Africa is the home to over 3,000 tribes and 2,000 languages and dialects.
Africa is home to approximately one-third of the world’s languages.
The diversity of Africa’s languages is evidenced by their populations.
In total, there are at least 75 languages in Africa which have more than 1 million speakers.
Now let’s focus on Nigeria for the purpose of this research.
Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups, the most populous and politically influential being Hausa-Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%.
Nigeria have over 500 languages, with English being the official language.
The Origin of Ibadan
According to ancient Yoruba oral tradition, Lagelu was the ancestor and founder of Ibadan.
He migrated from Degelu Compound, Ajamapo area in Ile-Ife as confirmed by His Royal Majesty the Oni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II in 2016.
The mother of Lagelu was the first daughter of Ooni Luwo Gbagida, the only female Ooni in Ife history and the 18th Ooni who ruled in the 15th century.
Her husband was Chief Obaloran (now an Oba ), one of the Council members of Ooni of Ife (Ihare or Alagba –Ife).
The daughter married the son of Obalufe, the head of Ooni state council member.
The product of the marriage was Prince Adio Lagelu who derived his crown from his grandmother just like Prince Adekola Telu, the ancestor of Oluwo of Iwo, who was the first son of Ooni Luwo Gbagida.
Lagelu with his wives and children migrated from Ile-Ife to create Eba-Odan which was later corrupted to become Ibadan in the middle of the 16th century around 1554 A.D.
Lagelu and his successors wore beaded crowns and adopted the title of Olubadan according to Dr. Jide Fatokun in “IBADAN: Facts and Figures (2011)”.
But when Ibadan was occupied by the army of Ife, Ijebu, Oyo, and friendly Egbas after displacing Lagelu descendants who invited them to avenge the death of NKANLOLA the granddaughter of Lagelu sacrificed by Oluwu Akinjobi, they set aside Lagelu’s hereditary succession and all its perquisites, including the beaded crown.
The Aboke family still keeps the original beaded crown.
The claim was confirmed by Aboke Ifasola Ifamapowa, the reigning Aboke and Chief T.A. Akinyele (2011).
275 years later Ibadan became a war camp for warriors coming from Oyo, Ife and Ijebu.
Fulanis were now owners of the land.
A forest site and several ranges of hills, varying in elevation from 160 to 275 metres, offered strategic defence opportunities.
Around 1820, with the help of the British, an army of Egba, Ijebu, Ife and Oyo people won the town during their wars with the Fulanis.
After a struggle between the victors, the Oyo gained control again in 1829.
Currently, inhabitants of Ibadan include Yoruba, Hausa, Ibo and Other tribes who engage in trading, farming, artisanship and civil service.
A predominantly urban area, Ibadan North West Local Government has within his jurisdiction Onireke, Ayeye, Dugbe, Inalnde, Ologuneru to mention just a few.
The Epic of Kurunmi The Warlock of Ijaye
In the 19th Century, Kurunmi was a famous Warlord and Warlock who had his kingdom situated at Ijaye.
He loved magic, witchcraft and sorcery just to protect himself during wars.
Kurunmi (meaning death
has impoverished me) grew up as a young warrior together with Oluyole of Ibadan and Prince Atiba before the latter became Alaafin (King of Oyo).
Upon Atiba anscension, Kurunmi was installed as the Aare Ona Kakanfo due to his proven valor in battles and defense of Yorubaland.
To prevent any political friction, Kurunmi moved from Oyo to settle down in Ijaiye and it was there that he established an ascendancy of his own; he was King, General, Judge, Jury, Executioner, even Gladiator who ensured that every refugee either submits to his will or quits the town.
He was arrogant and stubborn but among his clansmen, he is a very revered figure.
There was a time in the history of Yoruba where the heir to the throne was killed whenever a king dies.
This tradition came about because it was discovered that a lot of princes killed their fathers so they could ascend the throne and become king instead.
It was believed that if the heirs were killed alongside their fathers, kings would live longer on the throne.
During this period, Alaafin Atiba was the paramount ruler of the Oyo empire, and he appointed Kurunmi, the son of Esiele as the Aare-ona-Kakanfo ( the generalissimo of the whole Yoruba warriors).
As earlier stated, a king and an Aare-ona-Kakanfo cannot stay in the same town because they wielded similar powers, so Kurunmi was assigned to Ijaiye, where he was given the power to lord over.
One day, Alaafin Atiba summoned the kings and lords of the neighboring towns and told them he wished to change tradition.
Present at the meeting were kings like the Timi of Ede, Balogun Ibikunle of Ibadan, and Kurunmi himself.
When they were seated, Atiba came down from his throne and held the sword of Ogun (the Yoruba god of iron) in his right hand, and the bolt of Sango (the Yoruba god of lightning and thunder) in his left.
He charged the royalties present to swear by the sword and bolt that after his death, his son Aremo Adelu will be made king.
Kurunmi vehemently disagreed immediately, and he reminded Alaafin Atiba that according to the tradition, the moment Atiba dies, his son Adelu must follow suit.
Other royalties tried to persuade Kurunmi, but he was adamant.
When he couldn’t convince them, he walked out in anger and headed for Ijaiye.
The other kings and chiefs went home to their people to inform them of the latest developments.
When Balogun Ibikunle of Ibadan told his chiefs the news, one of the chiefs Basorun Ogunmola took the matter up and suggested they wage war against Kurunmi.
Kurunmi had once captured Ogunmola who had a secret affair with his wife.
He captured him, tied him to a stake like a goat and fed him ashes as food.
As a form of revenge, Ogunmola proposed war against Kurunmi.
Alaafin Atiba sent emissaries to Kurunmi to change his mind, but he remained adamant, and when Alaafin Atiba saw that he would not change his mind, he sent two calabash bowls to Kurunmi.
One of the calabashes contained an effigy of a pair of twins (Yoruba symbol of peace), while the other calabash contained gunpowder (Yoruba symbol of war).
Kurunmi immediately chose war and sent the emissaries back to Atiba.
Immediately, Kurunmi summoned his chief warrior Balogun Ogunkoroju and told him to prepare for war.
As part of the preparations for war, Kurunmi consulted the oracle, and the oracle warned him not to go to war with Ibadan because he would lose the war.
Kurunmi was not going to have any of it, and he forced the oracle to tell him what to do to win the war at all cost!
The oracle then told Kurunmi that in order for him not to lose the war, he must not cross the River Ose, which was the boundary between Ijaiye and Ibadan.
Kurunmi agreed, and went ahead to plan for the war against Ibadan.
While Kurunmi was making preparations, the Ibadan warriors, led by Ogunmola went to meet the people of Ęgba who were said to possess very powerful charms.
The Ęgba people then prepared a potent charm called Eedi (a charm that causes someone or a group of people to ignore warnings or dare something that will harm them).
The Eedi was set out to the River Ose so that the Ijaiye warriors will be tempted to cross the river.
When the war came, Kurunmi sent his five sons to fight the Ibadan people.
During the face-off, Ijaye warriors soundly defeated the Ibadan warriors, and the remaining Ibadan warriors retreated back, crossing the River Ose.
Unfortunately for Kurunmi, his warriors fell to the potency of the Eedi, and they crossed the River Ose, believing that they had momentum, and that they could chase the Ibadan soldiers far away.
Immediately they crossed the river, their charms failed them, and they were killed in thousands by the warriors of Ibadan who had set a trap for them.
Kurunmi suffered heavy losses, and lost all his five sons in the war.
The skull of one of them was brought to him.
Basorun Ogunmola mocked him and sent a message to him that he was coming for his head.
On hearing the news of the death of his daughter and his men, Kurunmi became very devastated and suicidal, but while he grieved, he held on to his belief that tradition remains tradition, and that he does not regret standing firm in the face of corruption.
Kurunmi committed suicide by taking poison, and he was thrown into the river Ose according to his wishes so that Basorun Ogunmola won’t have the luxury of cutting his head and hanging it in shame.
One particular legend has it that Kurunmi domesticated all the gods in his compound and turned them into captives whom he alone had the right to consult and whom must always be at his beck and call.
In matters of court, he was said to have exercised sound judgment and fairness.
Kurunmi was however often referred to as a war mongerer in several historical accounts, it was said that he invaded many towns and annexed them as his own and that his many conquests are responsible for his 300 wives and a thousand slaves which he possessed in his lifetime.
Ibadan however remains his only failed invasion and annexation.
Before his demise, Alaafin Atiba, has requested that his son Adelu, be installed as the next king of Oyo, a proposition which didn’t please Kurunmi as he had his own candidate from the neighboring town of Kishi.
Again, the tradition then was that a prince must die with his father which meant that Adelu should have been buried with Adetiba but the Kingmakers had been “bribed”.
Adelu subsequently became the Alaafin according to his late father’s will and in his disapproval, Kurunmi’s refusal to pay homage to Adelu resulted into the colossal rivalry which then led to what turned out to be the biggest and bloodiest war in the history of the Oyo kingdom.
In his bid to preserve the culture of his fathers, Kurunmi went toe to toe with the prince and eventually died in the process.
What Really Happened to Kurunmi?
Kurunmi’s death is a mystery and has been debated over years.
Many say he committed suicide out of shame and frustration by plunging into River Ose while another account has it that he was killed by his enemies and then buried under the Ose River.
Another school of thought believe he was killed in the war and was brought home for burial with the small exception that he had no burial site or it was concealed like Genkis Khan of the Mongols.
Again during the war, it was recorded that a Christian Missionary called Bowen, who was the founder of Baptist Church Nigeria pleaded with Kurunmi not to wage war but to embrace peace but Kurunmi came with annoyance and brought out gunpowder and Bible and told Bowen he would pick gunpowder since his generation were noted to be warriors while Bowen picked the Holy Bible and said he was there to establish a church and preach the gospel.
Bowen then left Ijaye for Abeokuta to settle there.
What Happened After His Death?
Till date, there is no evidence of his tomb anywhere!
As the custom was in those days while burying a king, slaves who run errands for him and who accompany him in his journey would be killed and buried along with him , so three slaves were buried along with the Aare Kurunmi.
His warriors used their spiritual power to stop the flow of the river and buried him alongside three slaves and after the burial the water was commanded and joined together again, flowing in one direction as if nothing had happened.
Another version narrated in his hometown has it that when he was about to be buried, three slaves were selected , while two were beheaded and used as a bed in the grave but the third slave who could have been used as his pillow ran for his dear life and was not caught.
The escaped slave went to inform the Ibadan people that he knew where Aare Kurunmi was buried and Basorun Ogunmola sent for the head to be cut and be brought to him to serve as a cup for drinking water.
But when they got there, they discovered that the body of Kurunmi had been removed!
The Osse river is also an embodiment of magic!
It has been mysterious till date for many strange things happening on the river.
At times smoke comes up from the river, and a rainbow sign comes up with slight earth tremor.
There are some areas at ijaye where grass failed to grow because it was an Intense war zone.
The war raged on for years and it consumed lives!
Till date, grass does not grow there again!
