Brief History of Ede in Osun State
The history of Osun State
The town of Ede is located in Osun State in southwest Nigeria. It is located 112 miles (180 km) southwest of Lagos along the Osun River, at the junction of three routes leading from Oshogbo, Ogbomosho, and Ife. One of the older Yoruba towns is called Ede.
It is believed that Timi Agbale, a hunter and warlord, founded it around 1500. Agbale was sent by Alaafin (King) Kori of Old Oyo (Katunga), the Oyo empire’s capital, to found a settlement to guard the Oyo caravan route to Benin (127 miles [204 km] to the southeast), a goal shared by other Nigerian towns. The towns of Awo, Iragberi, and Oshogbo are close by.
The Timi Agbale, also known as Timi Agbale Olofa-Ina, is the Timi Agbale’s traditional monarch. He is the man, so the belief goes, whose arrows shoot fire.
The history of Osun State
Timi Kubolaje Agbonran, one of the descendants of Lalemo, founded the current Ede in or around 1817, together with his siblings Oyefi, Ajenju, Arohanran, and Oduniyi. The current Ede is referred to as Ede-Ile.
At that time of both internal and external assault toward Yoruba country, Timi Agbale Olofa Ina, the founder and first chief of Ede, was one of the great lords commanding the Yoruba Army. He belonged to the military chiefs’ Upper Cadre.
Around 1818–1819, the Oyo rulers were forced to relocate the first Ede village, which they had built as a military outpost in the sixteenth century, on the other side of the Osun River.
According to one account of the movement, the Aare Onakakanfo, the Afonja, who was based in Ilorin, betrayed the Alaafin when he teamed up with the Fulani Jihadists to declare Ilorin independent of Oyo control and then organized invasions of Yoruba towns like Osogbo, Ede, Ejigbo, Ilobu, etc., all in the Province.
The history of Osun State
For tactical reasons, the ancient Ede town had to be relocated. This story of recurrent invasions that rendered the town’s security uncertain led to the population’s forced relocation to Ede’s current location.
Without a doubt, a neutral barrier was necessary to protect Ede from a Fulani attack. Timi Kubolaje Agbaran was the one with the political insight in this case.
Another report, however, said that Timi Agbale had two sons, Lanodi. Following Timi Agbale’s demise, Lamadu and his line of succession ordered Lalemo’s descendants to relocate from Ede Ile to their own town, which is now known as Ede.
They consulted an Ifa oracle after departing Ede Ile for the Omo Lamodis, who advised them to continue their migration until they crossed a large river, the Osun river. The Ifa oracle instructed them to travel over the Osun River until they ultimately settled at a spot just a short further upstream.
The oldest brother (Oyefi) was supposed to have been too elderly and had passed away by the time they had moved to the new Ede. Agbonran, the second-eldest son, became the first Timi of the current Ede as a result.
Ajeniju and Arohanran, the other brothers, each had a turn climbing the Timi stool. When it was Oduniyi’s turn, the elder had passed away and his younger son, Abibu Langunju, had taken the kingdom.
He was the longest-serving Timi, ruling for 60 years until passing away at the ripe old age of 90, despite his numerous hardships.
The fact that Timi Agbale Olofa Ina became the Head of the Yoruba Army in the Oyo Empire’s Ibolo Province during his rule and was charged with preventing any outside invasion, particularly by Fulani Jihadists, was undisputed.
In Samuel Johnson’s History of the Yoruba from the Earliest period of the Beginning of the British Protectorate, Timi Agbale Olofa Ina is characterized as a very powerful warlord who “more than justified his appointment as Aare Onakanfo by the Alaafin” as “an archer, famed for his deadly arrow.” When Timi Agbale was at the height of his power, calling him “Olofa Ina” was practically a blasphemy.
Between 1824 and 1840, Ede participated in a number of uprisings against the Fulani invasion into Yoruba territory.
The Ogele and Mugba Mugba wars, as well as the Ede-Ogbomoso fight, were among the important conflicts waged. Peace didn’t start to rule the nation until Alaafin Oluewu made a call for all Yoruba chiefs and leaders to put aside their differences and unite as a people descended from the same origin in 1835.
Between 1824 and 1840, Ede participated in a number of uprisings against the Fulani invasion into Yoruba territory.
The Ogele and Mugba Mugba wars, as well as the Ede-Ogbomoso fight, were among the important conflicts waged. Peace didn’t start to rule the nation until Alaafin Oluewu made a call for all Yoruba chiefs and leaders to put aside their differences and unite as a people descended from the same origin in 1835.
He essentially cautioned them to be wary of the threat posed by any dissension within their ranks in light of the ravaging Fulani Jihadists, who had gained a firm foothold in Ilorin and were prepared to further their advance onto the western coast region.
In essence, what is being outlined is the strategic position that Ede and its kings occupy in Yoruba territory.
The founding fathers of Ede’s commitment never let the Yoruba Nation down, even when it seemed to be collapsing in the face of personal and individual ambition. T
Timi Bamgbaiye Ajeniju’s resolve, who swiftly replied to an inter-Yoruba gunshot, heightened this.
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