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Alliance · 1894–1897

The Ogidi Grand Alliance

By 1882 the Nupe ruled the whole of northeast Yorubaland, Yagba, Owe, Bunu, Ijumu and Akoko, through resident agents, except Oka Akoko, which held out on its hill.

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Overview

By 1882 the Nupe ruled the whole of northeast Yorubaland, Yagba, Owe, Bunu, Ijumu and Akoko, through resident agents, except Oka Akoko, which held out on its hill. The Obaro of Kabba worked with them and was given authority over Ijumu and Akoko. In about 1884 the Nupe commander Sonku killed the ritual cow of the Alayere, king of Ayere, then murdered the messenger the king sent to ask why. Ayere burned the Nupe camp and sent word to Ogidi, Aduge, Ogale, Iffe and the Akoko towns to unite like the Ekitiparapo. After years of risings, in late 1894 the Ijumu towns Ogidi, Ayere, Aduge, Ekinrin-Adde, Iffe and Ogale, with Esuku, Oji and Akoko communities, formed the Ogidi Grand Alliance against both the Nupe and the Obaro’s rule. Its army held the Ayinoro hill at Ogidi, where the Nupe horse were useless, with arms bought from Lagos and Ekiti. The siege was still going on when Royal Niger Company troops arrived in January 1897. Bida fell to the Company that month, the Nupe left Okun country, and the alliance broke up.[2],[1],[3]Medium confidence

Who took part

  • Ogidi Grand Alliance (Agahun of Esuku, Alayere Ekundina)· Rose up
  • Nupe (Bida emirate)· Attacked
  • Kabba under the Obaro· Ally
  • Ekiti· Ally
  • Royal Niger Company· Colonial force

What happened

  1. Late 1894 · Ayinoro hill, Ogidi

    The alliance takes the field

    The Alayere steps aside for Agahun of Esuku, a veteran of the Ekitiparapo war, who becomes war leader, with the Alayere as his second. Olumodeji of Ayere, Ajakaiye of Ogidi and Ajamba of Oji command units. The army gathers on the Ayinoro hill at Ogidi.[1],[2]

  2. 1895–1896 · Ogidi

    The Nupe cannot break Ogidi

    The hill takes away the Nupe cavalry’s advantage. The Nupe inflict heavy losses but cannot break the defences, and Nda Jiya, the Maiyaki, is relieved of command of the Nupe army.[1],[2]Medium confidence

  3. 14 January 1897 · Ogidi

    The Company arrives

    Royal Niger Company troops reach the war while the alliance and the Nupe are still fighting. The Company backs the alliance, for its own reasons: Nupe raiding was disrupting its trade on the lower Niger. Within weeks Bida falls, the Nupe leave Okun country, and the alliance disbands.[1],[3]

Kingdoms involved

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).

  1. (2018). Nupe Hegemony in Akokoland in the Nineteenth Century. Research in Social Sciences 1 (1), pp. 1–8. Academic Publishing Group
  2. Apata, Z. O. (2003). The Nupe Imperialism and the Ogidi Grand Alliance 1894–1897: Reflections of Ekitiparapo War. In Adeagbo Akinjogbin (ed.), War and Peace in Yorubaland 1793–1893, pp. 431–437. Heinemann Educational Books Nigeria, Ibadan (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  3. Indigenous Colonialism in North-Central Nigeria: A Focus on Nupe Over-Rule in Okun Land, c. 1847–1897