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

alaafin Alaafin, or ''The custodian of the Palace'' in the Yoruba language, is the title of the king of the Oyo Empire and present-day Oyo town of West Africa. It is the particular title of the Oba (king) of the Oyo. It is sometimes translated as ...

,'' or king, of the Oyo people in what is now

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Oyo Empire

Coming to the throne shortly after the Oyo subjugation of neighboring

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

, Abiodun soon found himself embroiled in a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

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

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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 ''Don (honorific), Dom'' PedroII (Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous (), was the List o ...

's rule. His other descendants include the 19th-century warrior

Oluyole Oluyole (fl. c. mid-1800s CE) was a leader and military commander from the Oyo empire. He rose to fame as Bashorun, a title he subsequently made famous, and was one of the leaders who contributed immensely to the military and economic development ...

, the historian

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, 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 Fulani sl ...

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

Bode Thomas Chief Bode Thomas (born Olabode Akanbi 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 ...

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

founding father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states 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., political system ...

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. Macaulay is considered by many as founder of Nigerian nat ...

and

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

’ philanthropist and religious figure Mohammed Shitta Bey. An important contemporary descendant was Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh. Another one, his great-great-grandson Lamidi Adeyemi III, was the Alaafin from 1972 until his death 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