A refuge becomes a state
The wars that followed Oyo's decline destroyed many Egba towns in the forest. Around 1830, refugees led by Sodeke settled beneath Olumo Rock and founded Abeokuta. The new city brought together the people of many towns, each keeping its own quarter, chiefs and identity under shared leadership, later headed by the Alake.
Experiment in self-government
Abeokuta became a centre of missionary activity and of educated returnees from Sierra Leone. In 1898 its rulers formed the Egba United Government, with a council, a secretary and modern administrative departments. Britain recognised Egba independence by treaty until 1914, when the government was abolished and Abeokuta was absorbed into colonial Nigeria.
Accountability from below
In the 1940s the Abeokuta Women's Union, led by Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, campaigned against unfair taxes imposed on market women. Their protests led the Alake, Ademola II, to leave the throne in 1949, though he later returned. The episode showed that legitimacy could still be withdrawn by the governed.
Further reading
- Saburi Biobaku, The Egba and Their Neighbours, 1842-1872 (Clarendon Press, 1957)
- Cheryl Johnson-Odim and Nina Emma Mba, For Women and the Nation: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti of Nigeria (1997)