₦airaland Forum

chiagozien:
The same oya soldiers that dehomey women defeated or another one?



How come they lost kwara to fulanis?

Oyo defeated Fulanis ..they couldn't take Oyo like ilorin. Know your history

Mmm

LegendHero:
Greatest Military Unit From Each Country:

🇫🇷 France – Napoleonic Grande Armée
🇬🇷 Greece – Spartan Hoplites
🇵🇪 Peru – Inca Army
🇮🇹 Italy – Roman Legions
🇪🇸 Spain – Tercios
🇳🇬 Nigeria – Oyo Cavalry
🇮🇳 India – Mauryan Army
🇷🇴 Romania – Wallachian Army
🇵🇱 Poland – Winged Hussars
🇷🇺 Russia – Red Army
🇷🇸 Serbia – Serbian Medieval Heavy Cavalry
🇲🇳 Mongolia – Mongol Horse Archers
🇯🇵 Japan – Samurai
🇨🇦 Canada – Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
🇮🇷 Iran – Immortals
🇸🇪 Sweden – Carolean Army
🇩🇰 Denmark – Viking Great Army
🇰🇷 South Korea – Hwarang
🇲🇦 Morocco – Black Guard
🇦🇺 Australia – ANZAC Corps
🇵🇹 Portugal – Discoveries Era Navy
🇬🇧 United Kingdom – Special Air Service
🇮🇩 Indonesia – Majapahit Navy
🇨🇱 Chile – Army of the Andes
🇨🇳 China – Qin Army
🇲🇽 Mexico – Aztec Eagle Warriors
🇳🇱 Netherlands – Dutch States Army
🇿🇦 South Africa – Umkhonto we Sizwe
🇹🇷 Turkey – Janissaries
🇪🇬 Egypt – New Kingdom Chariot Corps
🇪🇹 Ethiopia – Imperial Ethiopian Army
🇮🇱 Israel – Golani Brigade
🇦🇹 Austria – Imperial Habsburg Army
🇹🇳 Tunisia – Carthaginian Army
🇧🇷 Brazil – Brazilian Expeditionary Force
🇲🇱 Mali – Mandé Army
🇸🇳 Senegal – Tirailleurs Sénégalais
🇰🇭 Cambodia – Angkor Army
🇻🇳 Vietnam – Tây Sơn Army
🇹🇭 Thailand – Siamese Elephant Corps
🇺🇸 United States – 101st Airborne Division
🇳🇿 New Zealand – Māori Warriors
🇧🇩 Bangladesh – Mukti Bahini
🇬🇪 Georgia – Georgian Royal Army
🇸🇬 Singapore – SAF Commandos
🇦🇱 Albania – League of Lezhë Forces
🇮🇸 Iceland – Viking War Bands
🇧🇬 Bulgaria – Bulgarian Boyars’ Army

source

Incorrect in many ways.
Example; Alexander Macedonia army was far the biggest in Greece.
1. Kanem Bornu and Benin Empire covered far more lands than Oyo at their peak

platymus:
What you said has been a great undoing for the Igbo people and will continue so! I have had discussions about this with my Igbo family about it. The lack of respect for ruling and hierarchy is against divine order, the reason Igbos hardly have one voice. Igbos believe money is everything the reason they also respect and worship money above all else and will do anything to get it!
Rulership and hierarchy follow divine order and people who value and respect such progress more in any sphere of life. Check the Yorubas in Religion, politics,education,technology, entertainment,business,etc.
My igbo people only value money and title but God walks with orderly people.
I am not trying to be tribalistic here at all just,it has been my observation long time ago and I have had discussions on this(and other subject matters) with the Igbos close to me

Igbo are successful in business, education and government, Igbo people were firsts in many endeavors in Nigeria starting from first professor, first VC, first millionaire, etc

When I said Igbo don't believe in kingship I mean that Igbo communities don't have king. However there was Igbo people believe in priest king of Nri Kingdom which started in 900 AD and ended in 1911 AD. It was a medieval, theocratic Igbo polity in modern-day Anambra State, Nigeria, considered the cradle of Igbo civilization. Led by a priest-king called the Eze Nri, it exerted influence through religion, trade, and cultural authority (rather than military force) across much of Igboland

Eze Nri introduced Ọzọ Tittleship in Igboland. That is why every Igbo man aspires to be a tittlehokder

chiagozien:
See pains 😂🤣🤣

Show us what your ancestors bequeathed you nah and let's compare notes.

Ritchiee:
This is from Cambridge University...

The Oyo Empire (c. 1400–1837), located in present-day western Nigeria, relied on a formidable cavalry to dominate the West African savannah. Renowned for speed and discipline, this elite force, often numbering over 100,000, combined heavy cavalry (using large horses, spears, and swords) with light cavalry (using indigenous ponies and bows), enabling rapid conquest of neighboring territories, including Dahomey.

Again, projecting the history you learnt about others to yours.

That is the issue.

Not all empires were created or survived by strength.
Some empires were created not because they were strong, but because they just had people of one culture and belief system existing in a location.
Some were survived not because they were strong, but because no one challenged them.

The Oyo empire didn’t exist because of any Calvary or strength somewhere, but because of they had a people with a common culture and tradition living in a location that was geographically impenetrable.

That is why it was a very very very small empire compared to what other called an empire, like the Roman Empire, British Empire, Greece, or even the African Kanem Bornu Empire. That is why the Oyo empire was never recorded to battle with any formidable foe, simply because they were just as surviving empire. Same with the Benin empire, etc. The were just small hamlet size people who couldn’t have people consider important enough for conquest.

That is why the first time they faced a formidable foe (British empire), they packed up. That was their end.

You are here talking about 100,000 calvaries because one guy sat somewhere and wrote history the way he felt like writing it. 😅😅😅

If it was truly a formidable empire, why was there also a Benin empire around it? Or an Ibibio kingdom? Una no even know wetin be empire sef.

You are happily referencing a “Cambride University” as a source. A university that, due to its lack of evidence, relied on people like you to tell your story. And that story became history.

Kukutente23:
How do you form an empire without military might

Good question.

That is why the Oyo “Empire” was never an emoire in the first place. We just twisted history to fit a narrative that we’ve heard about others.

An empire, or kingdom, like most of those west African “empires” like Benin, Fante, Asante, Oyo, never became what they became by strength but by a natural human characteristics of aggregation around a shared attribute. If a set of humans share an attribute, like culture, religion, tradition, names, language, etc., and they stay close together, naturally, such humans will form societies. And those societies will seek order by setting rules, strata, and leadership and that is how the so called empires or kingdoms are formed.

Check out the reach of each of those west African empires. Oyo empire was only around the Yorubas. Same with the Benin. Same with the Asante around only an ethnic group. And the Fantes of Ghana. None of the had any formidable opponent to test their capacity.

A true empire is formed of different people, of different cultures, of different traditions, etc. by reason of the stretch of military might. Only one of such in west Africa was the Kanem Bornu Empire. It had a large stretch, getting into central Africa even.

Now google this phrase “the map of Oyo empire” so that you will see the stretch of its domain. You will see how little it was and how it covered only Yoruba ethnic areas. That is why it was easy to crush it, when a formidable foe like the Brits arrived.

Helinuse:
Again, projecting the history you learnt about others to yours.

That is the issue.

Not all empires were created or survived by strength.
Some empires were created not because they were strong, but because they just had people of one culture and belief system existing in a location.
Some were survived not because they were strong, but because no one challenged them.

The Oyo empire didn’t exist because of any Calvary or strength somewhere, but because of they had a people with a common culture and tradition living in a location that was geographically impenetrable.

That is why it was a very very very small empire compared to what other called an empire, like the Roman Empire, British Empire, Greece, or even the African Kanem Bornu Empire. That is why the Oyo empire was never recorded to battle with any formidable foe, simply because they were just as surviving empire. Same with the Benin empire, etc. The were just small hamlet size people who couldn’t have people consider important enough for conquest.

That is why the first time they faced a formidable foe (British empire), they packed up. That was their end.

You are here talking about 100,000 calvaries because one guy sat somewhere and wrote history the way he felt like writing it. 😅😅😅

If it was truly a formidable empire, why was there also a Benin empire around it? Or an Ibibio kingdom? Una no even know wetin be empire sef.

You are happily referencing a “Cambride University” as a source. A university that, due to its lack of evidence, relied on people like you to tell your story. And that story became history.

When Rome existed, they bordered Persia the Achaemenid empire. Persia bordered Greece. Britain bordered France. You don't have to subdue all your neighbors for you to be recognized as an empire. Oyo tried to subdue Benin but failed. They were cut off from Ibibio that you mentioned. Oyo could move calvary very fast over vast distances. At it's height it controlled Ghana, Togo and Benin republic apart from other territories. In the eighteenth century Oyo had hundreds of thousands of calvary. How many nations on Earth had that back then? By the standards back then they were a force to reckon with and nobody would joke with them. They accomplished a naval blockade of Badagry in the 18th century. Everything happening in the west African coast called the slave coast was under their control as at early 19th century. No empire was controlling the whole world. You only control in the main your immediate surroundings.

I don't know if the Kanem Borno is bigger in extent but it definitely contained at its peak much less people than the Oyo empire at its peak

The Oyo did not fight Britain. The Yoruba elite invited Britain to come and the civil war in Yoruba land. The British were not interested in fighting Ibadan and if they had been interested it would not have been easy for them because how many men under arms did they have in west Africa? If not for the civil war, the Yoruba would like Ethiopia not have been colonized. Ibadan was allied with Britain and if not with Britain they could have sought other allies. Without the civil war, Ibadan and others could have put 200k men under arms easily in the 19th century.

So Oyo like any other was an empire and it held it together mainly with a strong calvary that could dash anywhere in west Africa within a short time. The US is a strong power today because of the navy. Then they also had a good system that ran well as calvary alone is not enough. Other states in the savannah also had calvaries.

The Oyo empire was not necessarily majority Yoruba. It was not all the Alaafins that were able to subdue southern Yoruba land. Most were not able to.

If Haile Selassie of Ethiopia succeeded in ensuring Ethiopia was not colonized then Aare Latosisa of Ibadan would have succeeded in Yoruba land if no infighting. Yoruba had more connections and were more westernized than the Ethiopians in the 19th century. British colonization was because of infighting

lawani:
When Rome existed, they bordered Persia the Achaemenid empire. Persia bordered Greece. Britain bordered France. You don't have to subdue all your neighbors for you to be recognized as an empire. Oyo tried to subdue Benin but failed. They were cut off from Ibibio that you mentioned. Oyo could move calvary very fast over vast distances. At it's height it controlled Ghana, Togo and Benin republic apart from other territories. In the eighteenth century Oyo had hundreds of thousands of calvary. How many nations on Earth had that back then? By the standards back then they were a force to reckon with and nobody would joke with them. They accomplished a naval blockade of Badagry in the 18th century. Everything happening in the west African coast called the slave coast was under their control as at early 19th century. No empire was controlling the whole world. You only control in the main your immediate surroundings.

I don't know if the Kanem Borno is bigger in extent but it definitely contained at its peak much less people than the Oyo empire at its peak

The Oyo did not fight Britain. The Yoruba elite invited Britain to come and the civil war in Yoruba land. The British were not interested in fighting Ibadan and if they had been interested it would not have been easy for them because how many men under arms did they have in west Africa? If not for the civil war, the Yoruba would like Ethiopia not have been colonized. Ibadan was allied with Britain and if not with Britain they could have sought other allies. Without the civil war, Ibadan and others could have put 200k men under arms easily in the 19th century.

So Oyo like any other was an empire and it held it together mainly with a strong calvary that could dash anywhere in west Africa within a short time. The US is a strong power today because of the navy. Then they also had a good system that ran well as calvary alone is not enough. Other states in the savannah also had calvaries

Can you see that all your write up was never to approach the matter logically but emotionally. You even undermined the Kanem Bornu Empire, by saying “I don’t know if…..” and even said it contained less people.” 😅😅😅 You just needed to search google and look up the map of Bornu and Oyo empire.

Anyways, concerning Persia and Greece😅😅😅
You know the history, but you just want to twist facts. But that proves my point. The Persian Empire crumbled under the weight of it trying to conquer the Greecian Empire. They were constantly at battle. An empire never exists near another.

Britain bordered France but….😅😅😅 None of them were an Empire. In fact, all of them were part of the empire that could be referred to as the “Holy Roman Catholic Church.” 😅 The couldn’t see Empire status by reason of the JudeoChristian brotherly ties. It was after they started discovering distant new lands like Spain discovered the West Indies, that is when they started become Empires. Portugal and Spain (bordering) never battled because they were under the JudeoChristian Roman church.

Oyo to Ghana? 😅😅😅
You are right, even as history have it that they had to rely on the Dahomey, and Akyem, because they could even have a real clash with the Ashanti.


You said the British never conquered Oyo? 😅😅
I guess the Oyo people just handed over the keys to the Queen. Since they were tired of their “civil war.”😅😅😅
Go and read what happened in 1895. Stop twisting facts. That is not how history is made.

chiagozien:
The same oya soldiers that dehomey women defeated or another one?



How come they lost kwara to fulanis?

You are absolutely right. The closest thing your forefathers did in comparison was village wrestling.

Helinuse:
Can you see that all your write up was never to approach the matter logically but emotionally. You even undermined the Kanem Bornu Empire, by saying “I don’t know if…..” and even said it contained less people.” 😅😅😅 You just needed to search google and look up the map of Bornu and Oyo empire.

Anyways, concerning Persia and Greece😅😅😅
You know the history, but you just want to twist facts. But that proves my point. The Persian Empire crumbled under the weight of it trying to conquer the Greecian Empire. They were constantly at battle. An empire never exists near another.

Britain bordered France but….😅😅😅 None of them were an Empire. In fact, all of them were part of the empire that could be referred to as the “Holy Roman Catholic Church.” 😅 The couldn’t see Empire status by reason of the JudeoChristian brotherly ties. It was after they started discovering distant new lands like Spain discovered the West Indies, that is when they started become Empires. Portugal and Spain (bordering) never battled because they were under the JudeoChristian Roman church.

Oyo to Ghana? 😅😅😅
You are right, even as history have it that they had to rely on the Dahomey, and Akyem, because they could even have a real clash with the Ashanti.


You said the British never conquered Oyo? 😅😅
I guess the Oyo people just handed over the keys to the Queen. Since they were tired of their “civil war.”😅😅😅
Go and read what happened in 1895. Stop twisting facts. That is not how history is made.

I did not undermine Kanem Borno. It is desert. You can't compare it to Oyo empire. It certainly contained less people than the Oyo empire. That is just the fact. Yes Yoruba land invited Britain. It was not conquered by Britain. Know that history today.

Ghana was part of Oyo at one point. They were able to remove the King and put another one. Ghana was organized and civilized so it was easy to conquer because they will quickly understand. Millions of Ghanaians today still claim descent from Oyo

So Christianity is common to Europe but Ifa is not common to Oyo and Benin?

There is no reason to say Persia, Greece, Rome, Ottoman Turks etc were empires while Oyo was not. Even Benin was an empire while others like Ijebu, Ijesa etc were nation states. Maybe you want to say they were not nation stares too?

galantjoe:
Igbo are successful in business, education and government, Igbo people were firsts in many endeavors in Nigeria starting from first professor, first VC, first millionaire, etc

When I said Igbo don't believe in kingship I mean that Igbo communities don't have king. However there was Igbo people believe in priest king of Nri Kingdom which started in 900 AD and ended in 1911 AD. It was a medieval, theocratic Igbo polity in modern-day Anambra State, Nigeria, considered the cradle of Igbo civilization. Led by a priest-king called the Eze Nri, it exerted influence through religion, trade, and cultural authority (rather than military force) across much of Igboland

Eze Nri introduced Ọzọ Tittleship in Igboland. That is why every Igbo man aspires to be a tittlehokder

OK! Like i said before, this is not about tribal war but fact and a pattern noticed among a group of people. However we need to clear some assumptions and validate with fact!

Igbo people were firsts in many endeavors in Nigeria starting from first professor, first VC, first millionaire, etc
You are making sound like it is a competition which is not but let's fact check:
first millionaire in Nigeria is Chief "Candido Joao Da Rocha" (1860–1959) is widely recognized as Nigeria's first millionaire. A prominent Lagos-based businessman and landowner of Brazilian-Yoruba descent, he built his fortune through various ventures, including pioneering a commercial water supply business ("Water House", gold transactions, and lending.
First VC in Nigeria is Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike (1917–1983) is recognized as the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor, appointed to lead the University of Ibadan (then University College, Ibadan) in 1960

I don't want you to mistake me as a tribal individual but the point i am arguing here is that majority of the Igbos don't value kingship and hierarchy the reason they have issues with politics and leadership. All my Anambara friends have confirmed my points severally! It is the same reason you see that many lies and rumors against leadership online is majorly from the East! Consider the rumour that One Jubril was clone of our former president! That one rumour almost ruined the country
In terms of politics, leadership, business and economics my Eastern brothers have a lot to learn

lawani:
I did not undermine Kanem Borno. It is desert. You can't compare it to Oyo empire. It certainly contained less people than the Oyo empire. That is just the fact. Yes Yoruba land invited Britain. It was not conquered by Britain. Know that history today.

Ghana was part of Oyo at one point. They were able to remove the King and put another one. Ghana was organized and civilized so it was easy to conquer because they will quickly understand. Millions of Ghanaians today still claim descent from Oyo

So Christianity is common to Europe but Ifa is not common to Oyo and Benin?

There is no reason to say Persia, Greece, Rome, Ottoman Turks etc were empires while Oyo was not. Even Benin was an empire while others like Ijebu, Ijesa etc were nation states. Maybe you want to say they were not nation stares too?

And then you ended with an attempt to correct me with the concept of a “nation state” while doubling down on your incorrect assumptions.

Somehow, you double down on the fact that the Bornu Empire, that was 20 times the geographical size of the Oyo empire, and was on the plains, was less populous than the Oyo that was a mangrove and swamp. 😅😅😅

Just like saying the Brazilians in the mangrove (exactly like the Southwest) are more populated than the Chinese in the plains and desert (as in the Bornu case).
I know that what fuels your thought is the population of Lagos as compared to northern Nigerian states. 😅😅😅

Benins had nothing to do with Ifa. The equivalent to Ifa for the Benins was Iha.

Just for your help: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/10/100-years-after-how-oyo-empire-resisted-britains-1895-invasion/amp/

That is a history of the conquest of Oyo. 😅😅
Except if you are looking for Cambridge University historians or your assuming history.

You even said I should “know that history from today” that the conquest of Ibadan when the city was ransacked and burned down by the Brits, was actually a happy invitation of th Oyo people for such mayhem. 😅😅😅 The first people the invited others to conquer them.

platymus:
OK! Like i said before, this is not about tribal war but fact and a pattern noticed among a group of people. However we need to clear some assumptions and validate with fact!

Igbo people were firsts in many endeavors in Nigeria starting from first professor, first VC, first millionaire, etc
You are making sound like it is a competition which is not but let's fact check:
first millionaire in Nigeria is Chief "Candido Joao Da Rocha" (1860–1959) is widely recognized as Nigeria's first millionaire. A prominent Lagos-based businessman and landowner of Brazilian-Yoruba descent, he built his fortune through various ventures, including pioneering a commercial water supply business ("Water House", gold transactions, and lending.
First VC in Nigeria is Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike (1917–1983) is recognized as the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor, appointed to lead the University of Ibadan (then University College, Ibadan) in 1960

I don't want you to mistake me as a tribal individual but the point i am arguing here is that majority of the Igbos don't value kingship and hierarchy the reason they have issues with politics and leadership. All my Anambara friends have confirmed my points severally! It is the same reason you see that many lies and rumors against leadership online is majorly from the East! Consider the rumour that One Jubril was clone of our former president! That one rumour almost ruined the country
In terms of politics, leadership, business and economics my Eastern brothers have a lot to learn

I like your natured argument which is factual based.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts

Keep it up

ElSudani:
You are absolutely right. The closest thing your forefathers did in comparison was village wrestling.

lolz and Yorubas fighting among themselves is achievements, that's how they lost kwara 😂🤣🤣😂😂


The so called people that love them 🤣😂😂😂😂

Helinuse:
Again, projecting the history you learnt about others to yours.

That is the issue.

Not all empires were created or survived by strength.
Some empires were created not because they were strong, but because they just had people of one culture and belief system existing in a location.
Some were survived not because they were strong, but because no one challenged them.

The Oyo empire didn’t exist because of any Calvary or strength somewhere, but because of they had a people with a common culture and tradition living in a location that was geographically impenetrable.

That is why it was a very very very small empire compared to what other called an empire, like the Roman Empire, British Empire, Greece, or even the African Kanem Bornu Empire. That is why the Oyo empire was never recorded to battle with any formidable foe, simply because they were just as surviving empire. Same with the Benin empire, etc. The were just small hamlet size people who couldn’t have people consider important enough for conquest.

That is why the first time they faced a formidable foe (British empire), they packed up. That was their end.

You are here talking about 100,000 calvaries because one guy sat somewhere and wrote history the way he felt like writing it. 😅😅😅

If it was truly a formidable empire, why was there also a Benin empire around it? Or an Ibibio kingdom? Una no even know wetin be empire sef.

You are happily referencing a “Cambride University” as a source. A university that, due to its lack of evidence, relied on people like you to tell your story. And that story became history.

lol
Ignorance is really a gradual killer.
At its peak in the late 17th and 18th centuries, the Oyo Empire was a massive West African power, covering over 150,000 square kilometers (approx. 58,000 sq miles). It extended from the Volta River in the west to the Niger River in the east, encompassing modern-day southwestern/north-central Nigeria and extending into the Republic of Benin.
It controlled most of the Yoruba kingdoms, the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey, and parts of the Nupe and Borgu territories.

The empire was dominated by a formidable, horse-mounted cavalry, which allowed for rapid expansion and control over the savannah region.

The empire was a, highly organized state with a complex government, utilizing a system of Alaafin (king), Oyo Mesi (council of chiefs), and provincial administrators.

As the largest empire in pre-colonial Nigeria, its influence extended far beyond its core territory, impacting trade and politics throughout West Africa.

The capital, Oyo-Ile (Old Oyo), was a heavily fortified city, with the Alaafin's palace spanning an estimated 640 acres.

Go learn from these...

Britannica Encyclopedia: Provides a comprehensive overview of the Oyo Empire's history.

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Cambridge) - Kingdoms of Oyo and Dahomey: Offers educational resources on the relationship between the Oyo and Dahomey kingdoms, including information on art, culture, and trade.

African Histories (PubPub) - Political Institutions of the Oyo Empire

Chaolin:
Just keep explaining your excuses

Oyo empire is a defeated army by ladies

Ekukumeku warrior is better base on their achievements during their reign they never lost a war

You can keep deceiving yourself, you want to compare OYO empire, the biggest empire in West Africa to your unkown rubbish?

dequir:
Where did you get your own version of bigoted history? The Fulani invaders that the Oyo Calvary wiped out completely at Osogbo in the early 19th century, thus ending the Fulani forage into Yoruba lands forever.

Fulanis wiped oyo.Infact they are the reason the so called Oyo empire was put to an end

lawani:
I did not undermine Kanem Borno. It is desert. You can't compare it to Oyo empire. It certainly contained less people than the Oyo empire. That is just the fact. Yes Yoruba land invited Britain. It was not conquered by Britain. Know that history today.

Ghana was part of Oyo at one point. They were able to remove the King and put another one. Ghana was organized and civilized so it was easy to conquer because they will quickly understand. Millions of Ghanaians today still claim descent from Oyo

So Christianity is common to Europe but Ifa is not common to Oyo and Benin?

There is no reason to say Persia, Greece, Rome, Ottoman Turks etc were empires while Oyo was not. Even Benin was an empire while others like Ijebu, Ijesa etc were nation states. Maybe you want to say they were not nation stares too?

Trash

You conducted census in kanem bornu to know it contained less people.

Point of correction.There was no Ghana in the olden days so I don't know were u got ur story from.The only Ghana that existed was Ancient Ghana that existed before ododuwa came to existence

Helinuse:
And then you ended with an attempt to correct me with the concept of a “nation state” while doubling down on your incorrect assumptions.

Somehow, you double down on the fact that the Bornu Empire, that was 20 times the geographical size of the Oyo empire, and was on the plains, was less populous than the Oyo that was a mangrove and swamp. 😅😅😅

Just like saying the Brazilians in the mangrove (exactly like the Southwest) are more populated than the Chinese in the plains and desert (as in the Bornu case).
I know that what fuels your thought is the population of Lagos as compared to northern Nigerian states. 😅😅😅

Benins had nothing to do with Ifa. The equivalent to Ifa for the Benins was Iha.

Just for your help: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/10/100-years-after-how-oyo-empire-resisted-britains-1895-invasion/amp/

That is a history of the conquest of Oyo. 😅😅
Except if you are looking for Cambridge University historians or your assuming history.

You even said I should “know that history from today” that the conquest of Ibadan when the city was ransacked and burned down by the Brits, was actually a happy invitation of th Oyo people for such mayhem. 😅😅😅 The first people the invited others to conquer them.

Ibadan would have been up to ten times the size of Oyo. Show when Ibadan was burnt down by Britain. Did Britain also burn down Ilesa because Captain Bower was sent to arrest Balogun Ogedengbe? I presume the punitive expedition to Benin by a few solders was also a burn down to you by the British. Ibadan was allied with the British and the British came to Igbajo to end the Kiriji war after invitation by Yoruba monarchs, business men, clergy and etc. The colonisation would not have happened without the invitation. The same also apply to Lagos. The Yoruba invited the British to Lagos. You can believe unvetted newspaper articles above university journals. That is your business.
The Yoruba invited Britain to impose peace on their land and they probably would not have been the first to do such. Peace from any angle was better than an unending civil war that had already lasted sixteen years. I hope you get the picture

The Benin till today have Ifa. If according to you they don't have. Are you aware they have Ogun and etc? Are you aware Oba Ewuare was seen as an Ogun incarnate? You may not be aware since you are not aware they have Ifa in Benin city

Till today the area controlled by the Kanem Borno in the past will have less people than the one controlled by Oyo in the past. I don't need to check before knowing because majority of Kanem Borno is desert and throughout history the Yoruba have had the highest populated cities in west Africa. Before Lagos it was Ibadan and before Ibadan it was Oyo ile. It may have been Sungbo's Eredo at one point. When Nigeria started, eighty percent of urban centers were on Yoruba land.

Yes I pointed out to you that Benin and Oyo were empires because they united people of different stock. I also pointed out to you that Ijesa, Ijebu etc were full fledged nation states with army, civil service and hundreds of towns under their control. I was expecting you to argue that they were not since you are already arguing that Oyo was not an empire. Ijesa, Ijebu were not less complex and organized but they were more homogenous and that is the only difference

BOOZELEE:
Trash

You conducted census in kanem bornu to know it contained less people.

Point of correction.There was no Ghana in the olden days so I don't know were u got ur story from.The only Ghana that existed was Ancient Ghana that existed before ododuwa came to existence

Do you need to conduct census before knowing Nigeria had more people than Niger republic in the nineteenth century? You are so disrespectful. Who raised you?

chiagozien:
lolz and Yorubas fighting among themselves is achievements, that's how they lost kwara 😂🤣🤣😂😂


The so called people that love them 🤣😂😂😂😂

Brothers fight amongst themselves. They were independent states but brothers. It is not easy to achieve unity. The Japanese fought for as long as the Yoruba on their island before someone was proclaimed emperor. The only difference is it was an island and nobody intervened. It must be noted that the British government instructed Lagos not to intervene in the Yoruba wars but they had to intervene when the Yoruba elite asked them.

lawani:
Do you need to conduct census before knowing Nigeria had more people than Niger republic in the nineteenth century? You are so disrespectful. Who raised you?

U dont really know history so I won't blame u

There was no Nigeria and Niger in the 19th century

lawani:
Ibadan would have been up to ten times the size of Oyo. Show when Ibadan was burnt down by Britain. Did Britain also burn down Ilesa because Captain Bower was sent to arrest Balogun Ogedengbe? I presume the punitive expedition to Benin by a few solders was also a burn down to you by the British. Ibadan was allied with the British and the British came to Igbajo to end the Kiriji war after invitation by Yoruba monarchs, business men, clergy and etc. The colonisation would not have happened without the invitation. The same also apply to Lagos. The Yoruba invited the British to Lagos. You can believe unvetted newspaper articles above university journals. That is your business.
The Yoruba invited Britain to impose peace on their land and they probably would not have been the first to do such. Peace from any angle was better than an unending civil war that had already lasted sixteen years. I hope you get the picture

The Benin till today have Ifa. If according to you they don't have. Are you aware they have Ogun and etc? Are you aware Oba Ewuare was seen as an Ogun incarnate? You may not be aware since you are not aware they have Ifa in Benin city

Till today the area controlled by the Kanem Borno in the past will have less people than the one controlled by Oyo in the past. I don't need to check before knowing because majority of Kanem Borno is desert and throughout history the Yoruba have had the highest populated cities in west Africa. Before Lagos it was Ibadan and before Ibadan it was Oyo ile. It may have been Sungbo's Eredo at one point. When Nigeria started, eighty percent of urban centers were on Yoruba land.

Yes I pointed out to you that Benin and Oyo were empires because they united people of different stock. I also pointed out to you that Ijesa, Ijebu etc were full fledged nation states with army, civil service and hundreds of towns under their control. I was expecting you to argue that they were not since you are already arguing that Oyo was not an empire. Ijesa, Ijebu were not less complex and organized but they were more homogenous and that is the only difference

Till today the area controlled by the Kanem Borno in the past will have less people than the one controlled by Oyo in the past….😅😅😅

Let’s leave it at that.

I guess the population of cosmopolitan Lagos of 2026 is what you are using as your yardstick. Yet you think that Kano, 95% indigenous population, and has been like that ever since, had a lower population than a Lagos that was never even a town, but was established by the Portuguese 😅😅😅

Also, you never referenced a “university” journal on any thing you said. You referenced a “Cambridge university.” Even the journal sef, who wrote them? Have you seen any major archaeological study in Nigeria? 97% of African history are concocted hearsay. They just struggle to make it look like the west. No records, no evidence, nothing. Only artifacts and a word of mouth story attached to it. 😅😅😅 The only people with a possibly documented history in west Africa are the Kanem Bornu Empire and that is because they were exposed to Arabic through their religion. But even they, never documented their history. their writings were just religious. There is no history in Africa. It is the same lack of written communication style (writing), as no tribe in west Africa have an indigenous lettered communication system, that brought about people like you making ridiculous clams about history, and those same claims will make it to journal papers as articles, since no one cares to verify what cannot be verified. That is why people from the southeast will wake up one day and claim to be Adam and Eve, then, Israelites, then Hebrews, then people of Gad, then Judaism, etc 😅😅😅There is no record or evidence of any story you tell.

Also, kudos to the Oyo “empire” for being the first to invite people to come and take over their sovereignty because they couldn’t win a war. 😅😅😅

Helinuse:
Till today the area controlled by the Kanem Borno in the past will have less people than the one controlled by Oyo in the past….😅😅😅

Let’s leave it at that.

I guess the population of cosmopolitan Lagos of 2026 is what you are using as your yardstick. Yet you think that Kano, 95% indigenous population, and has been like that ever since, had a lower population than a Lagos that was never even a town, but was established by the Portuguese 😅😅😅

Also, you never referenced a “university” journal on any thing you said. You referenced a “Cambridge university.” Even the journal sef, who wrote them? Have you seen any major archaeological study in Nigeria? 97% of African history are concocted hearsay. They just struggle to make it look like the west. No records, no evidence, nothing. Only artifacts and a word of mouth story attached to it. 😅😅😅 The only people with a possibly documented history in west Africa are the Kanem Bornu Empire and that is because they were exposed to Arabic through their religion. But even they, never documented their history. their writings were just religious. There is no history in Africa. It is the same lack of written communication style (writing), as no tribe in west Africa have an indigenous lettered communication system, that brought about people like you making ridiculous clams about history, and those same claims will make it to journal papers as articles, since no one cares to verify what cannot be verified. That is why people from the southeast will wake up one day and claim to be Adam and Eve, then, Israelites, then Hebrews, then people of Gad, then Judaism, etc 😅😅😅There is no record or evidence of any story you tell.

Also, kudos to the Oyo “empire” for being the first to invite people to come and take over their sovereignty because they couldn’t win a war. 😅😅😅

There are tonnes of written work in Hausa written in Ajami. There is Yoruba written in Ajami as well but mostly by palace workers. In Timbuktu there are tonnes of books in Ajami because there was a university there. You can not read everything a available in ten lifetimes I believe and they are all works authored before colonisation. If you are doing academic work in that area you will know.
There are local scripts in west Africa too but not much was stored with them. Nsibidi in Eastern Nigeria is definitely older than even Egyptian hieroglyphics.
West African history is not myth and all the characters you have heard of are real people.

Kano metropolis is only comparable to Ibadan and not Lagos. They are both around 4 million each according to data from dependable sources. Lagos metropolis is 17 million while the state is over 20 million. The gap is wide and there is no basis for comparison. Osun state has more hotels than Kano state.. You can verify online. Apparently millions of people are living in non urban farm settlements in Kano to make the population up to 20 million.

If you were a Yoruba elite in the nineteenth century would you have preferred that the war go on indefinitely? Even for a century? Than for the British to end it? Aare Latosisa died of old age at the warfront.

Mirasteel:
You can keep deceiving yourself, you want to compare OYO empire, the biggest empire in West Africa to your unkown rubbish?

Biggest YES
But weakest defeated by women

lawani:
There are tonnes of written work in Hausa written in Ajami. There is Yoruba written in Ajami as well but mostly by palace workers. In Timbuktu there are tonnes of books in Ajami because there was a university there. You can not read everything a available in ten lifetimes I believe and they are all works authored before colonisation. If you are doing academic work in that area you will know.
There are local scripts in west Africa too but not much was stored with them. Nsibidi in Eastern Nigeria is definitely older than even Egyptian hieroglyphics.
West African history is not myth and all the characters you have heard of are real people.

Kano metropolis is only comparable to Ibadan and not Lagos. They are both around 4 million each according to data from dependable sources. Lagos metropolis is 17 million while the state is over 20 million. The gap is wide and there is no basis for comparison. Osun state has more hotels than Kano state.. You can verify online. Apparently millions of people are living in non urban farm settlements in Kano to make the population up to 20 million.

If you were a Yoruba elite in the nineteenth century would you have preferred that the war go on indefinitely? Even for a century? Than for the British to end it? Aare Latosisa died of old age at the warfront.

“Tonnes of written work in Hausa in Ajami..”
“There is Yoruba written in Ajami..”

How can it be in Hausa and in Ajami? 🤣🤣

I guess you think Ajami is a local African language. 🤣🤣 Shared by west Africans.🤣🤣

Ajami is purely Arabic. Since there was not formal education, Ajami was Arabic passed from one generation to another in its progressive corruption. It’s just like the corruption of English called “pidgin” that we may later claim it was an original Nigerian language. I said that to say: anywhere Arabic entered, it never entered voluntarily. It entered by conquest. It wiped out culture, traditions, history, artifacts, etc. that could be evidential of anything you could refer to as evidence of existence.

The Yorubas NEVER had ANY written text. Talk more of in Ajami. Except the conquered areas like Kwara, and Osun. The Igbo NEVER had a text for proper written communication. That is why no one can conceive anything from it today. EVERYTHING we call history, are preconceived assumptions and African tradition mythology. That is why you select the ones to believe (mighty Oyo empire) and deny the ones contradicts (British defeat of the almighty empire) 🤣🤣. The only people in Africa that had a written script are the Ethiopians (written texts) Egyptians (symbolism), Nubians (still Egyptians - written texts).

In fact, it was the whites that attempted connecting our history for us by minor excavations and unearthing some artifacts like the Igbo Ukwu arts, Nok Arts, etc. Our history only started when the Brits stepped in.

What you owe your people is not the advancement of falsehood you call history. Instead advancing the study of unconventional history should be your focus.

West Africa NEVER had a civilization that had a noteworthy history. The peak of west African civilization even was after the conquest of it by North African marauders, giving rise to warring nations like Senegal that conquered Spain, and Mali that conquered the Middle East.

Helinuse:
“Tonnes of written work in Hausa in Ajami..”
“There is Yoruba written in Ajami..”

How can it be in Hausa and in Ajami? 🤣🤣

I guess you think Ajami is a local African language. 🤣🤣 Shared by west Africans.🤣🤣

Ajami is purely Arabic. Since there was not formal education, Ajami was Arabic passed from one generation to another in its progressive corruption. It’s just like the corruption of English called “pidgin” that we may later claim it was an original Nigerian language. I said that to say: anywhere Arabic entered, it never entered voluntarily. It entered by conquest. It wiped out culture, traditions, history, artifacts, etc. that could be evidential of anything you could refer to as evidence of existence.

The Yorubas NEVER had ANY written text. Talk more of in Ajami. Except the conquered areas like Kwara, and Osun. The Igbo NEVER had a text for proper written communication. That is why no one can conceive anything from it today. EVERYTHING we call history, are preconceived assumptions and African tradition mythology. That is why you select the ones to believe (mighty Oyo empire) and deny the ones contradicts (British defeat of the almighty empire) 🤣🤣. The only people in Africa that had a written script are the Ethiopians (written texts) Egyptians (symbolism), Nubians (still Egyptians - written texts).

In fact, it was the whites that attempted connecting our history for us by minor excavations and unearthing some artifacts like the Igbo Ukwu arts, Nok Arts, etc. Our history only started when the Brits stepped in.

What you owe your people is not the advancement of falsehood you call history. Instead advancing the study of unconventional history should be your focus.

West Africa NEVER had a civilization that had a noteworthy history. The peak of west African civilization even was after the conquest of it by North African marauders, giving rise to warring nations like Senegal that conquered Spain, and Mali that conquered the Middle East.

So in your educated mind, Yoruba and Hausa can not be written in Ajami which is Arabic characters? Just like they are today written in Roman characters? If you never knew, know today that Hausa and Yoruba have been written for centuries in Ajami. Moreso Hausa. The Hausa masses have been literate centuries before it became a norm in Europe. The average Hausa man was literate when the average European aristocrat was an illiterate. The Hausa masses have been literate for up to five centuries.

What you seem not to understand is that a script does not have to be invented in your country before you can use it to express your language.

Go and research more about scripts all over the world. Nsibidi though not popular and though much was not stored via it is as old if not older than any other written script from anywhere in the world.

I don't know where you come from or who you are though since you are just an anonymous person on nairaland but only an unintelligent and ignorant person will say any history or civilization is not noteworthy. I guess you are joking though

You don't know what you are saying. Senegal conquered Spain? Mali conquered the middle east?. It is better to shut up than to be uttering rubbish

lawani:
So in your educated mind, Yoruba and Hausa can not be written in Ajami which is Arabic characters? Just like they are today written in Roman characters? If you never knew, know today that Hausa and Yoruba have been written for centuries in Ajami. Moreso Hausa. The Hausa masses have been literate centuries before it became a norm in Europe. The average Hausa man was literate when the average European aristocrat was an illiterate. The Hausa masses have been literate for up to five centuries.

What you seem not to understand is that a script does not have to be invented in your country before you can use it to express your language.

Go and research more about scripts all over the world. Nsibidi though not popular and though much was not stored via it is as old if not older than any other written script from anywhere in the world.

I don't know where you come from or who you are though since you are just an anonymous person on nairaland but only an unintelligent and ignorant person will say any history or civilization is not noteworthy. I guess you are joking though

You don't know what you are saying. Senegal conquered Spain? Mali conquered the middle east?. It is better to shut up than to be uttering rubbish

Here you are, getting worked up by the truth. And that gives me joy 🤣🤣🤣

Now you see exactly why I said: lack of written documented permit assumptions, that only fits the assumer’s narrative. 🤣🤣🤣

In your mind, you think Ajami was learned by reason of “Universities in the north” that were established before Isaac Newton. Little did you know that Ajami is Arabic, and Arabic spread by conquest. That is why Tiv, Idoma, Igbos, Ijaw, Yoruba, NEVER wrote in Ajami. Ajami came to the North through Uthman Danfodiyo in 1774, by reason of it being the only means through which the religion is practiced. Any part they couldn’t conquer, never knew the text, as Ajami is a corruption of the real Arabic language.

Prior to 1774 in Gobir, the Hausa had their 14 different nation states of total traditional worshippers who had no text, no communication methods than by words and sounds, etc. And in your mind, you think that America, and the west, began their education system in 1775. 🤣🤣🤣 Little do you know that Isaac Newton published in first book in 1687. You know actually, but as I said, you just have to twist the facts.

But once again: history is not made by assumptions. Assume from now till tomorrow, you may declare yourself more educated than the Western world, you may even publish your assumption in nature journals 🤣, but reality will challenge it.

And yet a script don’t have to be invented by you, but before you are taught by those who invented it, you totally never had a written history. If you did, then you wouldn’t need another man’s script to write your history. The history of Ethiopia is there till today, written in Ga’ez. Same with the Devanagari of India. Nigerians are the only ones that claim to have Nsibidi in which no one can present even one stone on which it was written and interpret it. 🤣🤣🤣 Or claim to write their history since 1300s in Ajami when they had the Ajami enforced on them in 1800s. 🤣🤣🤣

Worst of all, you are pulling Yoruba culture, not only the conquered Kwara part, but all of it, into the Ajami. Wetin concern una with Ajami again? You just want to feel among.