Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

Amodu Tijani Oluwa, also known as simply Amodu Tijani, 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 ...

Yoruba traditional chief. Coming to prominence in the high colonial period, he was a notable

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

. He held the title of the Oluwa of

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 ...

Life

A member of Lagos' ''Idejo'' hereditary nobility, Chief Oluwa was a direct descendant of Olofin Ogunfunmire. His family had dominion over a patchwork of villages and towns in the

Apapa Apapa is a Local Government Area in Lagos, Nigeria located to the west of Lagos Island. Apapa contains a number of ports and terminals operated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), including the major port of Lagos State and Lagos Port Co ...

area of Lagos. He held strong nationalist views, arguing that the British colonial government did not have the right to deprive his overlord

Eshugbayi Eleko Oba Eshugbayi Eleko (died 1932), alias ''"Eleko of Eko"'', was the Oba of Lagos from 1901 to 1925, and from 1931 to 1932. His father was Oba Dosunmu. Eleko's struggles and legal victory over the British colonial government symbolized the struggle ...

, the

Oba of Lagos The Oba of Lagos, also known as the Eleko of Eko, is the Nigerian traditional rulers, traditional ruler (Oba (ruler), Oba) of Lagos. The Oba is a ceremonial Yoruba people, Yoruba sovereign with no political power, but is sought as a counsel ...

, of his ancestral powers. To this end, he served as a co-founder of the

National Congress of British West Africa The National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA), founded in 1920, was one of the earliest nationalist organizations in West Africa, and one of the earliest formal organizations working toward African emancipation. It was largely composed o ...

. In 1920, the chief, Prince

Adeniji Adele Oba (ruler), Oba Sir Musendiku Buraimoh Adeniji Adele II, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE (13 November 1893 – 12 July 1964) was the Oba of Lagos, Oba (King) of Lagos from 1 October 1949 to 12 July 1964. Life Adele was ...

and

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 ...

journeyed to London to appear before the Privy Council. They were there to argue in defense of the Oba's right of ownership to land forcefully appropriated by the British Government. In ''

Amodu Tijani v Secretary, Southern Nigeria ''Amodu Tijani v Secretary, Southern Nigeria'' 9212 AC 399, 921UKPC 80, also known as the Apapa land case, was a decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council concerning land title. Background and lower courts The controversy at issu ...

'', the Council ultimately ruled in their favour. This case proved to be a landmark in Nigerian history as it recognised the chiefs as absolute owners of the land. Songs and poems were later composed in Chief Oluwa's honour as a result of his success. His case was later referenced in land tenure cases as far afield as India and New Zealand.

Transcript of the judgement

What follows is a link to a summary transcript of the final judgement in the case of ''Amodu Tijani vs. The Secretary of the Southern Provinces (1921)'': *

References

{{Reflist Nigerian traditional rulers Year of birth missing Year of death missing