Fourteen (14) Kakanfos had been selected so far since the beginning of the Oyo Empire.  Among all of them, only about three (3) actually impacted the Yoruba history; the three are:

·         Afonja of Ilorin

·         Kurunmi of Ijaye

·         Obadoke Latosa of Ibadan

Not all the Kakanfos were military men; some of them were actually civilians. In fact, the last two Kakanfos were civilians, vis-à-vis late MKO Abiola and Gani Adams.

Who was Afonja?

The Oyo Empire grew in might around the mid-1700s and had one of the best se of warriors in Africa then.  This was around the time that Afonja was born. The name of his father was Laderin, who was the son of Alughin. 

Alugbin, on the other hand, was the son of Pasin. The reigning Alaafin around this time was Alaafin Amjeogbe, who ruled the Oyo Empire between 1754 and 1770. Upon his demise, he was replaced by Alaafin Abiodun, who reigned for 19 years on the throne. His own son, Aole murdered him in 1789 and became the Alaafin in his father’s stead. Aole remained on the throne from 1789 to 1796.

Afonja was the reigning Kakanfo around the time Aole became the Alaafin and he resided in Ilorin, which was then a rather small town close to the River Awun and River Niger.  He was equally the 6th Aare Ona Kakanfo and was chosen to occupy the position by the Alaafin following the demise of the former Kakanfo, Oku of Jabata. Toyeje of Ogbomosho was selected as Kakanfo to replace Afonja.

The reign of Afonja marked the loss of Ilorin to the Fulanis from the Sokoto Caliphate. Afonja had a disagreement with Alaafin Aole and the disagreement degenerated into rebellion and insurgency.  This was the foundation of the loss of Ilorin to the Fulanis.

The cause of the disagreement

The Alaafin of Oyo, Aole, commanded Afonja to lead a military campaign against Iwere-Ile, which was the home town of the former Alaafin Abiodun’s mother.  Alaafin Aole was known to be a high-handed, haughty and pompous person. Before then, a curse had been laid by Alaafin Abiodun that any Kakanfo that ever attacked Iwere-Ile would die a mysterious, horrible death.

Additionally, Alaafin Abiodun forced Afonja to swear an oath to never attack Iwere Ile before the demise of the former.  These were the factors that prompted Afonja to decline the direct order from Alaafin Aole to attack Iwere Ile.

Then at a later date, Alaafin Aole also ordered Afonja to attack Apomu, another town in the Yoruba kingdom close to Ile-Ife; this was in 1795.  Afonja obeyed this order, but on his way back to his Ilorin base, he went straight to the palace in Oyo and demanded that Alaafin Aole should step down.

Some were of the opinion that the metropolitan force commanded by the Bashorun was also in the know of Afonja’s treason.  As a result, no one challenged his entry into Oyo and the palace.  This compelled Alaafin Aole to commit suicide.

This left Oyo in disarray, but Afonja made his way back to his base in Ilorin. A new Alaafin took over after the demise of Aole; his name was Alaafin Adebo and he only reigned for one year from 1796 to 1797. 

Alaafin Makua took over from him and he too reigned for just few months. The seat of the Oyo Empire was vacant from 1797 to 1802.  And Alaafin Majotu ascended the throne in 1802 to reign till 1830.

The undoing of Afonja

Upon returning to Ilorin, Afonja decided to carry out an overhaul of his commanders and troops. He had struck a friendship with Shehu Alimi around this time; Shehu Alimi, also called Salih Jinta, was an Islamic cleric, who had come to settle in Ilorin with some other clerics and many slaves.

Afonja made the grave mistake of replacing his own commanders and soldiers with the Fulani mercenaries and Hausa slaves, saying that the Hausas and Fulanis would make better soldiers and commanders than his own Yoruba soldiers. He then instructed Ologolo, his adjutant, to disband his troop and recruit Hausa slaves and slaves from other nations across Africa.

Then Afonja rebelled against the Oyo Empire and he successfully wrenched control of Ilorin from the Alaafin upon the defeat of the Yoruba Army. He was able to defeat them because he got assistance from Alimi and his Fulani mercenaries.  

Upon the defeat of the Yoruba Army, Afonja decided to compensate the Fulanis by giving Alimi a position in Ilorin.  This was the beginning of the spread of Fulanis in Ilorin and it also marked the beginning of Afonja’s loss of power. However, the loss of his power did not manifest until after several years later; that was after Shehu Alimi died. 

Upon the demise of Shehu Alimi , his son, Abd Salaam, decided to take advantage of the freedom given to the Fulanis by Afonja.; his own force were able to infiltrate the Yoruba military and  they revolted against Afonja. Afonja did not know Abd Sallam very well and did not know what the young man was capable of.  

Upon realizing the treason being perpetrated by Abd Salaam and his fellow Fulanis, Afonja sent an emissary to Oyo for military assistance to quell the uprising. However, the Oyo Empire refused to send aid to Afonja because of his earlier revolt against the Empire.

So, Alaafin decided to leave Afonja to his own fate. This was how the Yorubas lost Ilorin to the Fulanis. The revolt led to the death of Afonja.  Afonja died in 1871 and Abd Salaam declared himself as the Emir of Ilorin, after which he pledged allegiance to the Sokoto Caliphate in 1824.                  

The Afonja saga opens the eyes to so many things about the Yoruba people and also has a lesson or two to teach the world. Afonja was too trusting and this was one of the causes of his problems.

Also, he forgot that he was a military head because he was deemed fit for the position by the Oyo Empire.  He thought himself to powerful to obey the Alaafin, his commander-in-chief, and this led to his death. Principal among the factors that caused his bitter end and the loss of Ilorin to the Fulanis was pride. So, pride came before a fall.   

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