ADEMOLA

Abeokuta, capital of the Yoruba-speaking province of the same name, now of Ogun state, began about 1830. The name means 'Refuge under the Rock' and the city held its own against slave traders from Dahomey and Ibadan.Under the treaty of 18th January 1893, the Egba tribes retained their independence under their council of four chiefs, of whom the Alake was the elected head. From 1902, Mr Edun, a Wesleyan Minister, organised the Government on British lines. He did important work on the question of land tenure in Nigeria. In 1914 the Egba United Government became part of the Nigeria Colony and Protectorate, under a system of 'indirect rule' which cut across native institutions and which led to great trouble and loss of life in 1918.