftan Hold on...

CabbieAC:
Starter pack

-Jalamiya

-Cap

-Proper beards

-Your trousers above your ankle

Abu Shymm8x

Thank me later

Ohh, ok...i see where this is coming from.

shymm8x:
What's "jalamiya"?

Beards like Osama? - I think I'll pass cos I'm currently growing my beards and I should look like Rick Ross in the next 3 months.

Cap? - I do wear hats.

Trouser above ankle? - hell no.

Anyway, which Yoruba subgroup has the best looking chics to you?

Personally, from those I've met - this is my list (face and body):

- Ijebu.
- Osun.
- Egba.
- Ondo.
- Ekiti.
- Ibadan.

What do you think?

Lol. You put on jalabiya with a bante and some sneakers walking round with a beard.....you will impress Taliban!

Full Text of " THE HISTORY OF THE YORUBAS FROM EARLIEST TIMES TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BRITISH PROTECTORATE


https://archive.org/stream/historyofyorubas00john/historyofyorubas00john_djvu.txt

The imagined sacred city, findings of Western explorers, the Ile-Ife and ancient kingdom of Benin connection stories
IFA: Divination Rituals and the New Yam Festival
IN the first three chapters of this book, I alluded to the role of Ifa divination and Ifa priests in various rituals in the sacred city, especially those relating to the resolution of the conflicts between Oduduwa and Obatala. I will devote this chapter to the place of Ifa divination and the Ifa deity in regulating and managing the spiritual and social affairs of the city and will introduce the myths and rituals of Orunmila, also known as Ifa, the Yoruba god of divination; Ifa divinatory practices; and the religious, ethical, and thought systems espoused in the rich Ifa divination texts, otherwise known as ese Ifa or Ifa divination poetry.
By analyzing certain related festivals of Ifa—Odun Egbodo Ooni (the King’s New Yam Festival), Odun Agboniregun (the Diviners’ New Yam Ceremony), and the annual Ifa Festival, together with the sacred narratives associated with them, I will show how the symbols and rituals of Ifa sanctify the sacred city. Ifa has a pivotal role in maintaining and legitimizing the Ooni’s sacred kingship and the lineage identity of Ifa devotees, particularly the Araba, the chief priest of Ifa, just as the sacred kingship legitimizes Ifa’s authority as the spokesperson for the 201 divinities of the Ile-Ife pantheon.
IFA IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE
In traditional and contemporary Yoruba culture and society, the Ifa divination system occupies a vital role in ordering and regulating the social and moral order. In addition to providing a plausible theory and practice aimed at explaining and controlling events, space, and time, Ifa represents a boidy of deep knowledge that deals with the past, present and future all at once. The Babalawo or diviners memorize Ifa as poetic oral texts and recite them on appropriate occasions, especially during rituals to secure healing and good health for clients.
As a prelude to examining the rituals and ceremonies of Ifa in Ile-Ife, it is useful to discuss the practice,logic and meaning of Ifa. The Ifa divination system of belief and ritual practices derives its authority in Ile-Ife from the sacred kingship and the lineage traditions of the diviners. The ritual and ceremonies discussed later in this chapter follow the archetypal format upon which Ifa beliefs and practices throughout Yorubaland, if not abroad, are based.
The Yoruba consult Ifa diviners on a wide range of personal, social and religious matters: for example, before undertaking an important obligation such as marriage, travelling to a distant place, and whenever they are in doubt. They use divination in situations of serious illness, especially when the illness is prolonged. Below, I interpret the symbolic and metaphysical meanings surrounding an Ifa consultation. As in the consultation that my research assistant sought in the Araba’s house, a client visits a Babalawo to determine the cause of a problem, typically a physical ailment. The client sits on a mat in front of the diviner while the Babalawo lays out his divination paraphernalia, which consists of a divinatory chain of linked half nuts and a tray of yellowish pollen. The client takes a coin, touches his forehead with it, and whispers into it his prayer or request, asking Ifa to reveal the secret behind his problem and to find an appropriate solution. He places the coin in front of the diviner, touching his chain with the coin as if conveying the request to it.
The diviner begins the session by invoking Ifa and reciting the words that begin this chapter. Ifa is showered with presents to assist in the process. The diviner requests that Ifa not mislead his client. The invocation also allows the diviner to pay homage to the spirit world, the ancestors, the great diviners before him, and the four directions of the Yoruba universe as he moves the chain to the front, back, left, right, and center of the tray, acknowledging all the relevant spiritual forces connected to the process. To cast the divination, the diviner holds the chain in the middle and throws it on the mat, making a “U” shape on the floor, so that four nuts fall on each side. The nuts will expose either convex or concave sides, thus displaying sixteen possible forms of the “signature” of Ifa. Each signature stands for an odu (divinatory sign or symbol), and each odu is linked to several verses of oral poems that interpret it. The diviner then recites the odu that appears in the divination castings. The client listens carefully, and after the recitation comments on whether any of the poems is relevant to his illness. At this stage the client may reveal to the diviner the nature of his inquiry. The diviner will interpret the text and, through further questioning, arrive at a definite cause of his client’s problem. The diviner will prescribe the appropriate remedy, usually a sacrificial ritual and the use of medicinal herbs.

Ooni with the sacred crown.
Although the most frequently employed form of divination involves the use of the opele chain, a more prestigious and elaborate form of divination, the ikin, involves the use of sixteen palm nuts. The diviner takes the palm nuts from a beautifully carved divination bowl into one hand. He then attempts to grab with his other hand most of the palm nuts in his first hand, leaving one or two. He marks the result of the exercise in the powder in the divination tray. When one palm nut is left in the other hand, the diviner makes two marks, and when two ikin are left, he makes one mark. When no palm nuts remain, he makes no mark. This process is done several times until the diviner can make four signs on each side of the tray. Each divination session produces an odu divination sign out of the 256 possible signs. The process of reciting the odu that appears to the client is similar to the above divinatory session with the opele.
Below is an example of verses from an odu called Eji Ogbe, which explains how important divination practice is on earth.
Ko sibi ti afefe ki i fe e de
Ko sibi ti iji ki i ja a de
A d’ifa fun Ojise Olodumare
Eni ti Olodumare ran wa sile aye
Eni ran’ni nise la a beru
A ki i beru eni ta a je fun
Olowo ori mi ko je t’Ikole orun bo wa s’Ikole aye
Olowo ori mi o re’bi Kankan
To fi n se gbogbo ohun ti o fe e se
Eni to ba ko’ti ikun s’Ifa
Eniyankeniyan to ni eni wo’fa o logbon lori
Enikeni to ni eni n wofa n sese ibi
O setan to fe e lo s’alakeji
Ojo to jade nile koje pada wale omo
Ebi iru won nii jese owo o won
Enikeni o gbodo so pe Ifa o nii se e
Ohun t’Ifa ba so nii fun babalawo lounje
Eni to n’Ifa n puro o lere kankan.
There is no place that the wind does not blow.
There is no place that the hurricane does not blow.
Who divines for the messenger that Olodumare the Supreme sends on an errand?
He who sends you on an errand
He [whom) only you will respect.
Your Master never travels from heaven above.
Your Lord does not go out visiting.
Your Lord stays in one place and accomplishes everything he wants to bring about.
Whoever refuses to obey the diviners’ words,
Whoever says the client’s work is not good,
Should be prepared to see Olodumare in heaven [i.e., be  prepared to die].
When the enemy leaves his house, he will not return home.
The family he leaves behind will have to take charge of his affairs.
No one must doubt the stories of the diviners. The stories the diviners tell provide for their daily bread.
The enemy who says the diviners are lying will make no progress in life.
In this powerful narrative the heavenly Ifa commands his devotees to take the work of the diviners seriously and spells out consequences for disobedience. Ifa diviners see this passage as proclaiming the authority given to them by Orunmila to control, determine, and mediate the affairs of the living. The diviner’s role recalls that of the Holy Spirit, who according to Christ’s promise would guide the affairs of the world after Christ departed.
The Logic and Meaning of Ifa
African societies recognize two forms of divination: the mechanical and the mystical. The mechanical form involves manipulating divining instruments or objects to arrive at an appropriate answer and treatment for the client. The mystical form centers on possession by a deity and appeal to a deity. In discussing the !Kung or San divination system, Lorna Marshall has argued that mechanical forms of divination fall into the category of magic and “secular” rather than religious forms because they involve no communication with mystical powers. But although Ifa divination is primarily mechanical, the preamble to an Ifa divination session indicates that mystical powers in control of the cosmos are invoked.
Ifa divination is also premised on the communication process between the diviner and the spiritual agencies responsible for proper divination performances. William Bascom remarked that the result is influenced by divine guidance. As in the divination process used by the Ainu of Japan, an invocation and prayer to the mystical forces precede the actual mechanical manipulation of the divinatory instrument.  The invocation of Ifa provides an important clue to the logic of the divination mechanism. Here we focus on the Ifa divination performance for healing, and our exploration of its three stages – consultation, diagnosis, and sacrifice-must begin with the ritual invocation. It is a poetic ritual prayer addressed to the relevant cosmic powers (the gods, ancestors, spirits) that the diviners know could influence the outcome of the client’s diagnosis. The Ifa ritual invocation that I witnessed in 1991 was intoned as follows:
The front of Ifa
The back of Ifa,
The right side of Ifa,
The all-knowing on the left, the centre of Ifa,
The centre of heaven
From the dawn of the day
to the setting of the sun,
Never say it is good when the message is evil
Never say it is evil when the message is good.
Never speak in a voice of deceit!
These lyrics are the diviner’s invocation to Ifa, spoken as a prayer to guide his consultation rightly so that an unequivocal truth may emerge. By his invocations, the diviner symbolically dramatizes the creation of the cosmos, the three layers of the Yoruba world. At the core of the divination is the idea that the universe and its events are guided by Ifa. He is the regulator of events in the universe (Agbayegun), and his divination process and activities bring order to a potentially chaotic universe. That spiritual order is symbolized by the regulating grid of the four cardinal points of the universe plus the centre, the fifth and the most central point.
The five important axes of power are replicated in the Ifa divination tray, usually carved out of wood, which represents the universe. The circular tray is a replica or “reproduction, on the human scale, of the cosmos [and] of Creation itself. It is an imago mundi, an image of the original world order.” At times in the course of divination, the Babalawo may trace these axes in the yellow powder on the Ifa tray, indicating the connection between the four cardinal points and the center.
The centre of the divining tray, like the centre of the world, is the link to the centre of heaven, the abode of the Supreme God (Olodumare) and the storehouse of sacred knowledge required to discover the “secrets” surrounding the client’s ailment, the hidden forces that have produced it. This is analogous to Victor Turner’s notion of the centre “out there;’ a place outside the immediate domain of the client, which nevertheless can be accessed through divination.
The act of touching the divining chain or  opele on the four cardinal points and then the center of the tray captures a complex religious symbolism. By this visually significant act, the tray becomes the earthly sacred centre from which the diviner makes present the heavenly centre and the ultimate storehouse of Ifa’s knowledge.”

Lokoloko (palace guards) holding whips made of branches during the Olojo Festival
Ifa divination connects the diviner’s probing act with the source of the client’s being, the ori (personal destiny). By this process, divination exposes the client’s destiny, the realities that influence his development, and the configuration of sacred powers that governs the world’s ceaseless transformations.
CONVERSION AND THE NEW FACE OF MODERNITY IN ILE-IFE
Today, in Ile-Ife and throughout Yorubaland, newer Pentecostal, evangelical, and “born-again” Christian movements that first emerged in the 1970s and 1980s are challenging the institution of the sacred kingship and the pluralistic order that has existed for over a century. These movements epitomize a new form of modernity encroaching upon Ile-Ife. Amid hundreds of evangelical Christian programs, revival meetings, open-air services, and nightly vigils taking place in the city, a newly emergent form of discourse is pushing evangelical Christian activities beyond the arena of the churches and private spirituality to public spaces, thereby directly challenging the orisa-based civil religion that has been in place. I should add that whereas in the Western world the crisis of modernity often connotes a struggle between religion and secularity, Ile-Ife’s current struggle over the negotiation of modernity concerns which form of religion will control its centre and civic life.
This newer negotiation of modernity is driven by generally exclusivist religious movements whose theology subsumes the entire cosmos and its inhabitants under a single divine order, ruled over by a Supreme God. This theology renders implausible the older order, according to which there exists not only the sacred kingship but also a diverse range of spirits and ancestors. As a result, this shift of sacred power and authority-from rulers and principalities that inhabit the living world to a single divine order inhabiting an invisible world (called heaven) – creates significant tension between devotees of the orisa and members of the new, predominantly Christian, movements. In short, these new movements challenge existing assumptions about what it means to be human in the cosmos and how civil authority is to be understood.
According to these new movements, all kings are simply human beings. Thus no king has any inherent religious or earthly authority that gives him power as head of the community, as the chief priest of the local civil religion. Central to this message is an emphasis on the personal salvation of individual converts. Moreover, unlike indigenous traditions, which were concerned with the temporal domain and a this-worldly proximate salvation, the new movements place significant emphasis on otherworldly salvation and benefits. Kings have become more concerned with their own personal salvation than with the proximate salvation of their people as a whole. Each individual is left to fight for his or her own salvation.
Members of these new Christian movements are targeting the sacred authority of the Ooni, and Ile-Ife civil religion more generally, because they realize that debunking the legitimacy of the sacred canopy-the guardianship of religious pluralism-will make it possible to destroy all indigenous non-Christian Yoruba traditions. While this kind of exclusivity is often associated with the European and American missionary enterprises of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, I have shown that their accommodationist orientation actually tended to support a role for indigenously based Yoruba civil religion. Rather, native Yoruba are driving this second, far less tolerant, mode of conversion. Although the new Christian movements are part of a global effort to usher in a universal Christian moral and social order, the conversion tactics employed by native inhabitants of Ile-Ife are specifically adapted to their local context. These individuals are able to explore and exploit, to their advantage, their knowledge of the indigenous orisa tradition in order to turn that tradition against itself. They draw upon the indigenous tradition’s pragmatic orientation – its emphasis on religion’s use value – but claim that indigenous beliefs and practices no longer have such use value because they no longer meet people’s needs.
Thus these new movements often blame disorderly events – particularly those perceived to be obstructing societal progress – on the continuance of traditional orisa religious practices and ways of life, which are regarded as “pagan.” Among these events are pestilence, natural disaster, famine, disease (especially the AIDS epidemic), and military coups, all of which are seen as signs of divine anger and Satan’s presence. Paradoxically, whereas indigenous religions have claimed that they were indeed performing rituals, engaging in calendrical ceremonies and holding festivals to explain, predict, and control natural phenomena, the new Christian movements have claimed that destructive natural phenomena and events are caused by the continuation of these very “pagan” rituals and festivals. Evangelical Christianity’s desire to trump indigenous religious symbols and practices has effectively devolved into a declaration of hostility and war against indigenous traditions. As the cultured despisers of indigenous practices, these new Christian movements aim at doing away with any forms of local knowledge, language, and ethos, even when they do not have any apparent religious connection. For example, by discouraging the use of vernacular liturgy and local dialects, members of these new movements aim to preach a universal message that is ultimately of global, rather than purely local, reach.

Book Serial: Ile-Ife : City of 201 gods
By Prof. Jacob Olupona


In The Pivot of the Four Quarters, Wheatley indicates that no place in sub-Saharan Africa has such cosmic significance as the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife. Known as the City of 201 (or 401) Gods, Ile-Ife is the base of the entire Yoruba civilization and culture, and its significance goes far beyond the immediate geographical and national boundaries of Nigeria. The religious culture of Ile-Ife has influenced the development and growth of new African religious movements as far off as Brazil, the Caribbean, and the United States.
Ile-Ife, a city of about half a million, is situated at the geographical centre of the Yoruba city-states. To the west lies Ibadan, the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa, and to the east lies Ondo, gateway to the eastern Yoruba city-states. Ile-Ife is about two hundred kilometres from Lagos, which was Nigeria’s coastal capital city for over a century.
Pre-eminent sacred place
Unlike the political, commercial, and administrative cities of Ibadan and Lagos, contemporary Ile-Ife is a ceremonial city par excellence; like the cities of Banaras, Jerusalem, and Mecca, in the people’s imagination it is the preeminent sacred place, beyond the secular and profane.

I begin with Ile-Ife’s various sacred place names, because epithets vividly show the significance of sacred cities. Stephen Scully argues in his book Homer and the Sacred City that “human centers such as Troy are richly and complexly described through the epithets attached to them.” Citing an earlier study by Paolo Vivante, Scully contends that “city epithets, whenever they occur, bring out the essential aesthetics and contextual quality of place names.” These epithets serve “as a resource of power and a medium of signification in their own right.” They are “visual and concrete in nature, and thereby evocative of an essential and generic quality” of whatever they qualify.
Ile-Ife’s inhabitants have conferred numerous sacred Yoruba names on their city. It has been called Ife Oodaye, “The Expansive Space Where the World Was Created,” referring to the cosmogonic myth asserting that ritual creation occurred in this very place, and as Ibi Oju Ti Mo Wa (Where the Day Dawns). In Yoruba creation myth, Ile-Ife is conceived of as the place where the sun rises and sets, the center of origin of the universe. Ile-Ife is also called Ife Ooye, the place of survival or the city of life, because, like Noah’s ark, it was a place of refuge from a primordial deluge that destroyed earlier settlements and left survivors to establish a new era. Various oral sources refer to Ile-Ife as the place where the 201 gods came down from heaven to live and interact with humans on earth.
Quote:
” The unprecedented visit of an Ooni to Lagos was chilling to all the other Yoruba Oba, including the Alaafin of Oyo. Before this visit, it had been taboo for an Ooni to leave the city of lle-lfe. The other Yoruba Oba viewed the announcement of his journey with such great alarm and seriousness that they decided to vacate their palaces and stay outside their city for the duration of his visit until they could confirm his safe return.”

http://afkinsider.com/107430/yoruba-speakers-in-high-demand-in-londons-luxury-markets/

As wealth gets more evenly distributed across the world, Africa is following in China’s footsteps as a major source of luxury spending power.

Nigerian tourists became the fifth biggest spenders in London in 2014 with a 50 percent increase in spending compared to 2013.

Staff with a grasp of Yoruba are in high demand.

The continued growth will put pressure on retailers in London and other markets to adapt to the needs of relatively new African consumers.

Nigerians buy on average four times more than U.K. shoppers, PropertyMagazine reports.

It is no longer enough to have Mandarin-speaking staff, according to the CBRE Luxury Retail 2015 report. Those with a grasp of Yoruba are also in high demand.

It is also not about making specific purchases, says PropertyMagazine. Consumers want to engage with the authentic brand experience that makes them feel more valued.

Retail space in Lagos is limited and high real estate costs on top of high import duties are slowing growth, LuxuryDaily reports. With its population of 13 million, the Lagos urban area is bigger than Paris with 15,500 people per square kilometer — more than double that of Shanghai. Most malls cater to mid-low income consumers, leaving luxury brands entering the market to opt for emerging high streets.

absoluteSuccess:
Mayoroflagos,

We were never conquered by the bini, it was a sister state to us the Aworis, just as was Dahomey,

But being Yoruba, we dont deny our premordial link with people in our sphere of influence, we keep records.

Hence you often hear 'ara ibini arokun tayo' as part of the oriki ogalades. Please dont expose us to imaginary conquest that never was.

We, the Aworis are small but mighty. We don't conquer or get conquered cause we are costodians of the pan-Yoruba shrine.

We have time honoured place in history that elude scholars. We were not conquered, we only have common ancestors with bini, such as Ado, and Elewure (Ewuare).

History is muddled up because it was unwritten, Ado was a mouthpiece of the founders of Awori.

Lesi maa b'omo alakese dule baba tie?

I've spoken in the audience of the blessed soul, mama HID, as a Yoruba youth to Yoruba elders and kings.

Again, I will speak for my ancestors from the depth of my knowledge nd imaginations.

Peace be to Yoruba and all.

Absolute Success,
How are you doing my brother?

I read your reference and I understand it, but did you understand my comment?

I did not anywhere say Awori was conquered and I am not one of those who subscribe to the falsehood that Bini is on the throne on account of its conquest against Lagos.

The truth is Dahomey was raiding Lagos and the truth is Bini conquered Dahomey in the lagoons and creeks of Lagos after an invite was sent to Bini for help against Dahomey.

I do not have time at hand to perch on here and churn out historical facts about Lagos but I post what i can in a rush and depart. So that piece was incomplete and i believe that left room for meanings to be read into it.

A key component was why Bini never had any conflict with Ijebu. Bini was not as ambitious as Oyo, they kept a defense force, whereas Oyo kept both attack and defense force. Oyo even had army reserves that can be activated at a moment notice.

If Bini had interest to install its authority on the sea, the farmlands of Aworis along the coast would have been usurped, the Idejo chiefs would have been overthrown and their lands confiscated, the salt mines in Mahin would have been taxed, Ijebu would have lost domination of sea trade, Ilaje would have been made a subject and tributary. So I get it...none of these places was attacked by Bini, so what brought Bini with Ilaje war boats to Lagos? It couldnt be Awori...it had to be Awori antagonists and that was Dahomey.

Seun:
I'll move it back to politics and close my eyes to the title which I still don't understand. I will also feature the thread on home page. Cheers.

Seun,
I read your response in the direct address. Thanks for listening.

This thread has diverted purpose and energy away from bickering and antagonism across ethnic lines and activities which before would cause negative impulse and multiplied effects is now spent in educating and learning. Im learning things here I did not know exist in the diversity of Yorubaland. I will never love Ibo with same vigour I love Yoruba but Im engaged loving Yoruba more than I am spending hating Ibo. Thats a good thing and I believe it applies to many of us.

Have a great day boss!

modath2:
Mayoroflagos & shymm3x ,

After typing a fan girl EPISTLE to you two, applauding the historical facts you are shiarin & chipping in my bit about the deluded warriors about to biesege ile kaaro oojire, seun 's bot chopped it & banned mo1 ...


Still will say, yall be doing it!!!
#nuffrespect..

Babaloke lo ma pa bot!

Good morning dear.

I doff my hat and accept the honour. Im learning a lot from you and others as well. You have a gift of voice and insight and is powerful in thrust...what we call a "luminary person". Edumare will continue to illuminate you, Ase!

Gbogbo omo kaaro o jire, nile l'oko, mo ki yin o, Eekun! Oduduwa a Gbe wa o!

Shymm3x:
Mayoroflagos

I saw what you posited in one of ya replies to 9jacrip about the Eko throne, Ilaje, and Bini connection a few days ago. And I've always wondered why Binis never really subjugated the Ijebu kingdom on their way to Lagos. It seems the Ilajes are the missing link between Bini and Eko.

What do you think and can you please enlighten us on more of the background story to the Eko-Ilaje-Bini connection?

Hello Shymmex,
First, what took Bini to Lagos, what was their business there? Bini itself did not have domain on the coast, it was an hinterland seat of political power. Lagos was under constant invasion by Dahomey and at a point the Idejo chiefs sent to Alaafin for protection against the raids from Dahomey. The Aworis did not have a constituted army or navy force and were not warriors. They did not wage war against other territories and neither was a war waged against them, but their land was blessed with agricultural produce. Since Dahomey was in constant war and battles attacking neighbouring states or defending against them, hardly any time was spent by these people growing food, so they raided for food and produce.

The defense of Lagos was impractical for Oyo because their horses were part of the army force and victory against an enemy depended on their health and well being. The risk of loosing the horses to sickness increases the farther they marched South and to the coast. Oyo turned the Idejo Chiefs to Bini for help.

Binis fought on foot and on waters but not at sea since they were not a sea people. Lagos is on the sea. Bini needed a sea force. This is where Ilaje came in.

This is directed to Seun.

You exercised a discretion to move the above titled thread away from Politics and into Culture. Im sure you know that it is a container for diverse subjects but in case you are not familiar I'm taking the liberty to share with you.

Arts, history, culture, individual achievements, sports, celebrities, music, fashion, collective achievements, state policies, reports on national indices of goals and achievements, academic excellence, Yoruba Monarchy and the dynasties, Yoruba Empires, Yoruba Commonwealth, Yoruba Diaspora.....and so on. There is not a single section in your forum that will serve as the perfect home for this thread. So why are we particular about homing it in Politics Section, as opposed to anywhere else?

As conscious citizens and responsible members on this forum we took the step, led by AareOnaKakanfo, to reverse the trend of negative and caustic competition and turned into an educative and informative coshare amongst citizens and lovers of Yoruba Commonwealth and Diaspora.

Some of the gains are unimagined in terms of the positive response and knowledge...not to mention the decrease in conflicts and bad taste topics which Nairaland was awashed with just days before this thread was created.

Which of these attributes and positive outcomes do you not like?

I beg you to relocate this thread back to Politics Section.