Ogun Elèduwé 

After Ilorin have conquer some of  the village around old oyo empire and they have be come very powerful..emir Abdul salam think I have to make a history and send message to Oyo..well some people think if I'm talking about Oyo they think is the recent Oyo well I'm taking about old Oyo not Oyo Atiba Agoja the resent one that you all know ..he said in his message that he wanted to see Alafin in Ilorin that he should pay him a visit in Ilorin...

When the Messenger got to Oyo he deliver his message and said Emir said he want to see you in Ilorin and if you don't come you shall see war locking your door...

Alafin Oluawu was very surprised and call all his chiefs and deliver the message to them..first to speak his Basorun the highest rank and war Lord ..he said we have to do as emir command  and the remaining Chiefs support  his thought... He said those fulani no how to fight and conquer they  always kill who didn't follow their orders... Alafin Oluawu was speechless in the meeting and he call it a day...

Alafin Oluawu was so worry and said no one disrespect Oyo as abdulsalam wanted to do ... He was  so worryed but he known that his Chiefs are in support of what Emir want to do and he know that they can betray him and kill him as they did to late Alafin... So he have nothing to do down to follow what is Chiefs have said in the meeting and send a message to Ilorin that we are coming..

The following month they travel down to Ilorin...when they got there Emir create a place for him and his chiefs.. Emir I make an event all people come to see if it is true that Alafin came or not.... The first thing that Emir  did is that I can allow you in my land to worship your gods and I don't want masquerade here you have to send them back to Oyo  Alafin look straight to his Chiefs eyes and Bashorun said all is going to be done... Emir move on I have convert Alafin to Muslim and he sit him down in front of all people and he was  tying turban on Alafin Oluawu head and all his Chiefs are happy about it...the following day Kakaki was try to wake Alafin up...but once Emir abdulsalam heard that he said you are forbidden to do so here.....

After this visit..back to Oyo Alafin was so sad and unhappy about what Emir did to him I wanted to commit suicide but he later think if he commit suicide his this what is going to tell  Oromiyan and he cut it off...he now think I have to destroy Ilorin and burn it to grand but he have to conquer all his chiefs before he can do has he plan...he send message to his friend Oba Ibaruba that he want him to come in silence and kill all his Chiefs especially Bashorun..and Oba Ibaruba did as he friend ask him to do.. after that Alafin send a message to Ilorin that the the battle I have been draw

Alafin said to his friend I know my people they are all betrayers that is why I seek help from you...me and you have fight this war alone I need all your soldiers and please make it faster because Fulani are very smart...and Oba Ibaruba said I will help you my friend don't worry ..

Oba Ibaruba send message to his soldiers I want you all in Oyo..in calculation that rev Samuel Johnson make he said Oba Ibaruba generate 40,000 soldiers for Alafin Oluawu and Alafin himself make 50,000 soldiers in total 90,000 soldiers during this time gun as been introduced to Yoruba land....but Ibaruba didn't have gun and Ilorin either.. Ibaruba know how to use a  cutlass, spear, arrow, etc.. Ilorin only believe in their horses.... Is not like Yoruba conquer Ilorin but that time is not possible for someone on ground to fight someone on horse that is the problem.. Ogbomoso to Ilorin to Old oyo empire all is like a desert that horse operate so that is problem they are also  facing during that time.. that is why Ijesa conquer Ilorin in ( Pole war ) because Ijasha is a forest so horses can't operate..the first war was taking place in a place call Otaefun around Ogbomoso when Ilorin plan to just make the war end once and for all they silently worked to Otaefun and start the war immediately and the war was so hard for Ilorin because Ibaruba didn't mind to die in a war and they  started fighting Ilorin with strength they don't mind Ilorin horses that is where Oba Ibaruba lost his first son but they conquer Ilorin and killed them madness eliminated all the important soldier in ilorin....the news was deliver to Emir and he was so scared about that and he seek help from Sokoto that he need soldiers and he was given.. in rev Samuel Johnson  calculation he said Emir was blessed by 150 thousand soldiers...when the news was deliver to Oba Ibaruba and Alafin of Oyo they are so worry and scread about it  that is where Oba Ibaruba advice Alafin Oluawu that you have to forget about your ethnic are  betrayers in this middle of this road ...you have to seek help from them as well 

Alafin Oluawu send a message to Egba under Sodeke, Ibadan under Oloyole, Ijaye under kurumi,Ede, ijebu under Awujale Fesegbowa, Ogbomoso, and this is where he make a big mistake by send message to Akeyo Atiba ( Akeyo mean prince).. rev Samuel Johnson and LAK jimoh said in calculation 200,000 soldiers was gathered in Ogbomoso..and they are planning how to win the war..and spend  6 month about planning a war rev Samuel Johnson said the why  Alafin Oluawu lost the war.. because Ibaruba like eating goats and they will not seeking urgent of the owner before taking it ... Alafin Atiba feel jealous to first war Oba Ibaruba win for Alafin Oluawu...that is where Ayeyo Atiba call a secret meeting he call Kurumi,Timi of Ede, Ogbomoso, Sodeke, that do you see what Ibaruba his doing on our father land's  and brainwash them that we are not winning any war for Alafin Oluawu that he should only fight with his friend alone and they all accept that..but they didn't tell Oloyole of Ibadan about their plan.. Ogbomoso to Ilorin it just 16 km..using legs it take a day but they use 2 weeks to travel down there to battleground rev Samuel Johnson said this is order way Alafin Oluawu lost the war....

Atiba send a message to Emir abdulsalam that (Asin iyawo bo si Ile oko oo) mean we are no more in support of the war...the war started and Atiba and his colleagues didn't shoot a single bullet and they are all running back while Alafin and Oba Ibaruba and Oluyole was fighting Ilorin a brutality  war.. Oluyole and his Army  were chasing  Ilorin soldiers to their main town Ilorin while Alafin and Oba Ibaruba was fighting in the middle of the battleground..they think Atiba and his colleagues were in covered but not knowing that they have left the battleground for them Alafin Oluawu and Oba Ibaruba was surrounded by Ilorin army and killed them bearded  Alafin Oluawu and his friend... Oluyole it about to enter Ilorin that where he notice that Atiba and kurumi and other were not fighting any more...and he send a message to his friend kurumi that what is going on..that his where kukumi tell him we are not fighting Ilorin again we are fight Alafin.

#Willtopowereduconsult 

 HISTORY OF A WARRIOR NAME ARO IN ILARO TOWN IN OGUN STATE 

Ilaro town was founded in the 18th century by Aro who migrated from a state Oyo town to settle down in Igbo Aje, a little hill situated at the centre of the town from where he and his warriors could sight enemies (mostly slave traders from the neighbouring Benin republic known then as Dahomey) on attack from a long distance. Aro himself was a warrior and a hunter to be reckoned with. Ilaro had her name from "Ilu Aro" meaning the settlement of Aro which later became Ilaro for ease of pronunciation. Ancient Ilaro town was blessed with great farmers, hunters and warriors. 

The Oronna Festival is an ancient festival celebrated by the Ilaro Kingdom. The Ilaro people celebrate the Oronna festival annually to preserve, uphold, and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Ilaro Kingdom. Oronna who was known by the Ilaro people to be a hero, a brave warrior who was said to have brought several victories to the land during war, mostly against the Dahomeans Army who constantly threatens the peace of the Land. He was a man who distinguishes, and committed himself to the safety, well-being of the land as he stood in war to defend the land against intruders. 

This place where Orona disappeared into the ground with his Leopard is today known as the Orona Shrine and has been renovated and constructed as an emolument for lovers of history and tourists. It is also the location where the coronation of every new traditional ruler of the town is performed. The Orona Ilaro Festival is celebrated annually in remembrance of the great warrior.

The Orona Ilaro festival is however most significant for its attraction of culture and tourism enthusiasts to the town. The festival which always happen by November is one that last for  one week. Within this one week are lots events that features all of Ilaro cultural and social life such as:  Street Carnival, Tourism activities, cultural beauty pageant, masquerade displays and festival dances, a talent hunt, Medical check-up programs and many more.

#Willtopowereduconsult 

#08100799469

 OOGUN KIRIJI -The World’s Longest Ethnic Civil War (1877 - 1893)

The Kiriji War, an epic battle fought by the Yoruba for 16 years, is believed to be the World’s Longest Civil War by any ethnic group. The war, according to historians, was the fiercest tribal war among the Yoruba ethnic group of Southwest Nigeria and the Kiriji War, which ended almost 122 years ago led to the signing of a Peace Treaty on September 23, 1886.

HOW THE WAR STARTED: 

Ibadan, a relatively new establishment that had the honour of filling the oversized shoes of the former Oyo Empire as the protector of the Yoruba nation against external attacks. But the military successes and wealth raked in by Ibadan in its military expeditions soon posed serious challenges. 

Like all global super-powers, Ibadan was said to embark on an expansionist programme that extended its reach to much of Yorubaland. It started appointing District Officers known as ‘Ajeles’ to rule the conquered territories on its behalf.

It did not take long for the ‘Ajeles’ to transform into despots. They became corrupt and power-drunk, demanding ridiculous homage and exorbitant tributes. The Yoruba vassal states of Ijesha and Ekiti revolted and massacred the Ibadan-appointed ‘Ajeles’.

They formed a confederacy called Ekiti Parapo (Ekiti Brotherhood) and declared their independence from Ibadan. Ibadan knew the dire consequences of allowing such action to go unpunished as it would encourage other conquered territories to declare independence. 

Ibadan wanted a centralized political system, with a central economy, a command military structure, a central administration and a forcefully united Yoruba Nation, while the other Yoruba subgroups wanted a decentralized structure, where all the federating units would be autonomous and would be able to plan their political future based on their own heritage.

This led to the epic Yoruba war called the Kiriji War in 1877 when the Ibadan police, navy, infantry and artillery soldiers, led by ‘General’ Obadoke Latoosa invaded the entire commonwealth of Yoruba nation, pummeled the sacred institutions, raided the markets and the deepest hinterlands and sought to proclaim a forcefully united Yoruba nation. 

Kiriji war is the longest civil war by any ethnic group (1877 -1893) lasting 16years.

The Major Actors and Causalities:

Ibadan was led by its commander-in-chief, Aare Obadoke Latosa, while the Ekiti Parapo army was led by Fabunmi of Oke-Imesi. 

The Ibadan army pitched their camp at Igbajo while the Ekiti Parapo camped at Imesi-Ile. 

Somewhere along the line, Saraibi Ogedengbe (famously known as Ogedengbe Agbogungboro), the Balogun of Ijeshaland, became the General/Commander-in-Chief of the Ekiti Parapo army, and the appointment greatly influenced the turn of events, as Ogedengbe was a renowned military strategist

The war got its name (Kiriji) from the thunderous sound “kiriiiiiiiiji” of the cannon guns which the Ekitiparapo purchased in large numbers. The cannon gave them an advantage over the Ibadans.

Ekiti Parapo enlisted several Yoruba tribes like Igbomina, Akoko, Egbe, Kabba and the Oworro (a Yoruba sub-tribe in Lokoja, Kogi State). 

Lagos, Ijebu and Egba were said to have assisted Ekiti Parapo against Ibadan, seen by all, as a common threat to the Yoruba commonwealth. 

Ilara Mokin in Ondo State was said to have been the headquarters of the Ekiti Parapo secret service.

Several Yoruba towns, such as Osogun and Ijaiye, were wiped out in the course of the war. Igbajo barely escaped total destruction.

Eventually, Ibadan found itself fighting on five fronts. First, in the South against the Egba who confined their activities to raids and surprise attacks; secondly, against the Ijebu, in the same south, who pitched a camp against them at Oru under Balogun Onafowokan; thirdly, the main war at Kiriji in the East, where their forces fought a long battle against the Ekiti and Ijesa (Ekiti-Parapo forces) under the command of Ogedengbe; fourthly, at Offa in the north, where they faced the Ilorin Fulani who pitched their camp against the people of Offa (an ally of Ibadan); and finally at Ile-Ife where the Ife people joined the alliance against them in 1882.

However, in spite of Ibadan's disadvantages in the war, these five forces could not effect its defeat. A state of stalemate was reached, from which only the intervention of an outside force could redeem the whole Yoruba Nation.

Eku isinmi o.

Ara lao mada o, ao ni daran. Arambara!!

#Willtopowereduconsult 

 BALOGUN ODERINLO OF IBADAN THE NEMESIS OF FULANI 

After Bashorun Oluyole’s death. Oderinlo who was his Balogun was next in line to succeed him. Because of the purges and wars that Oluyole engineered during his time as the leader of Ibadan, all the chiefs that were senior to Oderinlo had died before Oluyole or soon after Oluyole’s own death. So there was practically no rival to Oderinlo’s position as Balogun and ruler of the town.

Oderinlo rose to prominence as one of the chiefs who played an active role in the rebellion against Lakanle and the latter’s subsequent suicide. There seemed to have been some form of close ties between him and Oluyole. It is likely to Oderinlo was at least an associate if not a close friend of the Bashorun. It was the influence of Oluyole that he became the Otun Balogun to Bankole Aleshinloye, the first Balogun under Oluyole. After Aleshinloye’s death, Oderinlo became the Balogun. Oderinlo was the Balogun who led the Ibadan troops to fight in the second Ibadan- Ilorin war at Osogbo, a war that Ibadan won comprehensively.

The Army of Ibadan equally attacked Ilesa to rescue Oshogbo. From that war, the Ibadan Army ventured into Ekiti for the relief of Otun, which was attacked by Ilorin Army. They also fought in Ara to reinstate the Alara who was then having problems with his people. He was among the six generals who plotted against Oluyole after that campaign. He was also among the four who later rescinded that decision, leaving the two who did not rescind, Lajubu and Akinluyi to die in a purge by the Bashorun.

At the time Bashorun Oluyole died, Balogun Oderinlo was planning to go on a war to Oke Ogun. So when the entire council of Ibadan invited him to become the Baale He declined, saying he wanted to win that war first. Historians speculate that he wanted to gather the wealth from that war to boost his claim to the rulership of Ibadan at the time.

Balogun Oderinlo went to the war and came back. He won the war and gathered enough loot and slaves to bring back to Ibadan. However, a few months after his triumphant return to Ibadan from Oke Ogun, as he was set to be announced as the Baale of Ibadan, Balogun Oderinlo died mysteriously. To this day nobody knows how Balogun Oderinlo died, but the sudden and mysterious nature of his death has led many to speculate that he may have been poisoned. But no body could pinpoint who did the warrior the fatal blow.

After his demise, Baale Opeagbe replaced him on the throne of Ibadan. Balogun Oderinlo has been honoured in Ibadan, a statue of him stands at Beere not far from Mapo Hall and the statue of Bashorun Oluyole. His house and some of his descendants live not far from Oja’ba to this day. His son Tanpe, would become a chief of Ibadan.

#Willtopowereduconsult 

#08100799469

 QUEEN ELIZABETH’S VISIT TO NIGERIA: HISTORY & DETAILS

An important part of the history of Nigeria is her colonial story. Under colonialism and under the administration of Britain, the Queen (Queen Elizabeth) was the highest monarchical authority who was in control of government affairs. She carried out ceremonial functions in her position as head of state in the colonised Nigeria. She was also the monarch of the other common wealth realms, including the United Kingdom.

Even when Nigeria gained her independence in 1960, the Queen still held a high and important status in Nigeria. Queen Elizabeth was Queen of Nigeria from 1960-1963, the time between the nation’s independence and when she became a republic. You can see now the reasons her visits to Nigeria were always with such great fuss.

During her reign as head of state and Queen of Nigeria, Queen Elizabeth visited Nigeria twice.

The first time was in 1956, from the 28th of January to the 16th of February, 1956. At the airport, she was welcomed by federal dignitaries which included the Minister for Labour and Welfare at the time, Festus Okotie-Eboh and Governor-General Sir James Robertson. She was driven around in a Rolls Royce in the country’s capital, Lagos with lots of fun fare and royal services. She spent time in the Northern part of the country with the Sultan where she visited Kano and Kaduna. She also visited Jos and Enugu. The second time was when she attended the Common wealth Heads of Government meeting which was held between the 3rd to the 6th of December, 2003.

The 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the eighteenth meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Abuja, Nigeria and hosted by the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo.

During the meeting, the Zimbabwean issue was dominant. This was the dispute over Zimbabwe’s suspension which led to another dispute over the re-election of Secretary-General Don McKinnon. Before the end of the meeting, Robert Mugabe’s announced that Zimbabwe was withdrawing from the Commonwealth. 

This best explains the need for the presence of the Queen at the meeting. In a letter addressed towards the Nigerian President at the time, the Queen explained that her visit was a demonstration of the value Britain attached to its relations with Nigeria and recognition of the country’s role on the international stage. Queen Elizabeth opened the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja on Friday, 5th December. Herself and the Duke of Edinburgh (often referred to as Her Majesty and His Royal Highness respectively) also attended other events during the Meeting.

During the Queen’s first visit in 1956, she went on a tour, known as the Queen’s 1956 Tour of Nigeria and the following incidents took place:

- Queen Arrives In Lagos (1956)

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip received welcome in the Nigerian capital, Lagos at the very start of the Royal tour

- Inauguration Of New Federal Courts (1956)

The Queen attended the inauguration of the new federal courts in Nigeria.

- The Queen was at the Durbar also known as the Royal Durbar (1956)

At Kaduna, the then capital of Northern Nigeria, Queen attended a Royal Durbar

- Queen Elizabeth And Duke Philip Visited Jos – Tin Mines (1956)

Nigerian tribal canoes held a regatta for the Queen at Port Harcourt on the Ronny River after which she visited a Leper colony

- Queen went on a tour in Enugu, Nigeria (1956)

When on the Royal tour, The Queen went on a visit to children’s rally and a tribal dancing at Enugu, Nigeria.

In Lagos, Queen Elizabeth attended a garden party and a formal session of the Federation Parliament.

- The life of Queen Elizabeth

 Queen Elizabeth became queen following her father’s death in 1952. She was 25 years old at the time and became the queen regent of seven independent Commonwealth countries which were the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka). Many of the colonial realms, to include Nigeria gained independence during the course of her reign. As of the year, 2018, Queen Elizabeth II has been ruling England for 66years and is currently the longest-reigning British monarch in history

- The role of Queen Elizabeth in colonial Nigeria

British influence in Nigeria began with the prohibition of the slave trade to British subjects in 1807. In 1861, Britain incorporated Lagos and in 1884, the Oil River Protectorate was established. It was at the Berlin’s conference of 1885 that other European powers acknowledged Britain’s dominance over the Niger area.

From 1886 to 1899, much of the Niger area was ruled by the Royal Niger Company, authorized by charter, and governed by George Taubman Goldie. On 1 January 1900, the Royal Niger Company transferred its territories to the British government for the sum of £865,000; the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate were then passed from the Royal Niger Company to the Crown. The constitutions after the world war were progressive and allowed for increased representation and electoral government by Nigerians. The colonial period in Nigeria was precisely from 1900 to 1960, after which Nigeria gained its independence.

Queen Elizabeth II was Queen of Nigeria forms 1960- 1963: Nigeria was an independent constitutional monarchy. She was also the monarch of the other commonwealth nations such as the United Kingdom.

Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960 by a British Act of Parliament. Nnamdi Azikiwe was installed as Governor-General of the federation and Tafawa Balewa continued to serve as head of a democratically elected parliamentary. The Queen was head of state in Nigeria, though her constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of Nigeria. The Governor-General represented the British monarch as head of state and was appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Nigerian prime minister in consultation with the premiers of the regions. The Governor-General was also responsible for appointing the prime minister and for choosing a candidate when there was no parliamentary majority. Other than this, the Governor-General’s office was essentially ceremonial.

The retention of the monarchy was not accepted by all and the political parties in Nigeria at the time agreed that the country should be a republic.

Nigeria adopted the President of Nigeria as head of state, on 1 October 1963 and hence, severed its relationship with the  British monarchy.

#Willtopowereduconsult 

THERE WAS A COUNTRY: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF BIAFRA BY CHINUA ACHEBE

 THERE WAS A COUNTRY: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF BIAFRA BY CHINUA ACHEBE

No writer is better placed than Chinua Achebe to tell the story of the Nigerian Biafran war from a cultural and political perspective. Nigeria's most eminent novelist played a prominent role in the civil war. There Was A Country, speaks about his life during the conflict that nearly tore Nigeria apart in the late 60s.

In many ways, the early part of Achebe's life mirrors the story of early Nigeria. Nicknamed "Dictionary", Achebe was a gifted Igbo student and enthusiastic reader, a member of the "Lucky Generation" of young students who rubbed shoulders at top institutions under the tutelage of Oxbridge colonials. They were effortlessly absorbed into the media, industry and civil service, serving a Nigeria driven by optimism on its way to freedom from British rule.

By independence in 1960, Igbo people dominated commerce and the public sector in a land where the three biggest ethnic groups (the Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo) were jostling for supremacy. Achebe attributes Igbo domination to their self-confidence, inherent democratic values and adaptability, which were suited to Nigeria's modernising economy. But many Nigerians resented it, and Achebe admits that the Igbo could be cocky, brash and materialistic, though he rejects the popular suspicion that there was a pan-Igbo agenda to control Nigeria – his people have too strong an "individualistic ethic".

Six years after independence, corruption and electoral rigging preceded a military coup that overthrew Nigeria's first prime minister, the Muslim northerner, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Although most of the coup-plotters were Igbo, Achebe disputes that it was an "Igbo" coup, partly on the basis that its leader, Major Nzeogwu, had grown up in the north and was Igbo in name only. Nevertheless, the murder of Nigeria's northern leaders led to pogroms in which 30,000 Igbos living in the north were killed. The bloodshed culminated in General Emeka Ojukwu's declaration in 1967 that the Igbos' south-eastern region would secede from a country in which his people "felt unwanted".

Fearing the disintegration of Nigeria, the government blocked the secession with military force, backed by a UK government keen to protect its oil interests. Profoundly disappointed by this turn of events, Achebe left his job at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in Lagos and returned with his family to the south-east, now calling itself the Republic of Biafra. The Nigerian army launched a three-pronged attack to subdue the Biafrans, who fought back assiduously despite being out-resourced. Achebe describes a wartime spirit that inspired Biafran engineers to build army tanks out of reinforced Range Rovers and to invent the infamous ogbunigwe (bucket bomb) with devastating effect. Though he abhors violence, Achebe cites these as evidence of the quality of the Nigerian people, and he laments the corruption that strangled such ingenuity.

In the middle chapters, memoir gives way to largely neutral historical analysis, with Achebe citing a range of voices, media reports and books. There are interesting insights into the war's two central players: Biafra's leader Ojukwu and Nigerian president, General Yakubu Gowon, both Sandhurst-trained young men. Rivalries between them and within their teams "confounded political science models". Possessing little administrative experience, the two men pursued ego-driven policies, and missed opportunities to end the conflict sooner. Achebe cites Biafran diplomat Raph Uwechue, who accused Ojukwu of choosing ideology over pragmatism when he rejected relief supplies from the British.

In the following chapters, Achebe's personal story re-emerges. Despite the war, he lived a remarkably productive life. Driven by his belief in the political obligations of the writer, he became Biafra's international envoy, promoting the cause in Canada, Europe and Senegal. He set up a publishing company with his close friend Chris Okigbo, and became Biafra's communications minister, writing a manifesto for the republic. He describes being part of an intellectual elite that came together to recreate a Biafran microcosm of Nigeria's early spirit, their ideals drawn from a mix of traditional Igbo philosophy, US-style liberalism and socialism

As the federal army closed in, Achebe and his family moved from town to town before settling in his father's village. The atrocities proved inescapable: at a market, Achebe's wife Christie saw a bomb split a pregnant woman in two. Achebe relays such horrors – including the deaths of his mother and friend Okigbo – with stoic brevity; his strongest expressions of sorrow are his poems, such as the famous "Refugee Mother and Child". Reproduced from his 1971 Biafran poetry book Beware, Soul Brother, these verses are scattered between chapters, offering affecting interludes.

As the conflict dragged on, Biafra buckled under a blockade so brutal it provoked an international outcry: mass starvation, kwashiorkor and mental illness devastated the Igbo landscape, where vultures, those "avian prognosticators of death", circled overhead. Biafra was the world's first properly televised conflict, and millions across the world were appalled by the horrors flickering on their screens. Such people as Joan Baez, John Lennon, Martin Luther King and Karl Vonnegut galvanised international responses to the tragedy, in an age before "Africa fatigue" had set in.

By the time hostilities ended in 1970, three million Biafrans had died, in contrast to 100,000 casualties on the federal side. Igbos weren't mere casualties of war, Achebe insists, but victims of calculated genocide. Ojukwu, meanwhile, escaped to live in exile in Côte d'Ivoire, inviting accusations of cowardice. Achebe rationalises this move on the basis that if the Biafran leader had stayed in Nigeria, Gowon would have been less magnanimous and conciliatory towards Igbos after the war.

Igbos were reintegrated into Nigerian society, but still faced economic discrimination. Achebe offers an excerpt of an interview in which Gowon tries to justify the crippling £20 flat fee given to every Biafran wanting to convert their Biafran currency back to the Nigerian naira. This sense of persecution still persists today: Achebe believes that Igbo people are the engine of Nigeria's advancement, stifled by a corrupt elite that prefers power and mediocrity to meritocracy. Igbo ostracisation, he says, is "one of the main reasons for the country's continued backwardness". Some might call this supremacism, but Achebe is ultimately a Nigerian patriot who sympathises with ordinary Igbos, rather than any broad Igbo power structure.

The final chapter is an exhortation to better governance, in which he examines corruption, ethnic bigotry, state failure and the steps Nigeria must take to rehabilitate itself. This prescriptive wish list reminds us of the gap between theory and practice in Nigerian politics; it makes you pine for the likes of Achebe to govern. But sadly, he's not writing a manifesto; instead, we have in There Was A Country an elegy from a master storyteller who has witnessed the undulating fortunes of a nation.

Rest in peace the Dictionary

#Willtopowereduconsult 

LÍSÀBÍ : THE REVOLUTIONARY ẸGBA FARMER

LÍSÀBÍ : THE REVOLUTIONARY ẸGBA FARMER

In the late 18th century there once lived a farmer who lived in the Ẹgba forest, he was called Lísàbí Agbọ̀ngbọ̀ Àkálà, he was described as a very tall and broad fellow, who lived in Igbein but originally from Itoku, ẹsí ẹni mọ ẹiyẹ tó sú (no one knew who his parents were) but he was said to be a cheerful, hardworking and respective young man.

According to history, the Ẹgbas were then under the suzerain of the Olóyo/Aláàfin who received ìsákólẹ̀ (tributaries) from the Ẹgbas through his Ajeles (representatives or tax collectors). These Ọyo-Ajeles were reportedly brutish and  avaricious such that the Ẹgbas became tired of their  excesses, but they all resigned to fate, esí ọhun a má sé Aláàfin l'oni ile baawà. While they've all given up, Lisabi was preoccupied with plans on how to liberate his people.

Lisabi took advantage of the breakdown of law and order in Oyo-ile after Afonja's revolt on Aláàfin Aole, he turned the Aro traditional system where farmers helped one another on their farms into an underground army, and changed its name too Egba Olorogun (Egba Ọ̀ ni orogún: Egba has no rival).  They all agreed to the plot and perfected their attacks, when the Ajeles came with their usual raking, Lisabi signalled his small army and nearly all the Ajeles were slaughtered about 600 of them were wiped out. ẹni orí yọ ó di ilé, those who escaped the onslaught reported to Bashorun Ashamu who was acting as a regent in Oyo, and since he could not summon Afonja, he drafted young Oyo and Ibarapa army instead and they head to Igbehin hoping to crush it and bring Lisabi's head to Oyo but "e shock them". Lisabi had ordered everyone to desert the town, he and his army hid in ravines and the Oyo soldiers easily fell into their trap, the Òyós were defeated and Lisabi won independence for his people. Ẹgba became an independent state afterwards.

The Lisabi festival is the celebration of Ẹgba independence and the appreciation of his fearlessness and gallantry. 

#ogunpdate

#Willtopowereduconsult