Egba United Government
The Egba United Government was a short-lived but significant government established in the late 19th century by the Egba-Egbado people, a subgroup of the Yoruba ethnic group, in what is now South-western Nigeria and Eastern Benin. Mainly in response to external threats from neighbouring kingdoms, such as the Dahomey and the collapsed Oyo Empire, the Egba towns and villages began to come together to form a loose confederacy, which was later formalized into the Egba United Government in 1893.
In 1898, the government was formally recognized and established by the Lagos Colony Governor, McCallum, at a meeting organized with William Alfred Allen, who was the Colonial Government Agent in Abeokuta and an Egba man from Iporo Ake. This event occurred at the end of the Yoruba civil wars in 1893, making the EUG one of Africa's legally existing governments and nation-states, ensuring its independence during the Scramble for Africa. William Alfred Allen was appointed the first Secretary to the Government by the Colonial government while the Egba rulers were given government portfolios. Eventually, Allen was succeeded by Adegboyega Edun.
Background
Following the decline of the Oyo Empire in the early 19th century and the Egba independence from the empire, the several independent Egba towns and villages engaged in a series of conflicts and wars with the Dahomey, which spanned 1843 to 1851, making it a major conflict in West Africa during the 19th century. The causes of the Egba-Dahomey War were rooted in the Dahomey Kingdom’s expansionist policies and the Egba people’s resistance to their territorial expansion. The tension and conflicts spiralled as result of the territorial ambitions of the kingdom, under the leadership of Ghezo, who wanted to expand its influence and control over neighbouring states, including the Egba people. Further, the Dahomey Kingdom was heavily involved and gained in the slave trade, as many people were captured from neighbouring towns and villages and sold to the Europeans, creating a resentment among the Egba towards the Dahomey.The conflict escalated when the Dahomey army captured some Egba towns and took prisoners, some of whom were later sacrificed in Dahomey’s traditional religious ceremonies. This sparked outrage among the Egba people, who decided to fight back and defend their territory. Influential Egba people, including the wealthy merchant Efunroye Tinubu, Landuji Oshodi, and Sodeke, combined their efforts to form a loose confederacy, the Egba Confederacy. The confederacy was led by a council of leaders, known as the "Egba Council of Chiefs", who were representatives of various Egba towns and villages. The war eventually expanded to the populous Egba town of Abeokuta, and in 1851, the Egba forces, led by their commander-in-chief, Sodeke, defeated the Dahomey army in a decisive battle.
The consequences of the war on the Dahomey was its decline, as most of their army were lost in the conflicts. The kingdom was eventually absorbed into the French colonial Empire in the late 19th century. The Egba people, on the other hand, became an important regional power, influencing the formation of the EUG, which transitioned into the prominence of the Egba in Nigerian and Benin politics.
Structure
The EUG had a complex structure, with several layers of administration. The government was divided into several departments, including:Council of Chiefs: The Council of Chiefs was the highest decision-making body in the EUG. It was composed of representatives from each of the Egba city-states, who were chosen by their respective communities. The Chiefs were headed by the Alake, and other chiefs elected into the title of Olori Parakoyi, Seriki, Apena, and Balogun. This Council of Chiefs was responsible for making laws, resolving disputes, and coordinating the military efforts of the Egba people.Olori Parakoyi : The Olori Parakoyi was the democratic head of the government. He was chosen by the Council of Chiefs and served as the chief executive of the government. The Olori Parakoyi was responsible for implementing the decisions of the Council of Chiefs and for representing the Egba people in external affairs.Iwarefa: The Iwarefa was a group of high-ranking officials who served as advisors to the Olori Parakoyi. They were responsible for providing counsel on matters of state and for helping to implement the decisions of the Council of Chiefs.Ogboni: The Ogboni was a secret society that played a key role in the government. Members of the Ogboni were chosen for their wisdom, courage, and integrity, and they served as judges, mediators, and advisors to the government.City-State Governments: Each of the Egba city-states had its own government, which was responsible for managing local affairs. The city-state governments were headed by a chief or king, who was responsible for collecting taxes, maintaining law and order, and providing services to the community.Prominent Figures of the Government
Tegumada Ademola
Tegumada Ademola was the sixth Alake of Egba land who ruled from 1892 to 1920. Alake Gbadebo was born in 1854. His father, Okukenu Sagbua, was the first Alake after the Egba migration to Abeokuta. Gbadebo’s sovereignty was interrupted in 1918 with the termination of the Egba Unity Government, which educated elites had helped him arrange with his ascension to power. The British ruled indirectly through him after the subsumption of his territory under their government. Gbadebo attended church services, breaking with traditional religious customs of the Egba. His admiration for Britain also took him to London in 1904. There, he made acquaintance of King Edward VII of England who on the eve of his return to Lagos, presented him with a copy of the Bible. Before his death on 28 May, Gbadebo asked for baptism and was obliged by his old friend, the Roman Catholic Father Coquard.[Ladapo Ademola]
Oba Sir Ladapo Samuel Ademola, also known as Ademola II, was the Alake of Abeokuta from 1920 to 1962. Before he was crowned Alake, Ademola was involved in the affairs of the Egba United Government. As a member of the Egba council, he was a leading participant in negotiations with the Lagos State colonial government in 1889 for the rights to construct railway tracks passing through Egbaland. In 1904 he travelled with Alake Gbadebo to the U.K., where they were received by King Edward VII. He succeeded Oba Gbadebo in 1920 with overwhelming votes from the Egba council.[Olumuyiwa Jibowu]
Sir Olumuyiwa Jibowu, Kt was a Nigerian jurist who was the first African to serve on the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The first African police magistrate, the first Nigerian High Court judge, a pioneer of the Nigerian Judiciary and one-time Chief Justice of the Western Region, Nigeria. Jibowu was also a judge of the West African Court of Appeal.William Alfred Allen
An Egba man from Iporo Ake and the first Secretary for the EUG. He was the son of Rev. William Allen, CMS missionary and teacher at Ake, Igbein and Igbore in Abeokuta. Rev. William Allen was converted to Christianity after being rescue from the slave ship. Before conversion, he was a devotee of the Orisa Ibeji. Schoolmaster at Regent’s Town, Gloucester, Kissey, Pademba Road, Freetown; afterwards Schoolmaster and Assistant Teacher in the Training Institution at Ake, Abeokuta. Ordained a deacon in 1865, 5 February, and in 1871, 27 December became a priest by the Bishop of Sierra Leone. He later became an Anglican pastor at Abeokuta. He laid the foundation and supervised the building of the First St. Paul's Anglican Church, Igbore, Abeokuta. He died at Abeokuta in 1885, 3 April.His son William Alfred Allen was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 1845 and was brought back to Lagos and later Abeokuta by his father at the age of 10 years in December, 1854. He married the daughter of an Egba man, Reverend Andrew Wilhelm, who guided CMS missionary Rev. Henry Townsend from Freetown to Abeokuta in 1843. Rev. Andrew Wilhelm is credited with establishing the first Christian worship site in Abeokuta. It is on this site that the first church, St. Peter's Church Ake, was later built.
William Alfred Allen by his EUG appointment became the first Yoruba man in the Colonial era in the space now known as Nigeria to head the administration of an independent, Western styled government, as Secretary to the Government. He played a key role in convincing the Egba rulers in leasing land to the Colonial Government for the establishment of the First railway line from Lagos to Abeokuta. He also signed and translated the leasehold agreement from English to Yoruba for the Egba rulers at the signing of the agreement in the presence of the then Prince Ladapo Ademola. Oba Gbadebo I was the Alake of Egbaland at the signing of the agreement.