The Alaafin of Oyo depended on Ibadan and Ìjàyè for defence. The ruler
of Ibadan was named Basorun (or Prime Minister) while the ruler of
Ìjàyè , Kúrúnmi, was named Aare-ona-Kakanfo (or Generalissimo).
In 1858, Alaafin Àtìbà sensed he was about to die and called his
leading chiefs to get them to acknowledge the crown prince Adélù as
his successor. This was contrary to tradition, which required the
crown prince to commit suicide on the Alaafin's death. Ibadan
supported Alaafin Àtìbà's move while Ìjàyè (under Kúrúnmi) opposed it.
This led to a war between Ibadan and Ìjàyè . They camped on either
side of River Ose.
Initially, Ìjàyè had the upper hand especially when its Egba allies
supported it. Things changed when the Ibadan warriors discovered from
their witch-doctor that the Ìjàyè will be destroyed if they cross
River Ose. The Ibadan charmed the Ìjàyè to ensure this. So the Egba
and Ìjàyè warriors ignored Kúrúnmi's warning and crossed River Ose to
capture the "fleeing" Ibadan warriors. Thousands of Egba and Ìjàyè
warriors were killed in the river. Kúrúnmi's 5 sons were killed while
manning Iwawun, a town under Kúrúnmi. Kúrúnmi committed suicide while
the enemy were setting the city wall on fire, to avoid capture.
No comments:
Post a Comment