If not for the british’s interventions, the oyo empire could have been extended across the whole Africa continent.
There are kings, and their are kings. While The Lord of the Palace remains the king of the Kings. Wherever alaafin goes, as soon as he steps in, that particular spot automatically becomes aafin.
It is a very big insult to describe the God almighty as a king because a king is crowned or selected by people. If we now describe the creator of heaven and earth as king, we are saying the almighty was crowned or selected by people. Whereas the almighty’s throne is weighed beyond what any creation can imagine, and that is why he’s called omnipotent, omnipresent, the alpha, and omega. He created both living and non-living things. No one creates God. He is the giver and helper of the whole creations. He needs no one to run his administration, he need no personal assistant to achieve anything. In fact, he’s capable of listening and assimilating the words of all creations at the same time without needing a reminder. Can we now evaluate the doings of almighty and say the best name befitting his majestic throne is “king”? The power of almighty god is unimaginable.
The name king is only within “we,” humans.
Ethnographically, yoruba is one of the most civilised in africa continent. The arrival of the civilization of yorubas is verifiably traceable to the reign of the Old oyo Empire.
The oyo Empire actively held other kingdoms for ransome for uninterrupted 550 years. The alaafin institution became a threat to the British, and there was no option than to wage war with The Lord of the Palace (the alaafin)
The monachical form of governance in Britain was stolen from the supreme oyo dynasty that has been in existence for 300 years before the formation of the british empire.
Oyo Empire was a socio-political entity that existed in pre-colonial Nigeria, particularly in the southwestern part of Nigeria and beyond. It was a Yoruba Empire that consists of what is today Benin and western Nigeria, including the “southwest zone and the western half of north-central zone”. At its prime, the Oyo Empire grew to become the largest Yoruba state. Historians and writers have attributed it to the rise to the superior organization and administrative skills of its inhabitants, fortunes and wealth gained from regional trade, and vast fearsome, powerful army. No doubt; the Oyo Empire was one of the most important states in the entirety of western Africa from the mid-14th century to the late-18th century, as its power and influence were felt all over the kingdoms in Yoruba lands and also over other African states notably the “Fon kingdom” of Dahomey in the modern republic of Benin to the west.
The Oyo Empire with it capital at the old Oyo-Ile near the Niger river flourished and prospered on regional trade and became the hub for moving slaves from the interiors and hinterlands to the coast and waiting for European slavers ships. Due to the active involvement of the Oyo Empire in human trade, it was called the Slave Coast. However, with time, Oyo Empire became weakened due to frequent internal wrangling by different factions, former vassal’s states reasserted their independence that by the mid-19th century, the Oyo Empire has become sacked and abandoned with the Empire disintegrating into small rival’s chiefdoms and eventually falls to the expanding Islamic states to the north.
The old Oyo Empire was a vast and powerful entity in the history of the Yoruba’s and the western Africa region. This great Empire was established in the 15th century, and there are many myths and legends associated with the foundation of the Empire. The Oyo Empire was a large West African Empire founded in approximately 1300 C.E. it is one of the largest empires to exist in the region and also the most important and authoritative of all the early Yoruba principalities. The Oyo empire as with other states of the Yoruba people in the southern coastal areas of West Africa (modern-day Nigeria) traced their origins and descent from “Ile-Ife”; the mystical center of Yoruba cradle of civilization. However, the origins of the Oyo Empire began with Oranyan (also known as Oranmiyan) who is believed to be the last prince , the name Oyo was named by the son of the great ancestor hero, Oduduwa, who migrated to Ile-Ife with his followers and whose son became the first Alaafin (alafin) or ruler of Oyo.
Early in the thirteen century, Oyo was a minor state with little power against its northern neighbours. The state was led by Orayan, the Founder-king or first Alaafin of Oyo, who gained his position based on a strong reputation as a military leader who waged an expedition heading towards the north-east He was stopped by the kingdoms of Borgu and Nupe before settling at a site known as Ajaka. Oyo’s earlier attempts at expansion were met with resistance, culminating in its being conquered by neighbouring Nupe around 1550. When conquered by Nupe, the king (alafin) of Oyo and his senior chiefs sought refuge in Borgu but soon returned to Oyo. The power of Oyo began to grow by the second half of the century when the alafin Orompoto began using the wealth derived from trade to establish a powerful cavalry force and to maintain a full-time standing, trained army. In addition to the militaristic expansion, the Oyo Empire expanded based on its convenient trade location and ability to manipulate the markets. Located just south of the middle Niger River, the Oyo Empire was in a prime position from which to control the prominent West African trade routes to Hausa land, Gao, Timbuktu, and Jenne, and use this position to flood those areas with significant amounts of Oyo textiles that were always a precious commodity, as well as with iron goods.
Just like any typical Yoruba kingdom, the Alaafin “igba-keji orisa” was regarded as the representative of the gods on earth and therefore unquestionable in all his decisions. However, in theory, the Alaafin was an absolute ruler but in practice, his powers were limited through taboos, conventions, rituals, and by the Oyemesi; the legislative council who traditions required must be consulted on important state matters. The Oyomesi council was led by the Bashorun who also doubled as the prime-minister, memberships of this council were made up of seven non-royal wards in the capital and they performed the legislative functions and also act as checks on the excesses on the powers of the Alaafin, who they could dethrone by sending an empty calabash. The empty calabash represents rejection by the people, and by law, the Alaafin must commit suicide. While the Oyo Empire was particularly known for its use of cavalry, the origin of the horses is disputed, as the Nupe, Borgu, and Hausa in neighbouring territories also used cavalry.
The army was commanded by the Oyomesi, with the Bashorun as the commander-in-chief. From 1650 onward and with the formation of an all-powerful cavalry, the Oyo Empire entered a period of expansion, where it achieved dominion over most communities between the Volta River in the west of Benin and the Niger River in the east. The apex of the Oyo Empire war campaigns was in 1748, following the subjugation of the kingdom of Dahomey, which occurred in two phases (1724, 1738-48). From then on, the Empire has access to the coast and began trading with European traders through the port of Ajase (Porto-Novo).
Oyo Empire’s rise and success as the preeminent kingdom among the Yoruba states and in the sub-region has been attributed to its favorable trading position, its natural resources, fertile farmlands, and the industry of its inhabitants. Beginning as simply the city of Oyo, it rose to prominence through wealth gained from trade with both its African neighbours as well as European nations such as Spain and Portugal. Because of its wealth of military skill, the Oyo Empire was the most politically important Yoruba state from the mid-seventeenth to the late eighteenth, exercising control not only over other Yoruba states but also over the kingdom of Dahomey. Without the british, oyo could have probably been extended acros africa continent. “names” like adekunle, adeoye adeyemi, and all of that would have been found across the Africa peninsula.
The british who destroyed the monachical method of governance in nigeria and introduced Western idealism still preserved their own culture. The United Kingdom prime minister is a member of staff of the british Royal Council, taking orders from the palace.
But they set us back here by saying the monachical form of governance is not good for us, but good for them.
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