Ologun Kutere

Last updated
Ologun Kutere
Oba of Lagos
Reignc. 1780 - 1806
Predecessor Eletu Kekere
Successor Adele Ajosun
BornOlogun Kutere
Lagos
Diedc. 1803
Lagos
Issue Eshinlokun, Adele Ajosun, Akiolu, Olukoya, Olusi and Akitoye.
House Ado, Ologun Kutere
FatherAlaagba
Mother Erelu Kuti
Religion Ifá

Ologun Kutere reigned as Oba of Lagos from around the 1780s to around 1803. [1] He succeeded Oba Eletu Kekere who reigned between 1775 and 1780. "Ologun" is the Yoruba word for "War General".

Contents

Ologun Kutere was the product of the marriage between Erelu Kuti, daughter of Oba Ado, and Alaagba (short form of 'Alagbigba'), an Ijesha traditional adviser to Oba Akinsemoyin. [2] He was the first successor to the throne through a matrilineal line, and the Yoruba line to the throne. [1]

Life

Kutere's father was a famous medicine man in Lagos during the middle 1700s. [3] During his reign, trade between Lagos and Ijebu increased; the Ijebu brought foodstuff in exchange for salt, tobacco, and spirits, and products obtained from Portuguese slave traders. He also made trade policies that were favorable to many businesses, including slave traders. He introduced less regulation and low taxes, which enabled Lagos to become a rival port city to Ouidah and stopped derivation remittance to the Kingdom of Benin. It was during his era that the French banned the slave trade after the French Revolution, which made it more difficult for slave traders in Porto Novo but more favorable to those in Lagos. The city's population grew from an estimated population of 5,000 in the 1780s to 20,000 by the 1810s. [4]

Kutere enhanced Lagos's military power, utilizing a large fleet of war canoes to launch successful attacks on nearby towns and villages, including Badagry. Ologun Kutere was not only wealthy but also feared; so much so that his power was described as "absolute and his disposition tyrannical, to excess". [5]

Kutere had many children, among whom were future Obas, Eshinlokun, Adele Ajosun, and Akitoye. Other children included Akiolu, Olukoya, and Olusi. [6]

Legacy

All Obas of Lagos since Ologun Kutere have been direct descendants of Ologun Kutere. None of the descendants of his mother's siblings has become Oba of Lagos since Kutere's death; neither Oba Gabaro, whose only child Oba Eletu Kekere died without issue before Ologun Kutere's ascension, nor Oba Akinsemoyin who had children, albeit very young at the time of his death. This "apparent irregularity" [7] is now the subject of controversy and litigation as Akinsemoyin's descendants are challenging the enthronement of the current Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, in court. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorubaland</span> Cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa

Yorubaland is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 (54,871 sq mi). Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and the remaining 6.5% is in Togo. Prior to European colonization, a portion of this area was known as Yoruba country. The geo-cultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the majority of this population being ethnic Yoruba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yewa</span> Ethnic group

The Ẹgbado, now Yewa, are a subgroup of the Yoruba people and mostly inhabit the eastern area of Ogun West Senatorial District, Ogun State, in south-west Nigeria, Africa. In 1995, the group's name was changed to Yewa after the Yewa River, the river (odo) they foraged towards. The name of this river is derived from the Yoruba goddess Yewa. Yewa/Ẹgbado mainly occupy four Local Government Areas in Ogun State, Yewa South, Yewa North, Imeko-Afon, and Ipokia, while the Ado-Odo/Ota LGA forms the fifth Awori part of the senatorial district. Other Yewa/Ẹgbado are located in Lagos West, Lagos East, Oyo North, and Oyo South senatorial zones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Efunroye Tinubu</span> Nigerian aristocrat

Efunroye Tinubu, born Ẹfúnpọ̀róyè Ọ̀ṣuntinúbú, was a powerful Yoruba female aristocrat, merchant, and slave trader in pre-colonial and colonial Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Lagos</span>

Lagos is the largest city of the West-African country of Nigeria, and its former capital; it is the largest city in Africa in terms of population with about 15.3 million people. It is also the 4th largest economy in Africa.

The Erelu Kuti of Lagos is the traditional aristocrat charged with the bearing of the ritual essence of Oloye Erelu Kuti I, an eighteenth-century Yoruba royal who aided in the consolidation of her homeland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oba of Lagos</span> Ceremonial sovereign of Lagos, Nigeria

The Oba of Lagos, also known as the Eleko of Eko, is the traditional ruler (Oba) of Lagos.

Akitoye, sometimes wrongly referred to as Akintoye, reigned twice as Oba of Lagos; first, from 1841 to 1845, and a second time, from 1851 to 1853. His father was Oba Ologun Kutere and his siblings were Obas Osinlokun and Adele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iga Idunganran</span> Official Residence of the Oba of Lagos

Iga Idunganran is the Official Residence of the Oba of Lagos, situated on Lagos Island. It is also a tourist attraction.

Ado-Odo is the metropolitan headquarters of the ancient kingdom of Ado, renowned for its Oduduwa/Obatala temple, the ancient fortress of the traditional practice of Ifá. Oodu'a is also regarded by traditionalists as the mother of all other deities. All of these made Ado an inviolate territory in western Yorubaland—the same "father-figure" status accorded to Ile-Ife. Unlike the other kingdoms, which had at one time or the other engaged in the internecine wars that ravaged Yorubaland in the nineteenth century, Ado stood out as an unconquered sanctuary city-state throughout the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badagry</span> LGA in Lagos state

Badagry, also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that connects Lagos to the Beninese capital of Porto-Novo. The same route connects Lagos, Ilaro, and Porto-Novo, and shares a border with the Republic of Benin. As of the preliminary 2006 census results, the municipality had a population of 241,093.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagos Colony</span> British protectorate from 1862 to 1906

Lagos Colony was a British colonial possession centred on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was annexed on 6 August 1861 under the threat of force by Commander Beddingfield of HMS Prometheus who was accompanied by the Acting British Consul, William McCoskry. Oba Dosunmu of Lagos resisted the cession for 11 days while facing the threat of violence on Lagos and its people, but capitulated and signed the Lagos Treaty of Cession. Lagos was declared a colony on 5 March 1862. By 1872, Lagos was a cosmopolitan trading centre with a population over 60,000. In the aftermath of prolonged wars between the mainland Yoruba states, the colony established a protectorate over most of Yorubaland between 1890 and 1897. The protectorate was incorporated into the new Southern Nigeria Protectorate in February 1906, and Lagos became the capital of the Protectorate of Nigeria in January 1914. Since then, Lagos has grown to become the largest city in West Africa, with an estimated metropolitan population of over 9,000,000 as of 2011.

Brazilians in Nigeria, Amaros or Agudas consist of the descendants of freed Afro-Brazilian slaves who left Brazil and settled in Benin, Togo and Nigeria. The term Brazilians in Nigeria can also otherwise refer to first generation expatriates from Brazil.

The following is a timeline of the history of the metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria.

The Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos is one of the 14 ecclesiastical provinces of the Church of Nigeria. It comprises 13 dioceses:

Oba Akinsemoyin reigned as Oba of Lagos from around 1704 to 1749. His father was Oba Ado and his siblings were Erelu Kuti and Oba Gabaro, whom he succeeded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosoko</span> Oba of Lagos

Kosoko was a member of the Ologun Kutere Lagos Royal Family who reigned as Oba of Lagos from 1845 to 1851. His father was Oba Osinlokun and his siblings were Idewu Ojulari, Olufunmi, Odunsi, Ladega, Ogunbambi, Akinsanya, Ogunjobi, Akimosa, Ibiyemi, Adebajo, Matimoju, Adeniyi, Isiyemi, Igbalu, Oresanya, and Idewu-Ojulari.

Oba Adele or Adele Ajosun reigned twice as Oba of Lagos; first, from c1811 to 1821, and a second time from 1835 to 1837. His father was Oba Ologun Kutere and his siblings were Obas Osinlokun and Akitoye, thus the Ologun Kutere line has remained the dominant line in the Obaship of Lagos.

Oba Osinlokun or Eshinlokun reigned as Oba of Lagos from 1821 to 1829. His father was Oba Ologun Kutere and his siblings were Obas Adele and Akitoye, making the Ologun Kutere Obaship line the dominant one in Lagos. Among Osinlokun's children were Idewu Ojulari, Kosoko, and Opo Olu.

Oba Eletu Kekere, son of Oba Gabaro, reigned briefly as Oba of Lagos following Oba Akinsemoyin's death in 1775. Not much is known about Eletu Kekere's reign other than him being childless.

The Eletu Odibo of Lagos is the traditional nobleman that has historically served as the principal kingmaker of the Oba of Lagos. As head of the Akarigbere class of chiefs, the Eletu Odibo also serves as the prime minister of the Oba.

References

  1. 1 2 Mann, Kristin (2007). Slavery and the Birth of an African City: Lagos, 1760-1900 . Indiana University Press, 2007. p.  45. ISBN   9780253348845.
  2. Hassan Adisa Babatunde Fasinro. Political and cultural perspectives of Lagos. s.n., 2004. p. 46.
  3. Olupona 2008, p. 177.
  4. Law, Robin. "THE CAREER OF ADELE AT LAGOS AND BADAGRY, C. 1807 - C. 1837". Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 9.2 (1978): 35–59
  5. John Adams (1823). Remarks on the Country Extending from Cape Palmas to the River Congo. G. & W.B. Whittaker, 1823. p.  100.
  6. 'Diméjì Ajíkòbi. What Does an African 'New Woman' Want?. Ark Publications, 1999. p. 46. ISBN   9789783488694.
  7. Osuntokun, Akinjide (1987). History of the Peoples of Lagos State. Lantern Books, 1987. p. 44. ISBN   9789782281487.
  8. "Oba Akiolu's Claim Being Challenged By Another Royal Family".

Sources