Oba Idewu Ojulari (died c 1835) reigned as

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 ...

from 1829 to about 1834/5. His father was Oba

Osinlokun Oba Osinlokun or Eshinlokun (died 1829) reigned as Oba of Lagos from 1821 to 1829. His father was Oba Ologun Kutere and his siblings were Obas Adele and Akitoye, making the Ologun Kutere Obaship line the dominant one in Lagos. Among Osinlokun ...

and his siblings were

Kosoko Kosoko (died 1872) was a member of the Ologun Kutere Lagos Royal Family who reigned as Oba of Lagos from 1845 to 1851. His father was Oba Osinlokun and his siblings were Idewu Ojulari (who was Oba from 1829 to 1834/35), Olufunmi, Odunsi, Lad ...

(who was Oba from 1845 to 1851) and Opo Olu, a wealthy and powerful female slave holder.

Idewu Ojulari's ritual suicide

Idewu Ojulari became Oba after his father Osilokun died in 1829. However, Idewu Ojulari's reign was unpopular and at the behest of the

Oba of Benin The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated Republic of Benin, which was then known as Daho ...

, to whom the people of Lagos had petitioned, Idewu Ojulari committed suicide. Notably, Lagos had hitherto been under Benin suzerainty up until the reign of Oba Kosoko who was dethroned by British forces in 1851. Thereafter, Oba Akitoye and his successor, Oba Dosunmu, rebuffed payment of annual tributes to Benin. According to historian Kristin Mann, Idewu Ojulari's unpopularity may have been caused by the economic downturn in the slave trade following the prosperous years of Osinlokun's reign. Idewu's chiefs reportedly communicated their displeasure to the Oba of Benin, who sent Idewu a skull, a sword, and a message that "the people of Lagos would no longer recognize him as their King". Idewu recognized the skull as an invitation to take poison and the sword as a call to battle. Idewu picked the poison option and committed suicide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojulari, Idewu 19th-century Nigerian people Obas of Lagos Year of birth unknown History of Lagos 19th century in Lagos Yoruba monarchs 19th-century monarchs in Africa Ologun-Kutere family 1830s suicides