The Extraordinary life of Madam Tinubu Efunroye: The Wealthiest and Most Powerful Woman in Yorubaland in the 19th Century!
Tinubu square in Lagos.
The name Efunroye Tinubu often evokes intense debates, emotions, sentiments, condemnation(to a lesser extent), praise and admiration among Africans both on the Continent and the Diaspora.
I first came across this gigantic woman King maker many years ago through my Black history researchs and, ever since, I have been fascinated by the story of the Yoruba woman whom Benjamin Campbell (one of the then representative of the British Government) in Nigeria described in one of his dispatches to London as a (“very mischievous”) woman. This is my contribution to this discussion.
EFUNPOROYE Osuntinubu Olumusa, later know as Madam Efunroye Tinubu was a powerful female aristocrat in pre colonial Nigeria. Born around 1805 in the Yoruba town of Abeokuta in western Nigerian, currently in Ogun state, Nigeria.
Madam Efunroye rose from an average family to a status of weath. She learned business and market skills from both her grandmother and mother who were said to be traders. Her grandmother was a notable traditional herbalist at the time and she picked up the skill from her. Her mother was a food seller. The family’s status equipped and prepared her for the life ahead, and afforded her a life of affluent and progress.
She got married at the early age of 20 to a man from her community, and they had two children. Shortly afterwards, he died. Newly a widow, and a single mother, she picks up the skills she learned from her grandmother and mother to make a living for herself.
In 1833, She remarried an exile Oba(King) of Lagos. With this marriage, she rose to economic and political prominence across west Africa. The two moved to the coastal city of Badagry, where she lost her two sons to malaria and also use her husband’s connections to build a successful business empire, trading in salts and tabacco from Europeans for slaves from Abeokuta.
That same year, The prince won the rights to the throne and returned to Lagos with his new Queen, Efunroye Tinubu. Her marriage to the prince did not bear any children. however, but the stage was set for one of the Amazons of Western Nigerian to flourish. Tinubu’s extraordinary life has begun.
Tinubu then moved to Lagos after (Adele) the prince returned to his throne. Unfortunately, Adele died just two years later in 1837, making Tinubu a widow again. She helped to install Adele son, Oluwole, as the new king and married his military adviser, Yesefu Bada. Smart woman lol.
She continued to expand her trade networks by monopolizing slaves and palm oil and offering firearms obtained from Europeans which increased her weath during the Yoruba wars of the 1840s and 1850s.
After the accidental death of Oluwole, Tinubu arranged for her brother in law, Akintole to take over the throne in Lagos. He then rewarded her with a ownership of valuable stores in downtown Lagos. She made other investments in Lagos business district and built for herself a huge personal residence to reflect her status.
Tinubu is rumored to have owned 360 slaves. Through her marriage to the military adviser, she established contacts and trading partnerships with Brazilian, Portuguese and other European traders who transacted trade through the military for protection.
It didn’t take long for Madam Tinubu to partner with the British to trade African slaves. Prominent African Historian John Henrik Clarke in his lectures series entitled “Africa before slavery” ( part 1&2,) described Madam Efunroye as an incredible woman who did not know the difference between local and colonial slave trade and,credited her for taking a tough stance against the evil trade once she became aware of its horrors. Dr Clarke further stated that Tinubu fought against every last remaining king in the slave trade.
Madam Tinubu later became a staunch advocate for the abolition of slavery after realizing the horrors and tortures that slaves went through. This is one aspect of her legacy that’s often ignored. Yes she traded in slaves as it was considered a legitimate business at the time and has no impact on the moral consciousness of the participants. But she also fought mercilessly against it upon realizing it’s horrors.
She became a staunch advocate against British rule in Nigeria and was sent out of Lagos and into exile at gunpoint because he has secretly organized a plot to remove British consul Benjamin Campbell in 1856.
She moved back to Abeokuta, where she traded in firearms and gunpowder during the war against Dahomey. Through her political influence and power, she managed to get many traditional leaders including Oba Akintola to sign documents that ended African selling other African to Europeans.
In 1864, after successfully expelling the British and local invaders, she was given the Tittle of “ lady Iyadore” meaning first lady. She focused on crop trading and started a business in coconut oil and cotton in replacement of colonial slave trading. Until her death in 1887, Madam Efunroye was successful in her fight against the slave trade and became one of the most enigmatic and powerful figures in the history of Nigeria.
Her last married was to the Arab scholar, Momor Bokar whose children took her last name after his death.
She was buried in Abeokuta and a famous square in the heart of Lagos, formely known as independence square is now named after her.
I’d end this article by asking this. Who exactly was Madam Efunroye Tinubu? Was Tinubu a Nationalist, who propelled by love for her country, fought against European domination of trade in Lagos, and the hinterland? Or a self motivated individual driven by her lust for gold and land or merely an aggressive money maker? It depends on which historical lense one choose to view her. I personally believe Madam Tinubu was a great woman who deserved national honors for what she did for Nigeria.
#History #Africahistory #MadamTInubuEfunroye #BusinessWoman #KingMaker
#Africa #Nigeria #WestAfrica #Yorubaland#TransatlanticSlaveTrade #WorldHistory
References:
The Nation newspaper, Nigeria
The Guardian, Nigeria
Face2face African
Black past.
