CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study
The history
of the Owu-Ikosi cannot be isolated from the history of the Yoruba speaking
people in general and of Oyo empire in particular.
Owu came to
lime light around 1821 and 1828 in what has been known in Yoruba history as Owu
war. The war started partly as a result of the struggle between various Yoruba
districts as well as the attack on
towns by Olowu Amororo, an action considered as sacrilegious because of the
sacredness of Ile-Ife in Yorubaland, the supposed birth place of the Yorubas’s.
The result
of his action became a disaster for the Owu people in their original abode and
threw the whole of Yoruba land into war.
The Owu
were thoroughly defeated by the combined forces of and Ijebu. The Oni of Ife, the
spiritual head of the Yoruba’s ordered with his constitutional authority that
the Owu capital, Orile-Owu must be totally destroyed.
As a result
of this untoward event, the Owu became scattered people and however formed
substantial communities in various parts of Yoruba land.
In this
study, our focus is on the Owu-Ikosi in ,
were they are referred to as Owu-Eko.
Ikosi was
found by some of the Owu who fled from their original abode, looking for settlement.
At their arrival at Ikosi, they found evidences of inhabitant in some areas.
The Owu however looked for a fresh land and decided to stay there. But later it
was discovered that it was war that drove the original inhabitant.
However,
some of the Owu’s later encouraged the people to come back and promised them
security and since then, there had never been war. They therefore both named
the area as Agbowa, hence Owu-ikosi is a district territory from Agbowa
territory.
This work
is aimed at reconstructing the history of Owu-Ikosi people in Agbowa community
in in the
20th century. Also to show the importance of Owu-Ikosi in the
content of their origin, settlement pattern socio-economic and political
organization.
1.2 Aims and
Objectives of the Study
The general objectives of this study
are to examine the history of Owu-Ikosi town in
in the 20th
century.
The specific objectives are:
1.
To examine the historical origin of the Owu people.
2.
To discuss administration structure of Owu land and
evaluate its consequences.
3.
To examine the socio-cultural, economic and political
development of the people under review.
4.
Discuss the relationship between the Owu-Ikosi and
their neighbour.
1.3 Scope and
Limitation of the Study
The scope is designed to have a deep
insight on the history of the Owu-Ikosi town. The essay will focus on
political, economic and socio-cultural activities of the people, along with the
changes that were instituted between Owu-Ikosi and its neighbour in the early
20th century. Hence, this work covers the period between the turn of
19th 1830 century to 20th 1950 century. Ever then it is
still necessary to go far back into time as it is only through such past, against
which background the present is ranged that this study with its time – frame
could only be appreciated.
In other word, this research work
covers the time between 1821 when Owu came to limelight in what has been known
in Yoruba history as Owu war to the late 20th century.
As regard
the limitation, the major problem in the course of this research is
non-availability of written document or materials on the history of Owu-Ikosi.
Another problem encountered was during the oral interview in which the people
saw it as a threat to them in knowing their history. They felt it could be used
against them hence didn’t want to disclose it. However it took a lot of time
before they eventually disclose the information.
1.4 Significance
of the Study
Basically, examine the history of the
Owu-Ikosi Agbowa community,
will enhance our
understanding of the history of this people. Because this people have been
known to be scattered around the country, a particular study of this nature
will help to bring the bits and pieces of their history together.
1.5 Research
Methodology
This study would be approached from a
multi-disciplinary perspective. This will involve the use of primary and
secondary. Primary sources are mainly derived from oral interview as well as
archival materials. Oral interview would be conducted among informed members of
Owu-Ikosi people. Bearing in mind the major limitation of oral sources, attempt
would be made to confront these sources with secondary sources in order to
attain some measure of objectivity. A number of secondary sources exist for the
history of Yoruba land generally. Same can be said for the history of Owu-Ikosi.
Nevertheless archival materials would be supplemented with the available
literature with the Owu-Ikosi people.
1.6 Literature
Review
A numbers
of work which are related to the topic were consulted as a background to this
study. There is although no specific book written on this topic. But some works
have been done on the history of the Owu people which however paved way for the
understanding of the people in their early history.
The work of
A.L. Mabogunje and J.D. Omer-cooper “Owu in Yoruba history”1, gave a
brief account of the wider content within which the history of Owu must be
seen. It explains the position of the Owus among the Yoruba speaking peoples.
Tradition
suggests that Owu in Southern Yoruba land was one of the earliest and most
important sub-group2. It further explains the outbreak of the Owu
war, in which its fall marked a turning point in the history of Yoruba land.
Explaining the factors that led to the war, firstly, there was the political
crisis in Oyo and the decline of Oyo power both within Yoruba land and outside it.
Secondly there was the growth of the slave trade on the coast and in particular
the rise of
as a slaving point. Finally, there was the Islamic renaissance in the interland
and the spread of Jihadist ideology to the northern confines of Yoruba land3.
The
deficiency of the book was that it was biased in its explanation to Owu today.
In that it recognized only the Owu in Ijebu province, the Owu in Egbaland, the
Owu in
and Oyo provinces. Howbeit, the present study is aimed at explaining the origin
of the Owu people in Ikosi in the content of their origin, settlement pattern,
socio-economic and political organization.
A number of
other work were consulted in this duration, Oba I.B. Akinyele’s “Iwe Itan
Ibadan”4 is sufficient so also sundry material which are primary in
nature derived from the Olowu of Owu kingdom in Abeokuta.
It is also
gratified to find that in spite of the spread of education, published versions
of historical tradition such as Johnson’s history of the Yoruba’s had not
obliterated variant accounts which were essential to a clarification of the
chain of event.
Also, the
article “migration”, contributed by William Peterson in David L. Sills (eds.)
“international encyclopedia of the social sciences” vol. 9, as well a Edgar
Kant’s “classification and problems of migration” that appeared in Philip L.
Wagner and Mama W. Mikesch (Ed.) “Readings cultural Geography were consulted on
migration as a phenomenon inherent in human nature since the beginning of
civilization5.
However, as
useful and important as the above works are, they still leave gaps that are
readily filled by learned journals, national dailies, pamphlets with useful
information.
It is
opposite to state here, however, that most of these printed materials are most
useful on the early history of Owus generally, hence the researcher relies
almost entirely on oral source on the history of the row vis a vis the theme of
this work.