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