OGUN Kiriji. The World’s Longest Civil War by any Ethnic Group (1877-1893).

The Kiriji War, an epic battle fought by the Yoruba for 16 years, is believed to be the World’s Longest Civil War by any ethnic group. The war, according to historians, was the fiercest tribal war among the Yoruba ethnic group of Southwest Nigeria and the Kiriji War, which ended almost 122 years ago led to the signing of a Peace Treaty on September 23, 1886..

How the War Started:

* Ibadan, a relatively new establishment that had the honour of filling the oversized shoes of the former Oyo Empire as the protector of the Yoruba nation against external attacks. But the military successes and wealth raked in by Ibadan in its military expeditions soon posed serious challenges.

* Like all global super-powers, Ibadan was said to embark on an expansionist programme that extended its reach to much of Yorubaland. It started appointing District Officers known as ‘Ajeles’ to rule the conquered territories on its behalf.

* It did not take long for the ‘Ajeles’ to transform into despots. They became corrupt and power-drunk, demanding ridiculous homage and exorbitant tributes.

* The Yoruba vassal states of Ijesha and Ekiti revolted and massacred the Ibadan-appointed ‘Ajeles’.

* They formed a confederacy called Ekiti Parapo (Ekiti Brotherhood) and declared their independence from Ibadan.

* Ibadan knew the dire consequences of allowing such action to go unpunished as it would encourage other conquered territories to declare independence.

* Ibadan wanted a centralized political system, with a central economy, a command military structure, a central administration and a forcefully united Yoruba Nation, while the other Yoruba subgroups wanted a decentralized structure, where all the federating units would be autonomous and would be able to plan their political future based on their own heritage.

* This led to the epic Yoruba war called the Kiriji War in 1877 when the Ibadan police, navy, infantry and artillery soldiers, led by ‘General’ Obadoke Latoosa invaded the entire commonwealth of Yoruba nation, pummeled the sacred institutions, raided the markets and the deepest hinterlands and sought to proclaim a forcefully united Yoruba nation.


* Kiriji war is the longest civil war by any ethnic group (1877 -1893) lasting 16years.The Major Actors and Causalities:


* Ibadan was led by its commander-in-chief, Aare Obadoke Latosa, while the Ekiti Parapo army was led by Fabunmi of Oke-Imesi.



* The Ibadan army pitched their camp at Igbajo while the Ekiti Parapo camped at Imesi-Ile.


* Somewhere along the line, Saraibi Ogedengbe (famously known as Ogedengbe Agbogungboro), the Balogun of Ijeshaland, became the General/Commander-in-Chiefof the Ekiti Parapo army, and the appointment greatly influenced the turn of events, as Ogedengbe was a renowned military strategist.


* The war got its name (Kiriji) from the thunderous sound “kiriiiiiiiiji”of the cannon guns which the Ekitiparapo purchased in large numbers. The cannon gave them an advantage over the Ibadans.* Ekiti Parapo enlisted several Yoruba tribes like Igbomina, Akoko, Egbe, Kabba and the Oworro (a Yoruba sub-tribe in Lokoja, Kogi State).


* Lagos, Ijebu and Egba were said to have assisted Ekiti Parapo against Ibadan, seen by all, as a common threat to the Yoruba commonwealth.


* Ilara Mokin in Ondo State was said to have been the headquarters of the Ekiti Parapo secret service.

* Several Yoruba towns, such as Osogun and Ijaiye, were wiped out in the course of the war. Igbajo barely escaped total destruction.* Eventually, Ibadan found itself fighting on five fronts. First, in the South against theEgba who confined their activities to raids and surprise attacks; secondly, against the Ijebu, in the same south, who pitched a camp against them at Oru under Balogun Onafowokan; thirdly, the main war at Kiriji in the East, where their forces fought a long battle against the Ekiti and Ijesa (Ekiti-Parapo forces) under the command of Ogedengbe; fourthly, at Offa in the north, where they faced the Ilorin Fulani who pitched their camp against the people of Offa (an ally of Ibadan); and finally at Ile-Ife where the Ife people joined the alliance against them in 1882.

* However, in spite of Ibadan's disadvantages in the war, these five forces could not effect its defeat. A state of stalemate was reached, from which only the intervention of an outside force could redeem the whole Yoruba Nation.

Ok

Katsumoto has discussed this topic and more at length.

Macof

TonySpike

Negro_Ntns

DuduNegro

Brb

Hnmm.. I think i know why it lasted for 16 years..

Both parties were busy shouting.. Ahhhh Ahhhh emi emi.!! for a cummulative time frame of about 15 years 6 months..

Ibadan! Ibadan! Ibadan! no wonder they were defeated by the Iperu/Egba army at Iperu.

Op pls do not misinform the populace,atleast we read about the Kiriji war and no where was it mentioned that Ekiti Parapo or Ibadan purchased canon guns.It was stated clearly from the book i read,that the war was notable for its use of charms,even Obadoke Latoosa whom you said was a general,was refered to as a notorious babalawo(native doctor). I dont know where you got your story line from,its full of sensationalism.
And history puts it that the war only ended when the Fulanis joined the Oyo empire and it was observed that their intention was to take over the entire Yoruba land,and equaly enslave the populace,this made the war weary yorubas to immediately call for a truce....the book simply puts it that the coming of the Fulanis was the game changer. Pls get your facts right.

Then, what is the meaning of kirijji?

What really is a civil war, when 2 villages fight over farm lands can it be said to be a civil war

Kiriji? Lwkmd u forgot ekiti parapo

forgiveness:
Then, what is the meaning of kirijji?

In the book,Kiriji was refered to as a war slogan used by the Ekiti Parapo,just like the way you often hear our modern Army tag operations with a name eg operation 'Ruwan Zafi'.

AustineE1:
Op pls do not misinform the populace,atleast we read about the Kiriji war and no where was it mentioned that Ekiti Parapo or Ibadan purchased canon guns.It was stated clearly from the book i read,that the war was notable for its use of charms,even Obadoke Latoosa whom you said was a general,was refered to as a notorious babalawo(native doctor). I dont know where you got your story line from,its full of sensationalism.
And history puts it that the war only ended when the Fulanis joined the Oyo empire and it was observed that their intention was to take over the entire Yoruba land,and equaly enslave the populace,this made the war weary yorubas to immediately call for a truce....the book simply puts it that the coming of the Fulanis was the game changer. Pls get your facts right.

Fulani ke!

Well i don't know the book you read but from what i read and how the word sound, It's definately the sound of cannon when fired, Kirijii! Kirijii!!!.

which book did you read?

FABUNMI of OKemesi is not a woman @op he's a man and my great Ancestor.

Balogun Ogedengbe of Ijesaland

Born as Orisarayibi Ogundamola, (His passion for leadership earned him the appellation Ogedengbe).

He was born in 1822 to Apasan Borijiwa and Juola Orisatomi, and his birth according to Yoruba history coincided with the annual Ogun festival.

Aponlese 1, was the Owa of Ilesha at the time the young leader to be born. It was customary for the Owa during this Ogun festival to invite all the ‘babalawos’ (medicine men) in the Ijesha territory to come and predict what will be the outcome of the new year to come.

It was at this meeting that one particular ‘babalawo’ predicted that on an ‘Isegun’ day in 1822, a child will be born in the land, and he will deliver the Ijesha people from its oppressor(s).

And when the day came the Owa sent all his servants to all ‘igberikos’ and as predicted by the ‘babalawo’, Ogedengbe was the only baby who was said to be seen born on that day. After the naming ceremony, he was carried from his father’s house in Ijoka Ilesha to Atorin his mother’s village, about 24 kilometres away from Ilesha township.

History has it that Atorin, towards the end of the 18th century consisted of only six to eight huts and an average estimation of 40 people. Cut away from the Ijesha town, Atorin was a very poor village with a tiny connecting route to Ilesha town.

Because of the circumstance surrounding his birth and the plan of the Owa to keep a close eye on the young Ijesha savior, it was said that he was pampered and loved by his parents, and he was still breast-feeding at the age of seven. Growing up, the young Ogedengbe was a rascal, known for his rude attitude toward old people, and he had the very strange habit of calling his parents by their first name with no care.

Such was his wild behavior before the age of fifteen when he went on a voluntary exile, because of the personal assault he encountered in a woman called ‘Salakenu’ a villager in Atorin reputable for her witchcraft.

He later fled to Ilesha where he was received by his father and close associate. Due to his rascal attitude and restlessness, he found a common cause with a popular age group called the “Ipaye” which had an age range of 15-24 years. At 17, Ogedengbe was elected the deputy leader of the group. As a socio-political unit in Ilesha then, the “Ipaye” was responsible for cutting and fixing public buildings like the Palace, the shrine, Market stalls, building and repairing of roads and making sure orderliness prevailed in the town then. It was from this group that Ogedengbe was catapulted into political limelight.

At about the age of 35, around 1857, Ogedengbe decided to get married to a beautiful young Ijesha woman called “Orisaleke” but the parents of the girl opposed the marriage, simply because of Ogedengbe’s lifestyle, which was considered wild and reckless then.

Ogedengbe being who he was, forcibly took the girl from her parents’ house damning the consequences. The matter was later reported to the Owa, and Ogedengbe was sentenced to three months in prison.

After his release, quite a number of incidents sprung up that turned the young Ijesha man into a full war general. Not only that, but one of the greatest in Yoruba land. One was the liberation of villages surrounding Ekiti (Efon, Itaawure, and Oke-Mesi) from their Ibadan oppressor, and also the 1867 attack on Igbajo by llesha and a reverse attack on Ilesha by Ibadan, which forced the collapse of the Ijesha army and the flight of Ogedegbe to Ita-Ogbolu.

And as time went on, his powers and popularity were growing fast. Apart from his reckless, diplomatic and commanding leadership, Ogedengbe was also said to have possessed great magical powers, which came into full limelight during and after the Ekitiparapo war. His encounters with Ibadan also proved the general in him.

The first was in 1864 when he was captured while assisting in the defense of Ilara against the Ibadan troops, and the second time was in 1867 when he was captured during the Igbajo war. It was during this war a young Ibadan soldier severed Ogedengbe’s head off during the war, and the Ijesha general staggered back, rolled, picked up the fallen head and fixed it back on his body.

This made his enemies terrified of his person. After this incident, he was captured by Ibadan’s own General Bashorun Ogunmola, who decided to humiliate Ogedengbe by disfiguring his face with Ibadan tribal marks, hoping someone will later take him for an Ibadan man and kill him, but this didn’t happen. Ogedengbe learnt a lot of military tactics, secrets and trainings while in captive in Ibadan. These two occasions brought out the “general” in Ogedengbe.

During the Ekitiparapo war, it was said that Ogedengbe would stay in his house and fire arrows from his room to the battle field, he was also known for his random disappearing acts, which made him difficult to kill by his enemies.

Known for his diplomatic and charismatic attitude, he was also a fond addict of the native sniff called “taba”. Being a war general, he didn’t trust people for fear of being poisoned, so most times he normally sent his dog on errands to the market.

At that time in Ilesha, the sight of the dog was abnormal because no one had ever seen a dog as tall and huge like that before. Eye witness account says the dog was similar to a wild beast, while walking on the road, people ran at the sight of the dog. He normally tied a sack of cowries and samples of what he wants to buy around the dog's neck, and the dog goes to the market and walks straight to the ‘Iya Loja's' tent.

The ‘Iya Loja'’ is the female head chief of the market. The woman unties the rag around the dog’s neck, fills it with the required goods and the dog returns to its owner. And as the dog returns to its owner, the house owner of every house it passes must greet the dog saying, “ L’o gun ofe oooo”. Any house owner who doesn’t salute the dog will be reported to Ogedengbe. Mysteriously, the dog disappeared after Ogedengbe died.

After the Ekitiparapo war and the great trouble periods in the history of Yoruba land, Ogedengbe settled back in Ilesha, but his band of war boys could not contain themselves to the new peaceful atmosphere, they went raiding people, harassing and kidnapping innocent citizens.

This prompted Captain R.L Bower to arrest the war general in 1894 with his friend Prince Fabunmi, the Owa of Ilesha. Frederick Haastrup pleaded passionately for the release of Ogedengbe and after much begging to Governor Carter, he was released after a lengthy sum of £6,000.00 were posted for his bail.

Ogedengbe was conferred with a chieftaincy title of Obanla of Ilesha in 1898, thus the highest mark for his gallant achievements in the Kiriji/Ekitiparapo war. The restless, reckless and powerful Ogedengbe now after so many years of war and fights, now became a respectable chief and his service was now to the people.

Ogedengbe was no doubt one of the greatest war generals who ever lived in Yoruba land. His great wisdom and diplomatic war-like manners saw the Yoruba through the Ekitiparapo war. A real war master, his study of war tactics and war weaponry were second to none. A straight-forward man who always kept to his promises.

The Ijesha people will forever continue to cherish his memory. A cenotaph was erected for him at the Obokungbusi Town Hall. And the Ogedengbe Memorial School in Ilesha is a monumental masterpiece in his memory. Till this day, he remains the greatest warrior in Ijesha land, Hence this praise song.

forgiveness:
Well i don't know the book you read but from what i read and how the word sound, It's definately the sound of canoe when fired, Kirijii! Kirijii!!!.

which book did you read?

Bro, don't even give consideration to that jester, he's a lunatic Igbo boy.

YOLOBA FIGHTING CIVIL WAR KE....??




THIS OP...WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ??



HOW ABOUT YOU TELL US HOW YOLOBAS FOUGHT WORLD WAR...








THIS IS VERY FUNNY OOOO....

Okay na

django1:


Bro, don't even give consideration to that jester, he's a lunatic Igbo boy.

hehehe! i see.

This topic has been dealt with 3 years ago on Nairaland


https://www.nairaland.com/864525/yoruba-kiriji-wars-1877-1893

read The Yoruba Today by Jeremy Eades

The Kiriji War was only a war (or battle) which was part of a wider which lasted for 100 years (1793-1893) when it ended in Oke-Mesi. In 1993 some scholars and traditionalists met there to mark the 100 years of the peace pact signed.

The Yoruba's have a wonderful history and culture. The Ife head in tranquility is unarguably one of the best of its kind. It's such a shame how they have subdue themselves to the Northerners.

AustineE1:
Op pls do not misinform the populace,atleast we read about the Kiriji war and no where was it mentioned that Ekiti Parapo or Ibadan purchased canon guns.It was stated clearly from the book i read,that the war was notable for its use of charms,even Obadoke Latoosa whom you said was a general,was refered to as a notorious babalawo(native doctor). I dont know where you got your story line from,its full of sensationalism.
And history puts it that the war only ended when the Fulanis joined the Oyo empire and it was observed that their intention was to take over the entire Yoruba land,and equaly enslave the populace,this made the war weary yorubas to immediately call for a truce....the book simply puts it that the coming of the Fulanis was the game changer. Pls get your facts right.

Which book did you read, oga? The war was put to an end by the British via the help of the Missionairies (In which Crowther's son et al played a part). Guns were used inthe war and purchased via the help of the Ijebus (I think Osuntinubuwa was a major supplier then). Of course, sorcery/magic were used but military might and prowess was paramount. So,, no Fulani as postulated by your claims. And again, Imesi-Ile is where I served and those sites are there till date, incuding where the peace treaty was signed. Excuse me, Aare Latoosa was not a Babalawo but a General of Ibadan WArriors, which include Jogunomi, Aare Ago, Ajayi Ogboriefon et al... There is no Yoruba warrior that doesn't use sorcery or magic, hence the accaimed 'babalawo' part., but that is not his profession. The burial site of Latoosa, where he fell in battlefront is still there till date in Imesi-Ile. WHen you get there, they will even show you the guns used and bullets, incuding charms. But you will be warned not to touch anything coz those charms are still active and potent, even after 130 years plus.. There is even an anthem for the end of the war in Yoruba. You can visit Imesi-Ile during their Day. Pls, go throway that book of yours.

kilokeys:
Hnmm.. I think i know why it lasted for 16 years..

Both parties were busy shouting.. Ahhhh Ahhhh emi emi.!!

For a cummulative time frame of about 15 years 6 months..

kilokeys:
Hnmm.. I think i know why it lasted for 16 years..

Both parties were busy shouting.. Ahhhh Ahhhh emi emi.!!

For a cummulative time frame of about 15 years 6 months..

...joke apart dis is a gud thread. Dis is d kind of educative threads dat we shuld b reading hia n nt doz threads dat encourages tribal hatred

[quote author=forgiveness post=37060431]Well i don't know the book you read but from what i read and how the word sound, It's definately the sound of canoe when fired, Kirijii! Kirijii!!!.

which book did you read? [/quote
Please just neglect that guy....he is a dullard that know next to nothing about the war and believe. E one of those yoruba haters that can never see,hear good about the nation.....I'm a student of history and I can tell u some of ur information is right,though there somethings that wasn't included but u tried.
Kudos!

Fo.olish ancestors, foo.lish wars... Ibadan spoiled all the expansionist movement of OYO empire , Instead of them to match eastward and conquer SouthEast and SouthSouth and Westward towards Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana till Gambia ...... ... They were fighting useless fight among themselves !

IFA would have been pointing them to Eastern Nigeria/Africa and Western Africa countries but their myopic brain would be interpreting it to be East/West of Yoruba land thus the EkitiParapo bullzhit !!!

I respect Oranmiyan more , he represent Yoruba very well during his sojourn in Benin and they applauded his wisdom, oh yeah, that's my man .... all others like Afonja too are craps !!!

No wonder we are waaaay more developed. Cuz brings about innovation. Go to your history book.

Most technological discoveries was after the 2nd world war

coolzeal:
The Yoruba's have a wonderful history and culture. The Ife head in tranquility is unarguably one of the best of its kind. It's such a shame how they have subdue themselves to the Northerners.

How have they subdued themselves to the Northerners exactly?

kettykin:
What really is a civil war, when 2 villages fight over farm lands can it be said to be a civil war

I understand why you called it a fight between 2 villages; it is because of your head that is flat and your brain that fail to develop.. You also think every other part were villages because your gully erosion place of birth were more or less hamlets in 1877. For your information flaaaaathead, everyone is not as backward as your tribe

Yorubas are strategic people and brutal in war.

The small Biafran war would have lasted 3months if Yorubas were fighting biafrans. When Yorubas decided to join Nigeria, we saw what happened to Igbo cockroaches.

Yoruba empire was not big for no reason.

The day Yorubas decide to go to war, Nigeria is finished.

Bollove:
Fo.olish ancestors, foo.lish wars... Ibadan spoiled all the expansionist movement of OYO empire , Instead of them to match eastward and conquer SouthEast and SouthSouth and Westward towards Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana till Gambia ...... ... They were fighting useless fight among themselves !

IFA would have been pointing them to Eastern Nigeria/Africa and Western Africa countries but their myopic brain would be interpreting it to be East/West of Yoruba land thus the EkitiParapo bullzhit !!!

I respect Oranmiyan more , he represent Yoruba very well during his sojourn in Benin and they applauded his wisdom, oh yeah, that's my man .... all others like Afonja too are craps !!!

Without that war, I'd still be 100% omo Ondo. It's not bullshit.

Ekiti people are stubborn and they felt that ondo people were lording over them. One thing about aw on Ekiti is that, we don't let anyone walk over us.

The war brought Ekiti people closer together