Akinpelu Obisesan (1889–1963) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

diarist A diary is a writing, written or audiovisual Memorabilia, memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by Calendar date, date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwriti ...

, businessman and politician. He was among a class of educated elites in the early twentieth century who kept private records of their activities and who were also speakers at formal events. Many of them later published their presentations in newspapers, as this was sometimes seen as a passage into intellectual status in the western Nigerian milieu.Toyin Falola, Adebayo Oyebade. ''The Foundations of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola''. Africa World Press, 2003, p. 289. . Akinpelu's records from 1920 to 1960 became an important source for elite activities during the colonial era and are used by a few scholars on predefined topics varying from the cultural, political and

social history Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. Historians who write social history are called social historians. Social history came to prominence in the 1960s, spreading f ...

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

and western Nigeria. Included in his diaries were stories about

Salami Agbaje Chief Salami Agbaje (1880–1953) was one of Nigeria's leading businessmen during the nation's colonial era. He was a successful indigenous entrepreneur who found a way to adapt and transform his ambitions into reality within an emerging and for ...

, one of the wealthiest Ibadan citizens of his time, and socio-political matters of the era. Agbaje was the first individual to own a two-story house built from cement and the first to own a car in Ibadan. In late 1949, Agbaje was charged for selfishness by community leaders, who challenged his hoarding of wealth.Falola and Oyebode p. 294. Akinpelu and other elites also engaged in discussions and wrote about major events of the era, topics on the Lagos elites and defence of his family's land interests were major issues written and discussed about.

Early life

Obisesan was born in Ibadan to the family of an elephant

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

: Aperin Obisesan and a

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

woman. His father was one of the early defenders of Ibadan against the Ijebu incursions of the late nineteenth century. He was rewarded with a chieftaincy title for his effort in defending Ibadan.

Karin Barber Dame Karin Judith Barber, (born 2 July 1949) is a British cultural anthropologist and academic, who specialises in the Yoruba-speaking area of Nigeria. From 1999 to 2017, she was Professor of African Cultural Anthropology at the University of ...

. ''Africa's Hidden Histories: Everyday Literacy and Making the Self''. Indiana University Press, 2006, p. 56. He also acquired a vast forest during the period. Obisesan attended various schools managed by the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

. The missionary school teachers were educated and frequently wrote about their activities in journals. One of the missionaries was Daniel Olubi, an early Christian convert who was Obisesan's teacher in 1896, the first year of his formal education.Karin Barber p. 56. Olubi was a mentor to Obisesan and guided him in his studies. Obisesan's impetus to keep a journal could have been established while attending the missionary schools. After completing his studies, he started work at the office of the British resident in Ibadan, but later moved to

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 ...

to work with the railway authority. In 1913, he returned to Ibadan and a year later, he was appointed as the

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Occupations * Janitor (chiefly in the United States), a person who cleans and maintains buildings such as hospitals and schools * Property caretaker, a person who cares for a property * Caregiver or carer (UK), a person wh ...

and secretary of his family's land holdings. His father had used his vast forest to farm and transformed it into a productive

Cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

growing field. However, the ownership of the land was disputed, as other citizens laid claims to the land. In 1914, he bought in first diary, speculatively, he may have used his diary as a means to record events on the family's farm business or for record keeping.

Career

Before and after becoming the secretary of his family's farm interests, Obisesan Akinpelu was a

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

clerk and produce

buyer Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual o ...

. While in Ibadan, he supplemented his income by working for the Paterson Zochonis group. He later became a produce buyer of Cocoa. For a span of 30 years, he was president of the Ibadan Cooperative Produce Marketing Society. As leader of the cooperative produce society, he was an important voice against foul tactics used by

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

middlemen and Cocoa exporters. He also became the pioneer chairman of the Cooperative Bank of Ibadan. A bank created to serve the needs of

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

societies in the region.

Record keeping

Obisesan was educated in an environment where

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

skills was seen as a sign of intellectual fineness and with most

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

situated in Lagos and

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State located at the south western part of Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokut ...

, the school age residents of the two cities had a fast start in literacy and honing their writing skills. He also believed

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

could be a ticket to acquire wealth and without education, Ibadan may be left behind. He desired writing as a way to educate himself and record keeping was a productive way of keeping himself abreast of developments in his business. In his diaries, fingerprints of his emulation of status men and being enthralled with wealth at an early age could be seen. At an early age, he dreamt about having a fecund future, however, the reality of his poor financial position was always something he moaned and wrote about early on. During his early years when he was suffering from financial deprivation, Akinpelu wrote in his diary, In 1920, when he started writing assiduously, it was a means of

self-education Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions). Overview Autodida ...

and

self-development Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. When ...

. Contents in his diary revealed different information about the social personalities and events of the era, it also revealed personal details of his life. Though, he had written in 1930 that he was fatigued as a result of numerous intercourse with his wives.,Falola and Oyebode p. 287. in 1955, he married his final wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obisesan, Akinpelu 1889 births Yoruba businesspeople Businesspeople from Ibadan Nigerian activists Nigerian diarists 1963 deaths 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 20th-century Nigerian writers Nigerian landowners Members of the Legislative Council of Nigeria People from colonial Nigeria 20th-century landowners