In a powerful revelation that sheds new light on Nigeria's colonial history, Professor Akinkunmi Alao of Obafemi Awolowo University has exposed the systematic tactics employed by British imperialists to undermine Yoruba sovereignty during the 17th century. The legal history expert detailed how the British combined military force, diplomatic deception, and manipulative treaties to weaken indigenous power structures across Yorubaland.
The Resistance That Shaped History
Professor Alao delivered his groundbreaking lecture on Thursday at the Federal Surveying School in Oyo Town during the Ogun Pepe Memorialisation event. He particularly praised the courageous resistance of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Adeyemi Alowolodu I, whose local army confronted British forces in what became known as the 1895 Pepe War (Ogun Pepe). This conflict significantly challenged colonial incursion into Yoruba sovereignty.
The professor emphasized that since 1895, Oyo has faced various forms of executive intimidation, deprivation, and political victimization. The memorialization of these events serves as a crucial awakening for people to critically examine the long history of injustice they've endured.
British Strategy: From Deception to Destruction
In his lecture titled "The Flag Follows the Trade: Gunboat Diplomacy and the Subjugation of Yorubaland, 1895 – 1914", Professor Alao explained how the British exploited the Kiriji War (1877-1893) – an internecine conflict between Ijaye and Ibadan that involved Ekiti, Ijesa, Ijebu, and Ife communities. The British used this instability to secretly establish their agents through traders, missionaries, and colonial officials.
"After the Kiriji War, the fragility of Yorubaland was glaring," Professor Alao stated. "The restraints imposed by the centers of power had been removed. However, the Alaafin of Oyo still maintained significant suzerainty over Northern Yorubaland, including Ibadan Chiefs, the Ijebu Kingdom, the Egba in Abeokuta, and emerging Lagos influences."
The British employed two primary methods for occupation:
Diplomatic Deception: Through treaties of friendship and commerce signed under duress, where Yoruba signatories often misunderstood the long-term implications of ceding their territories and sovereignty.
Military Force: Utilizing the Gatling gunboats of the British Royal Navy that unleashed maximum destruction on resistant territories, demonstrating the extent of violence Britain was willing to employ for unfair advantage.
The Pepe War: A Stand for Sovereignty
The immediate cause of the Pepe War was Alaafin Adeyemi I's refusal to submit to British authority in a matter of local jurisprudence. The conflict centered around royal messenger Bakare, accused of adultery with one of the Aseyin of Iseyin's wives. According to customary practice, castration was the required punishment.
When Captain Bower demanded that Alaafin hand over both Bakare and the official who carried out the punishment (Kudeefu), the monarch refused. Instead, he ordered Bakare's execution and protected Kudeefu, firmly asserting his judicial authority and sovereignty.
In response to this defiance, Captain Lister Bower led sixty armed soldiers to invade Oyo. The people resisted fiercely in a conflict named "Ogun Pepe" after the onomatopoeic "pepe! pepe!" sound of British gunfire. During the confrontation, the Alaafin was wounded but escaped to avoid arrest. After six days of fighting, a truce was mediated, allowing the Alaafin to return to his palace.
Professor Alao concluded: "The period from the subtle threat to the Alaafin in 1895 to the conclusion of treaties by 1893 is a compact, dramatic story of how a regional powerhouse was systematically pacified not through a single great war, but through a calculated blend of diplomatic pressure and the ever-present, looming threat of naval annihilation."
The memorable event was conceived by His Imperial Majesty, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, the current Alaafin of Oyo, and featured prominent discussants including Professor Sekinat Kola Adepoju, Professor Adeniyi Gbadegesin, and Professor Ladun Oloruntoba among others.
