The

Yoruba

people

of

Western

Nigeria

fought

the

longest

tribal

war

in

modern

history

from 1877 to 1893.

The

Kiriji

or

Ekiti-parapo

War

was

a

16-year

conflict

that

broke

out

mainly

between

Ibadan

and

the

combined

forces

of

Ekiti

and

Ijesha.

It

was

a

war

that

ended

all

wars

in Yoruba land.

''Kiriji''

was

an

onomatopoeic

name

given

to

the

war

from

the

thunderous

sound

of

the

cannons

the

Ekitis

and

Ijeshas,

under

the

command

of

Ogedengbe,

purchased

in

abundance

which

gave

them

an

advantage

over

the

Ibadan

forces.

However,

it

ended

in a stalemate.

Thus, the Kiriji War remains the world's longest Civil War by any ethnic group.

In

fact,

the

Yoruba

are

the

only

race

in

modern

history

to

have

engaged

one

another

in

civil

wars

for

73

years

(1820-1893)

and

still

remain

together

as

one

tribe,

even

to

this day.

KIRIJI WAR:

DATE: 1877 - 1893

LOCATION: YORUBA LAND, SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA

STRENGTH:

IBADAN: 100, 000.

EKITI PARAPO: 10, 000 IN 1879, 100,000 AT THE END OF THE WAR

RESULT:

MILITARY STALEMATE

CAUSALITIES AND LOSSES:

UNKNOWN ON BOTH SIDES.

EKITI WAS GRANTED INDEPENDENCE ON SEPTEMBER 23, 1886.

THE

WORLD'S

LONGEST

ETHNIC

CIVIL

WAR

THAT

PITCHED

THE

POWERFUL

YORUBA TOWNS AGAINST IBADAN.

The Commanders and Leaders

involved in the conflicts include:

Ibadan:

Are

Latosa,

Osi

Ilori

son

of

Ogunmola,

Akintaro,

Iyapo

-

son

of

Balogun

Ibikunle,

Balogun

Ajayi

Ogboriefon,

Ali

Laluwoye

-

Otun,

Babalola

son

of

Balogun

Ajayi

Ogboriefon.

Ijesa:

Saraibi Ogedengbe, Ayomoro, Ogunmodede, Okenla.

Ekiti:

Fabunmi of Okemesi, Odeyale, Adeyala.

Egba:

Ogundipe, Ajagunjeun.

Ilorin:

Emir Alihu, Ajia, Karara - Balogun Ilorin

Ile Ife:

General Ayikiti.

Ibadan,

the

Oyo

State

capital

and

the

largest

city

in

West

Africa

didn’t

just

earn

its

place

as

the

political

capital

of

Nigeria’s

southwest

region,

over

120

years

ago

after

the

fall

of

the

old

Oyo

empire,

the

city

started

playing

the

role

of

a

big

brother

to

other

towns

in

Yorubaland.

Assigning

District

Officers

popularly

known

as

‘Ajeles’

to

several

towns under its authority and extracting tributes from their colonies.

The

collapse

of

the

old

Oyo

Empire

in

the

beginning

of

the

19th

century

due

to

the

at

-

tack

by

the

Muslim

Fulani

Emirate

established

at

Ilorin,

left

a

leadership

vacuum

that

would

provide

an

effective

military

check

to

any

further

encroachment

by

the

Fulani

on

Yoruba

territories.

Ibadan’s

status

as

a

war

camp

and

the

influx

of

soldiers

to

the

settlement

in

its

early

years,

positioned

it

to

rise

to

become

the

‘mother

hen’

shielding

towns in the Eastern parts of Yorubaland from the encroaching Fulanis.

The

effective

opposition

posed

by

the

Ibadan

army

to

the

Fulani

Jihadist

forces

earned

it

loyalty

from

major

settlements

in

the

eastern

half

of

the

Oyo

Empire

to

Ibadan.

By

the

mid-1870s,

the

Ibadan

Empire

was

made

up

of

Ibarapa,

metropolitan

Ibadan,

Ife,

Osun,

Ijesa,

Ekiti,

Akoko

and

most

of

Igbomina.

Ibadan

then

started

post

-

ing Ajeles (district officers) to towns under its territories.

However,

the

overbearing

lifestyle

of

the

Ajeles

started

creeping

in,

they

became

too

power

drunk

and

the

Ekiti

people

and

other

towns

who

could

no

longer

bear

their

op

-

pression had to revolt.

Cause of the war:

According

to

history,

there

was

a

particular

day

that

one

of

the

Ajeles

got

drunk

and

intoxicated

with

power,

allegedly

had

sexual

intercourse

with

the

wife

of

Fabunmi,

a

great warrior and a native of Oke-Imesi.

When

Fabunmi

heard

about

this

brazen

oppression,

he

was

so

annoyed

and

he

be

-

headed

the

Ajele

and

sent

the

head

to

the

Ibadan

monarch.

Fabunmi

knew

that

what

he

did

would

lead

to

war

so

he

went

to

his

motherland

for

support

so

as

to

fight

against the Ibadan monarch.

In

preparation

for

the

looming

war,

the

Ekiti

formed

a

confederacy

called

Ekiti

Parapo

and

declared

their

independence

from

Ibadan.

The

Ekiti

Parapo

army

was

led

by

a

warrior

called

Ogedengbe

of

Ijesa

land,

while

the

Ibadan

army

was

led

by

Aare

Obadoke Latosa.

The

war

was

said

to

have

gotten

its

name

Kiriji

from

the

thunderous

sound

‘kiriji’

of

the

cannon

guns

which

the

Ekitiparapo

forces

acquired

for

the

war.

Although

there

are

several

accounts

on

the

cause

of

the

war,

chiefly

among

them

was

the

desire

for

freedom

from

Ibadan’s

dominance,

this

is

why

many

historians

called

the

war

–

the

fight for freedom.

By

1877,

Ibadan

had

made

a

lot

of

enemies

who

formed

an

alliance

under

Ekitiparapo to revolt against their dominance.

Latoosa,

had

consulted

the

Ifa

oracle.

He

said

the

oracle

told

the

ancient

Latoosa

that

some

“Albinos”

were

coming

to

dominate

Yorubaland

and

take

over

her

re

-

sources.

The

oracle

then

told

the

Aare

to

build

a

single

force

to

repel

them

on

behalf

of

the

Yoruba

nation.

The

Albino

is

believed

to

be

the

white

colonialists

who

later

came.” The Albino is believed to be the British colonialists who later came into Africa.

Composition of the alliance:

The

Ibadan

army,

which

camped

at

Igbajo,

was

led

by

a

generalissimo

Aare

Obadoke

Latoosa,

the

12th

Aare

Ona

Kakanfo,

while

the

Ekitiparapo

led

by

a

renowned

warrior

Saraibi

Ogedengbe

(famously

known

as

Ogedengbe

Agbogungboro),

the

Balogun

of

Ijeshaland,

comprised

of

war

leaders

from

Ilesa,

Ekiti,

Efon,

Yagba,

and

Akoko.

Others

were

Baloguns

from

Ila,

Otun

Ekiti

and

Akure

while

the

Elekole,

the

Alara,

the

Alaaye

and

Ajero

personally

led

their

ow

n

contingents

to

Oke-Imesi

to

fight

under

the

leadership

of

Ogedengbe.

Ilorin

supported

Ekitiparapo,

Egba

and

Ijebu

also

closed

their

trade

routes

to

the

coast

against

Ibadan so that their troops would not be able to obtain arms and ammunition.

Ibadan

at

the

centre,

was

fighting

at

five

different

war

fronts

–

the

Ilorins

camped

at

Offa

Ibadan’s

ally)

in

the

north,

Ekitiparapo

and

Ile-Ife

(joined

in

1882)

in

the

East,

Egba

and

the

Ijebus

in

the

West.

Despite

the

overwhelming

alliance

against

Ibadan,

these

five

forces

could

not defeat Ibadan before a stalemate was reached in 1893.

The

Ondos

and

the

Mahins

in

present

day

Ilaje

local

government

area

of

Ondo

State

did

not

participate

in

the

war

while

Oke

Oguns

in

Oyo

State

and

the

Yewas

and

the

Aworis

in

the

west

-

ern part of Ogun state were also said to be passive spectators in the war.

How it ended:

While

the

war

raged,

the

British

colonial

government

in

Lagos

stood

aloof

because

it

did

not

af

-

fect its economic interest, after a series of condemnations, it finally waded into the crisis.

After

years

of

killing,

fierce

battle,

unrelenting

power

tussle,

massive

destruction

of

communi

-

ties and properties, the warring parties signed a treaty to end the war in September 1886.

Members of Ekitiparapo be granted autonomy

The warring sides should respect the territorial boundaries of one another in the future

The

Alaafin

should

retain

the

position

relative

to

the

Owa

of

Ilesa

before

the

war

–

the

status

of an elder to a younger brother.

The

boundaries

between

Ekitiparapo

and

Ibadan

would

stay

as

they

were

at

the

time

of

the

agreement

and

the

inhabitants

of

Otan-Ayegbaju,

Iresi,

Ada

and

Igbajo

who

wanted

to

stay

with

their

Ekiti

and

Ijesa

kin

were

free

to

migrate,

but

the

towns

would

remain

in

the

hands

of

Ibadan.

The Ilorin-Ibadan contest over Offa would be resolved later.

The

people

of

Modakeke

would

leave

Ife

territory

and

move

to

Ibadan

area

between

the

Osun

and Oba rivers and those who wish to stay were to move to Ife.

Ijebu

and

Ibadan

were

to

sign

a

peace

agreement

and

the

Ijebu

forces

would

remove

their

camp near Modakeke and return home.

On

September

23,

1886,

the

Acting

Colonial

Secretary,

Henry

Higgins,

Queen’s

Advocate,

Oliver

Smith,

and

other

delegates

from

Lagos

with

the

representatives

of

Ibadan,

Ekitiparapo,

Ife,

Ijebu

and

the

Alaafin

present,

peace

was

announced

before

the

warring

parties

and

their

camps were destroyed.

Despite

the

signing

of

the

treaty

in

1886,

the

war

didn’t

bring

immediate

peace

due

to

some

unresolved

matters

on

the

Ilorin-Ibadan

front,

the

Ijebu

front

and

the

Ile-Ife-Modakeke

front.

The

clause

in

the

treaty

asking

the

Modakeke

to

relocate

from

their

town

to

another

site

did

not

go

down

well

with

them,

this

still

results

in

communal

clash

up

till

this

present

age.

The

Ilorin did not attend the peace meeting and they continued their scramble for Offa with Ibadan.

One

of

the

historical

sites

in

Igbajo

(Ibadan

soldiers’

camp)

in

Boluwaduro

Local

Government

Area

of

Osun

State

that

played

a

crucial

role

in

the

war

was

the

Fejeboju

Stream

formerly

called

Eleriko

Stream.

It

is

said

to

be

a

symbolic

and

mysterious

stream

that

provided

spiritual

cleansing

to

the

casualties

and

wounded

warriors.

Victims

went

to

the

stream

to

wash

blood

from

their

wounds.

With

its

therapeutic

powers,

the

water

from

the

stream

was

also

used

to

remove

bullets

from

the

wounded

warriors.

It

supplied

water

to

both

the

Ibadan

and

Ekitiparapo Confederation camps.

If

the

Yorubas

had

not

gone

to

war

against

themselves

and

were

united,

historians

said

with

the

kind

of

soldiers

the

Yorubas

had

at

that

time,

about

500,000,

it

would

have

built

an

in

-

domitable

force

that

would

make

it

very

difficult

for

the

British

to

make

an

inroad

into

the

re

-

gion to colonise it.

There are some historical places which are testaments of the war below in pictures:

Ogedengbe Stone Seat & Stool:

There

is

Ogendengbe

chair

and

stool.

It

is

the

place

for

commanding

tower

for

the

army

of

the

Ekiti

Parapo

and

they

waited

for

him

to

command

and

communicate

to

the

commanders.

Also

at

the

same

place,

there

is

a

place

called

‘Ojubo

Ogun’,

that

is

Ogun

shrine

where

Ogedengbe

did

consult

the

gods

on

every

issue.

There

is

a

300

staircase

to

make

it

easy

for

people

to

get

there.

Omi Fejeboju

It

was

formally

called

Eleriko

which

supplied

water

to

both

the

Ibadan

and

Ekiti

Parapo

Confederate

camps.

However,

during

the

war,

the

wounded

warriors

washed

their

faces

of

blood inside the water and this made the water turn red because of too much blood.

The blacksmith Spot

It is the place where the warriors made their weapons in olden days during the war.

Ibu Latoosa

It is where Latoosa died. Latoosa was the leader of the Ibadan warriors.

There

is

a

tree

in

the

place

which

was

planted

by

Ogedengbe

called

IPEREGUN

TREE.

The

tree

was

planted

at

the

place

where

Latoosa

died

because

he

acknowledged

that

Latoosa

was

his

leader and also because of the relationship between them in Ibadan.

There

is

another

tree

at

the

water

called

“Faragbota”.

It

is

called

that

name

because

the

war

-

riors

used

the

tree

as

bullet

shield

during

the

war

when

their

opponents

were

shooting.

It

was

said that anything someone says in that place will come to pass.

Orun Oga

This

is

another

place

where

tobacco

(taba)

was

grounded

for

Latoosa.

The

grounding

space

is

still

there

till

today.

It

is

an

open

mountain

to

which

warriors

go

to

ground

tobacco

.

However,

they were always vulnerable to attack at this location.

Kiriji peace treaty site

The

ancient

landmark

where

peace

was

restored

to

halt

the

internecine

war.

It

is

the

place

where

all

the

stakeholders

signed

to

end

the

war

on

September

23,

1886.

The

Twelve

Articles

were signed and inserted in a bottle and buried in the hole of about six feet.

Caves

There

are

caves

where

the

warriors

do

hide

during

the

war.

They

could

stay

there

for

abut

three

weeks.

The

caves

are

nine

in

number;

Some

caves

can

contain

200

to

300

people.

There

is

a

local

pool,

the

warriors

had

their

bath

there.

The

pool

is

called

Omi

Iwosan.

There

is

a

belief

that

the

water

heals.

Also,

there

is

a

rock

called

Okuta

Alabahun

(Tortoise

Rock).

It

is

held

that

a tortoise turned into the rock.

These

places

are

great

tourism

attractions

which

are

in

the

process

of

being

developed

and

will attract tourists all over the world.

Source:

#AmazingStoriesMedia