Part 2 — Chapter 5

Chapter V BASORUN GAHA AND HIS ATROCITIES, HIS FALL, AND ABIODUN'S PEACEFUL REIGN § I. Labisi This unfortunate Prince was nominated to the vacant throne, but was never crowned. Only 17 days after he commenced the preliminary ceremonies, the new Basorun Gaha rose to power, and commenced those series of atrocities which made him notorious in Yoruba history. Olubg and Ajibadu the King-elect's friends were sum.marily put to death, and he, having no supporters was not even allowed to enter the palace, much less to sit on the throne. He had to put an end to his own life. Gaha had great influence with the people, and a great many followers who considered themselves safe under his protection, from the dread in which they stood of the Kings, because of their cruel and despotic rule. Gahk was also famous for his " charms ; " he was credited with the power of being able to convert himself into a leopard or an elephant, and on this account was much feared. He lived to a good old age, and wielded his power miercilessly. He was noted for having raised five Kings to the throne, of whom he murdered four, and was himself murdered by the fifth. § 2. AwoNBioju alius Ouuboye Gaha the Basorun had by this time attained to great power and influence. He made himself the King maker and King destroyer. He did not aspire to the throne, for that was impossible of attain- ment, but he demanded the homage of all the Kings he raised to the throne. He raised Awonbioju into the place of Labisi. His reign was very short, having wielded the sceptre for only 130 days. He was murdered by the all-powerful Basorun for nobly refusing to prostrate before him, his own Chancellor. § 3. Agboluaje Agboluaje who succeeded the late King on the throne was a very handsome and prepossessing Prince, and as he submitted to the powerful Basorun, he was allowed to reign for a longer period than the two preceding Kings. He was not as ambitious 178 as some of his predecessors, he had no wars, the kingdom had extended to its utmost limits, bounded by the river Niger on the north and a portion of the Tapa and Bariba countries, on the East by the lower Niger, on the South by the seacoast, and on the West it includes the Popos and Dahomey. From all the provinces included within these boundaries, and by some including the Gas and Ashanti, tributes were paid to Oyq. Tranquility prevailed all over the land. The King thought this a fitting opportunity for celebrating the Beb§, not so much for the length of his reign, but for the peace and prosperity that prevailed all over the Kingdom. During the three years celebration, visitors from all parts thronged Ovg as was usual, but the most distinguished guest was the Elewi-odo, a Popo king, who visited Oyq in state and had a reception befitting his rank. He was a particular friend of the Alafik's, and usually supplied him. with cloths and other articles of European manufacture, being nearer the coast and having deal- ings with European traders of those days. As on such occasions everybody visited Oyo in his best holidaj' dress, so the Elewi-odo who was accounted proverbially rich appeared at this time. On public occasions the Elewi-odo sat on a throne opposite the King ; as often as the King changed his robes, he changed his covering cloth to one of the same material; when the King puts on a robe of silk or velvet, he covers with a cloth of the same material. Both Kings were an object of interest and admiration by the 1060 vassal kings and chiefs of Yoruba, with the populace who were present on that occasion. But the citizens of Oyo grew jealous for the honour and glory of their King and wished him to appear superior to the Elewi-odo by robing himself with something the like of which even the Elewi had not ; but they found that he had nothing the like of which his friend had not ; so they had recourse to a device. The manu- facturers were summoned and the case put before them, and they promised to rise to the occasion. A simple gown was thereupon woven, of common stuff indeed, but embossed all over with the silken wool of the large cotton tree ; seen at a distance the nature of the cloth cculd not be made out by the crowd ; when the sun shone upon it, it reflected a silken hue to the admiration of all ; when the breeze blew, detached flosses of silk floated all around his majesty. Even the Elewi-odo and the provincial kings could not help admiring the curious robe which they took for something so superior, that none but the great Ai.afin of Oyo alone possessed! The crowd went into ecstatic frenzy about it, and shouted an applause. But the conduct of the Elewi on this occasion offended the Basorun because he vied with his sovereign. Therefore, after his return home at the expiration of the Bebe and the Basorun had celebrated his Owara as usual, he denounced the Elewi before His Majesty in the severest terms : that he came, not to honour the King but to disgrace him, to show off his wealth to the King's disadvantage, and, therefore, he was determined to punish him for his conduct. The King pleaded hard for his friend but in vain. " Every one " said he, " is allowed by custom to appear at Oyo during Bebe in his best, how much more should a king do so ? His action in this matter is pardonable, and therefore, should be overlooked." But Gaha was inexorable, and war was declared. The Elewi having been privately forewarned, attempted no resistance, but sent a private message to the King not to be anxious on his account, and that his safety was assured. He speedily crossed the Esuogbo river and escaped to the Tapa country. Unfortunately the private messenger arrived af Oyo too late to meet the King alive. Unwilling that the head of his friend the Elewi should be brought in triumph to him at Oyo, he took poison and died before the return home of the expedition His brother Majeogbe was placed on the throne by the all-powerful Basorun Gaha. § 4. Majeogbe Majeogbe did not fare any better than his immediate pre- decessors. His first care was to find means of checking the ambition of the Basorun. He could not order his execution, and the Basorun was too much on the alert to be taken off by poison ; but he set about making charms offensive and defensive in order to rid himself of this terror. Gaha had by this time attained the zenith of his glory ; his sons were scattered all over the length and breadth of the kingdom, they resided in the principal towns and all the tributes of those towns and their suburbs were paid to them. No tribute was now paid to the AlAfin ; Gaha's sons were as ambitious and as cruel as their father. Several anecdotes illustrating their wanton cruelties were told of them, e.g. : One of them once engaged a carrier to whom he gave a load too heavy for him to carry, but he dared not refuse to do so. He walked behind the man amusing himself with the sight of the man's sufferings from the weight of the load. He remarked in jest that the man's neck had become so thick that he doubted whether a sword could cut through. He suited his action to his words, drew his sword, and actually tried it ! The man was decapitated, and his body was left wallowing in his blood, and another man was compelled to take up the load. Another of his sons was said to have shot a farmer dead, whilst engaged in making heaps for planting yam, wantonly charging him with disfiguring the King's ground by making horns on it ! Another similarly shot a farmer dead whilst hoeing the ground, pretending that he mistook him for an ape on all fours ! Thus Gaha and his sons usurped all power of the government the King himself living in dread of his own fate at the pleasure of the notorious regicide. The King's own " medicine men " were not idle either. A lighted lamp was said to have been placed in one of his inner apartments which was kept burning for three years untrimmed, and while it was burning there can be no peace to the regicide. A horse was said to be in one of the stables and was heard neighing every day, and yet was kept there 3 years without fodder ! The AlafIxN's death was brought about by one of his sons quarrel- ling in theBasorun's quarter of the town ; this act Gahk resented as a daring affront which the father's life must atone for, the son being too insignificant for him to take any notice of. But the AlAfin had succeeded by this time in poisoning the Basorun that he became paralysed in both his legs. On the other hand the nature of the charms in the King's apartment had been made known to Gaha, who now bent all his energies to extinguish the ever- burning lamp. Its effect was so great that all who approached that apartment instantly dropped down dead. All the " medicine- men " in the kingdom were summoned by Gahk but none succeeded, and it cost many their lives. At last an Agberi man appeared, who sacrificed the life of his slave in order to gain the honour, nor did he survive it himself. In this service the Agberi tribes gained the pre-eminence over others of the same craft, and became friends of the Basorun. And thus the King died. But from this time the power of Gahk began to decline, old age set in, and impaired his strength of body and mind. His wives began to desert his harem, but some faithful domestics stood by him and they concealed from the general public the fact of his being lame. The door opening to the audience chamber was always kept shut whilst the King and the other noblemen were in waiting every morning to pay their respects to him. The opening and closing of the doors of the inner apartments announce the approach of his supernal highness. He crawled on all fours, and was usually seated before the door of the audience chamber was sUd back, so that he was never seen on the move ; but in order to inspire dread, his drummer used to beat " Iba kanbo, irin ija ni nrin." His Highness comes majestic, striding as one spoiling for a fight. § 5. Abiodun alias Adegolu Abiodun, whose peaceful reign has passed into a proverb was described as a tall and slender prince, of a very dark complexion, a comely person, of dignified manners, and altogether fit to wear a crown. He also was raised to the throne by the order and influence of the Basorun. The young King was wise and prudent, and at first made no attempt at any opposition to the powerful Basorun. He went regularly every morning to pay him his respects, and invariably, received his presents of 10 heads of cowiies (which as a matter of fact, never exceeded 6 heads, not with the knowledge of the Basorun however, but by the action of the attendants). This state of things continued for many j^ears so much so that even the Basorun himself was becoming tired of this abject submission, and wanted but a decent pretext for which he might kill him, just for a change ! This man of blood was often heard to say " Who taught this King to be so wise ? These daily presents are getting to be too heavy a charge on my exchequer now." All power was in his hands and so were the responsibilities. His lust for power drained his exchequer, for his sons lording it all over the country deprived him of the revenues which might have come to him. That he was in great straits for money seemed evident from the fact that he requested his " medicine men " to make him charms to get him plenty of cowries. " Of all that constitutes v/ealth or power," said he, " I have, save money (cowries) enough to support my position." One of his " medicine men " assured him that he can make him a soap to wash with, and before sunset, his wish will be realized. He made the soap, and His Supernal Highness used it according to directions, and strange to say, it took effect, but in a way no one anticipated. Whatever the cause was due to, nobody knew, but fire broke out in the Basorun's house that afternoon, and all efforts to extinguish it failed, and so the palace was burnt to the ground. Owing to His Highness' influence and power, and the dread all had of him, every rank and station, from the AlAfin downwaids now vied to be the foremost in contributing to repair his losses, 10,15, 20 bags of cowries came in from all quarters. The heads of the different wards of the city, the Modade, Molkbi, Nsise-og\in, Ntetu, T'onse-Awo, Aremu, Ita-Ologbo, Ajofk, and the Ogede quarters, all brought presents in cowries. Then the provincial kings and chiefs from the Onikoyi down- wards brought building materials, and also their own contributions in cowries, which greatly augmented his store. The Basgrun then asked the " medicine mam " " Is this the way you promised to get me cowries ? " He replied, " Yes, your Highness ; by what other means could you have amassed such an abundance in so short a time ? " But the Basorun was still thirsting for the blood of the AlAfin, and he was never so wise in his dealings with him, till at length, King Abiodun took a bold step, upon which he had devoted no little consideration. Having given orders to his courtiers and his wives privately to report to the Basorun that he was suffering from indisposition he left Oyo privately in the night for a town called Akala to his namesake Adegolu the powerful chief of that place. Being in disguise, he was not recognised by the Bale's wife, who told him her husband had gone to his farm. The feigned poor stranger asked the lady kindly to fetch him home in haste, as he had an important message for him. The kind hostess did so, and Chief Adegolu came home immediately, wondering what the message could be. " Who are you ? Where from ? And what is your message ? " \\eie the eager questions the Bale put to the sti anger. " I want a private interview " was the reply. Both of them retired to a convenient place, and the Bale was startled, and was scarcely himself when he heard from this humble stranger " I am your namesake Adegolu the AlAfin of Qyo." It was with some difficulty he could restrain the Bale from doing homage there and then with earth on his head, etc. " No, no," said the King, " another time will do for that. I am come to confer with you upon the present crisis, how to rid the throne of Oyo of the great usurper, the King maker and King destroyer. You know very well, that in all the 6,600 towns and villages of the Yoruba kingdom, Gaha and his sons have the dominant rule." After conference. Chief Adegolu went with the stranger to rhe powerful Kakanfo (Field Marshal) Oyabi at Ajase ; here the plot was matared, of a strong and secret combination against the Basgrun and his sons. This was communicated by swift posts to all the principal kings and chiefs in the country, and it was arranged that on a fixed day, they should all rise and destroy all Gahci's children. The arrangement being complete King Adegolu returned home as he came out; and next morning paid his respects to the Basorun as before. At the day appointed, the whole country rose up against Gahk's children, and butchered them to pieces ; and in order to exter- minate the seed in toto, those of their wives who were enceinte were ripped open, and the embryo chopped in pieces ! The whole army of the country headed by Oyabi, and Adegolu now marched for Oyo according to the secret arrangement, and the Oyo chiefs with the AlAfin opened the gates to them. Gahk's people single-handed were preparing to resist, but it was evident that his time was come and nothing could stop the inevitable and fatal end. Gahk summoned his relatives together, and handed to them a bundle of here grass, well tied, and asked them to break it; when all had tried and failed, he had it loosed, handing round a few blades to each ; that was easily crunched ; then said he to them " Combined we shall stand, but if disunited we shall be broken to pieces like the blades of ber^ in your hands." But his brother Olubii who might have offered the stoutest resistance, had been won over by the Oyo chiefs, who promised him his brother's title when all shall have been over ; but this turned out to be a ruse, devised to weaken theBasorun's resistance, for Olubu never escaped the fate of all Gahk's people, but was butchered in the general massacre of the great man's adherents and relatives. To the last, Olaotan, Gahi's eldest son, stood by his father. The troops from the country poured in from all quarters and were joined by those of the city, all equally tired of the iron rule of Gahk and of the enormities being perpetrated by his children. His palace was surrounded, and attempts were made to beat down the walls thereof ; but they were heroically defended by his trusty domestics, and the few faithful adherents. Gahk in vain tried to transform himself into an elephant as of yore. He ordered four mortars to be placed in position for the fore and hind legs, and two pestles for the tusks ; old and feeble and lame, he could not even help himself up the mortars, and when helped to them, his trembling limbs could not support his body weight: his incantations proved a failure. At the sight of this failure Olaotan groaned with disappointment and said, " Father, have I not always said it were better you should secure a charm for ensuring perpetual youth ? It was because I was strongly convinced that these charms will be of Uttle avail to you, when old age has set in." From the walls and from the roofs of his palace, the Basgrun's men kept the army of the Kakanfo at bay. A sharp shooter in particular did havoc amongst them ; but a certain young man. bold and astute, observing this, ran close to the wall at some distance from the spot where he was, and walked along so close under it right on to the spot, that he was not seen from above or within, and as soon as the marksman put his head out again for another shot, he grasped and dragged him down, and immediately the men rushed forward and beat down the wall. The house was immediately fired, and all the domestics found within were put to the sword. The Basorun and Gbagi a faithful and favourite Ilari were taken aUve and brought before the King. He was soon on his chair of state with all insignia of royalty in full display about him, and the fallen minister made to prostrate at a distance before him, under a hot burning sun. The old man pleaded for his life, and even asked to be degraded and made the keeper of His Majesty's poultry yard, but it was felt that no quarters could be granted to him now. Being bulky in size, the ground under him where he lay prostrate under the mid-day sun became saturated with the profuse perspiration oozing from him. He neither deserved nor-received pity of any one. There were great rejoicings in the city and in the King's palace, and especially among the King's wives. So great were the indignities and contempt this fallen minister was subjected to, that even children could approach him now and pull at a pedunculated tumour in his forehead, hanging down his face, which the fear and dread of him did not allow people to notice before, for who could approach so near as to gaze on him ? But the fate awaiting him was of greater concern to him now, than to take notice of these trifling jests. By the order of the AlAfin, the posts of his house and everything that could be used as firewood, which had escaped the burning, were brought together and piled as a stake ; pots of palm oil, nut oil, and shea butter were poured on it, and set ahght ; he was then approached by a menial saying in mockery " Master, the fire is alight, will you not warm yourself a bit in such a weather as this ? " Then he was lifted up to the top of the stake and made secure, together with Gbagi, his faithful Ilari. His fate has been a lesson to all usurpers and abusers of power. It has passed into a proverb " Bi o I'aiya Osika, bi o ri iku Gahk, 0 yio so otitg. If you have the heart of a cruel man, take note of Gaha's death and be true." A one day bebe i.e. a public holiday with the freedom of a Bebe (vide p. 163) was proclaimed, after which Qyabi the Kakanfo returned home with the thanks and good wishes of the King and nation. Abiodun now commenced the work of reformation beginning from the capital. In order to make himself secure on the throne, he suppressed or executed all those known or suspected to have been Gahk's friends secretly, and who might raise an insurrection against him, for Gaha was not without friends even among the chiefs, such as the Esiele, the Sakin, and the Sahadow^. From this time commenced that period of peace and prosperity for which King AbiodUN's reign was famous. Tributes poured into Oyo from the remote states and from Dahomey, agriculture and commerce flourished, and the people to the remotest part of the kingdom were so far happy and contented. The Kakanfo Qyabi did not live long to enjoy the peace he was so instrumental in effecting ; two years later, the AlAfin invited him to Oyo in order to bestow on him special honours, and marks of favour in recognition of his services to King and country, but unfortunately, his health was in a precarious condition, and in obeying the commands of his sovereign, he died on his way to Oyo. § 6. Abiodun's Peaceful Reign King Abiod UN had a long and prosperous reign. He was said to have been the father of 660 children ! The firstborn Agunpopo was said to have been the issue of an ilUcit intercourse with one of his father's wives, during the father's lifetime: hence the Oyo citizens refused to have him as the Argmg (Crown Prince). Ige Gbengberu his legitimate firstborn was accepted for that title, but he \yas of a delicate constitution, and died prematurely ; the office of Aremo now devolved upon the next prince Adesina. Wlien Abiod UN was fully established on the throne he found out that a Mohammedan had hidden one of Gahk's childien for about 40 years^ ! The King not only graciously spared the young man, but also amply rewarded his preserver for his generous act, and confirmed his goodwill by giving one of his daughters to the Moslem for wife ; " for surely," said the King, " you would have done the same for myself also." Towards the latter part of the King's reign, certain of the Popo tribes had a quarrel among themselves, and two of their kings came to Oyo with a large retinue of about 4,000 people for an appeal. They were detained for 3 years without their case being heard, and in the end they were informed that they were no more to return to their own country, but kept as the ^ The Yorubas always exaggerate their time period by a bad method of calculation. If, for instance, a child is born 5 days before the new moon appears, he is then 2 months old, and at the next new moon he is 3 months, when in reaUty he is only a month and some days. So also is the calculation for years. King's body guard under the command of his son Agunpopo whom the Oyo citizens insisted upon reckoning among his brotherstheOlusami, Atingisi.andlyajinforthereasonstated above. One act of revenge marred this distinguished sovereign's reputation. Long before his accession, he was a trader in potash. He once had a quarrel at Ijaye with the Bale's son but the Bale, out of deference to his high birth interposed and sharply repri- manded his son. Upon his accession he avenged the alleged insult by ordering the destruction of the town. Ijaye was then an Egba town. This fact is noted because this was the first time Ijaye was taken, a town which was destined hereafter to play a notable part in Yoruba history. His other wars were against the Popos every other year. They were completely subdued. The Crown Prince Adesina turned out to be a very vain and extravagant young man, weak in character, yielding to flattery. E.g., it was said that some of his followers used to say to him " Prince, you can give me lo heads of cowries now (equivalent to ;£io in those days), if only you wish ; why, you have only to say the word and it would be done ; come now, why be reluctant about it ? It is only to speak, etc." The Prince would yield, and order the money to be given. King Abiodun attained to a good old age, full of honours, having subdued all his enemies. The Aremo had hoped to succeed his father. Not satisfied with the high honour and unrestricted liberty he was enjoying, he was too eager to occupy the throne, and so he hastened his father's death by poison. The end of this reign marked an important epoch in Yoruba history. With the death of Abiodun ended the universal and despotic rule of the Alafins of Oyo in the Yoruba country. He was the last of the Kings that held the different parts of the Kingdom together in one universal sway and with him ended the tranquility and prosperity of the Yoruba country. The revolution ensued, and the tribal independence, with the loss to Yoruba of the Tapa and Bariba, and Dahomey provinces, and the Popos later on, which has continued to our own day. In a word, with Abiodun ended the unity of the Yoruba kingdom. Kangidi succeeded Gahk as the Basorun of this reign. THE THIRD PERIOD. In which revolutionary wars devastated the whole of Yoruba- land, ending in the Fulani usurpation and tribal independence. It embraced a period of the reigns of five Kings, from the accession of Aole to the death of Oluewu, the last of the Kings, who reigned at the ancient Oyo.