Growing up, I never knew much about my family history other than my father’s illusive immigration to the united states. He often never talked about life before coming here, and all I knew is that his entire side of the family was from Nigeria, which sparked my fascination with my relation to a foreign country. It wasn’t until I was about thirteen years old that I started to get curious about my family heritage. My mom had told me everything she knew about her side of the family; working-class Polish and Irish immigrants who had moved to Wisconsin in the early 1900s. I craved more than that story, which sounded all too similar to the ones my peers had, especially because I knew I was different because of my mixed race. Whenever I would ask questions about where his family came from, my father would dodge them immediately, leaving my imagination to wander anywhere from castles in the deserts of Africa to questioning my relation to the starving children I would see on TV. Did my family live in huts? Just how much did I really know about life in Nigeria at all? My curiosity stirred inside of me for months until my aunt finally came to visit us.
Her accent was much thicker than my father’s, but she was just as loud and stubborn. Unlike him, she had no problem telling me all about our family history, daily life in Nigeria, and just how much immigration to the US changes you. Through her, I learned not only about present Nigerian culture and traditions, but about our rich family heritage, that according to my family, goes back hundreds of years. The most striking figure in all of the stories she told me how our last name came to be, from a warrior named Irefin during the time of Ibadan, one of the first major settlements in southern Nigeria. Within Ibadan was the kingdom of Owu, and through many wars, he became its king. As he captured more and more land, with it he captured their people. They were turned into slaves of the empire, and some of them were eventually sold to the Portuguese in the beginnings of the slave trade. He eventually became the king of Ibadan. The story goes that he built a palace and compound, as most rulers of major kingdoms did at the time. This compound stills stands today, and is where my grandmother and many of my relatives still live. My father and his siblings had their early beginnings there, and it is often the backdrop for stories about taking the poorest people in and giving them a community in which they can grow.
Back when it was first built in the early 1900s, it was the palace of King Irefin, described as being “bigger than an American plantation” by my aunt. It housed not only him, but all the important people in the kingdom, and some of their food source was also grown there. All of the members of his family took on the prefix “Ade” to their name, to signify their relation to the king. My Nigerian name has this prefix, as do all of the names on my father’s side of the family. Irefin’s kingdom and all of his people were generally prosperous until political unrest began some years later. He was eventually asked to step down from the thrown, to which he refused. Most of his citizens were then taken as permanent slaves as the next regime began to set in, but locked himself within his compound with most of his family. It is unclear if he committed suicide, but he was eventually found dead inside of his palace. Most of my family claims that he died out of shame for not delivering his people or his family prosperity and a longer lineage of power. Along with these many unanswered questions about the life of Irefin and his people comes the curiosity of just how much his settlement shaped modern-day Nigeria. Ibadan was a product of the Yoruba tribe, the biggest and most identified with tribe in Nigeria today. The strength or their involvement in the slave trade affected not just their own history with Europe, but one of the most fundamental historical events in United States history, one that America is still grappling with today.
On a parallel, my dad’s own past action to immigrate to the United States has greatly affected those who surround him. It allowed me to have a better life, and for him to bring prosperity and opportunity to his entire family. Although these two men lived centuries apart, they still have similar responsibilities and loyalties to their families and countries. The impact of the British empire can be seen greatly not only in the history of Ibadan and its eventual decline, but also the education of my family. In P.C Lloyd’s The City of Ibadan, he discusses how Ibadan eventually became one of the most educated areas in Africa after the British began to take over cite. Although many see this in a negative light, my family has valued education, specifically the British education system, so much so that they have sent most of their children to the United Kingdom to study. Without this education, my father would have not been successful in the western world, yet this same concept and influence possibly destroyed the culture and kingdom that once thrived for his ancestors. Discovering the missing pieces between Ibadan, my family, and its decline will show not only how the past affects the present, but why it is important acknowledge the past in order for life to move forward.
Baale Irefin’s lineage originates from the Yoruba tribe, located in the southern half of Nigeria near present-day Lagos (the city ?). Explain the City resource. Different tribes existed within Yorubaland, with his being the Egba (The City, 13). These tribes were religiously and culturally similar, but differed politically (The City, 13). His ancestors originally ruled over the Yoruba kingdom of Owu, but were eventually absorbed by the Oyo Province to with the help of the Ife and Ijebu tribes to the ???, because of the wars fought with Owu in an attempt to take their people as prisoners to use in the beginning of the slave trade with the Portuguese (The city, 13). From there, Oyo eventually defeated Ibadan in 1862, one of the largest kingdoms at the time, which through other military conquests, created the great kingdom of Ibadan (the City, 3,). Because of the value put on warfare by both the Yoruba people and the newly expanded region of Ibadan, the political system that was created was geared towards “a state of constant warfare” (the city 18). This government system consisted of two sectors, one with military rule and another with civilian rule (the city 19). Within the civilian rule existed four lines of chiefs, explain the types of chiefs (15). Along with Baale Irefin’s position came a compound, where the majority of the population lived (city, 5). These compounds contained several hundred inhabitants, all of which were the families of the men in power and important civilians (city, 5). This compound still stands today, and is where my grandmother and other family members, along with some village people, still live today (cite digba). Irefin Palace, which is where the baale and his family lived, also still stands and is now a tourist cite, although there is much controversy surrounding its current upkeep (cite).
The role of the Baale in the government is widely revered by historical scholars and Nigerians alike. This is evident in author’s name work, Chiefs, where he analyses the role of chieftaincy throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, specifically during British occupation. Author says, “The Yoruba experience exemplifies the dynamism of chieftaincy structures in modern Nigerian politics” (chiefs 1). He also goes on the praise chieftaincy for its adaptability to the ever-changing government and economic structures during this volatile period (chiefs 1). However, not all historians believe that these traditional Nigerian rulers were the best choice for their people. Within author’s own work, he cites Toyin Falola, who argues that baales along with other chiefs oppressed their citizens (chiefs 17). Falola states that the power in Ibadan and its many kingdoms was based on military strength and the quantity of slaves obtained through prisoners of war (chiefs 17). Because of the amount of slaves that lived in Ibadan, most of the elite’s lifestyle was created and maintained by them, and they became the supply for beginnings of the slave trade (chiefs 17). Another scholar author cites is Samuel Johnson, who argues that the baale did not represent the wants of the people (chiefs 18). He insists that the baale is only considered if he was a successful war chief, and that he is politically weaker than the balogun (chiefs 18). Johnson also goes on to say the when the balogun decides to step down, he often becomes the next baale, which allows for little political change within the system (chiefs 18). Although the position of the baale can be disputed, this position was still held for hundreds of years and highly respected by the Yoruba people during the time of Ibadan.
The success of Ibadan in the 19th century was apparent not only to Nigeria as a country, but to foreigners as well. Because of the military background, the annexed surrounding Yoruba towns had the opportunity to strengthen their armies and war skills, thus making Ibadan as a whole a great military power (the city 18). The beginnings of British colonialism were not effective until it was realized that the control of Ibadan was paramount in controlling the nation. Because of this, the British began their indirect rule of Ibadan through the chief system (chiefs 22). Gilbert T. Carter, the governor of Lagos in 1890, appointed Captain Ross to gain political control of Ibadan (chiefs 24, 31). He made an alliance with several sectors of power, including the chiefs of the Oyo Province and Ibadan to help transform city politics (chiefs 22). In 1897, the Native Authority group was created, which brought together Baale Irefin and other leaders headed by Alaafin, a British appointed “chief” (chiefs 24). The British used Alaafin as part of a plan to create a previously non-existent “supreme Yoruba crown” through the “selective embrace of tradition themes” (chiefs 23). This new administration transformed how Ibadan was traditionally governed, and shifted the power distribution, which caused divides within the community on how they should be ruled (chiefs 22). Within this divide were a group of educated Christians, who became the Progressives by the early 1920s (chiefs 22). The Irefin family was a part of this progressive movement, with Baale Irefin still in power and a large advocate for the termination of the Alaafin (DIGBA). Despite their efforts, Alaafin’s popularity continued to grow, which sparked the beginning of a long history of political conflict in colonial Nigeria.
The eventual coup of the Ibadan political system by the British occurred through the strengthening of the power of the Alaafin. Lagos governor Carter originally proposed a treaty to the balogun to put in place political leaders such as the Alaafin in the central government of Ibadan, but this was rejected by him as he saw the treaty as a way for the British to control their slaves and land (chiefs 24). Carter in return appointed R.L Bower as the first British resident of Ibadan, and with him brought hundreds of Hausa infantrymen (chiefs 24). These people were Nigerian, but Muslim and culturally different from the Yoruba (city 117). This mass migration brought Ibadan under British rule, and effectively ended the authority of the civil-military government. During the time of the chief councils known as the Native Alliance, the babakekere was introduced by the British, a figure who represented the “metropolitan rulers,” who could overrule the baales on their clients behalf (chiefs 15). Because these babakekeres were backed by the British, loyalty to them allowed provinces in Ibadan to gain protection, which legitimized their power (chiefs 15). Around this time, the Alaafin began to be seen as more favorable within the government due to the support he received from Sir Henry E. McCullum, the new governor of Lagos, and F.C. Fuller, the newest British resident of Ibadan (chiefs 25). Alaafin’s territory expanded greatly because of this, which also increased his prestige amongst the elite in Ibadan (chiefs 25). The proceeding governor of Lagos then makes and ordinance that illegitimates the baales and gives even more power to Alaafin and his civil servants (chiefs 25, 26). Because of this, the Alaafin becomes the main authority and the chiefs are pushed out of government matters (chiefs 26). The Alaafin is given the jurisdiction to choose the new chiefs, which humiliates the baales (chiefs 28). The Alaafin and the British also began to silence the concerns of the progressives, and eventually completely remove the baales from power, including Baale Irefin (chiefs 28). In 1914, as a reaction to the removal of Baale Irefin,