Abiodun (reigned 1770–1789) was an 18th-century '' alaafin,'' or king, of the Oyo people in what is now

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Oyo Empire

Coming to the throne shortly after the Oyo subjugation of neighboring Dahomey, Abiodun soon found himself embroiled in a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

over the goals of the newly wealthy state. Bashorun Gaha, the empire's

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

and lord marshal, had used his power to pervert the constitutional terms of abdication in a bid to limit the powers of the ''Alaafin'' and gain more political power for himself. During Gaha's power play, he had succeeded in removing five corrupt dishonest kings. In terms of trade, while Abiodun favored economic expansion for its own sake, his opponents favored using the wealth from Dahomey's tribute to finance further military expansion. Abiodun soon proved victorious and pursued a policy of peaceful trade with the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an merchants of the coast. This course significantly weakened the army, leaving his successor, Awole, facing a number of local revolts.

Descendants and legacy

Abiodun's reign is generally remembered as a time of peace and prosperity for the Oyo, though Nigerian playwright Femi Òsófisan portrays him as a despot in his play ''The Chattering and the Song'' (1973). His son Alaafin Atiba was the founder of the ruling dynasty in the present Oyo. His grandson Cândido da Fonseca Galvão, under the title of ''Dom Oba II'', was an important South American abolitionist during Pedro II of Brazil's rule. His other descendants include the 19th-century warrior

Oluyole {{Unreferenced, date=June 2022 ''For the Local Government Area of Oyo State, see Oluyole, Nigeria.'' Chief Oluyole was a distinguished, dominating army commander from Oyo. He rose to fame as Bashorun, a title he subsequently made famous, and w ...

, the historian Samuel Johnson, his brother physician

Obadiah Johnson Obadiah Johnson, M.D. (1849–1920, born in Freetown, Sierra Leone) was a Saro who was both the second Nigerian to qualify as a medical doctor and the co-author, with his brother the Reverend Samuel Johnson, of ''A History of the Yorubas from t ...

Samuel Ajayi Crowther Samuel Ajayi Crowther ( – 31 December 1891), was a Yoruba linguist, clergyman, and the first African Anglican bishop of West Africa. Born in Osogun (in what is now Ado-Awaye, Oyo State, Nigeria), he and his family were captured by slave raide ...

, the first African Bishop of the CMS, prominent colonial politician

Bode Thomas Chief Bode Thomas (October 1919 – 23 November 1953) was a Nigerian lawyer, politician, statesman and traditional aristocrat. Thomas served as both a colonial minister of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria and a nobleman and privy counse ...

, pioneering jurist Modupe Omo-Eboh, as well as Nigerian

founding father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

Herbert Macaulay Olayinka Herbert Samuel Heelas Badmus Macaulay (14 November 1864 – 7 May 1946) was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, surveyor, engineer, architect, journalist, and musician and is considered by many Nigerians as the founder of Niger ...

. An important contemporary descendant was Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh. Another one, his great-great-grandson Lamidi Adeyemi III, was the Alaafin from 1972 until his passing in 2022.

References

External links

Oyo empire

Alaafins of Oyo 18th-century monarchs in Africa Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Abiodun family 18th-century Nigerian people Year of birth uncertain Yoruba kings {{Africa-royal-stub