What Needs to Be Corrected in History

History, as a Course and Its Essence in Individuals Lives

History, as an educational course, is a link between yesterday, today and tomorrow because what happened during the epoch of yesterday would be told to today’s generation, which would then become a story for the individuals of tomorrow. African historians should do their best to research on people and events that are forgotten or not even talked about in their countries as there are many wonderful individuals and events in Nigerian and Yoruba history which others don't know about due to the fact that they were either not discussed or forgotten. This brings the author to add one of Marcus Garvey’s quotes which is A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots, and this is related to the issue of discourse because most individuals are not aware of their history, but know of others. One Yoruba idiom says we should not leave our own belongings and hold others’ own. This article would only mention females who have been forgotten in Nigerian and Yoruba History.

Moremi Ajasoro, A Queen of Oranmiyan in Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria

The author would talk about Moremi Ajasoro, a very prominent Yoruba figure from Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria who married a King of Ile Ife in Osun State, Nigeria in the person of Oranmiyan/Oranyan (the progenitor of Oyo State and the grandson of Oduduwa) in this section. She sacrificed her son for the freedom of Ile Ife from the Igbos (not the Eastern tribe of Nigeria, but a particular people within the Western part of Nigeria, maybe Ekiti), as the Ile Ife inhabitants were oppressed by them. It seems she is being forgotten in Yoruba history because she is rarely mentioned.

She was a very beautiful woman who decided to use herself as the sacrificial lamb by becoming one of the Queens of their King (Igbo) in order to get to what he used as his power, which happened to be the use of masquerades. Before she found their secret, she begged for help from the River Osun to aid her to become victorious over the Igbos in which she made an oath with the river that she would give her only son to it as a result. After she found their secrets, she called the Chief Priest of her own city (Ile Ife) to come and take them captive which was successful. After the prosperity of her actions, she decided to fulfill her promise to the river.

Alaafin Oronpotaniyun, The First and Only Female King of Oyo State, Nigeria

It is a fact that no woman can become a king in Yorubaland, but they can become a regent known as Adele, but one woman is a reverse, and she is the only woman King who has governed in Oyo State, Nigeria in the person of Alaafin Oronpotaniyun. The writer found out that the full name of Alaafin Oronpotaniyun was “Alaafin Ajiun Orompotoniyun, and she ruled in the 16th century which is guessed to be from 1554 to 1562” (Anele, 2023). The same article further mentioned that “During her reign Orompoto was responsible for leading the Oyo Empire between the years 1554 to 1562. She was the daughter of Alaafin Ofinran and the grand – daughter of Alaafin Onigbogi, both rulers of the Empire in their own time.

When her father died, her brother, Prince Eguguoju succeeded his father. It was during his reign that the capital city was moved from Oyo ile to Oyo Igboho (New Oyo), after a protracted battle with the Nupes and also as a result of internal fighting. However, he died at a young age without a male successor. His younger brothers, Prince Ajiboyede and Prince Tella were very young and as such couldn’t assume the throne at the time. Princess Orompotoniyun was the only link to the Alaafin dynasty, but since it was forbidden for a woman to rule the empire, the chiefs and elders started making plots on how to install themselves as kings. When she got wind of their plan, Princess Orompoto summoned the chiefs to discuss plans for her coronation, but the chiefs and elders refused, saying that a female could never become king. Orompotoniyun, still determined, told them that she was ready to prove that she was a man and not a woman. The chiefs thought it would be a good way to ridicule her and asked her to prove her masculinity and strip stark naked at the palace in seven days.

Orompoto was reportedly masterfully skilled on horseback and devised an ingenious way of moving her warriors to attack enemies – foot soldiers in front and the calvarymen behind. Broad leaves were tied on the horses’ tails so that when they went fighting, the leaves swept the ground after them to cover trails of d horses & men on foot. Alaafin Ajiun died in the battle of Ilayi in 1562 fighting for her people. She’s the only one of the 40 Alaafin (39 men) who died in battle” (Anele, 2023).

Queen Amina of Zazzau (now called Zaria State, Nigeria)

A third person is Queen Amina of Zazzau (now known as Zaria) who was a female warrior. Research states that she lived for over 200 years which is uncommon during the Jihad (holy war) during the British colonization of Nigeria.

Netflix has a movie on Queen Amina of Zazzau titled Amina, the story was penned by Okey Ogunjiofor, screenwritten by Frank Chinedu Uba, and directed by Izu Ojukwu. It featured Ali Nuhu, Usman Tijani Abubakr, Jennifer Ezekiel Ade, Clarion Chukwura-Abiola, Paul Adubazi and to mention a few.

The movie started with a warfront where the son of Zumbura (the Priestess of Zazzau) and the slaves bought by the King of Zazzau, but unfortunately, the Priestess’s son lost the war to an Igala Regent known as Danjuma. The movie made us see the young Amina as her father’s beloved child out of his two children while Zaria was the younger child. Amina’s characterization made us aware that she was a wonderful, loving, caring, sympathetic and empathetic individual. She and Zaria later freed and became friends with the cousin of Danjuma whose name was Aladi Ameh. No woman in Zazzau ever fought in the war, but adolescent Amina wanted to be a warrior, which her father did not like, but later accepted but on the condition that the Priestess’s son teaches her, Zaria and Aladi.

It happened that the Deputy to Amina’s father, known as Madaki wanted him dethroned so he could be the King, which he made sure he turned the Igala Regent against the present King by conniving with Danjuma’s uncle which worked. Fortunately for Amina, she was informed by the Priestess that she was to free her people to which she was told what to do which was later done at almost the climax of the movie which later helped her in getting up the throne of her father. In the process of the war, Zaria was killed by the soldiers of Madaki.

She fought for her people against the Igalas which Danjuma helped (Amina later fell in love with Danjuma) but Danjuma died in Igala as a traitor as he supported the people of Zazzau which later became the cause of tension between Amina and Aladi Ameh. After the war, Madaki thought he could ascend the throne but unfortunately was killed by Aladi Ameh who later got to know his secret, and that was how Amina became the Queen of Zazzau.

This area of the article would discuss Amina through research. According to an article titled Amina, Queen of Zazzau authored by Jone Johnson Lewis mentioned that her epoch was between around 1533 to 1600. Furthermore, it stated that “Amina's mother, Bakwa of Turunka, was the founding ruler of Zazzau as a kingdom, one of many Hausa city-kingdoms involved in trade. The collapse of the Songhai empire left a gap in power that these city-states filled. Amina, born in the city of Zazzau, was trained in skills of government and military warfare and fought in battles with her brother, Karama. In 1566, when Bakwa died, Amina's younger brother Karama became king. In 1576 when Karama died, Amina, now about 43, became Queen of Zazzau. She used her military prowess to expand the territory of Zazzau to the mouth of the Niger in the south and including Kano and Katsina in the north. These military conquests led to great wealth, both because they opened more trading routes and because conquered territories had to pay tribute.

She is credited with building walls around her camps during her military ventures, and with building a wall around the city of Zaria. Mud walls around cities became known as "Amina's walls." Amina is also credited with initiating the cultivation of kola nuts in the area she ruled. While she never married -- perhaps imitating Queen Elizabeth I of England -- and had no children, legends tell of her taking, after a battle, a man from among the enemy, and spending the night with him, then killing him in the morning so he could tell no stories. Amina ruled for 34 years before her death. According to legend, she was killed in a military campaign near Bida, Nigeria” (Lewis, 2019).

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

The fourth person to be discussed is Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti who was prominent for her educational impact and activism. Some of her philanthropic accomplishments are establishing literacy classes for women in the 1920s, setting up a nursery school in the 1930s, founding mother of the Abeokuta Ladies’ Club (ACL) in 1942 for literate females engaged in charitable work, starter of Social Welfare for Market Women club to assist working-class women (the premier adult education program for women in Nigeria), and co joiner of the ALC to the market women’s club to form Egba or Abeokuta Women’s Union with her sister in law (Eniola Soyinka, mother of Nigerian Nobel Laureate winner in the person of Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka popularly known as or referred to Wole Soyinka). ALC was amended to be called African Women’s Union (AWU). The amalgamation of the ALC and the Egba or Abeokuta Women's Union had over 20,000 members.

She was the front runner of a protest against the traditional rulers, particularly Alake Ademola II (the Alake of Egbaland or Alake of Ake) in 1949. She showed evidence of Oba Ladapo Ademola II using his utmost power to abuse his people who were given the grant to collect taxes by the British Colonial Government. Her activism led to Oba Ademola II to be overthroned. Her activism led her to be referred to as “The Mother of Africa”. She was also given the position of the Vice President of the Women's International Democratic Federation. She was a key member of National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) which her husband and Nnamdi Azikwe (first Nigerian President) were members of. Before Nigeria became free from the United Kingdom, she founded the Commoners People’s Party (CPP) in an attempt to protest the ruling of NCNC. She was one of the individuals who asked for Nigeria’s freedom from Great Britain. In the 1950s, she was one of the women given a chieftain position, known as Oye in Yoruba land.

Frances Abigail Oluwafunmilayo Ransome Kuti nee Thomas was conceived in Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun state (one of the Western states in Nigeria) on October 25th, 1900 to a tailor and small farm owner. Her parents were of Christianity faith and of Nigerian descent. Her father was Daniel Olumuyiwa Thomas, a son of a returned slave from Sierra Leone who tracked his ancestral lineage to Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria. Mr. Daniel became a member of Anglican Faith, shortly after, he returned to his ancestral land in Egbaland (one of the subtribes in Ogun State).

She came into an encounter with Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome Kuti, an Anglican minister who was the school’s principal during that era. Oludotun and Oluwafunmilayo got hitched on January 20, 1925. The marriage bore four children and they are Doctor Bekolori Ransome Kuti, Doctor Olikoye Ransome Kuti and the famous Afrobeat and Highlife musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and political activist Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome Kuti popularly known as and referred to as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, and a daughter called Dolu Ransome Kuti.

Efunsetan Aniwura

The fifth woman to be mentioned in this article was a Nigerian warrior and businesswoman born in Ab?okuta, Ogun State, Nigeria in the early 1790s to a farmer from Ogun State. She was a traveler from ?gbaland, Ogun State. She had started her business ways since she was a child because she followed her mother who was a petty seller to her market. She left Ogun State for Ibadan, State for the purpose of growing her entrepreneurial trait. At her time, Ibadan was the best city for businesses. She was a seller of agricultural produce, kijipa (a special Yoruba cloth woven with cotton) fabrics, slaves, cosmetics, and tobacco. She had business deals with people from Port Novo (Republic of Benin), Europe, Badagry and Ikorodu (Lagos State). She was the second Iyalode of Ibadan in the 1860s and also the patron of the Anglican Church of Ibadan for her involvement in strengthening Christianity in the region.

But on May 1, 1874, Aar? ?na Kakanfo Latoosa deposed her as Iyalode of Ibadan for politically motivated allegations. She was fined and she paid all the fines levied against her. Lato?a was still not pleased with her because she was held in high esteem by the high chiefs and within the community. She also held a very strong political view against Aare Lato?a. Lato?a felt threatened by Aniwura’s wealth and power, so, on June 30, 1874, he arranged with Kumuyil? — Aniwura’s adopted son — and two other slaves to assassinate Aniwura in her sleep. Aniwura lost her only daughter at birth. The situation later changed the way she related to people, especially her workers in the sense that her female workers were not permitted to get pregnant, and if they did, she would kill both the mother and the unborn child(ren).

The Dahomey Women Warriors

There is a movie based on these women titled The Woman King story written by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens, scripted by Dana Stevens and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood had Angelique Kidjo, Viola Davis, Thuso Mbebu, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega and many more in it.

According to an article titled Who Were the Warrior Women of Dahomey? The only documented all-female army in history inspired by the Dora Milaje written by Line Sidione Talla Mafotsing mentioned that “As a graduate student, Lynne Ellsworth Larsen—now an art history professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock— began studying the Kingdom of Dahomey (circa 1600-1904), which was located within present-Benin and was a major player in the West African region for much of the 18th and 19th centuries. After coming across the book Wives of the Leopard by Edna Bay, Larsen became hooked on the gender politics of the Dahomey Kingdom. Her article “Wives and Warriors: The Royal Women of Dahomey as Representatives of the Kingdom” for The Routledge Companion to Black Women’s Cultural Histories, looks at the influence of Dahomey women beyond the borders of the kingdom.

The women of Dahomey played important roles in all aspects of kingdom life. Although the king had ultimate leadership, royal women made their mark in the world of politics, religion, and especially in the military. Atlas Obscura spoke with Larsen about the evolution of the women warriors of Dahomey, the ways in which they were portrayed in French media at the time, and what their legacy should be” (Mafotsing, 2022).

Africans Should Not Forget Their Traditions & Cultures

Just because African countries, except Ethiopia and Liberia were colonized by the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, and Spain beginning with Ghana (then Cape Coast) in 1957, making Ghana the first to receive her independence from the Great Britain has made us assimilate to the British, French and Spanish ways (depending on the country) in all aspects, including educationally doesn't mean we should forget our own cultures and traditions which means we are Eurocentric (the belief that the White culture is better than ours). We should be proud of what we have because no matter what happens, our thing(s) will always be with us which is why the Yoruba idiom that says what we own is ours and a fisherman is always proud of his net in this section of the article. Taking other people's things and leaving yours is just stupid and senseless to the author of this article.

Disrespect Shown to Africans by the Westerners

This is why African countries look unto the Western world and yet they are always disrespected when the people of the Western world visit their countries. What do you say to an African king prostrating to a White individual? Is that not foolishness? This is because an individual that others are revering is now looking upwards to someone else which means he is downgrading and depressing himself. A king no matter how old he might be or is, should be shown respect by the Whites, not vice versa. Being a royal in Africa is something of pride that it makes other people who are not from royal families envious of them. The writer of this article stands the ground that no African king should bow to the King now (as the Queen is dead) because they are both important and respected individuals, but lack of knowledge and inferiority would not allow the African kings to be aware of that.