By Laolu Elijah, IBADAN
In the annals of Yoruba and Nigerian history, the year 1895 stands as a defining moment of courage, resistance, and imperial aggression — the year when Oyo Town, the political and spiritual heart of the ancient Oyo Empire, came under assault by British colonial forces. The invasion marked the beginning of the end of Oyo’s centuries-old sovereignty and symbolised the wider subjugation of the Yoruba nation under colonial rule.
The Pride of Oyo Empire
Before the invasion, Oyo had long been a powerful empire — the cradle of Yoruba civilization and an organised state that exercised influence across West Africa.
The Alaafin of Oyo was not merely a king but a supreme and absolute ruler whose authority was balanced by the seven kingmakers known as Oyo Mesi (Council of Chiefs) and respected across Yoruba land.
However, by the late 19th Century, the British had consolidated their interests along the Niger Coast, in Lagos (annexed in 1861), and were steadily pushing inland under the pretext of enforcing “law and order” and expanding trade. Their real motive, however, was clear — the control of the rich economic and political heartlands of Yorubaland.
Genesis of the conflict
Tensions between Oyo and the British escalated over trade routes, taxation, anda the refusal of the Alaafin and his chiefs to submit to British suzerainty. The British imperialists, led by Captain Bower, the then British Resident in Ibadan, sought to impose treaties that would effectively make Oyo a vassal under the Crown.
Alaafin and his chiefs, however, viewed such treaties as an affront to their sovereignty and ancestral authority.
When diplomacy failed, the British resorted to force — a pattern that had been repeated in other cities like Ijebu and Benin.
The invasion and the fall
In 1895, a detachment of British troops, equipped with Maxim guns and modern rifles, marched on Oyo Town, encountering the determined but ill-equipped local defenders.
Despite their bravery, the Oyo warriors, armed mostly with traditional weapons, were overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the British forces.
The attack led to the destruction of parts of the ancient city, the displacement of several royal lineages, and the humiliation of the Alaafin’s authority. The invasion was not merely a military defeat but a psychological blow to Yoruba pride and independence.
Aftermath and Legacy
Following the invasion, British agents consolidated their presence in the Yoruba hinterland, introducing indirect rule and reducing traditional rulers to colonial subordinates. The Alaafin of Oyo, once the mightiest symbol of Yoruba political organisation, became a figure within a system controlled from Lagos and, later, London.
Yet, the 1895 Oyo resistance remains a remarkable episode of defiance — a reminder that the Yoruba nation did not surrender without a fight. It stands as a testament to the resilience of a people who valued their autonomy and cultural heritage above all else.
Commemorating the Heroes
Today, more than a century later, historians, cultural advocates, and the current Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, seek to preserve the memory of that struggle. Plans are underway to establish an Alaafin Pepe War Memorial, which will serve as a symbol of the city’s resistance and resilience against imperial domination.
According to the Chairman of the planning committee and Coordinator of Pepe War, Mr Segun Oke, plans are in the pipeline to assemble professional stakeholders to commemorate the failure of the British imperialists to invade Oyo Town in 1895 tagged Pepe War.
He said stakeholders from the world of academy, film industry, culture and tourism will join the monarch in November this year to celebrate the memorialisation of the 1895 Ogun Pepe (Pepe War) in which the Alaafin Adeyemi Alowolodu resisted the British imperialistic invasion of the town.
The week-long activities will commence from Tuesday 11th November, 2025 with fasting and prayers by all the religious groups to seek the face of God for continued peace and harmony in the town. This will be followed on Thursday 13th November, 2025 with a public lecture to be delivered at the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo. It will be delivered by Prof Akin Alao, an Associate Professor of Legal History at the Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), Ile-Ife in Osun State.
Delivering the keynote speech on: Ogun Pepe @ 130: Memory as a call to renewal, Prof. Akin Alao will be engaged in academic discourse by discussants including: ` Prof. Sekinat Kola-Aderoju, a distinguished historian, a proud daughter of Oyo, and a true Nigerian icon.
Others in the brainstorming session are: Prof. Niyi Gbadegesin, a prolific, prodigious and dizzingly peripatetic scholar with many seminal contributions in peer reviewed outlets, with areas of research interests including Biogeography, Environmental Resource Management and Soil Geography.
Prof. Ladun Oloruntoba, a Reader at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, will also join Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo to be part of the discussants at the lecture. Father of the day for all the Ogun Pepe events is the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1; while the Chairman of the Committee is Dr Sokan Ojebode, founder of Atiba University, Oyo.
According to him, the programme will also feature a command performance of Ogun Pepe (a stage play written and produced by Gbemi Faleti and directed by Yomi Duro-Ladipo (a filmmaker, actor, theatre and movie director, musician, mechanical engineer, dance instructor/choreographer).
On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, there will be tree-planting and Fitila Night that will witness a procession from Owode to Aafin, the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo.
The grand finale of the week-long memorable programme will be the Cultural/Exhibition/Fund raising to be held at the Old Oyo National Park on Saturday, 15th November. The cultural aspect will be handled by Funmi Ajofeebo while the exhibition will be coordinated by Folasade Adeyemi (a.k.a. Arewa).
The story of Oyo’s 1895 invasion is not merely about colonial conquest — it is about the spirit of resistance, the price of freedom, and the enduring pride of a people who refused to be erased from history.
The post 100 years after: How Oyo empire resisted Britain’s 1895 invasion appeared first on Vanguard News.
