Ilorin Emirate | |
|---|---|
  Ilorin Emirate Location in Nigeria | |
| Coordinates: 8°30′N 4°33′E / 8.500°N 4.550°E | |
| Country |  Nigeria |
| State | Kwara State |
| Government | |
| • Emir | Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari |
The Ilorin Emirate is a traditional state based in the city of Ilorin in Kwara State, Nigeria. It is largely populated by the Yoruba-speaking people, though the kingdom is a hybrid state due to the influence of the many other tribes that make up the city.
The first settlers in Ilorin were Barubas who lived there for many years and considered the area their own; they left with no known reason. Then came Ojo Isekuse, a Yoruba hermit, who lived by the sharpening stone where hunters gathered to sharpen their wares. Ilorin was named after the sharpening stone which still exists today. Ojo Isekuse allegedly left after committing incest with his daughter, and another family named Asaju settled near the sharpening stone. It was after the Asajus that numerous people settled in different independent hamlets around the area called Ilorin today.
At the start of the 19th century, Ilorin had substantial Fulani, Hausa and Yoruba populations. Afonja, an Oyo warlord, who fled to avoid a suicidal war commissioned by the then Alaafin of Oyo found his way to Ilorin. An Islamic scholar, Salih Janta, popularly called Shehu Alimi because of his Islamic knowledge, also found his way to Ilorin from Oyo because of persecution by the Ogboni cult. He moved to Ilorin from Oyo with some Yoruba Muslims.
In approximately 1810, Shehu Alimi and Afonja form alliance to repel the punitive forces of Oyo. Oyo intended to punish Afonja's rebellion and also get rid of the Islamic scholar who was gaining Yoruba converts. Shehu Alimi seeked help from Sheik Usman Dan Fodio, who sent Jama'a force to Ilorin to aid his friend. In the initial conflict, Ilorin's forces successfully repelled the Oyo forces. However, the Alaafin decided to retaliate with a larger force aimed at suppressing Afonja's rebellion and eliminating Shehu Alimi. In a preemptive move, Ilorin's forces attacked and burned down Oyo-Ile, the capital of the old Oyo Empire.[1]
Ilorin became a major political and military force after the fall of old Oyo. With no named leader, both Afonja and Alimi provided leadership for the people living in that area. Afonja and Shehu Alimi, enjoyed a cordial relationship until Alimi's demise at a ripe old age.
After Shehu Alimi's demise, there was a tussle for the rulership of Ilorin, a young and burgeoning town. The alfas wanted to establish an Islamic Caliphate based on knowledge, while Afonja was planning on establishing his rule, but Abdulsalam, a son of Shehu Alimi, emerged with the help of the Jama'a, being the biggest military presence in Ilorin. Afonja was killed during the reign of Abdulsalam when a brawl broke out between the Yoruba forces and Jama'a caused by the masquerade of Afonja. Masquerades were banned in Ilorin because of that incident. Ilorin became an emirate of the Sokoto Caliphate under the authority of Gwandu.[2][1]
For some time, Ilorin was a major center of the slave trade, described by Richard Henry Stone as the "largest slave market in that part of Africa".[3] Most Yorubas in Ilorin were still pagan, which lead to most being subjects to the Emir, who had little social upheaval, who most secretly desired to free themselves, from their Fula masters.[4] In the past, slaves had mainly been sent north across the Sahara, but now they were being sent south via the Yoruba lands to the coast to supply demand from the US, the West Indies, and Brazil. Leading to the civil wars, left a lot of Yoruba subject to slavery.[5]
Ilorin continued to expand southward with a lot of resistance, in the 1830s Yorubas fought the emirate which was made up of the ranks of Fulanis, Yoruba Muslims, and Hausas in the Battle of Ogbomosho, which was a decisive Ilorin emirate victory. Ilorin's southward expansion was checked in the 1830s by the growing power of Ibadan, an Oyo successor state. The Ilorin cavalry were ineffective in the jungle to the south, and by the 1850s Ibadan had access to guns from European traders on the coast.[2] Ilorin, as a part of the Sokoto Caliphate, maintained ongoing interactions with other Yoruba states while being situated in the midst of northern and southern Nigeria. These interactions encompassed various aspects, including frequent conflicts as well as continuous exchanges in terms of commerce and culture. The strategic location of the emirate between the north and south bestowed upon Ilorin a unique significance, which persisted even after the Caliphate throughout the colonial and post-colonial eras.[1] Ilorin was brought under the northern Protectorate through diplomacy and applying minimal force considering the political situation of the state then.
Rulers of the Ilorin Emirate:[6]
| Start | End | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| 1824 | 1842 | Abdusalami dan Salih Alimi |
| 1842 | 1860 | Shita dan Salih Alimi |
| 1860 | 1868 | Zubayro dan Abdusalami |
| 1868 | 1891 | Shita Aliyu dan Shittu |
| 1891 | 1896 | Moma dan Zubayru |
| 1896 | 14 January 1914 | Sulaymanu dan Aliyu |
| 1915 | November 1919 | Shuaybu Bawa dan Zubayru |
| 17 February 1920 | June 1959 | Abdulkadir dan Shuaybu Bawa |
| 30 June 1959 | 1992 | Zulkarnayni Gambari dan Muhammadu Laofe Dan Bawa "Aiyelabowo V" |
| 1992 | August 1995[7] | Mallam Aliyu dan Abdulkadir |
| 1995 | Till Date | Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari |
Due to Ilorin's unique history, first as a Yoruba outpost of the Oyo Empire, then as a Fulani vassal of the Sokoto Caliphate, it has a kingmaking tradition that is a blend of traditions taken from both sources. Whenever the throne of the emirate (which is vested in the Fulani descendants of Shehu Alimi) is vacant, the representative of each quarter in the Emirate namely; the Balogun Gambari (Hausa), the Balogun Ajikobi (Yoruba), the Balogun Fulani (Fulani) and the Balogun Alanamu (Yoruba) - along with the head of the Afonja chieftaincy family, the Mogaji Aare, and his sub-chief called the Baba Isale of Ilorin - come together to elect and install a new emir, subject to the approval of the governor of Kwara State. The longest reigning of the four Baloguns is then conferred with the Balogun Agba title, which makes him the second in command to the Emir of Ilorin. All of the Baloguns have districts which they administer on the emir's behalf.
There are also traditional chiefs that are each known as Daudu (or District Head). They serve as lieutenants representing the emir in towns across the Ilorin Emirate such as Afon, Bode Saadu, Ipaye and Malete, among others.
The Emirate has witnessed the conferment of honorary titles to outstanding sons of the Emirate by the current Emir. The following are titles that have been conferred;[8]