Part 2 — Chapter 30

Chapter XXX DISPERSAL OF THE COMBATANTS BY SPECIAL COMMISSIONERS § I. Special Commissioners Sent up. The Treaty duly signed was forwarded to the Governor of Lagos by his special messengers, themselves awaiting further orders at their respective posts at Ode Ondo and Ibadan. By this time the Governor's furlough was due, but, with the sanction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, he had arranged everything for the accomplishment of this work, and matters were left in the hands of the Acting-Governor, F. Evans, Esq., the Colonial Secretary, to carry out. Mr. Henry Higgins, the Asst. Col. Secretary and Mr. Oliver Smith, Queen's Advocate, were appointed Special Commissioners for this business. They were to be attended by an escort of 50 Hausa soldiers, each provided with 50 rounds of ball cartridges for their Martini Henry rifles. They had also with them a 7-pounder gun, and a rocket trough with necessary ammunition. Capt. W. Speeding, the Harbour Master, also accompanied the expedition, with instructions to make geographical observations all along the route from Ejirin on the lagoon—the point of dis- embarkation—through Ijebu Ode, Ibadan, to Osogbo and Kiriji, to return to Lagos if possible via Ile§a, Ode Ondo, Aiyesan, Itebu, and Atijere. He was also to make as far as possible a survey map of the route and to fix the positions of the principal towns, the number of houses and inhabitants in each village, names of chiefs, depth, width, and courses of rivers crossed, heights of hills, nature of roads, and all other useful and statistical information to be carefully obtained and recorded. The Commissioners were the bearers of the following letter:— Government House, Lagos, August 14/A, 1886. To Kings, Bal^s, Baloguns and Chiefs, I send you greeting. 2. Your good friend. Governor Moloney, has beeri obliged to go to England for health and rest. But before leaving Lagos he put you all in my hands ; he told me how you had all said you were tired of war and wanted peace. He told me how you 538 had all sent your most trusted messengers, to beg him to assist you, and how you had signed treaties promising to be faithful. He told me all he had done for you, and how sorry he was he could not be present when you broke up your armies and camps according to your promises. 3. If I could have come to you myself I would have done so. 4. You would, I am sure, have received me with welcome, but my people in Lagos wanted me, and I regret to say I cannot arrange to leave them. 5. I send you, however, two of my officers in whom I have much confidence ; they are next in rank to myself. 6. I ask you to receive them as my envoys and to accord to them the same cordial welcome you would have given to me. 7. They have my full powers to act for me in helping you to fulfil the engagements you made in your Treaty, and I ask you to treat with them as if they were myself. 8. You have promised to place hostages in the hands of my envoys while your camps are being dispersed and while you are settling the difficulties between yourselves. 9. I rely upon you to fulfil your promises and now call upon you to do so. 10. It is hardly necessary for me to remind you of the advantages to be derived from a lasting peace, you who have been unfortunately so long at strife must know the troubles a war entails ; you must feel when you see your people decreasing in numbers, your children fatherless, your women without husbands, your trade dechning, and your villages decaying, that the time has arrived when you should fight no more. 11. Let that time be now, as you have promised it shall be ; let there be peace and friendship among you all; go home to your villages, and make your women glad, and see your children grow around you, and let me have the pleasure of telling my Queen, the great and good Queen of England, that 3'our troubles are now at an end. I am. Kings, Bales, Baloguns and Chiefs, Your good friend and well wisher, Fred Evans, Acting-Governor. [Governor Evans' letter seems very remarkable in its own way. To us it reads like an admonition to a number of truant schoolboys rather than an address to commanders of about half a million men who for over ten years had been engaged in a death struggle with one another, pouring out their life blood unflinchingly for honour, power and freedom—worthier objects than those which often The expedition left Lagos on the i6th August via Itg Ike the first Ijebu port. Great difficulties were experienced with regard to the transmission of their loads ; the Ijebus are by nature averse to carrying loads, they depend more on their slaves for such purposes. Besides they also considered it derogatory to the dignity of a free people to " ru asingba," i.e., transmitting state loads from point to point which in this country is a compulsory duty and regarded as a sort of taxpaying. The Commissioners arrived at Ijebu Ode on the 19th and were well received. The Lisa (prime minister) called on them im- mediately after their arrival with a message of welcome and presents from the Awujale, and conducted them to the quarters prepared for them. On the same day the Governor's Ibadan messenger arrived at Oru where he was ordered to meet the Commissioners. A public interview took place on the 21st at which about 3,000 people were present. What was uppermost in the Awujale's mind was the case of Ogunsigun the Seriki of Igbo who had been sent to Isoya and his refractory behaviour in refusing to decamp. This the Awujale considered a difficulty in the way ; the Commissioners, however, treated the matter lightly, saying they did not anticipate any difficulty in his case. The Awujalg, not satisfied with this reply, sent word to the Governor's Ibadan messenger (the writer) at Orii to this effect. " When you reach Modakeke, if the Commissioners could not pre- vail upon Ogunsigun to decamp at once, tell them to kill him, he stained the swords of mightier nations—ambition, jealousy and greed ! "Go home to your villages," says the Governor, " and make your women glad," etc. Those " villages " are towns with 50,000 to 250,000 souls ! And is there any reason why their " women " should be denied the right and dignity of being termed their wives ? Men who can control such huge masses of humanity, capacities which can guide, control, and direct all the intricacies of municipal and political machineries of a government, and can wage honour- able wars for years without external aid or a national debt be- queathed to posterity might at least be considered as possessing some serious qualities beyond those of children, as they appear to be regarded, and deserving some honourable consideration due to men although they be Negroes. But happily the patronizing language of the letter which discloses so much thinly-veiled con- tempt, will be lost in the translation, and in other respects interpreters may be trusted to make up in tone and expression for what is wanting in style and diction.—Ed.] is my slave, and let his followers return home in peace." Such was the autocracy and the rude form of government that prevailed in the Ijebu state. The Awujale being ignorant of British methods, thought this order would be carried out as a most ordinary and insignificant matter ; its non-execution nearly cost the writer his life subsequently, the Awujale noting him down as a personal enemy in league with Ogunsigun, and gave orders that he should be hunted down and murdered should he be seen in any of the Ijebu provinces ! Carriers were supplied the Commissioners from Ijebu Ode to Oru at the border of the forests a few hours distant, beyond which the Ijebus refused to go, unless carriers came down from Ibadan ! But the Ibadans were very reluctant to adopt this unusual course ; the custom was for the Ijebus to transmit to Ibadan, and they to the next town on the route, and so on to the terminus, hence a considerable delay ensued until the Balogun of Ijebu sent word to the Ibadan Home authorities, and the Governor's Ibadan me.ssenger also sent to the Rev. D. Olubi to move the chiefs to send down the needed carriers. In consequence of this delay the carriers never turned up till the 27th of August, and the Commissioners left for Ibadan on the 28th, leaving 17 loads behind for want of a sufficient number of carriers. The Ibadan carriers did not wait, but went forward with great speed with the bed and bedding as well as the provisions, so that at their sleeping place at Olowa the Commissioners had to pass the night in their hammocks suspended on trees ! The carriers were overtaken the next morning at Odo Ona nla in the Ibadan farms where they halted and there the Commissioners breakfasted before proceeding to Ibadan, where they arrived in the afternoon and were lodged with the Otun Bale, who received them very kindly. From Ibadan, the Commissioners would have proceeded direct via Iwo, Ede, Osogbo to the Kiriji camp, but the Governor's Ibadan messenger made them to understand that the Ibadan chiefs would never act without their King having a voice in the matter, as they were not constitutionally competent to treat with a foreign power without the King, whose prerogative it was. They were only his army. Consequently the expedition started for Oyo on the 2nd of September, 1886. This affair the Commissioners remarked in a letter to the Acting- Governor thus : " We have been induced to visit Oyo on the representation of the Rev. S. Johnson that we should be imable to carry out our mission without having an interview with the Alafin previous to visiting the Kiriji camp." Hearing of their approach, the AlAfin sent an escort consisting of a few of his big Ilaris to meet them at the village of Fiditi, a distance of about 14 miles from the city. As soon as they appeared the escorts ordered their men to fire a feu de joie, which they kept up till they reached the city of Oyo. The leader of the expedition was rather unsettled by these demonstrations, he immediately ordered his Hausas to form around him and to fix bayonets, and told the Ilaris to go on before with their men. At Oyo they were lodged at the house of the Apeka, one of the chief Ilaris, who lodges white men. On the 4th September the AlAfin accorded them a formal state reception as a special honour due to them. He was enthroned full-robed at the Kobi Aganju with all the princes and the Oyo nobles about him, and the usual state umbrellas and all the paraphernalia of royalty displayed on the right and on the left, the trumpeters also sounding lustily the praises of the King and the welcome to the white men.^ The usual ceremonies over, the King presented them with two bullocks, ten sheep, four goats, 20 bags of cowries, and eighty baskets of yams. On the next day they had a private interview in which the AlAfin sat with them and discussed affairs in a friendly and famihar manner. His Majesty advised them not to visit Ilorin, as Karara the Ilorin Generalissimo at Ofa was both obstinate and treacherous. He gave them a horse and two bags of cowries and wished them God-speed. On the 6th of September the King having supplied the necessary number of carriers, the Commissioners left Oyo with the King's Ilari, en route for the Ibadan camp via lie Odan. Masifa, Ejigbo, Ilobu, Ikirun. They arrived at Kiriji on the loth of September, 1886. ^ The ceremonies on this occasion were nearly marred by the leader of the expedition who, against the remonstrance of the writer of the untimehness of such a course insisted on going straight to the throne to " shake hands," saying, that as he represented the Governor of Lagos who is the representative of the Queen, he con- sidered himself superior to any African Monarch—which may or may not be true of such a delegated superior rank, but the writer fails to see how it confers the right to commit a gross breach of etiquette at the moment special honours were being done to him. But ere he was half way along the avenue formed by the princes on the one side and the courtiers on the other, two or three big Ilaris rushed forward, and with expanded arms barred the way saying " Oyinbo, mase, mase " (white man please don't, please don't). Then he desisted and was shown to the seat prepared for him. The Ibadan chiefs wished to detain the Commissioners as their guests for a day or two before they passed on to the tents built for them on the battlefield by both belligerents, but they rightly declined, and marched on straight to the neutral ground. Soon after their arrival, Ogedemgbe called on the Commissioners, the Balogun of Ibadan did the same later on at dusk : presents in cowries and provisions flowed in from both camps day by day, and from the Kings Ajero, Owore, and the Olojudo at Mesin town. The Commissioners returned the visits to both camps on the lith at 10 a.m. to the Ibadan camp and to the Ekiti's at 4 p.m. § 2. The Commissioners at Kiriji The interviews to arrange matters began on the 13th, the Ibadan chiefs coming to the Commissioners' camp for the purpose at 10 a.m. No difficulties lay in their way except in the case of Ofa, for whilst the Ibadan chiefs lay no claim to Ofa, yet they were loth to see the town destroyed, because it is one of the principal Yoruba towns, and the birthplace of some of their chiefs. When asked when it will be convenient for them to decamp they replied, as soon as they had informed their contingents at Moda- keke and at Ofa, lest the news coming upon them suddenly and probably in a distorted form, there may be a rush in both places with disastrous results. Seven days may be allowed for this, but they cannot send as yet until they shall have known the result of the Commissioners' interview with the belligerents of the other side. The interview with the Ekitis took place at 4 p.m. of the same day but the results were not so satisfactory ; the Ekitis insisted on the Ibadans decamping first, but the Commissioners were for both camps to be broken up together on the same day and hour. As they could not arrive at an understanding also in the matter of the Ilorins, whom they were supporting at Ofa, the meeting was adjourned till the next day. At the next interview after much talk the Ekitis agreed to the Commissioners' proposals. On the r5th the Commissioners proceeded to the town of Mesin Ipole to see the Ekiti kings, the Ajero, the Owore and the Olojudo. The Owore was prolix and pointless in his remarks but the Ajero was more sensible ; his statements were few and to the point. The Olojudo said but little; his words were, "We want our inde- pendence, and not to be molested any more in future." On the i6th the question of the boundaries engaged the attention of the Commissioners : the elders of Mesin and Igbajo said it was the stream Eleriko that divided them. On the 17th at another interview defining the boundaries between Mesin, Otan, Ada, Esuvvii and Ipetu, they all agreed that the boundaries of each of these towns met at a place called Ata where also was a river called Omi Ad^. The last interview was on the i8th September, when the elders of these towns were to sign the document defining the boundaries. On this day the If§ chiefs arrived at the Ekiti camp about their own part of the Treaty. On the 19th the Ibadans sent to build the hoiise for their hostage, the Ijesas and Ekitis having done their own two days before. The interview between the Commissioners and the Ife chiefs took place on the 20th. The latter with Ogedemgbe previously in council had agreed to allow the Modakek§s ten months' respite in which they were to remove to a new spot on the other side of the Osun river, but meantime they might be allowed to remain in the small towns of Ipetumodu, Odiiabon, Moro, etc. The interview between the Commissioners and the Modakeke chiefs took place on the 21st. In vain did they plead that peace and reconciliation be made between the Ifes and themselves. In vain did they plead that there should be a town wall separating the two towns from each other. The Commissioners were for carry- ing out the letter of the Treaty, which was also the resolution arrived at by the Ifes and Ekitis. The Modakekes thought it strange indeed that as a result of peace the vanquished should dictate terms to the victors, and worse still for those terms to include the evacuation of their hearths and homes, and spots sacred to them by a thousand ties and considerations. If that must be, then they prayed that the time be extended to the follow- ing dry season which would allow sui!icient time to build a new town, and cultivate new fields so that they might not perish from starvation and exposure. Even this was not allowed them, they were to evacuate the present town of Modakeke at once, and in ten months' time build a new town and destroy the old ! To this the messengers were obhged to yield. Hitherto the Commissioners interviewed the Chiefs of each of the camps by themselves, but on this day September 21st they were asked to meet each other in the Commissioners' camp in the afternoon. The whole of the fighting men of either side were drawn up on the battlefield but they were not allowed to come near except the leading chief of both sides. The fifty Hausa soldiers accompanying the expedition were drawn up in two rows at the two ends of the Commissioners' camp facing those of both belligerents, and only the leading chiefs were allowed to pass through to the Commissioners' tents, and there the Balogun of Ibadan, the Maye, Agbakin, Adejumo and others met and shook hands with Ogedemgbe, Lugbgsun and other leading chiefs of the Ekiti army. Chief Maye opened conversation, asking after several persons, some still living and some dead, all of them being acquainted with one another. Ogedemgbe was silent, and never uttered a word, probably overcome with emotion : he was finally prevailed upon to speak, but his words were very few. Being late in the day the meeting was adjourned again till Thursday, the 23rd, for the purpose of taking the oaths that there would be peace between them. The Commissioners also proposed Tuesday the 28th for the evacuation of both camps. But both GeneraHssimos proposed ten days from date {i.e., October 2nd). This the Commissioners refused ; they also refused the proposal of eight days (September 30th) and the chiefs were obliged finally to agree to the 28th. [We may remark that the Commissioners did not believe that the Ibadans would really decamp, the assurance of the Governor's Ibadan messenger notwithstanding; because, said they, the Ibadan camp consisted of substantially built swish houses, which they would be loth to desert, whereas the Ekiti's were only frail huts of bamboo and brushwood, but the events proved that the messenger was right.] At length Thursday the 23rd arrived, a very memorable day. The Commissioners in their respective uniforms received the leading chiefs of both sides under the canopy of heaven in the space between the two houses built for them by the beUigerents. The final interview can best be told in the words of the Com- missioners :— Extract from the Report of the Commissioners published in the Blue Book : ". . . Thursday, 23rd September.—Early in the morning, although there was drizzling rain, and a mist, yet people began to come from the camps and took up their places at a short distance from either end of our camp, the Ibadans remaining on their side of the Eleriko stream. By nine o'clock there was a crowd of several thousand persons on horseback and foot collected on either side, and the variegated dresses, turbans and umbrellas of the sable warriors, and the showy horse trappings presented a picturesque mass of colouring. We had a hne of sentries posted at each end of our camp, to keep off the crowd in case the multitude should endeavour to follow the chiefs to the meeting, as it was not deemed advisable that a large force from either side should be present or come in contact with each other. " A marquee was pitched in the centre of the camp under which our chair was placed, and a guard of Hausas being placed on either side of it. Chairs, stools, and mats were placed for the accommodation of the chiefs and representatives of signa- tories of the Treaty in lines from either side of the marquee so as -to form a semicircle with it, leaving an open space in front. " About ten o'clock the Balogun of Ibadan arrived accom- panied by the principal chiefs in the Ibadan camp, and the Ijebu, Oyo and Modakeke signatories of the Treaty or their representatives, in all some 200 people. They took their seats on the chairs to the right of the marquee. A few minutes later the Seriki of Ijesa (Ogedemgbe) with the principal chiefs of the Ekitiparapo army, and the Ijesa, Ife and Ekiti signatories of the Treaty or their representatives arrived. The Seriki and his party, about the same number as the Ibadans, took their seats on the left of the marquee. All being ready we came out of our hut and accompanied by Capt. Speeding, the Rev. C. Phillips, Rev. S. Johnson and Mr. Willoughby proceeded to our seats tmder the marquee. " It was then discovered that the Modakeke representatives were not present, and ^. mounted messenger was despatched to fetch them. They arrived shortly afterwards and were present when the Treaty, and the ratification of it, were read and translated. " We expressed our pleasure at seeing all those present and said, ' After the Balogun of Ibadan and Seriki of Ijesa had sworn friendship to each other, as we understood they wished to do, we would say what we had to say.' " The Balogun and the Seriki then swore eternal friendship to each other by their respective fetishes. " The Governor's proclamation was then read and interpreted. The Treaty was next read and interpreted ; and after a few remarks from us, the ratification of the Treaty was read and interpreted. Each signatory then came to the table as his name was called and affixed his mark and seal to the document. We then congratulated all in the name of the Queen of England, and the Governor of Lagos, upon the peace which they had concluded and ratified and said we sincerely trusted that they would observe the peace as faithfully as they had observed the Armistice. " The proclamation of peace was then read and interpreted after which the bugles played and a salute of seven guns was fired (first gun 12.20 p.m.). The Balogun, Seriki and others came and shook hands with us heartily thanking us for what we had done for them. Even the Ijebu representatives. generally undemonstrative and even supercilious in manner, were effusive in their thanks and congratulations. " The rains ceased before the meeting took place and the mist clearing away the sun shone brilliantly on the scene. Thousands of people were to be seen posted on the huge boulders of rock which were scattered through the Kiriji Camp, and crowned the summit of the mountain (the Oke Mgsin Camp was not visible from the place of meeting there being a slight rising in the ground between) and as we learned afterwards the sound of the gim which was to announce that peace had been concluded, and that people could go to their homes, was most anxiously awaited in both camps, and received when heard with cheers and hurrahs." § 3. The Proclamation of Peace and Firing of the Camps The following is the Proclamation of Peace between the Ibadans and the Ekitiparapgs at Kiriji-Mesin battlefield on the 23rd September, i886. Whereas through the friendly mediation of His Excellency the Governor of Lagos an understanding has been brought about, and a treaty of peace, friendship, and commerce concluded between the AlAfin of Oyq, the Balogun, the Abese, the May§, the Agbakin, and the Otun Bale of IJjadan; the Owa of Ilesa, the Ow6re of Otun, the Ajero of Ijero, the Olojudo of Ido, the Seriki of Ijesa, the Owoni, the Balogun, the Obaluf§, the Obaloran, the Obajio, the Ajaruwa, the Arode, and the Orisanire of Ife; the Ogunsua, the Balogun, and the Otun of Modakeke, and the Awujale and Balogun of Ijebu. And whereas due provision has been made by us after con- ference with the heads of the governments principally concerned, or their representatives duly accredited to us, for the complete fulfilment of the conditions of the said treaty. Now therefore we, Special Commissioners appointed by His Excellency the Governor of Lagos for the purpose of executing the said treaty in accordance with the provisions thereof, do hereby proclaim, in the name of the signatories of the said treaty, that peace has this day been established and shall henceforth continue for ever between the signatories of the said treaty and between their respective peoples. Dated at Kiriji-Mesin battlefield this 23rd day of September, 1886. (Signed) Henry Higgins) cx • * ^ Oliver Smith ^^'''^^ Comtmsstoners. Ratification of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Commerce between the Ibadans and Ekitiparapos. We, the undersigned signatories, and duly authorised represen- tatives of signatories of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Commerce signed in the months of June and July in the current year, by the AlAfin of Oyo; the Balogun, the Abes§, the Maye, the Agbakin, and the Otun Bale of Ibadan, the Owa of Ilesa, the 0w6re of Otun, the Ajero of Ijero, the Olojudo of Ido, the Seriki of Ijesa, the Owgni, the Balogun, the Obalufe, the Obaloran, the' Obajio, the Ajaruwa, the Arode, and the Orisanire of Ife, the Ogunsua, the Balogun, and the Otun of Modakeke, and the Awujale and Balogun of Ijebu, and having for its object the termination of the war between the Ibadans and their allies, on the one hand, and the Ekitiparapo con- federacy on the other hand, hereby ratify and confirm the said treaty, and all and singular the conditions and stipulations thereof, and do further agree to, and approve of the following provisions, for the more perfect fulfilment of the same, made after conference with the governments of the parties principally concerned or their representatives by the Special Commissioners appointed by the Governor of Lagos as representing Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland to carry the said treaty into effect. 1. Peace between the signatories of the treaty and their peoples shall be proclaimed by the Commissioners immediately after the signing hereof. 2. Immediately after the proclamation of peace the breaking up of the camps at Kiriji and Oke Mesin respectively shall begin, and upon the signal being given by gunfire in the Commissioners' camp the Ibadans encamped in the Kiriji camp and the Ekitiparapos encamped in the Oke Mesin camp shall simultaneously begin quietly and peacefully and without any demonstration to withdraw from their said respective camps. 3. The Ibadans encamped in the Kiriji camp shall return to their homes by way of Ikirun, Osogbo, Ede, and Iwo, and by Ikirun, Ilobu, Ejigbo, and Oyo, and the Ekitiparapos encamped in the Oke Mesin camp shall return to, their homes by way of Mesin Ip61e, and Mesin Igbo Odo, and Esa Oke, and Esa Egure. 4. The evacuation of the said Kiriji and Oke Mesin camps shall be completed by 12 o'clock noon on Tuesday next the 28th inst. when a signal gun shall be fired in the Commissioners' camp after which, without further warning, the said Kiriji and Oke Mesin camps shall be destroyed by fire, at such time and in such manner as the Commissioners shall deem expedient. 5. The camps at Modakeke, Isoya, and' elsewhere shall be broken up on such day, and in such manner as the Commissioners after their arrival at the quarters prepared for them by the Modakekes and the Ifes, on their battlefield shall determine, and thereupon the Ifes shall be re-instated in their town of He Ife, and the Modakekes shall forthwith withdraw provisionally to the towns of Ipetumodu, Moro and Oduabon to the land between the Osun and Oba rivers, and north of the present town of Modakeke, before the end of the month of March in the year 1888, and for their faithful compHance with the provisions of this article the authorities of Ibadan undertake to be responsible. 6. During the time that the Modakgkes shall inhabit the said towns of Ipetumodu, Moro, and Oduabon, they shall be at hberty to cultivate and carry away the produce of their present farm of Modakeke, without.molestation from the Ifes. They on their part shall not in any way molest the Ifes. 7. Such of the Modakgkes as shall desire to live with the Ifes shall give notice of such desire to the Commissioners for the brealdng up of the said camps at Modakeke, Isoya, and else- where, and any Modakeke who shall not have given such notice shall be conclusively deemed to have elected not to Uve with the Ifes. 8. Those of the inhabitants of the towns of Otan, Ires^, Ada, and Igbajo, who shall desire to remove from those towns, shall be permitted to do so with all their movable property and without molestation at any time before the end of the month of January 1887. Any inhabitant of any of the said towns who shall not have left such towns before the expiration of the said term shall be conclusively deemed to have elected to become a subject of the authorities of Ibadan. 9. The hostages given to the Commissioners by way of security for the due observance of the article of the said treaty relating to the breaking up of the Kiriji and Oke Mesin camps shall remain with the Commissioners so long as the Commissioners shall deem expedient. In witness whereof we have hereunto affixed our hands and seals the 23rd day of September, 1886. 550 Obakosetan Belewu Ajayi Adejumo Osuntoki Fajinmi Elegbede Apelidiagba Fatuye Orisalusi Qbasa Ogedemgbe Osundulu To jo Akinpe Sow5 Ayanleye Awonimesin Ogundeke Okunlaja representing the AlAfin of Oyo Balogun of Ibadan .. representing the Abese of Ibadan .. The Maye of Ibadan The Agbakin of Ibadan representing the Otun Bale of Ibadan „ ,, Owa of Ilesa „ ,, Owore of Otun ,, ,, Ajero of Ijero ,, ,, Olojudo of Ido Seriki of Ijesa (the Ajaruwa) for the Ife Signatories (the Arode of Ife) representing the Ogunsua of Modakeke Acting Balogun of Modakeke Acting Otun for Modakeke representing the Awujale of Ijebu ,, ,, Balogun of Ijebu Their marks X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of Seal O O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o (Signed) Henry Higgins, \ Acting Col, Secretary! „, . , „ . . ,.,. j^ r\ c- [Special Commissioners. (signed) Oliver Smith, ^ Queen's Advocate"^ (Signed) Charles Phillips, \ Clerk in Holy Orders [ Interpreters on this (Signed) Samuel Johnson, | occasion. Clerk in Holy Orders^ As it was evident that the camps must be evacuated, all the women with their movable effects and live stock cleared off to Ikirun within three days. The Ibadan slaves who did not wish to return home with their masters took this opportunity to escape to their country. In order to effect this with safety, without drawing attention, they set fire to some houses, and during the confusion and bustle attending the conflagration hundreds of them made good their escape to the Ekiti camp which overlooked the Ibadan camp. The houses of the Maye of Ibadan, and the Timi of Ede and those of several men of lesser note, were consumed in this conflagration. This was on Friday, the 24th September. One chief alone (Sanusi the son of the Are) lost about 400 slaves.* The Ibadan chiefs, fearing they would lose all their slaves in this manner, thought they ought rather to go at once and wait no longer for the 28th or they might have to do so with grief and gloom. By the 25th the camp was all but deserted. On the 26th the Balogun with the rest of the war chiefs left for Ikirun. Oge- demgbe hearing that the Ibadan chiefs had gone, left also with his men for Mesin Ipole. The Commissioners, however, were determined to keep to the letter of the treaty and to fire both camps on the 28th. The hostages. Chief Mosaderin and Fakeye of the Ibadan?, and Asipa of the Ekitiparapgs, were detained still by the Commissioners until the camps were fired. The following extract from the Commissioners' report will describe the proceedings of the 28th when the camps were fired :— '. . . Tuesday, September 28th.—There was heavy rain during the night, and the thermometer registered 66 degrees, the lowest temperature we had experienced. The morning was fine though cloudy, and there was a shght breeze. Mr. Johnson left for Ikirun with presents from us to the kings and chiefs whose sudden departure from Kiriji had not allowed us the opportunity of giving them prior to their leaving the camp. We sent 50 of our carriers to either camp to be in readiness to fire them on the signal gun being fired from our camp. Two guns were fired at 12 o'clock, and three minutes later both camps were in flames. The breeze being slight the smoke did not clear away but hung in dense clouds over the camps. By half-past one o'clock both camps were almost completely burned, but the lire smouldered during the day and night. The houses in the Ibadan camps were not so completely destroyed, as those in the Oke Mesin camp, the former being mud with thatch roofs, while the latter were chiefly constructed of bamboo with leaf roofs. Immediately the camps were fired. Chief Mosaderin and the Oyo hostage came to say good-bye to us. . . . He was a fine old man, with very courteous manners, and he was in a desperate hurry to get away, always fearing that something had happened ^ Many of them finding their old homes quite different from what they had expected, and conditions of life more arduous, returned to their former masters at Ibadan. to his wives and belongings at Ikirun, or that we might take him to Lagos. The Ijesa and Ekiti hostage also came to say good-bye, and to express their gratification at the sight of the burning camps. The Asipa was very anxious for us to allow him and his party to walk to the gates of the Ibadan camp. For obvious reasons we would not grant his request." We may remark- that Ogedemgbe, the Seriki of the Ijesas, showed much anxiety about the camps at Ofa, wishing this offshoot of the war to come to an end also ; but the Ilorin Generalissimo would not give in as we shall see later on, nor allow the Ijesa contingent with him to come away. § 4. The Commissioners at Modakeke : Failure. The Commissioners left their camp on the 29th September, 1886. They thus described the ruins of both camps in their report :— " The rain which fell heavily during the night turned into a drizzle in the early morning, and the mountains and country enveloped in a thick cloudy mist for some hours after sunrise, when the weather cleared up somewhat. About 150 carriers all Ekitis furnished by Chief Ogedemgbe had come to our camp the preceding evening, and so facihtated our making an early start. However, notwithstanding the fact of these carriers being on the spot, it was a quarter past ten o'clock before they could all be got off and we ourselves able to start. . . . As the dense mist cleared under the rays of the sun we could discern the still smoking ruins of the Kiriji (Ibadan) camp, the downpour of rain during the night not having cornpletely put out the conflagration. Passing through the Oke Mesin camp (Ekitiparapg) a complete ruin, the leaf roofs and bamboo sides of the huts having burned more rapidly than the mud walls and thatch roof of the huts in the Ibadan camp, we reached the town of Mesin Ipole at ten minutes past eleven o'clock." The Commissioners halted here awhile to have an interview with the kings for the signing of the enactment for the abohtion of human sacrifice. The Seriki's speech on the occasion shows the amount of power and influence he had over the Ekiti kings. His speech to the Owore embodied in the Commissioners' report of the occasion is as follows : "I command you to sign it, in the name of the white man, and when I command no king dare disobey. I will send word to all the Ekiti kings." Leaving Mesin Ipole at one o'clock the Commissioners had to travel through a difficult path under a heavy shower of rain which drenched them to the skin. The path in some places was steep and rugged, and in consequence of the rain quite overflooded. Hare was reached at 3.30, and Esa Egure at 6 p.m. where they peissed the night. Here they had an opportunity of an interview with the Owa of Ilesa who also signed the enactment for the abolition of human sacrifice. At 11.30 the next morning the Commissioners started on their onward march, reached Ijebu Ere at 2 p.m. and passing through a very bad and shppery road where most of the carriers had . numerous falls, and the horses floundered, and had occasional falls with the rider, all which rendered the journey an unpleasant one, they at length arrived at Ilesa about 6 p.m. The accident at Ilesa was that of a fierce bull which attacked the chief Commissioner's horse, but was driven away by the sentry. The bull went next to the Queen's Advocate's horse when it was tied up, and gored it so badly that next morning it had to be shot. Leaving Ilesa on Saturday, October 2nd, Ibodi was reached at 11.20, Gunmodi at 2 p.m., and after resting here one hour the Ife- Modakeke battlefield was reached quite late on the same day. On the next morning the following Ijesa, Ekiti, and Ife chiefs came to welcome the Commissioners: Fabumi (Ekiti), Lodifi (Ijesa), Oluyo, the Balogun, and Bambe, the Seriki of Ife. Also the civil chiefs Obalufe, Obaloran, Obajio, Ajaruwa, Arode, and the Orisanire. In the afternoon the chiefs of the Ibadan contingent defending Modakeke, viz:—Aldntola, Sumonu Apampa, Ojo Wanwanmasi the Ekarun paid them also a friendly visit of welcome. Of the Moda- k§ke chiefs Sowo the Ogunsua's respresentative, the Agbakin, Oyeleye the Otun Agbakin, Detomi and Oke the two powerful war chiefs also came to pay their respects. The conference at the Ife-Modakeke battlefield lasted about 30 days without any result till the Commissioners left them. It was thus summarized in the Commissioners' report:— We arrived at Ife-Modakeke on the evening of the 2nd of October, and on the 5th inst we had an interview with the Ibadan chiefs, and impressed upon them the necessity for the Modakek§s removing from their town as soon as.possible. The Ibadan chiefs promised to see the Modakeke authorities and return on the following morning. On the 6th the Ibadan chiefs' messengers and one Modakek§ chief's messenger came to say their masters could not come as it was an unlucky day. We said we should expect to see their masters on the following day. On the 7th the Ibadan and Modekeke chiefs came together and the latter asked lor five months in which to remove to Ipetumodu, etc. In the afternoon of the same day we saw the Ife chiefs and their allies and informed them of the Modakekes' request. The Ifes would not hear of five months being granted, saying it was only a ruse to get rid of us, and that the Modakekes would never leave if they did not remove in our presence from their town. On the 8th inst. we saw the Ibadan and Modakeke chiefs, and told them that we had decided upon careful consideration that the Modakekes must remove from their town to Ipetumodu within ten days from that day, and that the Ibadans on the one side and the allies of the Ifes on their side should decamp also within that time. The Agbakin said he would tell the Ogunsua what we had decided. In the afternoon we informed the Ifes and their allies of our decision. On the gth the Ijebu, Ibadan, and Oyo represen- tatives came to tell us that the previous afternoon, on our decision becoming known, there was an uproar at Modakeke, the people saying they would die rather than leave their town. The representatives considered matters serious and therefore came to ask us if some other arrangement could be made as the Modakekes seemed very determined. We told the representatives that they had better go and see the Ibadan chiefs and Modakeke authorities and try to learn from them the true state of affairs and let us know. In the afternoon the representatives returned and said the Ibadan chiefs told them that the uproar had been directed against them the previous day, the Modakekes alleging that the Ibadan chiefs had betrayed them and saying they would not leave their town. The representatives said the-Ibadan chiefs had sent a messenger to the Balogun at Ikirun asking for instructions as to how to act and expected an answer in about five days' time. On the nth the Agbakin and representatives of the Ogunsua and Otun Agbakin and the Ibadan chiefs came to see us : they said they wished us to reconcile the Modakekes and Ifes, that the former never had intended to leave their present town, and that their proposition of five months' grace being granted meant nothing. We told them that the Agbakin was the only chief present, and that if the chiefs had any proposals to make they must make them in person. On the I2th the junior commissioner had an interview with the Ibadan and Modakeke chiefs, and impressed upon them that if the Modakekes persisted in their refusal to quit their present town within the time given, the Ifes and their allies would not be bound to break up their camps, while the Ibadans would have to retire from Modakeke if we so ordered them, they having made peace with the Ifes and their allies. The Ibadans appeared to side with the Modakekes at this interview, and two of the chiefs were somewhat insolent.* No progress with affairs under consideration was made. We had subsequent interviews with the Ifes on the 13th and with the Modakekes on the 14th, and at the request of both parties agreed to the chiefs on either side meeting in a shed by our house with a view to their possibly being able to come to an under- standing. We gave them distinctly to understand, however, that any scheme they might agree upon must be submitted to us by noon on Monday the i8th of October. Several meetings of the Ife and Modakeke chiefs were held, and at one time it almost seemed that they might be able to come to an understanding ; the Ifes offering to allow all the Modakekes to hve with them in He Ife* provided the present town of Modakeke was destroyed. On Monday the i8th both parties appeared before us and asked for an extension of 24 hours which was granted to them. ^ These were Akintola and Sumonu Apampa the latter being the spokesman. The chief commissioner being indisposed on this occasion, the Queen's Advocate conducted the negotiations in his own way. Foiled and silenced at every turn by his dialectic skill, the young war-chief fiercely broke out " You were sent here to make peace not to destroy lives. When you ordered a population like that of Modakeke to remove at once and go and live in a forest what is to become of the women and children, the aged and infirm, how and where are they to live ? How to be sheltered and how fed ? If anything should happen to them, at your hands will God enquire their lives. They and the Ifes had lived in peace between them- selves before, and they can do so again if only you would reconcile them together."—Ed. ^ Modakeke contained a far larger population than He Ife and more powerful war-chiefs.—Ed. The chiefs then resumed their meetings, which shortly after- wards became very stormy and ended by both parties leaving without having come to any agreement. No proposal was submitted to us by the authorities on either side at all. On the i8th we had an interview with the Ibadan chiefs and pointed out to them that we might have to call upon them to retire from Modakeke if- the Modakekes did not abide by the treaty. They begged us not to send them away before the allies on the Ife side, but gave no hint that they would not obey cmr orders. On the 20th we saw the Ibadan chiefs and told them that the Modakekes having broken the treaty, we called upon the Ibadans to retire from the town of Modakeke they being at peace with the Ifes and their allies. The Ibadan chiefs replied that they had sent all their things away, but would not leave Modakeke unless the Ifes' allies also decamped, without orders from the Balogun. We warned them that in remaining in Modakeke after we had ordered them to leave, they were breaking the treaty. They said they had not signed the treaty and therefore were not responsible. We said we should send direct to the Balogun. On the 21st October we despatched the Rev. S. Johnson to Ikirun with a letter to the Balogun of Ibadan informing him of the state of affairs, and requesting him to withdraw the Ibadan contingent in Modakeke without delay, and also to let us know what measures he intended taking to carry into effect the obligations undertaken by him and the other Ibadan authorities in clause 5 of the ratification of the treaty. On the same day we despatched the Rev. C. Phillips to Mesin Ipole with a letter to Chief Ogedemgbe and with orders to proceed on and meet Mr. Johnson at Ikirun. Mr. Philhps returned to us on the 26th bringing a letter from Chief Ogedemgbe asking us not to allow the Modakekes to remain in their present town. Mr. Phillips reported that the news he took to Mesin Ipole about the Modakekes caused much indignation. On the 27th Mr. Johnson arrived with a messenger from the Balogun of Ibadan who delivered the following message to us : Qdejayi [the messenger] : " The Balogun salutes you. He had heard of all your trouble with his people who are here. He begs you to pass it over. He has sent them word that they are all to clear out at once. He salutes you for being hungry on his account. He least expected that the Modakeke people would be so obstinate. He thought it would be a thread but it has passed a twine. He thought with one word he would tell the Modakekes to clear out, and they would obey him ; but now they are so obstinate, and disobedient. He would beg the Ifes to come home, and the Modakekes as many of them as are his friends or relations or belong to him he will tell them to clear out to Ipetumodu, and those who remain will have their choice whether to clear out or live with the Ifes. " He says as to the Of a case, they are negotiating with the Ilorins therefore the Modakeke case will take time. Now you are settling things here there will be no firing of guns ; he will try to settle everything peaceably. He will never break the treaty in any way." The Commissioners : " Are you charged with any message to the Modakekes ? " Odejayi : " No," The Commissioners : ".Is there any other messenger going to them ? " Qdejayi : " The only message I have for the Modak§kes is that the Balogun is withdrawing his army in compliance with the treaty. I am sent with a message to Fabumi." The Commissioners : " What is that message ? " Odejayi: " That the Balogun has sent to the Seriki as well as the Owa to beg the Ifes, and he asks Fabiimi also to beg the Ifes, and that he will put matters straight. All their forefathers came from Ife and so Ife must not be a desolate place." The messenger said he would deUver his message to the Ibadan chiefs that afternoon, and let us know their intentions as soon as possible. The nex.t morning the messenger came to teU us that he had delivered the message to the Ibadan chiefs at a meeting the previous evening, and they had said they were ready to go when the allies on the other side went, but not before. The messenger said he had seen one of the Ibadan chiefs that morning who had said they were going to have another meeting to consider again the Balogun's message. On the 29th a messenger arrived from Chief Ogedemgbe with a letter in which he said, if the Modakekes did not leave their town he would attack the Ibadans at Ikirun. It seems Chief Ogdemgbe sent the messenger whom the Balogun had sent to him back to Ikirun, with a message that he could not agree to the Balogun's proposal to reconcile the Ifes and Modakekes and let the latter remain in their town, and asking the Balogun to send any answer he might have to make direct to us so as to save time. u On the 30th we sent for the Balogun's messenger who came with Mr. Johnson, and learnt from him that the Ibadan Chiefs said they could not leave until matters were settled, or in other words, that they had decided to disobey the Balogim's order to quit Modakeke at once. We now came to the conclusion that it was useless our wasting any more time in endeavouring to see the treaty carried out, and accordingly addressed a letter to the Modakeke authorities which was read to them by Mr. Johnson on the ist of November charging them with having broken the treaty and holding them primarily responsible for any compUcation which might arise through their default. We had twice since our arrival at Ife-Modakeke sent word to the Ogunsua through Mr. Johnson that we proposed to visit him, but each time he had begged to be excused from receiving us.^ We had a final interview with the Ifes on the ist November and impressed upon them that neither they nor their aUies should do anything to provoke a renewal of hostilities but await the action of the BaJogun of Ibadan to whom and also to Chief Ogedemgbe, we were sending particulars of the situation. They all said they had no wish to recommence the war, and would do what they could to keep the peace. Mr. Johnson told us that the Modakekes and Ibadans had also expressed themselves as most strongly averse to more fighting. We addressed letters to Chief Ogedemgbe and the Owa, and the Ekiti kings, teUing them of our intention to return to Lagos, and pointing out to them that every effort should yet be made to have matters settled peaceably, and that they should afford the Ibadan authorities every opportunity of carrying out their part of the treaty. We also addressed a letter to the Balogun of Ibadan impressing upon him that if the Ibadan authorities did not at once actually withdraw their contingents from Modakeke, and fulfil their obligations under the 5th clause of the ratification of the treaty, they would be equally guilty with the Modakekes of a breach of faith with the Governor of Lagos, and all the signatories of the treaty, and be held responsible ^ Which is a great pity ; for had the commissioners done so, they would possibly have been impressed with the size of Modakeke, a town ot over 60,000 inhabitants and the practical difficulties in the carrying out of their proposals. Ipetumodu did not contain more than 10,000 ; and how can 10,000 accommodate 60,000?—Ed. should war ensue in consequence of their failure to abide by their pledges. This letter we entrusted to the Rev. S. Johnson to take to Ikirun, and he was to leave Modakeke on the 3rd November, and should reach the Balogun at latest in four days after. We left Ife-Modakeke on the morning of the 2nd November for Ode Ondo. While we were at IferModakeke, and especially towards the end of the time, there were constant communications between the opposite camps, and we were asked by Akintola the leading Ibadan chief, and by FabQmi to allow them to meet in our presence with a view to the withdrawal of the respective alHes of the Ifes and Modakekes. This we declined to do, as we did not consider it consistent with the object of our mission: but we informed Fabumi that if he and Akintola choose to meet, we had no objection to their doing so, and if they came to an arrangement between them- selves, that was their concern. H. HiGGINS lex • 7^ Oliver SmithP^^*'*^ Commxsswners. After the Commissioners had gone, Fabiimi said to the envoys from the AlAfin of Oyq, the Awujale of Ijebu, and the Balogun of Ibadan, that if the white men could not wait to settle their differences, they should wait to accomplish what they had begun, and to bring matters to a final issue. He asked them to summon the Ibadan chiefs with Akintola at their head for a conference. This was done, and all the Ibadan chiefs went out but had not the confidence to go unarmed as far as the Commissioners' camp, where they used to meet the Ife chiefs when the Commissioners were there. They went half-way and sent word to Fabiimi to say they had come. Fabumi however could not prevail upon the If§ chiefs to meet them for a conference, hence he sent word to say that he would meet with the Ife chiefs at a conference and would let them know the result. On the 3rd November Fabiimi went to Ayimoro's camp and brought pressure to bear upon him that under no circumstance should they provoke a fight and recommence hostihties with the Ibadans and Modakekes. On his return, he told Oba-kosetan that he had secured the promise of Ayimoro upon good faith that the Modakekes should not be kidnapped or provoked to a fight and that the armistice should continue. The Ibadan chiefs sent a message to Fabiimi that a sensible messenger should be sent from each of the three camps to them. viz., the Ife's, A5dmgro's and Ogunsigun's camps, and they would tell them their minds. Fabumi alone took the initiative, and he sent back to say that unless he visited each of these camps in person and prevailed upon the chiefs to send each a messenger, they would never do so. He also suggested that the free intercommunication between them should continue, for if communication be interrupted there would soon be another difficulty. The envoys were not allowed to leave Modakeke for about a month after the Commissioners had gone, and as the result of their negotiations, the Ibadan contingent at Modakeke, as well as Fabumi and the Ijesa contingents with the exception of Ayimorg (Ijesa) and Ogunsigun (Ijebu) left their respective aUies the same day; the Ibadan contingent leaving for Ikirun to join their brethren and Fabumi for Mesin Ipole to join Ogedemgbe, and subse- quently for Mesin-Oloja-Oke his home. The Ifes however remained in their camp, refusing to go home (as yet) and rebuild their city, but there was no resumption of hostiUties.