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T. O. Avoseh on the History of Epe and Its Environs
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 May 2014
Extract
The first edition of this little book a short History of Epe-is to be freely used…No acknowledgement is necessary nor royalty required.
With the above words, Chief Theophilus Olabode Avoseh opens his second and most successful book, A Short History of Epe. His generosity was unusual, with his time to researchers, and with publications that he distributed freely and allowed others to use without seeking his permission. His unstated motto would be that knowledge should be acquired and distributed at no charge. His books on Epe and Badagri are his best known works, although he wrote several other obscure pamphlets which I have previously drawn attention to. As this is a continuation of my study on Avoseh, this essay does not intend to repeat previously published information on the author. The primary aim of the present paper is to present the text on Epe, and so to make it more accessible to a larger audience. A few additional points, made possible by the examination of the text under consideration, form the bulk of this introduction intended to shed more light on Avoseh.
Epe is an Ijebu-Yoruba town, located on the banks of the lagoon. This location has always facilitated the development of a fishing industry, commerce, and agriculture. Epe was drawn into nineteenth—century Yoruba power politics and then into international diplomacy with the British when it was occupied in the mid-nineteenth century by Kosoko, the indomitable exiled ruler of Lagos. When Kosoko returned to Lagos, not all his adherents followed, and their presence produced far-reaching changes in Epe politics and society to this very day.
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- Copyright © African Studies Association 1995
References
Notes
1. The small s in “short” is a printer's devil.
2. Avoseh, T. Ola., A Short History of Epe (Published by the Parochial Committee, St. Michael's Anglican Church, Epe, 1960), 8.Google Scholar
3. Falola, Toyin, “The Minor Works of T. O. Avoseh,” HA 19 (1992), 237–62.Google Scholar
4. Ibid.
5. Short History of Epe, 6.
6. Ibid., 7.
7. Ibid., 6.
8. Short History of Epe, 1.
9. Avoseh, Iwe Ikomo Jade, Oruko Awon Ojo, Adura Ojojumo, Ojo ati Osu Ibimo, Ojo Lati Dawole Nkan ati Iwe Eri Ijo Ibi Omo. 1960; Biographical Sketches.
10. This chapter is based on a framework that was commonly accepted in the 1950s—that Ile-Ife was the center and origin of Yoruba civilization and dispersal, and other towns were founded by migrants from Ile-Ife. The references to other towns such as Ijebu and Ara also fall into another common pattern of attributing the formation of lineages and titles to successful migrations from other parts of Yorubaland. For relevant literature on state formation and migrations stories see, among others, Atanda, S. J. A., “The Historian and the Problem of Origins of Peoples in Nigerian Society,” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 10 (1980), 1Google Scholar; Akinjogbin, I. A., “The Concept of Origin in Yoruba History: the Ife Example,” Seminar paper, University of Ife, March 1980.Google Scholar For the most recent interpretive history see Falola, Toyin, ed., Pioneer, Patriot and Patriarch. Samuel Johnson and the Yoruba People. (Madison, 1993).Google Scholar
11. Many accounts of the early period tend to credit hunters with the establishment of towns and settlements.
12. Printer's devil.
13. The author's spelling of this name is not consistent: “Hu Raka,” “Huraka,” and “Hu-Raka” all appear.
14. For another version on the origin of Epe see National Archives, Ibadan (N.A.I. hereafter) RG/C5, Appendix II, “Report of the Administrative Reorganisation of the Epe District Native Treasury Area of the Colony 1939” by H. Childs and E. J. Gibbons.
15. Here, the author relates two versions on the origins of the name of the town, both a play on words. He accepts one version, and reports the second without attaching any importance to it. Except in those cases where names derived from well-known geographical features, an explanation is always difficult, but it follows the pattern that Avoseh has followed here.
16. Printer's devil (the lower case “y”).
17. This is a continuation of the stories on early history and the emergence of lineages and titleholders. Again, Avoseh follows a pattern that is common for other towns. However, there are two differences. First, in stories relating to other towns, there is usually a predynastic group that migrants would confront and displace. Second, there are stories on conflicts, how an ultimately hegemonic political class emerged by overcoming difficulties posed by rival groups. It is not clear whether stories of conflicts do not exist in the Epe case or whether the author, in his attempt to satisfy everybody, decided not to report them.
18. Printer's devil for “till.”
19. Here Avoseh narrates a history of more than a century in a capsule. Like many chroniclers he quickly shifted from the early period to the nineteenth century, ignoring what can be characterized as the “middle period” of Epe's history. He avoids discussions on the politics of interactions and presented complicated migration and settlement history as easy, peaceful processes. One thing that is noticeable is that his informants were more conversant with the post-1850 events, and this is well reflected in the attention given them, rather than to those of the preceding period.
20. Printer's devil for “spread.”
21. On this crisis see Law, R.C.C., “The Dynastic Chronology of Lagos,” Lagos Notes and Records 2 (1968),46–52Google Scholar; and Mbaeyi, P., “Lagos and the British, 1871-1874,” Ikenga 1 (1972), 27–42.Google Scholar
22. Printer's devil for “intercede.”
23. Printer's devil for “Seriki.”
24. Avoseh is weak in periodization and he fails to explain the bitter rivalry for power between the Eko Epe and Ijebu Epe. Until the arrival of Kosoko in the middle of the nineteenth century, the Epe political system was modeled after that of Ijebu Ode. When Kosoko arrived, he monopolized power and threatened the established order. After his departure, his followers who remained behind wanted to continue to exercise power and this led to prolonged hostility between them and the Ijebu Epe until this century. For a reconstruction of this history see, Oguntomisin, G. O., “New Forms of Political Organisation in Yorubaland in the Mid-Nineteenth Century: A Comparative Study of Kurunmi's Ijaye and Kosoko's Epe,” (Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan, 1979).Google Scholar
25. On the early history of British interaction see N.A.I. Epe Division 5/1, Epe Minute Book, 1894-97.
26. Although Avoseh failed to bring out the implications of these civil wars on Epe society and politics, this is arguably the best chapter in the book. It is one that focuses on the impact of nineteenth-century migrations on society as they led to tensions between the indigenous populations and the migrants. Class and occupational divisions were to compound personal ambitions and generate internal disturbances and factionalism. For the historical reconstruction of this period see, among others, Smith, R., “To the Palaver Islands: War and Diplomacy on the Lagos Lagoon,” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 5 (1969), 3–25Google Scholar; idem, “Peace Conference on the Lagos Lagoon,” Nigeria Magazine 101 (1969), 454-66.
27. On the significance of Makun as a commercial center during the nineteenth century, see Ogunremi, G. O., “Makun Omi (Ijebu Waterside): A Convergence of Economic Activities in the 19th Century,” Seminar Paper, University of Lagos, 1989.Google Scholar
28. On Epe-Lagos relations see Oguntomisin, G. O., “Hostility and Rapport: Kosoko's Changing Relations with the British, 1852-1862,” Odu 24 (July 1983), 78–85.Google Scholar
29. Printer's devil for “who.”
30. The conflict between the Ijebu (the indigenous population) and the Eko (migrants) continued for most of the colonial period. Most of the administrative exercises by the colonial government to distribute power were taken to end the trouble. See for instance N.A.I., C.S.O. 26/23631, Epe District, Colony Province 1929 by J. D. Thompson; C.S.O. 26/29664, Petition by the Baale and Peoples of Epe for the establishment of Native Administration, 1934; Ije Prof 3/7/C5.1921, Petition from Awujale Ademola and his Council to the Lt. Governor, 5/3/1925; and RG/B5, A Report on the Administrative Reorganisation of the Ejinrin Area of the Epe Division by J.H. Beeley, 1941.
31. The presentation on indigenous religion ignores the description of festivals and rituals. This must have been a deliberate omission since Avoseh had the opportunity to observe many of them. He probably showed little interest, given his own Christian religion and his wish to see Christianity spread in Epe. He did not denigrate indigenous religion, however, just underreported it.
32. This is, mother earth.
33. Avoseh failed to elaborate on this important point on cultural exchanges from Nupeland. Igunnu was a masquerade type.
34. Same as Katsina.
35. Printer's devil.
36. Printer's devil.
37. This is an interesting point on how one powerful person blocked the spread of Christianity. While the event was real, its consequence was no doubt exaggerated. Elsewhere in the sub-region, Christianity witnessed a slow spread until after the 1890s.
38. Printer's devil.
39. This is another excellent chapter. It also reveals Avoseh's interest in education as an agent of progress. His closing statement contrasts lack of education with darkness. In general, the Christian educated elite all thought like Avoseh, defining modernization and progress in the context of the spread of Western education and other related values.
40. Printer's devil for “emulating.”
41. Printer's devil.
42. This chapter carries no title, but from the explanation in the first paragraph and what follows, it is about Epe's environs.
43. These are the major towns, but there are many smaller villages and towns that are not covered. For more information on these and other places in the Epe region see, among others, Moloney, A., “Notes on Yoruba and the Colony and the Protectorate of Lagos, West Africa,” Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society (1890) 596–614Google Scholar; N.A.I. C.S.O. 26/30435, “Intelligence Report on Epe District, Colony Province,” by C. B. Coleman, 1934; Ije Prof, “Intelligence Report on Ijebu-Ode town and Villages” by T. B. Boval-Jones, 1943; Ogunkoya, T. O., “Early History of Ijebu,” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 1 (1956, 48–58Google Scholar; Ayantuga, O. O., “Ijebu and Its Neigbours, 1851-1914” (Ph.D., University of London, 1965)Google Scholar; and Adefuye, A., “Lagoon Communities of Epe Division: Melting Pot of Culture,” Journal of Business and Social Studies 3 (June 1980), 140–55.Google Scholar
44. There is no second edition of the book which updated this history.
45. Printer's devil for “agbon odun.”
46. Printer's devil.
47. Printer's devil.
48. For more information on this town see, among others, N.A.I., Ije Prof 6/38/1924, Ejinrin Land Case; C.S.O. 26/23631, Intelligence Report-Epe District, Lagos Colony; Ije Prof 3 c.180/20 Ejinrin Market Site; and N.A.I. RG/C.5, Report on the Administrative Reorganisation of Epe, 1939.
49. Although Avoseh connects the history of Ejinrin with migration from Ife, the town acquired prominence after 1830, when the Ijebu established a market and a port there to benefit from its favorable location by the lagoon. In the 1850s Kosoko and his followers exploited the Ejinrin market and port, thus adding to its prominence. The control of Ejinrin port and market became part of the general Yoruba political instability of the nineteenth century, as the Ijebu used their power to open and close the place to prevent trade between Lagos and the hinterland.
50. Many of the changes reported here occurred after 1892, when the British partitioned Yorubaland. Ejinrin benefited from the changes until its fortune began to decline in the 1940s with trade diversion and the use of the alternative road network that linked Ikorodu with Lagos.
51. The importance of Ejinrin derived from its port and market which grew in the second half of the nineteenth century into a major regional center. See N.A.I. Ije Prof 3/C.180/20, Ejinrin Market Site; and C.S.O. 26/451045, Colony Annual Report, 1918-1921.
52. The book was written in 1960, a year when Nigeria obtained its independence from the British. It was a time of excitement, and Avoseh was part of it. It is not unusual for chroniclers to use the opportunity of printing their works to add things that are not related to their texts.