(A Rejoinder
by the Descendants of Magaji Aliagan Family, Ilorin)
In a recent write-up shared on the social media on a
biography of one of the important scholars of Ilorin Emirate and current Sarkin
Malamai, Shaykh Imam Ya’kub Ali-Agan, who is also the present Imam of Aliagan
mosque, Professor Abubakar Imam Ali-Agan, a son of the Imam, traces the
position and contributions of the Imam to Islamic scholarship in the emirate.
In that write-up, Prof. Abubakar also presented an account of the history of
the family of the Shaykh and the larger Aliagan family/dynasty, which
traditionally was/is the custodial family for about 22 compounds that form the Ode Aliagan (although he conspicuously
did not reflect this in the said piece). The 69-paragraph write-up makes
references to a number of scholars and issues surrounding Islamic learning
generally in the Ilorin emirate. We must commend this effort of Prof. Abubakar
in documenting the biography of his father, as written documents helps in
sustaining history and legacy of individuals and institutions. However, of
particular interest to us in the said write-up is the historical background of
the Ali-Agan (Aliagan) family/dynasty narrated by Prof. Abubakar,
in which he presented some accounts and claims on the
Aliagan family/dynasty, for which some clarifications need to be made. The
issues in the write-up that need clarification are therefore, presented
hereunder for the education of all and for posterity.
Origin,
Jurisdiction and Authority of the Magaji Aliagan Dynasty: Claims and Fallacies
It should be stated, at the onset, that as submitted
by Prof. Abubakar in the said biography of his father, what is now known as the
ALI-AGAN family is to the ‘public’ composed of two segments, the Magaji Ali-Agan
dynasty and the Imam of Ali-Agan mosque’s family, and not the Magaji Aliagan
family/dynasty and the compounds around it as we and others around us know it.
As also stated by the professor, the progenitors of the TWO families were “jolly friends” who “became brothers as a result of deep
love, intermarriage and mutual respect for each other” (see “Shaykh Imam Ya'qub Ali-Agan: The New Sarkin Malamai of Ilorin” by Professor Abubakar Imam Ali-Agan, paragraph
13). According to his claim, what the “two jolly friends” founded were,
therefore, two families, one being the ALI-AGAN family and the other being that
of the Imam of Ali-Agan Mosque. This claim is not only untrue, but also tends
to consign to obscurity or devalue several important compounds that constitute
the Ode Aliagan historically.
It
should also be observed that Prof. Abubakar’s reference to intermarriage
between the two families, which he apparently advanced to justify his claim on
the founding of the Aliagan family by the two “jolly friend” and, therefore, a division of the Aliagan family and compound
into a “political arm” (a “Magaji lineage” of the dynasty) and a “spiritual
arm” (an “Imam lineage”), is a more recent phenomenon in history. Indeed,
the singular record of intermarriage between the two families (that of a niece
of Imam Busayr, father of the current Imam and a member of the Magaji Aliagan
family) was only a development of the early 1960s. That does not, in
any way, equate the two families as the same or parallel arms. There has been
only one Magaji Aliagan family and it has no parallel. However, an important
incident that strengthened the tie between Magaji Aliagan family with Imam
Busayr, the father of the present Imam of Aliagan mosque was the role played by
Magaji Aliagan Danialu (5th Magaji Aliagan) in rescuing the then young Busayr
from intra-family squabbles that threatened his life and re-settling him (for
safety reasons) at ‘Ile Baba Agba,’
an original settlement built for the elder brother of Aliyu, founder of the
Aliagan dynasty, when he arrived much later after Aliyu had settled in the area
(see Salihu, I. O. (ed.), Breakers of the City Wall: A Socio-Economic
and Political History of the Aliagans and their Neighbours (Fig and Olive
Limited, 2015), pp. 34, 37). As a mark of
respect for the Magaji Aliagan family, Imam Busayr who was appointed an Imam of
Aliagan mosque courtesy of the love and care Magaji Aliagan Danialu had for him,
throughout his lifetime, would not enter the Magaji compound with his shoes on.
He also made it a point of duty to pay morning homage greetings, not just to
the Magaji but to every woman of the house till he died. The well-known
demonstration of loyalty and respect for the Magaji Aliagan family by Imam
Busayr facilitated the approval of the then Magaji Aliagan, Baba Kelebe, to turban
the present Imam in 1983, in spite of stiff opposition from some quarters and
indication of interest in the Imamship by contenders from other families (See Breakers
of Ilorin City Wall, p.69).
Arrival of
the progenitors of Aliagan family from Oyo Ile
The submission by Prof. Abubakar that “the progenitors of Ali-Agan family
came to Ilorin from old Oyo” (paragraph
13) requires further clarification in view of some apparent factual errors in
the claim. First, contrary to the claim of the Professor, the documented
historical account of the Aliagan dynasty makes it clear that their progenitor
named Aliyu, a migrant warrior-scholar, migrated from Ọyọ-Ile, the ancient
capital of the Old Oyo Empire, to Ilorin PRIOR to the collapse of
the defunct empire (see Breakers of the City Wall, p. 31). When Mallam
Aliyu arrived, he first stayed with Magaji Agbadamu before he eventually
relocated with his family to his present abode of Aliagan Quarters, which was
then virtually a virgin territory. By this time, some parts of the Ilorin city
wall were broken down, with the permission of the first Emir of Ilorin, Shehu
Abdul Salami bn Shaykh Alimi (reigned c.1823-c.1836), to enable Mallam Aliyu
and his large family and following to establish “a more expansive and conducive
area beyond the city wall” (see Breakers of the City Wall, pp. 18-19,
31). The breaking and shifting of the city wall at different times to create
space for the ever expanding population of Ilorin during the reign of Emir
Abdul Salami bn Shaykh Alimi is attested in L.A.K Jimoh’s monumental work on
Ilorin history (see Jimoh, L.A.K. Ilorin: The Journey So Far, 1994 (page
147) and the revised edition of 2022 (page 161). It was quite some time after
he had settled down and established the Aliagan Quarters on the virgin
territory that Mallam Aliyu invited “many of his friends and followers to
settle around him” (see Breakers of the City Wall, p. 31). The claim made by Professor Abubakar in his write-up
would seem to suggest that the family of the present Imam is different from
that of Mallam Abullahi, Mallam Aliyu’s friend invited to join him at Ilorin
quite some time AFTER he had established a comfortable abode in what is now
known as the Aliagan Quarters, especially as there is no record that this
‘Abdullahi’ led prayer in the area.
According to the professor:
“The progenitor of the new Sarkin-Malamai, Imam Abdullahi bn
Muhammad, was said to be of Fulani stock and an itinerant Muslim scholar, who
after series of intellectual and religious propagation and sojourn in several
towns and villages of the defunct Oyo empire settled at its new headquarters
and location, Oyo.”
‘Imam Abdullahi’, as reported in Prof. Abubakar’s
account, had visited various parts of the Old Oyo empire and had settled at the
“new
headquarters and location” of the “defunct Oyo
empire”. However, it is an established and verifiable historical fact that a
“new headquarters and location” for the defunct Oyo Empire was
established sequel to its final collapse AFTER the last battle of
Woru Kura or Eleduwe War of c.1835-6 fought within Ilorin. Being established by
Alaafin Atiba, and initially known as “Agọ d’Ọyọ”, the new headquarters of the
empire is what is now known as Ọyọ-Atiba, in the present Oyo State.
Oloduowo
In addition, the history of the Aliagan family shows
that, after establishing an expansive and
conducive area, sequel to the breaking of the Ilorin city wall, Mallam
Aliyu “invited many of his friends and followers, whom he had known in [Old]
Oyo” (that is, Ọyọ-Ile) to join him at Ilorin. Among those invited and who
eventually relocated to join him at Ilorin was Mallam Abdullahi, “a Qur’anic
teacher” (Breakers of the City Wall, p. 31), who was not recorded as
having been an Imam (there was no reason for such as Aliyu himself led prayer)
and also not related to the personality claimed in Prof. Abubakar’s article.
Many of those who came to join Mallam Aliyu consequent upon the invitation were
allocated lands to build their homes from the expansive land area of Aliagan.
Thus, at the onset, there
was the Ile Aliagan, on the one hand, established by Mallam Aliyu during the opening years
of the establishment of Ilorin Emirate, and others outside his main compound in what was
Ode Aliagan, on the other,
which were established subsequent to, not before or concurrent with, the
settlement of Mallam Aliyu in the area (Breakers
of the City Wall, p. 31).
The issue of
parallel authority of the Magaji Aliagan and the Imam
The assertion by Prof. Abubakar that, “While the descendants of Magaji
Abdulganiyu produces the political and traditional Head of the family till
date, the Imam Abdullahi lineage produces the spiritual head and Imam of their
Quarter’s mosque” is erroneous and incorrect. The creation of a parallel or a division of the Aliagan family and compound
into a “political arm” (a “Magaji lineage” of the dynasty) and a “spiritual
arm” (an “Imam lineage”), as
claimed in the write-up,
is misleading and is not rooted in the established history of the Aliagan family. This can be
confirmed in the documented history of the Aliagans and their neighbours
already cited above, and which is available in several libraries in Nigeria and
abroad. The Aliagan family that established the Magaji dynasty and has
continuously produced the Magaji till date is one and traces its origin to
Mallam Aliyu, not “Magaji Abdulganiyu” described as a friend of Mallam
Abdullahi. Similarly, what
Prof. Abubakar refers to as the “jurisdictional demarcation” of
the family has no basis in the history of the Aliagan family or the compounds
that constitute the Ode Aliagan. It is also not in consonance with the
tradition in the emirate’s political and religious history.
Furthermore, Prof. Abubakar claims that:
“The settlement of Shaykh Alimi, the
progenitor of the ruling family of Ilorin, whose
scholarly activities in conjunction with those of other eminent scholars, who
came from far and near to turn the city into a sanctuary of Islam and a place
of refuge for Muslims facing persecution or thirst for more knowledge, encouraged
Shaykh Imam Abdullahi to come to Ilorin where he found accommodation. He
shared the same vision with Magaji Abdulganiyu and the two came down to
Ilorin for permanent settlement in continuation of their fraternity and to
confederate with like minds towards defending and preserving its territorial
integrity and the course of Islam, which was gathering momentum in Ilorin.”
In the above,
Prof. Abubakar associates the movement of Abdullahi, whom he claimed to be the
progenitor of his family with the settlement of Shaykh Alimi at Ilorin.
However, it is an established historical fact that Shaykh Alimi settled
permanently at Ilorin in c.1817, lived there for six years and died around
1823. The revered Shaykh was, therefore, no longer alive as at the time of the
destruction of Ọyọ-Ile,
and the founding of Ọyọ
Atiba as a “new headquarters” (that is, after c.1835) where Prof. Abubakar
claims Imam Abdullahi had “settled” before moving to Ilorin. This claim of
linkage with Shaykh Alimi and confusion of Oyo Ile with Oyo Atiba in the
professor’s biography of his father, question the linkage with ‘Imam Abdullahi’
and other things associated with him (See Breakers of the City Wall,
p.31).
In addition, the
prior arrival and settlement of Mallam Aliyu in Ilorin, even before
establishing the larger Aliagan Quarters, was not the outcome of anyone having
‘shared a vision’ with him as claimed in the professor’s article. In short,
there was no contact, talk less of sharing common vision. As documented in the
history of the Aliagans and their neighbours, “an oral account claims that
[Mallam Aliyu] said that he was moving to Ilorin to join his kin who had
established an Islamic empire there” and this was during the reign of the first
Emir of Ilorin, Shehu Abdul Salami (Breakers
of the City Wall, pages 31, 52).
Another erroneous
submission in the write-up is the claim by Prof. Abubakar that the progenitor
of the Magaji Aliagan lineage was one “Magaji Abdulganiyu” who was supposedly a
friend of Imam Abdullahi. In the biography of Shaykh Imam Ya’qub, Prof. Abubakar
submits thus:
“Imam Abdullahi made friend with a
man who later became known as Magaji Abdulganiyu. His friend was the progenitor
of the Magaji lineage of the Ali-Agan dynasty” and further, that Imam Abdullahi “served as an
Imam and a religious adviser and spiritual consultant. His main
client was Magaji Abdulganiyu, who, as a soldier, more often than not, depended
on Imam Abdullahi for guidance on when to go to the battlefield.”
These submissions are not documented or corroborated
in the established history of the Aliagan family and their neighbours, produced
from rigorous research and supported by heads of respective compounds and
elders in the Aliagan quarters. The progenitor of the Aliagan family was Mallam
Aliyu who, of course, was not only a warrior but also a scholar in his own
right. These clarifications are well supported by evidences provided by
historical information obtained from various families in the Aliagan Quarters,
and documented in the Breakers of the Ilorin City Wall (pages
28-32, 55; the genealogical
tree on page 35, and a list of Magaji Aliagan, page 36).
It is also not on record that any Mallam Abdullahi “served as an
Imam” of the Aliagan Mosque or in the Aliagan Quarters. Sequel to the breaking
of the city wall and his settlement in the present Aliagan compound, oral
tradition recorded that when Aliyu first settled in the area, he set up a small
prayer space at his domain for his family, a common practice among early
Muslims in Ilorin before proper mosques were built. Later, he discovered that
the Agbaji scholars were deeply knowledgeable about Islam, so he started
joining them for congregational prayers. By choosing to pray with them, Aliyu
showed his dedication to Islamic learning and respect for scholarly excellence,
values that would become a hallmark of the Aliagan family tradition. This tradition
upheld by Mallam Aliyu mirrored how earlier Ilorin scholars had recognised
Sheikh Alimi's religious authority when he arrived to join them.
The Aliagan Mosque and its
Expansion during the tenure of Magaji Aliagan Danialu
However, as Aliyu grew older and found it harder to trek to the
Agbaji Mosque, he established the Aliagan Mosque in front of his own compound
where he led the prayer. This was a natural progression; mosques in Ilorin
typically evolved from private family prayer spaces to neighborhood mosques,
and eventually to larger Friday (Jumaat) mosques serving entire communities. It
was this mosque Mallam Aliyu caused to be built that came to be known as
Aliagan Mosque till date. In other words, the establishment of the Aliagan
Mosque came much later and associated with Mallam Aliyu being very old and
unable to attend the Agbaji mosque (see Breakers of the City Walls, Chapter
Two, pp. 31-32, and chapter 4, pp. 68-69).
The small mosque built by Mallam Aliyu was enlarged during the reign
of the Magaji Aliagan Danialu (5th Magaji Aliagan) when he invited 13 families
to form the congregation of the Aliagan mosque. At this time, the Ile Keji, Aliagan family compound annex
directly opposite the Magaji compound was where the brother to the Magaji
Aliagan Danialu, Mallam Uthman, ran the community Quranic school, attended by
children of the Aliagan quarters, including the father of the present Imam,
Busayr, Abdulrahman Alagbede, Kolawole Ile Tapa (Akata), and Anbelohun Ile
Oloduowo, among many others, to learn the scripture. After the mosque was
rebuilt, Uthman (brother to Magaji Aliagan Danialu, being the most learned and
an appointee of Magaji Aliagan Danialu was made the Imam of the rebuilt Aliagan
Mosque. This meant that a sibling of the Magaji Aliagan Danialu was the first
Imam of the enlarged Aliagan Mosque. As evidence of the kinship of Uthman with
the Magaji Aliagan family, he was buried at the family burial ground at the back
of the Fada of the Magaji Aliagan.
After the death of Uthman, Mallam Umoru Ikapo of Ile Ikapo was made the second Imam. It was when he died that Magaji
Aliagan Danialu caused the father of the present Imam whom he had relocated to
Ile Baba Agba to secure his life, to be turbaned as Imam. When Imam Busayr was
installed, he was made to take over the Quranic school of Mallam Uthman as the
most senior and learned of his students and having left Ilorin during the
Imamship of Umoru Ikapo to acquire further learning. The Quranic School
operated by late Imam Uthman was then moved to Ile Baba Agba, where Magaji
Aliagan Danialu resettled Imam Busayr as earlier mentioned. This explains why
Imam Busayr turned out to be teachers of the persons listed in the professor’s
biography of his father.
Based on this, therefore, prior to the first building of and the
later expansion of the Aliagan Mosque, there was no “Ile Imam Aliagan”. What is
now Kaa Ile Alfa where the present Imam family initially lived or the present
site of the family later released by Magaji Aliagan Danialu to accommodate the
family was previously known as Ile Elepo
(Breakers of the City Wall, p. 34).
The change of its name from Ile
Elepo to Ile Imam was a creation
of the 1990s, that is, some years after the present Imam of Aliagan Mosque took
on the spiritual role. Our analysis on the establishment and expansion of the
expanded Aliagan Mosque becomes clearer when the account of the founding of the
Agbaji mosque is considered.
According to a book on Agbaji released in
2015, the Agbaji mosque was built around 1823-1824, that is, during the first two years of the
establishment of the Ilorin Emirate (see Razak, B. A. Agbaji: History, Culture and
Legends: A Book in Honour of Late Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki (2015), pages
29, 64). The book also recorded that other mosques like Aliagan Mosque, along
with Sholagberu, Baakini, Alkinla, Alfa Iwo mosques, among others, were later established
due to population increase, security challenges, distance, among other factors
(Agbaji: History,
Culture and Legends,
page
69).
As previously explained, the Aliagan Mosque grew beyond its initial
size when Magaji Aliagan Danialu invited thirteen prominent families from the
Aliagan neighborhood to join prayers. This expansion meant they needed an
official Imam to lead the prayer and Mallam Uthman, his sibling who also taught
the kids of the community the Quran was installed the Imam of what stands today
as the expanded Aliagan mosque. As the Magaji (compound head), the Magaji
Aliagan held the authority to appoint the Imam, a standard practice in Ilorin
where compound leaders controlled such appointments. Therefore, throughout its
history, the Magaji Aliagan has maintained control over who serves as Imam. The
Imam's responsibilities include leading prayers, teaching the Qur'an, and
conducting weddings and funerals, but always under the Magaji's authority. Over
the years, however, some persons from different families have served as Imam
Aliagan, each one appointed by the reigning Magaji and announced to the
congregation, usually during dawn (Subhi or Fajr) prayers, after
which the Magaji conducts the turbaning.
Etymology of
the name Aliagan
Prof. Abubakar also ventured into the etymology of the
name of the family, vis: “Ali-Agan” and submits thus:
“The original name of the place now
called Ode Ali-Agan was Ode-Nla, which simply means a spacious place. The
family derived its subsisting name, Ali-Agan, from the experience of a renowned
member of the family. History has it that he was a patriarch of the family, who was a descendant of the Magaji lineage and whose name
was Ali. He had suffered from infertility
for quite a significant part of his life and that gave the family its
subsisting name. His situation became a source of scorn among his neighbours who
derided and mocked him for being biologically unproductive by referring to him
as Ali-Agan (Ali, the barren) because he was not so lucky with procreation.….He would, therefore,
respond to his tormentors by saying “Agan oye mi”. People called him Ali-Agan
Oyemi. When his prayers were eventually answered, the singsong changed and his
admirers turned it into Ali Agan di Olomo. The appellation was eventually
shortened to Ali-Agan. And it stuck till date.”
The different
traditions and postulations on the etymology of the name “Ali-Agan” (or Aliagan
as adopted by the family) have been documented in the history of the family
(see Breaker of the City Wall, Chapter 2, pages 28-29, 32). These
included his having possibly been initially barren before being blessed with a
child (an Agan), or from his military exploits as a warrior who fought
in military campaigns like one who had no child or children (that is, “a jagun
bi Agan”). Another plausible etymology canvassed on the name of the
family recorded on page 29 of the Breakers of the Ilorin City Wall was that
the name Aliagan was a corruption of "Ali Ga'ani" – Ga’ani being a
name common among people of Nupe/Tapa origin. Like it is true with the
etymology of the name ‘Ilorin’ to which there are several postulations,
‘Aliagan’ shares similar trace, which we have continued to explore. Whatever
may be the case, it suffices to clarify that while the etymology presented
above by Prof. Abubakar might reflect one of the possible or probable
etymologies of “Ali-Agan”, which was connected with Mallam Aliyu being barren
at a point in time (as already captured and reported in the Breakers of the
City Wall, pages 28-29), it is definitely not a closure to the debate on the
etymology of the name.
Similarly, the
claim that the said ‘Ali-Agan’ was “a descendant of the Magaji lineage”
and at the same time a “patriarch of the family” is NOT supported by the
history of the Aliagan family. Mallam Aliyu who was THE PROGENITOR of the
MAGAJI Aliagan family and, therefore, from whose name (ALIYU) and life
challenge/exploits the family derived its name (see Breakers of the City
Wall, pages 28-29), was NOT “a descendant” of any “Magaji
Abdulganiyu” as claimed by Prof. Abubakar. Similarly, the “Magaji Abdulganiyu”
of Prof. Abubakar’s article was neither the progenitor of the family nor one
of the immediate descendants of Mallam Aliyu. This can only be regarded as a twist on the etymology of the family’s
name, and therefore, undeserving.
Reference to Ode Nla
Prof. Abubakar
equally mentioned that the name of the compound on which Aliagan traditionally
superintend was not originally Ali-Agan but Ode Nla. In his words, “The original
name of the place now called Ode Ali-Agan was Ode-Nla, which simply means a
spacious place.” This
looks like standing the truth on its head, and therefore a serious claim that confounds
the understanding of all. As documented in history and known by all compounds
within Aliagan Quarters, the original name of the family is Ile Aliagan, and the compounds outside
the main Ile Aliagan, was/is Ode Aliagan. The phrase “Ile Nla” or
“Ode Nla” was only a description to fit the might of the occupiers of the
house, in which passersby dreaded passing its frontage with their shoes on.
This practice went on up to the early 80s in which some passersby on
approaching the compound area would remove their shoes to avoid being challenged
for lack of respect to the Magaji. We earlier made reference to the practice by
Imam Busayr on not entering the Magaji Aliagan family compound with his shoes
on, up to the time he died in 1983. It was also probably referred to as Ile Nla
to show the might of the house which is the only house with the Big Main
Entrance or Gate (traditionally known as Enu Ilo) in the whole
area, as common to houses of important families in the emirate. It is also the
only house with the Magaji’s Fada in
the environment. A similar example of such usage is the reference to the settlement
or residence of Ahmadu Barike, the progenitor of the Alangua Badari, as “Ile
Nla” in reference to his influential personality as well as the extensive
grounds that his residence or Fada covered (see Otukoko, I. S. “Origin
and Settlement Pattern in Badari Ward”, in Jawondo & Aliagan (ed.), Badari
Ward in Ilorin Emirate History, Chapter Two). At one time, the Aliagan
Compound was also referred to as Kaa
Paanu, being the first house with corrugated iron sheets used for roofing
in the whole of the area. Thus, these descriptions do not, in any way, reflect or
suggest a change in the original name of ‘Ile Aliagan’ or ‘Ode Aliagan’, as the
professor’s article seems to canvass.
Akaaba and Aliagan
Prof. Abubakar
also mentions that:
“Magaji
Abdulganiyu was a war veteran and comrade-in arm to Magaji Akaaba and Magaji
Ikolaba. The trio were foremost lieutenants to Balogun Ajikobi, the most senior
commander of Yoruba contingent of the dreaded Army of Ilorin Emirate. Together,
they participated in many wars and battles for Ilorin to survive as a political
entity.”
Although, we have earlier refuted the
claim of Abdulganiyu being the
progenitor of the Aliagan family as conjectured by Prof. Abubakar, it is important to explain the context within which
Aliagan (not Abdulganiyu) and Akaaba related in history. It is a true fact of
history that Aliagan and Akaaba were part of the warlords of the emirate under
the Balogun Ajikobi. However, the exact context needs to be properly situated. The
early years of the Ilorin emirate
definitely recorded the involvement of many warriors and war
leaders before the office of the Balogun became streamlined to four. As a foremost warrior-scholar, Mallam Aliyu, the
progenitor of the Aliagan family/dynasty (not “Magaji Abdulganiyu” of Prof.
Abubakar’s narrative) took active part in the early wars of the emirate; hence
the appellation “Ajagun bi Agan” as previously inferred.
History records the prominent role played by the
first Balogun Ajikobi Usman
in the Ilorin wars up to the Osogbo War during which he was
captured and eventually killed in c.1838 or 1840 (Jimoh, Ilorin (2022), pp.
412-413; Jimba, S. Iwe Itan Ilorin (1990), pages 153-154; Johnson,
S. History of the Yorubas, pp.
285-288). An
oral account states that Aliagan and Akaaba were involved in this war with the Balogun Ajikobi Usman. There is also a tradition that “Magaji Aliagan
rescued the Emirate’s flag and brought it home during one of the expansionist
wars and would have laid claim to superiority if he had been the ambitious
type” (Breakers of the City Wall, page 55). Some sources of Ilorin
history records Idris Akaaba as having been appointed “Balogun” after the death
of Balogun Usman Ajikobi (Jimba, S. Iwe Itan Ilorin, page 45). According
to Mallam Sulu (History of Ilorin, compiled in 1953),
the reason for the appointment
of Akaaba as "Balogun", was because, at the time of his death in c.1840,
Balogun Ajikobi Usman’s children were too young to take the
title.
Oral sources explained
that Aliagan showed no interest in occupying the stool, thereby leaving Akaaba to be put
forward for the stool of Balogun,
apparently
in acting capacity. Thus, Aliagan, the progenitor of the Magaji Aliagan dynasty,
and Akaaba had served
with the first Balogun Ajikobi
until his death in c.1840. Being just about two to three years after the final
abandonment of Oyo-Ile and establishment of Ọyọ-Atiba as “new headquarters”,
the death of the first Balogun Ajikobi Usman in c.1840 would seem to be about
the time Aliyu invited several friends and followers to live around him at his
virgin terrain.
Aliagan and Mali origin
As claimed in
Prof. Abubakar’s write-up, “Imam Abdullahi was said
to be a Malian Fulani
with historical connections with the Alaaya family of Pakata as submitted by
the late Samaki of Ilorin and foremost historian, Alhaji Safi Ajibola Jimba (1942-2017)” (see paragraph 14). This
information is not correctly reported. The record in Safi Jimba’s book did not
mention ‘Abdullahi’ but ‘Aliagan’. This fact was analysed in the documented
history of the Aliagans in the Breakers
of the City Wall, which we quote as follows: “It should, however, be noted
that a Malian origin has been attributed to Aliagan, although no detailed
historical explanation is given for such claim that he was a Malian Fulani.” In
his Saraki: Portrait of a Charismatic
Leader, Safi Jimba lists “Aliagan” as among “notable Ilorin families” whose
forefathers “had migrated to Ilorin from the present-day Mali Republic” (see Jimba, S., Saraki: Portrait of a
Charismatic Leader [Ilorin: Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki Foundation,
2006], page 2). The claim in the professor’s article represents another
evidence of confused narrative. However, as we mentioned earlier, we are
continuing to explore and track the possible migration route of Aliagan before
getting to Oyo Ile, from where he came to Ilorin, hence more is expected from
this and other issues related to it.
The point we are making
In this rejoinder, we have tried to respond to the several
inaccuracies contained in the write-up by Prof. Abubakar, particularly those
that touched on the Aliagan family/dynasty. While we support his right to
document the history of his father who has been turbaned the second Sarkin
Malamai of Ilorin, and the current respected Imam of our mosque, as descendants
of Magaji Aliagan family, we owe a duty to our lineage and to posterity to point
out the errors in the piece under reference and set the record straight in
order to avoid misinformation, disinformation and distortion of history. In
summary, the claim that the Aliagan dynasty was founded by "two jolly
friends" is historically inaccurate and lacks any support in history and
our position on this is known and accepted by other families in the Aliagan and
its environs. The narrative of dual authority also goes against everything we
know about how Ilorin emirate political system has always worked. Finally, our
mosque as it presently stands has had Imams from different families, including
the Magaji Aliagan family itself.
Thus, our response in this rejoinder is only to restore the true
history of the Aliagan Dynasty, using solid historical evidence, established
scholarship and authentic oral sources. The real story is compelling enough on
its own: it is about a warrior-scholar who held both political and religious authority,
who earned recognition from the Emirate through dedicated service, and whose
descendants have rightfully maintained that authority through proper succession
over generations. By setting the historical record straight, we honour both the
genuine achievements of the Aliagan dynasty and seek to preserve the integrity
of Ilorin's longstanding traditional political traditions for future
generations. For those who may wish to know more about the Aliagans and their
neighbours, we recommend that you read “Breakers
of the Ilorin City Wall: A socio-economic and political history of the Aliagans
and their neighbours.”
For and on behalf of Descendants of Magaji Aliagan family:
*Professor Taiye Shehu Aliagan
*Alhaji Danialu Tunde Olokoba Aliagan
*Mallam Uthman Taiye Kawu
*Imam Muhammad La’aro Yakub Aliagan
*Professor Isiaka Zubair Aliagan
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