Egba Ake

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Egba Ake
Egba Alake
Traditional state
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Egba Ake
Location in Nigeria
Coordinates: 7°9′39″N3°20′54″E / 7.16083°N 3.34833°E / 7.16083; 3.34833
CountryFlag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
State Ogun State

Egba Ake, otherwise known as Egba Alake, is one of the four sections of Egbaland, the others being Oke-Ona, Gbagura, and the Owu (Ibara is often mentioned as another section; this is part of Yewa historically, not Egba, though it is also located in the present-day Abeokuta geographically). [1]

Contents

It is a traditional state which joins with its bordering sections to form something of a high kingship. The Alake of Abeokuta, or Alake of Egbaland, is the traditional ruler of the Egba clan of Yoruba in the city of Abeokuta in southwestern Nigeria. [2]

The Egba Ake section is seen by traditionalists as Abeokuta's aristocracy because its principal noblemen, the Omo-Iya-Marun, serve as the kingmakers of the Alake, who must himself also come from this section. [3]

History

House of Egba Alake
Nigerian royal dynasty
The Elephant, totem of the ancestral line of emperors of Oyo and symbol of Egba Ake royalty African Bush Elephant.jpg
The Elephant, totem of the ancestral line of emperors of Oyo and symbol of Egba Ake royalty
Parent house Oodua
Current region Yorubaland
Foundedc.1300 (Orile Egba)
1830 (Abeokuta)
FounderAjalake (Orile Egba)
Sagbua Okukenun (Abeokuta)
Current head Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III
Titles
  • Oba Alake, Prince of Oyo
  • Oba Alake of Orile Egba
  • Oba Alake of Abeokuta
  • Oba Alake of Egbaland
  • Oloye of Egbaland
  • Omoba of Egbaland
  • Oloori of Egbaland
Style(s) Kabiyesi
Majesty
Royal Highness
Members
Connected families Odunjo family
Vaughan family
Traditions Ifá
Christianity
Islam
MottoAwon Egba, Omo Lisabi (Yoruba for "The Egbas, children of Lisabi")
Cadet branches
  • Jibodu
  • Laarun

The Egba people's original homeland in the Egba forest was established by Yoruba migrants from elsewhere. According to The History of the Yorubas by Samuel Johnson, Eso Ikoyi chiefs in the retinue of the first Alake of the Egba joined him in founding a new community - the confederacy of towns that became known as Orile Egba - in the forest after they left the nascent Oyo empire in around the 13th century AD. [4] Orile Egba continued to exist until its destruction during the Yoruba civil war of the 19th century. As a result, many of the leading families of the Egba Ake claim descent from the Eso Ikoyis today.

Abeokuta was founded as a replacement for Orile Egba in around 1830 by the Egbas after the collapse of the Oyo empire during the civil war. The city was founded because of its strong defensive physical position by refugees trying to protect themselves against slave raiders from Dahomey, who were trying to benefit from the war. [5]

Chief Shodeke, the first paramount chief of Abeokuta and the rest of Egbaland, was a member of the Egba Ake section. Using oral traditions of the Alake's claim to membership of Oduduwa's family being superior to that of any of the other Egba kings to cement the section's position, he is said to have allocated the tracts of land that each of the junior sections settled upon following their arrival in the city. The Egba Ake have been the traditional landowners of Egbaland ever since this event. [6]

In 1832, Abeokuta was involved in war with the people of Ijebu Remo, and in 1834 with the Ibadan people. Sporadic fighting continued with the people of Ota (1842), Ado (1844), Ibarapa (1849), Dahomey (1851), Ijebu-Ere (1851), Ijaye (1860–1862) and the Makun War of 1862–1864. [7]

On 18 January 1893, a treaty was signed with the governor and commander-in-chief of the British Lagos Colony for the purpose of trade; the British recognized Egbaland as an independent state. In 1898, the Egba United Government was formed.

In 1904, an agreement was made where the British assumed jurisdiction in certain legal cases, and in the same year, the Alake Gbadebo paid a state visit to England. Over the following years, the British steadily assumed more responsibility for administration while continuing to formally recognize the Egba state. [8] In 1914, the kingdom was incorporated into the newly amalgamated British Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. [9]

In 1949, as a result of agitation by the women's rights leader Chief Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, the Alake Ladapo Ademola was forced to abdicate. He later returned to the throne. [10]

Rulers

Solomon's knot, a quasi-heraldic symbol of Yoruba royalty Araldiz Manno 259.svg
Solomon's knot, a quasi-heraldic symbol of Yoruba royalty

Rulers of the Egba in Abeokuta, who took the title "Alake" in 1854, were: [11]

StartEndRuler
18291845Shodeke
18451846Shomoye -Regent (1st time)
18461854 Sagbua Okukenun -Regent
8 Aug 18541862Okukenun (Sagbua Okukenun) First Alake
18621868Shomoye -Regent (2nd time)
28 Nov 186920 Dec 1877Ademola I
Jan 187915 Sep 1881Oyekan (d. 1881)
9 Feb 188527 Jan 1889Oluwajin
18 Sep 189111 Jun 1898Oshokalu
8 Aug 189828 May 1920Gbadebo I (1854–1920)
27 Sep 192027 Dec 1962 Ladapo Samuel Ademola II (1872–1962) (in exile 1948 – 3 Dec 1950)
29 Sep 196326 Oct 1971 Adeshina Samuel Gbadebo II (1908–1971)
5 Aug 19723 Feb 2005Samuel Oyebade Mofolorunsho Lipede (1915–2005)
24 Aug 2005 Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III (b. 1943) [12]

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References

  1. ↑ Blair, J.H. (1937), Intelligence Report on Abeokuta.
  2. ↑ Niyi Odebode (5 November 2007). "Alake, others fault Owu's claim on Abeokuta". The Punch. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Blair, J.H. (1937), Intelligence Report on Abeokuta.
  4. ↑ Johnson 1921.
  5. ↑ Blair, J.H. (1937), Intelligence Report on Abeokuta.
  6. ↑ Blair, J.H. (1937), Intelligence Report on Abeokuta.
  7. ↑ "History of Abeokuta". Egba United Society. Retrieved 7 September 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Egba: Some Historical Facts" (PDF). Egba-Yewa Descendants Association Washington, DC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "Egba Historical Facts". Egba-Yewa Descendants Association Washington, DC. Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  10. ↑ Adeniyi, Dapo. "Monuments and metamorphosis" (PDF). African Quarterly on the Arts Vol.2 No.2. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "Traditional States of Nigeria". WorldStatesmen.org. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  12. ↑ Niyi Odebode and Olaolu Oladipo (4 August 2005). "Gbadebo emerges new Alake – • We're yet to confirm any candidate – Ogun govt". Online Nigeria Daily News. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2010.

Works cited

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