Abiodun (reigned 1770–1789) was an 18th-century ''

alaafin Alaafin, or ''The Owner of the Palace'' in the Yoruba language, is the title of the emperor of the medieval Oyo empire and present-day Oyo town of West Africa. He ruled the old Oyo Empire which extended from the present day Benin republic to Ni ...

,'' 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 The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

, 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 Bashorun Gaha (or Gaa) was a notable nobleman and leader of the military in the old Oyo Empire during the 18th century. From 1650 to 1750, Oyo Empire was at the pinnacle of her greatness, peace, prosperity and wealth. The Empire had expanded to the ...

, 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 is not ...

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 Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

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 Cândido da Fonseca Galvão, also known as Dom Obá II D'África (Lençóis, 1845-1890), was a Brazilians, Brazilian military officer and nobleman. A grandson of the Oba (king), Obá Abiodun (Oyo ruler), Abiodun of the Oyo Empire, he held the title ...

, under the title of ''Dom Oba II'', was an important South American abolitionist during

Pedro II of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimity, Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the List of monarchs of Brazil, second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. ...

'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 Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

, his brother physician Obadiah Johnson,

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 counsello ...

, pioneering jurist Modupe Omo-Eboh, as well as Nigerian founding father Herbert Macaulay. An important contemporary descendant was Dr.

Ameyo Adadevoh Ameyo Stella Adadevoh (27 October 1956 – 19 August 2014) was a Nigerian physician. She is credited with having curbed a wider spread of the Western African Ebola virus epidemic in Nigeria by placing the patient zero, Patrick Sawyer, in ...

. Another one, his great-great-grandson

Lamidi Adeyemi III Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III (15 October 1938 – 22 April 2022) was the Alaafin, or traditional ruler, of the Yoruba town of Oyo and rightful heir to the throne of its historic empire. Early life and ancestry Alaafin Adeyemi III was born ...

, 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