Introduction
It was recently reported that on Saturday, October 15, 2000, an armed group of allegedly Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) members headed for Ilorin in a bold attempt to install a Yoruba Oba of Ilorin (to be called the Onilorin of Ilorin) in replacement of the current Fulani Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Zulu (formerly Kolapo) Gambari.
In the process, a bloody shoot-out between the "invaders" and the police ensued at the outskirt town of Ganmo, eventually leaving (according to reports) 6 OPC members and
2 policemen, several people wounded, and several others arrested.
This prevented direct clash between the Ilorin Yoruba and Fulani in a classically irredentist move by Yoruba elements to reverse what they feel is continuing and unacceptable internal colonization by the Fulani will not be the first, nor will it be the last, between these two major ethnic groups in Nigeria.
One might consider this struggle for Ilorin's identity to be a side-show that will be resolved sooner or later, and that the battle for Nigeria's soul is infinitely more important at this point in time. Yet, it is an integral part of the broader struggle against internal colonization
So, we should still ask: How did we get to this stage, and what are the prospects for peace in Ilorin? Those questions are the subject of this piece.
The History
No one can begin to tell it better than the late Sardauna of Sokoto, one-time Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello himself:
QUOTE
My Life" by Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto, Cambridge University Press, 1962; Page 10 ff:
"My father was a son of Abubakar, known as Atiku na Raba who was the seventh Sultan of Sokoto and reigned for four years from 1873. During his reign there was no particular incident and life went on much as usual. All Atiku's brothers, that is my great uncles - were Sultans: five of them were Sultans preceding him and the younger ones followed him on the throne. Their father was Sultan Bello, the son of the famous revered Shehu Usuman dan Fodio, the Great Reformer, as we call him. Bello, who took the title of Sultan on his father's death, was my great-grandfather......
The Shehu Usuman declared a Holy War against the polluters of the faith. In 1804 he started by attacking the Chief of Gobir, one of the worst offenders, in whose territory he was living. This local war went on for some time, and it was not until 1808 that the capital of Gobir was taken and destroyed; the kingdom of Gobir then disintegrated but by no means did it die. Meanwhile, to cleanse the religion, the Shehu had organised revolts in all the great Hausa states: the Fulani living in them rose and overthrew the Hausa kings. The Shehu appointed new rulers either from among the victorious generals or from among other important Fulani.
Thus two-thirds of the present Northern Region came directly under the control of the Shehu and his son Bello, to whom he delegated more and more authority until he himself finally went into retirement.
The countries which did not come under the Fulani rule were the area now known as the Bornu Province, the Plateau Province (less Wase), the Jukon, Tiv and Idoma peoples south of the Benue, AND SMALL PARTS OF KABBA AND ILORIN PROVINCES [NOTE: capitals mine for emphasis.] Thus it extended far west of the present Nigerian borders (into modern Ghana) and deep into what is now the Cameroon Republic.
This was too much for one man to deal with and so the Shehu divided it into two portions.
One was based on the ancient town of Gwandu, hundred miles southwest of Sokoto, but still in the Sokoto vallley. This was given to Abdullahi, the Shehu's brother, as first Emir of Gwandu. The capital has since been changed to Birnin Kebbi, but the same family are still on the throne and the present Emir, Alhaji Haruna, C.M.G, C.B.E., the President of the House of Chiefs, who is a distant cousin of my own, is a direct descendant of Abdullahi.
This Western Empire, as it was called, extended down the Niger and included the Nupe Kingdom, then based on Raba (not to be confused with my birthplace) and Ilorin. It was this section of the Fulani government that came up against the Yoruba, when the Emir of Ilorin was engaged in the endless wars of the last half of the nineteenth century.
The other Empire, the Eastern Empire, was based in Sokoto and included all the great Hausa states down to the Benue at Nasarawa, Muri, and Yola. This never came in physical contact with the people of the present Eastern Region, with whom our relations have usually been amicable in the last few years. Both Empires were liquidated when the British entered Sokoto, and the Emirates of Sokoto and Gwandu were confined to their home territories. The Hasua Emirates have continued to this day as they were founded by the Shehu.
It was in 1808 that Bello, not yet the ruler but his father's lieutenant, decided to build a capital at Sokoto on new ground....the Shehu died in Sokoto in 1817...
UNQUOTE
Thus, Ahmadu Bello freely admits that the history of the Fulani's earliest involvement in (Northern) Nigeria was the overthrow of their hosts' political order based on religious grounds. One would like to believe that it was indeed to cleanse the spiritual minds of the defeated. However, the installation of his son Bello and brother Abdullahi, thereby beginning a Shehu Usuman family dynasty, gives one pause as to that altruistically divine aim.
It is also to be noted that the Fulani NEVER defeated the Yoruba, either in Kabba or Ilorin Provinces or elsewhere, despite "endless wars" during this period. With the people of Eastern Region, there was no contact at all, and it is interesting to read the little "politics" that the Sardauna played in injecting a statement about the existing "amicable" relations with the East.
Moving on.....
QUOTE
Page 15 of Sardauna's book
In 1817 a man called Afonja was Governor of Ilorin, THEN AN IMPORTANT YORUBA TOWN AND PART OF THE DOMAINS OF THE ALAFIN OF OYO. [Note: capitals mine for emphasis.] He broke away from his master and declared himself independent. Feeling a little insecure, he made friends with Sokoto Mallam, one Alimi; the latter called together numbers of Muslims, including Yoruba Muslims, to form an army to defend Ilorin from the inevitable attack.
They say that Alimi, who was in many ways similar to the Shehu, a man of piety and learning, only lent his name and his great influence to this force. Others say that he was an ambitious adventurer only interested in carving out a kingdom for himself. However that may be, attacks were beaten off successfully. Then the Muslim auxiliaries became out of hand: Afonja enlisted Yoruba to help to drive them out, but not only did they fail to do so, but Afonja himself was killed and his body was burnt in Ilorin market.
Alimi died and his son, Abdusalami, followed him in power [Note: this was around 1831]. But he was a very different kind of man and he asserted himself at once. He was given a flag from Gwandu and his new Emirate took its place in the Western Empire (under Gwandu). From that time, an almost continuous state of war existed between the Emirs of Ilorin and the Chiefs of the Yoruba especially those of the new town of Ibadan which grew up at this time and completely overshadowed Oyo. These wars went on with varying success and at one time appread AS THOUGH THE ANCIENT PROPHECY, THAT THE FULANI WOULD DIP THE HOLY KORAN IN THE SEA, WOULD COME TO PASS. [Note: Capitals mine for emphasis.] A Fulani column penetrated south of Ibadan, but the fortune of war turned against them and the chance never came back.
In the end, the fighting was stopped by British intervention from the coast and Colonel Lugard's activites on the Nigeria at the end of the last century. These wars had reached no conlusion or proper settlement when they were interrupted, and have ALWAYS CAUSED SORENESS BETWEEN THE TWO RACES. This is still not cured and much of the difficulties of the past few years must be regard in this light, HOWEVER MUCH IT MAY BE DENIED BY SOME QUARTERS.
UNQUOTE
The late Sardauna of Sokoto must be commended, in this passage, for the matter-of-fact manner in which he reported the great perfidy of Fulani Alimi and Abdusalami towards Afonja and the Yoruba town Ilorin; the revealing [(un)fulfilled?] prophecy of the Holy Koran being dipped into the Atlantic Ocean bordering Nigeria; and the vexatious centrality of Ilorin with respect to continuing Fulani/Yoruba relations, "however much it may be denied by some quarters."
The bad relations between the Fulani and the Yoruba over Ilorin have over the years led to the Yoruba rising against the then Emir in 1895, then burning his palace and killing him; in 1913, a tax riot was organized by the Yoruba to embarsass him before Lord Lugard, who was then administering the northern and southern Nigeria; also in 1936, the Yoruba caused the temporary ouster of the reigning Emir Abdulkadir, who was banished to Kaduna but later reinstated by the colonial administration.
But what officially has been done to redress the ever-present conflict situation in and around Ilorin? The first real attempt was in 1950:
QUOTE
F.A.O. Scwhartz: "Nigeria: The Tribes, the Nation or the Race", page 91,ff
"....The [General] Constitutional Conference of 1950 [Note: held in Ibadan] had referred to Governor Macpherson the question of whether the boundary between Western and Northern Nigeria should be redrawn so as to include the Yoruba from Ilorin and Kabba within the West. He had decided that it should not be.
The Action Group [Note: AG formed in 1950] did not accept his decision as final, and continued to demand the boundary revision. In 1956, it formed with the Ilorin Talaka Parapo (Commoners' Party) and a number of smaller Yoruba parties in Ilorin Province a fruitful alliance, winning all four Ilorin seats in the 1956 Northern Regional election. Therefater, the allies won elections to the Ilorin Town Council, the Ilorin National Authority Council and a majority of the district councils throughout the province. Those local bodies then passed resolutions favoring transfer to the Western Region, with the elected members from the alliance outvoting the elected NPC members and the traditional members nominated by the Emir.
As was the case with the UMBC, however, the Ilorin Talaka Parapo was not unanimous in its support for seapration from the North; a minority resigned because it was opposed.
UNQUOTE
Thus, as far as votes were concerned, merger with the Western Region was a done deal in 1956 - if that deal had been allowed!
But it was not. Let us move on from the 1950 Conference to another conference seven years later.
QUOTE
Page 92 Schwartz
At the Constitutional Conference held in London in 1957 the agitation for new regions came to a head. Claims for no fewer than fifteen were put forward. After lengthy discussion the delegates decided to turn the matter over to a Minorities Commission instructed to ascertain the fears of minorities and propose means to allaying them........
The [WILLINK] Commission consisted of four Englishmen [Note: Chair was Sir Henry Willink.] It visited Nigeria in late 1957 and early 1958, hearing from the various governments, from the minority groups (whose cases, said one member of the Commision after its report was issued, were "badly presented") and from organizations like the Citizens Committee for Independence, an articulate group of Nigerians from different ethnic groups whose pamphlets called for more regions as a way to ensure the nation's unity.
In its appearances before the Minorities Commission, the NPC [Note: The Northern Peoples Congress] took its usual position, heatedly opposing proposal for the creation of a Middle Belt Region and not being concerned with the issue in the rest of the country.....
For the North, the Commission was impressed by the NPC's argument that the Region would be seriously harmed by the loss of the Middle Belt, particularly in the Civil Service, where the departure of Middle Belters would leave "the rump of the North without experienced officials."
The Minorities Commission also dealt with the dispute as to whether the Yoruba of Ilorin and Kabba should be transferred to the Western Region. That troubled it more than anything else.
UNQUOTE
What were the demands and the findings of the Willink Commission on Ilorin/Kabba? Let us read the words of the Commission:
QUOTE
Ojiako: "Nigeria: Yesterday, Today and ?", Page 43 ff
Demand of Ilorin and Kabba Division of Northern Nigeria to be transferred to the Western Region:
[Why?] Because the system of Government had been autocratic and that a change to democratic methods was not yet established. In the non-Muslim parts of the Emirate there was strong objection to the operations of Muslim law.
Situation:
Ilorin Division was once part of the territory of Alafin of Oyo. The Alafin's representative in Ilorin invited Fulani and Hausa forces to help win independence from Oyo and finally the Sokokot Fulani established and Emirate in Ilorin. Struggle between Ilorin and Oyo continued until establishment of British rule in the area.
Findings:
- The elected representatives in the Division expressed support for transfer to the West.
- The desire for transfer was not due to neglect of the Division by the Northern Government, which had invested heavily in it.
- The 90% of the population in Ilorin Division were Yorubas; 60% Muslims. That the population of Kebba Division was 100,000, and almost 100% Yoruba.
- That the transfer of Ilorin would mean considerable disruption for example any change in the system of Alkali courts in the Muslim area would be revolutionary.
- At that period, Ilorin's educated young men had better opportunity in the North than they would have in the West.
- There seems thus to be a presumption that at present there is a definite but certainly not overwhelming majority in favour of transfer. Nor do the figures show that this is marked less in metropolitan area.
IF NO SOLUTION IS FOUND TO THIS DISPUTE, WE FEAR THAT THE NORTHERN REGION MAY CONTINUE TO FIND ILORIN AN EMBARRASSMENT RATHER THAN AN ASSET AND RELATIONS WITHIN THE FEDERATION MAY BE EMBITTERED FOR SOME TIME TO COME. [Note: capitals mine.] We see no prospect of a solution that would ease the tension except by means of plebiscite in which there is general acquiescence and by the result of which all have agreed to abide.
UNQUOTE
In fact, returning to Schwarz, he puts the siutation in more graphic terms:
QUOTE
Schwartz, page 95
[The Willink Commission] found that natural ties between the Yoruba groups had grown stronger, and would probably grow stronger still, while the historical enmity of the Ilorin Yoruba for the Ibadan and other Yoruba was growing weaker. But, said the Commission, there was greater advantage to the educated young men in Ilorin in staying with the North; taxation would probably be higher in the West, and many people would suffer by the "revolutionary speeding up" of the area's democratization that would follow transfer to the West. The Commmission, which based its chief conclusions upon its faith in democracy, appeared to fear TOO MUCH DEMOCRACY TOO FAST. There had, to be sure, been votes by a number of local government bodies in favor of joining the West, but the Commission said it was not sure the people had understood the issue when they chose their representaties.
Finally, after much anguish, the Commission recommended that a plebiscite be held in the Ilorin Kabba area if, and only if, all parties agreed to the details of its supervision and agreed to abide by the result. If, in such a plebiscite, 60 percent voted for transfer, the transfer should be made. The NPC, as much have been expected, succeeded in successfully resisting the holding of any such plebiscite and the area remains part of
the North.
UNQUOTE
Thus, against all local sentiment in favor of it, and with the connivance of the paternalistic colonial administration, the Ilorin/Kabba provinces NEVER got merged with the Western Region before Independence of October 1960.
So what is the situation today? In 1967, in the expediency of deflating Biafran secessionist intentions, the North finally accepted a break-up into 6 states (at the same time that there were now six states in the South). The new total of 12 states (up from 4 regions), then later became 19 states, 21 states, 30 states, and finally today 36 states in which the Yoruba indigenes of the Old Ilorin/Kabba provinces are now dispersed between two states - Kwara (where the Yoruba form the overwhelming majority; created in 1976; capital Ilorin) and Kogi (Yoruba an underwhelming minority ; created in 1992; capital Lokoja). Next, in 1978, under the military governorship of George Innih, the administration of Kwara State raised a judicial panel of inquiry to look into the Yoruba agitation, made a case before the commission for the merging of Kwara State with the Southwest while also laying claim to the Ilorin throne.
However, in a typical result reminiscent of when the outcome of a report does not meet official approval, the report of the panel never saw the light of day while there was also no white paper from government.
Prospects for Peace in Ilorin and Environs
And so what should be done to bring peace in Ilorin and to the Yorubas and their neighbors within Kwara and Kogi? That is the million dollar that might not be resolved unless we sit at a Sovereign National Conference (SNC).
In our "nascent (constitutional) democracy", it appears that in Ilorin, a logical step is a plebiscite to decide once and for all whether:
- they want an Fulani Emir of Ilorin and no one else;
- they want their Yoruba Onilorin of Ilorin and no one else.
- they want both the Emir and the Onilori to co-exist.
In fact, one wonders why, if the Hausa in Lagos and elsewhere can have their own Sarkin Hausawa, and the Ndiigbo can have an Eze Ndiigbo of Mushin, why the Yoruba in a town where they form the overwhelming majority cannot have their own Onilorin of Ilorin without referring to ANY plebiscite or resorting to any government!
With regard to the wider Yoruba and neighbors in Kogi and Kwara, it appears that, as a first constitutional step toward re-designing their borders, a plebiscite should be arranged to decide:
- whether the borders of Kwara and Kogi remain the way they are;
- whether the Yoruba in Kwara and (western) Kogi should be joined together to form the Oya State or merged with other existing states, in particular Ekiti, Osun and Oyo. In any case, the total number of states (36) would not change.
These are the options before us if Ilorin is not to continue to be an "embarrassment" (to use the forty-two-year old Willink Commission's word) to anybody, including to the nation.
Unfortunately, the provisions in Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution with respect to the creation of new states and boundary adjustment are so onerous and anti-federal as to make it almost impossible to address the problem in a timely manner. Consequently, it is conceivable that periodic violence of the sort as witnessed in Ganmo near Ilorin will continue until and unless a Sovereign National Conference which considers the National interest ABOVE the military-induced, unitary and hence and highly anti-federal 1999 Constitution convenes.
That would be unfortunate indeed.
Appendix:
For more on this topic, see: Sunday Vanguard Magazine - October 22, 2000
The Battle for Ilorin
How Afonja lost the throne
How we foiled the invasion
We reclain Ilorin, It's ours - Olola Kasum
Yoruba claim is false - Jimoh
Vanguard - October 23, 2000
Yoruba not out to remove Emir of Ilorin -Kasum
Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution
Guides
