Isaac Babalola Akinyele
Encyclopedia
Isaac Babalola Akinyele, OBE
, KBE
(April 18, 1882 – May 30, 1964) was the first educated Olubadan
(non-hereditary traditional ruler) of Ibadan
, and the second Christian
to ascend the throne
.
Ibadan warrior
and herbalist
of repute in the years of Ibadan militocracy, had Josiah Akinyele as his first son. Josiah was one of the early converts under the auspices of David Hinderer, the German
leader of the Church Mission Society
(CMS) and his team of six missionaries that first brought Christianity
to Ibadan in 1851. Josiah Akinyele took Abigail Lapeno, the daughter of Kukomi, another powerful Ibadan pagan warrior, who also was converted to Christianity through Hinderer; as his second wife in 1870. In 1875, she gave birth to her first son; Alexander Babatunde Akinyele
, the first Anglican Diocesan Bishop
of Ibadan. Several years later on April 18, 1882, she gave birth to the second son, Isaac Babalola Akinyele.
was made by the ruler; that made it compulsory for every household to send at least one child to school or pay a fine of five pounds
. Since the Pax Britannica
of 1893, the Ibadan had started to settle down to civil life occasioning cocoa farming; introduced by the CMS around 1890, and other agricultural and business enterprises
. Isaac Akinyele worked for a time as a civil servant, entering government services in the junior ranks to which Nigerians were confined in those days, becoming a customs
inspector
for the Ibadan District Council in 1903. He rose through the ranks, later becoming chief judge
of the native court. He was also a very successful entrepreneur
; establishing cocoa plantations throughout Ibadan and its environs.
elite
committed to fighting the cause of their tribe, clearly a pre-cursor of the Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà
in the Yoruba social environment, and of the Ibadan Progressive Union in the Ibadan context. His brother Alexander Akinyele, was the first patron of IPU, and it was his peace loving nature that influenced the Union in devising an easy, peaceful and non-divisive Olubadan (non-hereditary traditional ruler) succession plan regarded as the most non-contentious in Yorubaland. Prior to 1924, Isaac Akinyele was a devout Anglican layman
. He was a very religious man and was a great adherent of contextualization and acculturisation of religious beliefs, because he held the view that religion
without respect to cultural roots; would perpetually be seen as alien religion by the pagan citizenry. It was an extension of these strong views that made him break away from the main orthodox
brand to join the Faith Tabernacle; the precursor of the Christ Apostolic Church
, the first Aladura Pentecostal Church in Nigeria. He became the first President of that Church. This started the emergence of Pentecostalism
; which has gained tremendous grounds in contemporary Nigeria
.
By 1933, Isaac Akinyele had become a councillor of the Ibadan Native Authority. He became an Ibadan Oloye in 1935, a position which he always approached in a Christian way. For example when he was appointed Balogun, one of the city's highest positions which corresponds roughly with the European Duke and which entails the holding of a ceremonial staff of office which is to be anointed weekly with sheep's blood. Failure to do so was believed to bring death upon the disdainer of the tradition. Isaac Akinyele had a Christian
staff made, with a cross affixed on top, dedicated by church members with prayer and fasting. In 1948, he was honoured by the Queen of England and her Government in Nigeria, becoming an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. On February 17, 1955, he became the Olubadan (non-hereditary traditional ruler) of Ibadan. Although some objected, because of his total rejection of the pagan traditional beliefs, he was chosen by an overwhelming majority. He was subsequently knight
ed, taking the KBE from Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
in 1956 during her state visit
to Nigeria
.
, the result of which was a growing rift in the Action Group
between its leader, chief Obafemi Awolowo
, and his deputy and premier of the Western Region, chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola. This came to an end when Alhaji Adegbenro, Chief Awolowo's supporter was appointed Premier
by Governor Sir Titus Aderemi, the Oòni of Ilé-Ifẹ
. Mayhem broke out in the House of Assembly
as the new Premier was presenting his government for a vote of confidence. Following the subsequent outbreak of violence
both among the parliamentarians
in the assembly and among their supporters outside, the region was placed under a state of emergency
. The government was suspended and Dr. Moses A. Majekodunmi was appointed sole administrator of the Western region. Throughout the entire political crisis, Isaac Akinyele remained aloof, placing himself at the disposal of any peace initiative for which Ibadan was a venue on several occasions. He ruled for only ten years but left an enduring legacy. He died in May, 1965.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(April 18, 1882 – May 30, 1964) was the first educated Olubadan
Olubadan
The Olubadan is the royal title of the king of Ibadan land in Nigeria, now a largely symbolic role. Ibadan was founded in the 16th century, but the present Yoruba people only took control around 1820...
(non-hereditary traditional ruler) of Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...
, and the second Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
to ascend the throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...
.
Family
Bolude, a paganPaganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
Ibadan warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
and herbalist
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
of repute in the years of Ibadan militocracy, had Josiah Akinyele as his first son. Josiah was one of the early converts under the auspices of David Hinderer, the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
leader of the Church Mission Society
Church Mission Society
The Church Mission Society, also known as the Church Missionary Society, is a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Communion and Protestant Christians around the world...
(CMS) and his team of six missionaries that first brought Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to Ibadan in 1851. Josiah Akinyele took Abigail Lapeno, the daughter of Kukomi, another powerful Ibadan pagan warrior, who also was converted to Christianity through Hinderer; as his second wife in 1870. In 1875, she gave birth to her first son; Alexander Babatunde Akinyele
Alexander Babatunde Akinyele
Alexander Babatunde Akinyele, CBE was the first Anglican Diocesan Bishop of Ibadan, Nigeria. He was the first indigene of Ibadan to obtain a university degree, and the founder of the first secondary school in Ibadan....
, the first Anglican Diocesan Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Ibadan. Several years later on April 18, 1882, she gave birth to the second son, Isaac Babalola Akinyele.
Civil service
He followed in his brother's footsteps and excelled academically. With the example of the Akinyele brothers, Ibadan people started to take the issue of the education seriously to the extent that in 1910, a proclamationProclamation
A proclamation is an official declaration.-England and Wales:In English law, a proclamation is a formal announcement , made under the great seal, of some matter which the King in Council or Queen in Council desires to make known to his or her subjects: e.g., the declaration of war, or state of...
was made by the ruler; that made it compulsory for every household to send at least one child to school or pay a fine of five pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
. Since the Pax Britannica
Pax Britannica
Pax Britannica was the period of relative peace in Europe when the British Empire controlled most of the key maritime trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power...
of 1893, the Ibadan had started to settle down to civil life occasioning cocoa farming; introduced by the CMS around 1890, and other agricultural and business enterprises
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
. Isaac Akinyele worked for a time as a civil servant, entering government services in the junior ranks to which Nigerians were confined in those days, becoming a customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
for the Ibadan District Council in 1903. He rose through the ranks, later becoming chief judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the native court. He was also a very successful entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
; establishing cocoa plantations throughout Ibadan and its environs.
Work, worship and witness
He was politically sensitive, gaining fame in the chieftaincy and political milieu of Ibadan. In 1914, he and his brother joined the Egbe Agba O'Tan, a frontline nineteenth century association of members of the educated YorùbáYoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
committed to fighting the cause of their tribe, clearly a pre-cursor of the Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà
Egbe Omo Oduduwa
Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà, was a Nigerian political organization established in 1945, when Chief Obafemi Awolowo along with Dr. Oni Akerele, Chief Akintola Williams, Professor Saburi Biobaku, Chief Abiodun Akinrele, Chief Ayo Rosiji and others, met in London....
in the Yoruba social environment, and of the Ibadan Progressive Union in the Ibadan context. His brother Alexander Akinyele, was the first patron of IPU, and it was his peace loving nature that influenced the Union in devising an easy, peaceful and non-divisive Olubadan (non-hereditary traditional ruler) succession plan regarded as the most non-contentious in Yorubaland. Prior to 1924, Isaac Akinyele was a devout Anglican layman
Layman
A layperson or layman is a person who is not an expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originally meant a member of the laity, i.e. a non-clergymen, but over the centuries shifted in definition....
. He was a very religious man and was a great adherent of contextualization and acculturisation of religious beliefs, because he held the view that religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
without respect to cultural roots; would perpetually be seen as alien religion by the pagan citizenry. It was an extension of these strong views that made him break away from the main orthodox
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
brand to join the Faith Tabernacle; the precursor of the Christ Apostolic Church
Christ Apostolic Church
Christ Apostolic Church is the first Aladura Pentecostal church present in Nigeria and other countries. It has come into existence in the first half of the...
, the first Aladura Pentecostal Church in Nigeria. He became the first President of that Church. This started the emergence of Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
; which has gained tremendous grounds in contemporary Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
By 1933, Isaac Akinyele had become a councillor of the Ibadan Native Authority. He became an Ibadan Oloye in 1935, a position which he always approached in a Christian way. For example when he was appointed Balogun, one of the city's highest positions which corresponds roughly with the European Duke and which entails the holding of a ceremonial staff of office which is to be anointed weekly with sheep's blood. Failure to do so was believed to bring death upon the disdainer of the tradition. Isaac Akinyele had a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
staff made, with a cross affixed on top, dedicated by church members with prayer and fasting. In 1948, he was honoured by the Queen of England and her Government in Nigeria, becoming an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. On February 17, 1955, he became the Olubadan (non-hereditary traditional ruler) of Ibadan. Although some objected, because of his total rejection of the pagan traditional beliefs, he was chosen by an overwhelming majority. He was subsequently knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed, taking the KBE from Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1956 during her state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
to Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
Ebullition
In 1962 Akinyele's rule was soon engulfed in the turbulent political development in Western Region, NigeriaWestern Region, Nigeria
The Western Region was a subdivision of the federation of Nigeria until 1967. Its capital was at Ibadan.It was established in the 1930s under British rule as a subdivision of the Southern Nigeria colony...
, the result of which was a growing rift in the Action Group
Action group
In sociology and anthropology, an action group or task group is a group of people joined temporarily to accomplish some task or take part in some organized collective action....
between its leader, chief Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo
Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician, trade unionist, author and statesman. A Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, he started his career as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries and was responsible for much of the progressive...
, and his deputy and premier of the Western Region, chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola. This came to an end when Alhaji Adegbenro, Chief Awolowo's supporter was appointed Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
by Governor Sir Titus Aderemi, the Oòni of Ilé-Ifẹ
Ife
Ife is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of inhabitation at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 560 BC...
. Mayhem broke out in the House of Assembly
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level....
as the new Premier was presenting his government for a vote of confidence. Following the subsequent outbreak of violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
both among the parliamentarians
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in the assembly and among their supporters outside, the region was placed under a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
. The government was suspended and Dr. Moses A. Majekodunmi was appointed sole administrator of the Western region. Throughout the entire political crisis, Isaac Akinyele remained aloof, placing himself at the disposal of any peace initiative for which Ibadan was a venue on several occasions. He ruled for only ten years but left an enduring legacy. He died in May, 1965.