Toyeje Akanni Alebiosu: Doubled As Baale of Ogbomoso And Aare Ona Kakanfo

Introduction

The reign of Baale/Aare Ona Kakanfo, Toyeje Akanni nicknamed Alebiosu; ‘one who shines like the moon’, is important because his ascension to the throne of Ogbomoso had far-reaching results and effects not only on the course of the history of Ogbomoso but indeed on Oyo Empire as a whole.

Toyeje Akanni was a son of King Kumoyede (the sixth king of Ogbomoso) and great-grandson of Soun Ogunlola Ogundiran, the first king of Ogbomoso. Toyeje became the king upon the dethronement of Olukan, the eighth king. He was the first of Kumoye’s five sons to ascend the throne and the fourteenth king of the town, Ojo Abuirumaku. His reign marked the beginning of the monopoly of the throne by the descendants of Kumoye as henceforth only Kumoye’s descendants got on the throne.

His mother, Agbonrin, was of a noble family in Oyo. Toyeje, born in about 1760s, was of quiet disposition which belied his strong character. Wiry in stature and wily in behaviour, he was a perfect fit for the time he lived. The account of how he forged himself to be a redoubtable warrior is not told but he grew a warrior and soon joined the military caste

To be able to understand and appreciate the work and activities of Toyeje Akanni, we must examine the situation of things in Yorubaland. The first point to note was that the peace and order that reigned during the kingship of Alaafin Abiodun was no more. The very fact was that the Nupe, the Ibariba, the Egbas, and the Dahomeans had ceased to pay allegiance to Alaafin of Oyo.

With the death of Kakanfo Oyabi from Ajase and earlier on, Alaafin Aole had committed suicide, Afonja who was stationed in Ilorin forcefully made himself the Aare Ona Kakanfo, the (generalissimo) of the Yoruba army. One after the other, Adebo and Maku who came to the throne as Alaafin made a spirited effort with no success to checkmate Afonja’s excessive inordinate ambition to gain freedom.

Kakanfo Afonja was already power-drunk, allied with Alimi the Fulani Mallam for spiritual assistance and military help as will be seen becoming his undoing. Aare Afonja’s efforts to restructure the army with the aim of preventing further damage by the slave soldiers for their rapacity mobilized the slave soldiers to organize a mutiny, eventually resulted in Aare Afonja’s death.

As events were unfolding, Aare Oyabi who perfectly plotted the death of Basorun Gaa also fell apart with Alaafin Abiodun too, thus he too was unceremoniously removed for an unsatisfactory and unconvincing explanation. Thus, by the turn of the 18^th Century, Toyeje Akanni with the death of Gbogun became the Otun (Deputy and commander of the right wing) to the Aare Ona Kakanfo.

This was because as a warrior prince from Ogbomoso, the land of the brave, he had earlier taken part in war campaigns under warlords like Afonja, Ayo of Abemo, and Gbogun. He attained the military post of Otun Aare before becoming Baale of Ogbomoso. On becoming the Baale and Aare Ona Kakanfo at the death of Afonja, he was saddled to hold together the already disunited Yoruba nation and also to build and fortify Ogbomoso against invasion.

It was Alaafin Majotu who appointed Toyeje as the new Field marshal of the Yoruba army after about five years of interregnum before Alaafin Majotu ascended the throne of Oyo. It should be noted that Toyeje ascended the throne of Ogbomoso as Baale after Adegun mounted the throne of Ikoyi as the Onikoyi in the midst of succession disputes in that town.

Meanwhile, Fagbohun the Baale of Jabata had predicted that if Afonja’s inordinate ambition was not stemmed or put on hold, trouble and unrest would not only befall Ogbomoso but would be disastrous and catastrophic for Yorubaland. Quite rightly and true to his prediction, Afonja’s alliance with his Fulani Jamaa aided his military campaign which signalled and set in motion the attack on Yoruba country led to Yoruba civil strife which progressively marked the eventual fall of the Oyo Empire.

But before the fall of Oyo, Afonja’s alliance with the Jihadists turned out to be a disaster for his political authority was not only challenged but he too was killed in late 1823 and therefore Ilorin became a Muslim state, paid allegiance to Sokoto, and became an emirate in the Sokoto caliphate as Abdulsalam the son of Alimi who succeeded him received a flag of authority from Sokoto.

Before dwelling into the military campaigns which Toyeje commanded, it should be recalled that as Shehu Alimi (Saliu) gained fame and became known far and wide, he played host to Toyeje the Baale of Ogbomoso who was Afonja’s Friend and deputy as at that time. Some historians also claim that Mallam Alimi was so impressed by Toyeje’s Hospitality when he visited Ogbomoso as a friend of Kakanfo Afonja.

He then went ahead to appreciate Toyeje’s hospitality by burying some charms around the town and prayed that Ogbomoso would never be subjugated or subdued militarily by invaders whether then or in the future. An action many believed the Mallam eventually regretted after he took control of Ilorin and decided to conquer the Yorubaland.

The Kakanfo Office and Toyeje Akanni Alebiosu

The Aare Ona Kakanfo title is an esteemed but dreaded war title in Yorubaland. As the Supreme Commander (field marshal or generalissimo) of the Oyo/Yoruba imperial army, it is a title sought desperately and intensely by military commanders in the days of the old Oyo empire when war was trendy and raged with unbridled intensity.

Afonja Layaloko and Latosisa among others took the title by force to underscore the extreme craving for it. However, the title is associated with misfortune; it is on record that the holders always meet with violent ends as well as bringing ill-fate to their towns. Afonja died cruelly, killed by his Fulani allies led by Mallam Alimi in a hail of spears and arrows that dangled from his body after he was repeatedly shot at, making his body suspended against crashing on the ground, following which his Ilorin throne was seized and Ilorin created a Fulani emirate with allegiance to the Sokoto Caliphate.

Aare Kuruynmi of Ijaye, who hailed from Esiele in today’s Ogbomoso zone, another brave warrior who fought many battles against the Fulani jihadists also died despondently after losing five sons in a day during a war with the Ibadan army-led Balogun Ibikunle and Bashorun Ogunmola, and subsequently had his Ijaye beloved town razed to the ground, a calamity the town never recovered from.

Latosisa, a native of Fiditi, who became king of Ibadan, and who reportedly snatched the Aare Ona Kakanfo title from Ojo Aburumaku, Baale of Ogbomoso and son of Toyeje, allegedly committed suicide after his generals revolted against him during Kiriji War with the disastrous result of losing the Ekiti/Ijesa dominion of the fledgling Ibadan Empire and ultimately a takeover of Yorubaland by the British colonialists.

Perhaps such ruinous end often met by holders of Kakanfo title is rooted in the Yoruba saying “Iku ogun ni pa akikanju” (The brave dies of battle). In modern times, Aare Samuel Ladoke Akintola GCON, who was Premier of the defunct Western Region, was felled by coupists’ bullets in a most brutal way; Aare Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, who won a presidential election which was annulled by reactionary forces, was allegedly poisoned to death after he refused to jettison his pan-Nigerian mandate.

Moreover, the towns from which the holders of the title hailed in the pre-colonial period, except Ogbomoso and Ibadan, from Iwoye to Ajase, to Jabata to Gbogun to Ijaye, are either in ruins today or have lost their relevance and former status. Ilorin on its own took on a new characteristic altogether! So, it can be described as a title that comes with the duplicity of boom and doom!

Perhaps the reason why the current holder, Aare Gani Adams, is treading with tremendous caution in the face of the current peril against the Yoruba nation, a trait unknown to the past occupiers of the post. Aare Ona Kakanfos in the past were restless spirits who felt elated at waging wars at the peril of their own life, warmongers they were!

But General Toyeje Akanni, whose nickname was “Alebiosu” (One who rises like the moon), had a different trajectory as a holder of the title. He not only survived the calamity infamously associated with the office but used it to turn his town of Ogbomoso into an impregnable fortress. Perhaps the dictum that “to every rule, there is an exception” holds true in the case of the intrepid Toyeje.

He was of indomitable courage and spirit, which ensured that the Fulani menace which engendered the fall of the once mighty Oyo Empire was unsuccessful against his kingdom, Ogbomoso.

Even after his death, the foundation of formidability he orchestrated and laid ensured the town never capitulated. His determination to preserve the sovereignty of Ogbomoso must have propelled his immediate successors and army generals resident in the community to be unrelenting in fending off the numerous invasions of the Fulani army.

All through his adult life and reign, he constantly waged wars, many perished by his sword yet he died a peaceful death.

Toyeje Akanni Alebiosu’s Military Campaigns

The military campaigns of Toyeje Akaani Alebiosu followed the defeat of the Oyo Army by Afonja who was ably assisted by the Jamaas, it became clear that discipline had broken down in Oyo Empire, with distrust and rivalry among provincial chiefs and among the nobility, both in the capital and elsewhere in the provinces, most subjects became recalcitrant. This was the situation Toyeje met and now that the Yoruba came under Kakanfo Toyeje, his preoccupation was to drive away the Fulani dignitaries from Ilorin.

Toyeje Akanni Alebiosu, the Field Marshal (Aare Ona Kakanfo) of Yorubaland led major wars against the Fulani-Hausa Jihadists in the second and third decades of the nineteenth century before the emergence of Ibadan as a military power. It saddens the minds that the Kakanfo’s aim of total victory against the Fulani was not achieved because Yoruba were not one of their plans.

Thus, his bid to salvage the Yoruba from the clutches of Fulani to drive them away from Ilorin led to a number of wars which he commanded as a shrewd, brave, forceful, strong-hearted, and purposeful leader.

The wars he commanded as the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland are:

• The Battle of Ogele (1824)
• Mugba Mugba War (1825)
• The Battle of Pamo
• The Battle of Ede

Reign and legacy

His ascension to the throne was dramatic. Olukan, the eighth king of Ogbomoso, was accused of murder by his many enemies and was consequently summoned to the royal court at Oyo, the capital city of the empire. Prince Toyeje, his nephew, accompanied him. And when Olukan could not extricate himself from the web of murder charges woven around him, Toyeje was proclaimed king.

In fact, the Alaafin of Oyo at the time, while interrogating Olukan had demanded to know the names of other princes that could take the throne; some were mentioned to his hearing but he dismissed them based on the meaning conveyed by their names; his eyes then strayed to the scrawny Toyeje and asked who he was.

When told he was also of the chieftaincy family, he demanded his name, informed it was “To-ye-je,” the ruler’s face lit up and said this is the person that would now take the throne. Literally, Toyeje means, “Re-assume-the-chieftaincy.” He became the ruler of Ogbomoso in the late 18th or early 19th century.

Toyeje reorganized Ogbomoso’s defences, and his rise to power coincided with the period of peace and tranquillity that was taking flight from Yorubaland. Afonja had been appointed Aare Ona Kakanfo by Alaafin Aole but went ahead to rebel against Aole by declaring the independence of Ilorin from Oyo. Several other towns were to follow suit.

Meanwhile, a Fulani Islamic scholar and itinerant preacher, Othman Dan Fodio, had launched a jihad in Gobir (today’s Sokoto) in 1804, and his bellicose disciples overran the whole of Hausaland and some other tribal kingdoms.

Many Fulanis and Hausa slaves Afonja conscripted into his army, styled Jamaas. Afonja turned deaf ears to all entreaties to wean himself of these marauders. In fact, Fagbohun, Baale Jabata, who was a deputy Kakanfo (Osi or Commander of the Left), was insistent on this, but Afonja’s response was to scheme to kill him, Fagbohun however escaped the plot.

When the excesses of the Jamaa military band, as it engaged unrestrictedly in plundering, pillaging, kidnapping, slave raiding etc, became unbearable even to Afonja, he moved to disband it but too late, the marauders got wind of his ploy and rose against him in arms before he could rally support from outside; he fought fearlessly but he was overwhelmed by numbers and killed in battle. The Ilorin throne was seized with allegiance sworn to the Sultan at Sokoto, Sokoto being the epicentre of the jihad, and all together abrogated the title “Oba of Ilorin.”

By Afonja’s death, destiny beckoned on Toyeje. As first deputy to Afonja (Otun Kakanfo or Commander of the Right), he was promoted to Aare Ona Kakanfo. Upon him now fell the gargantuan mantle of rescuing Ilorin from the Fulanis and more importantly halting their incursions further into the Yoruba nation as it had become clear that the invaders were being borne by an imperialistic ambition.

The Fulanis were buoyed greatly by their victories in Ilorin and its suburbs, and so, their next objective was to overrun Ogbomoso, the next major Yoruba town after Ilorin. This was the scenario when Toyeje got into the saddle.

In “Iwe Itan Ogbomoso,” (The History of Ogbomoso), written by N. D. Oyerinde, he is described thus: “In matters of wisdom, courage and power, Toyeje was a formidable man.”

Toyeje’s first task was to expel the Fulani usurpers from Ilorin. He promptly mobilized for battle. Nevertheless, the mission was unsuccessful as internal strife, treachery and disunity ravaged his troop. His generals were not in accord with him owing to jealousies, selfishness, arrogance and inordinate ambitions; loyalty to the cause was flippant, which considerably sabotaged his efforts.

Onikoyi Adegun and Solagberu in Oke Suna, Ilorin, were the two other most fearsome Yoruba generals of the age. Solagberu was subservient to Ilorin; Adegun was neither here nor there, only Toyeje stood unwaveringly for Oyo/Yoruba. The tactics of these enemies within was to give way to the Fulani at the most crucial moments when Toyeje and other loyal troops had made a charge.

That Toyeje did not perish in the face of such uncertain circumstances was a miracle due to his ability as a general. To further drive home this point Adegun later usurped the powers of Alaafin by investing the title of Kakanfo in another warlord, Edun of Gbogun.

The Fulanis were brave, driven by a burning desire to conquer the land and with their swift cavalry army, armed with spears; they proved adequately formidable against the Yoruba infantry soldiers armed with bows and arrows. Ogele and Mugba-mugba (Yunyere-yunyere) wars were some of the campaigns to recapture Ilorin but victory eluded the Yorubas.

The circumstances described above among the Yoruba leading warriors of the time featured prominently in these wars and consequently stood in the way of victory. And so, Ilorin could not be taken back. And it should be realized that many powerful Yoruba warriors in Ilorin like Balogun Ajikobi and Balogun Alanamu, also overcome by personal glory and the lure of war captives and booties, similarly came under the Fulani-led Ilorin army to join the onslaught against their kith and kin.

Toyeje made great sacrifices to maintain the territorial integrity of Yorubaland making his Ogbomoso army especially to largely bear the brunt of these wars. Some Ogbomoso mighty generals of the time are Areago Oniyirokun, Bammeke, Ogunrunmbi, Ikolaba Olujonku, Balogun Lasinmiran (an Ijeru/Oje prince and warlord). They shared the credit of protecting Ogbomoso and Yorubaland as a whole at this hazardous time.

Toyeje also fought Pamo War; this was a war with Onikoyi Adegun. Toyeje, supported by Solagberu and contingents from Ejigbo, Osogbo, Ede, Iwo, Ilobu etc (which were all under Ogbomoso during the time), was on the verge of victory when the troops of Emir Abdulsalami Alimi of Ilorin made a sudden appearance at the theatre of war to aid Ikoyi, as Adegun hurriedly pledged allegiance to Ilorin to secure military aid.

Meanwhile, Solagberu had an axe to grind with Adegun, hence his support for Toyeje, a decision that set him on a collision path with the Ilorin leaders, who later declared war against him and vanquished him. Ede and Aiyepe wars were some other wars waged by Toyeje. Ede, which was a vassal town to Ogbomoso, refused to pay tributes and so, Toyeje sent a punitive force under General Lasinmiran to Ede. Ede was pummeled and so was brought under submission again.

Toyeje also had a strand of diplomacy in him. His strategies turned Ogbomoso into a powerful town. He attracted many warriors, and warlords whose communities had fallen he brought to Ogbomoso, and he was generous in marrying off his daughters and other relatives to these warriors. For instance, Ikolaba Olujonku, who killed a brave warrior in the Aiyepe war, Toyeje rewarded by giving his daughter to him as a wife.

He also gave these mighty men lands to cement their loyalty. Furthermore, there were times Ilorin rulers asked Toyeje to come, he would not be obdurate, he would go assisted by some of his generals, and he would do their (physical) bidding by bowing to them though he was resolute that Ogbomoso would never come under the Fulanis. He was a match to them and he succumbed to none of their wily stratagems toad his domain to their empire.

He was known to always emphasize that even after his demise the town must not be subjugated to Ilorin. His military investment laid the foundation for the impregnability of Ogbomoso and made the town the centre of resistance to the Ilorin-led Fulani imperial army. Warlords poured into Ogbomoso and after his death, 143 different villages and towns with their traditional heads and people made Ogbomoso home, to repel the invaders.

Toyeje’s obsession with waging wars was amazing and he often displayed matchless gallantry; his strong will kept the kingdom together and he used his wit to advantage in dealing with Ilorin. Also, he saw the construction of a defence wall to make the town impenetrable. His efforts were great and impressively paid off as none of the attacks launched by the invaders ever penetrated or breached Ogbomoso’s defense line.

And to realize that the circumstance of his demise was serene in view of the numerous wars he fought and the dreadful position of supreme commander he held is remarkable. The belief even up to this day is that the holder has signed a pact with a violent death, but for Toyeje, this fate eluded him, perhaps he was the only Kakanfo who did not meet with a violent death. It was therefore an irony and a pleasant surprise.

Consolidation of His Town, Ogbomoso

By the time of Toyeje Akanni as the Kakanfo, Ogbomoso had become the gateway to Yoruba country from the North and it became the target of Fulani Jihadists to pass through to reach the South in order to dig the Koran in the Sea, he was well prepared to make Ogbomoso the bulwark and indeed an impregnable city by digging and constructing trenches round the town stretching from Laka stream of Olukuewu’s Compound down to Oloko stream of Olutun compound up to Oke-Ogede, and each of the town gates (bodes) under the watchful eyes of the war chiefs in the town.

His other spectacular achievements were that by dint of hard work, he made Ogbomoso a town of great military warriors and fighters. He was also able to do this by himself having love for war and love for military men. So he invited some renowned military men like Bammeke and Ogunrobi to Ogbomoso and to exploit their energies, he married them to his daughters.

Notable warriors who fought along with Toyeje included Jagun Lajubuta, the great-grandparent of Jagun Garuba Oyelude, equally Aareago Oluronnbi and Ikolaba Oluyanka accompanied Toyeje to Okesuna and Ayepe wars, apart from Balogun Lasinmiran from Ijeru ruling family who featured prominently in Mugba Mugba and Ede wars. In this turbulent period of unrest, upheavals sweeping across Yorubaland, Ogbomoso stood exceptionally as the constant star and remained as the Rock of Gibraltar.

In between his last days and the coming of his successor, Baale Oluwusi, many towns and villages already laid in waste were moving into Ogbomoso as a mighty fortress and safety for their protection.

There may not be any Yoruba leader as Toyeje in the course of Yoruba history and would remain the greatest Baale ever to reign in Ogbomoso. It is a tribute to Toyeje Akanni Alebiosu of Ogbomoso as kakanfo whose reign seemed to be an exception to the rule of kakanfo in Yoruba history for during his time in office he fought for the unity and oneness of the Yoruba race. There may be no Oba/Kakanfo as Toyeje Akanni Alebiosu as powerful and great from the beginning of Ogbomoso until it shall end, or probably until the coming of the white men.

Despite his war exploits, Toyeje Akanni died peacefully after the most distinguished renal military achievement and Ogbomoso had become a town or town of note having warlords, fame, safety, and security firmly put in place. Toyeje was survived by many sons, namely: Dairo, Makusanda, Lalude, Ojo Aburumaku and Oyedepo.

His descendants today constitute one of the royal houses of Ogbomoso, indeed first in the line. He died in the late 1820s.

He was succeeded by his stepbrother, Oluwusi, whose great-grandson is the Late Soun of Ogbomoso – Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III JP, CON, CFR.

Reference

1.  Nathaniel Durojaye Oyerinde, Iwe Itan Ogbomoso
2. Oyebisi Okewuyi (JP.) 2013, Ogbomoso in the Early Times, Modern Era and in Today’s Contemporary World, Published and printed by Johnny Printing Works, Beside Okelerin Court Area, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
3. Samuel Johnson; The history of the Yorubas, Lagos, CSS Limited; 1921; pg. 126-128
4. Ben George, Toyeje, Ogbomoso warrior king: He bravely fought Fulani Jihadists yet died peacefully, Ogbomoso Insight