Odarawu was an

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 ...

of the

Oyo Empire The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking s ...

, who ruled briefly during the late seventeenth century. He was reportedly the first Alaafin to be rejected by the Oyo Mesi (the seven main counselors of state). Odarawu was the son of Ajagbo. He was on the throne for a short period of time. He was considered a man of bad temperament. According to Oyo

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

his bad temper led him to being removed as king and also served as an educational warning and lesson to future kings on character development. Odarawu's major battle was also his first and last blunder on the throne. During his reign, he ordered the destruction of a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

called Ojo-segi after one of its market traders (not realising to whom she was speaking) slapped him and accused him of being a thief. Subsequently, the Oyo masses found him unfit to be king and he was asked to commit suicide. He was succeeded by Kanran.

References

*Samuel Johnson, Obadiah Johnson. The History of the Yorubas, From the Earliest of Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate. P 169 Alaafins of Oyo {{Africa-royal-stub