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Gbalefa Peninsula is an area of land located south of Abeokuta and north of Lagos city. Gbalefa Peninsula was named after Akindele Gbalefa, the outstanding Owu warrior who led the Owu/Egba war against Ilobi and Ado-Odo and Dahomey. ==About Gbalefa Peninsula== The Owu army contingent fought side by side with the Egba contingent in the Makun, Ilobi and Ado-Odo wars in 1842-45. The Owu/Egba contingent defeated Ilobi and Ado-Odo at Itori, Yobo, Ifo, Atan and Ota. It was from these conquered territories the Owu and Egba allied forces fought against the Dahomean fierce male and female warriors called the Amazons. There were two major attacks on the Owu/Egba nation by the Dahomeans. The first was on Monday, March 3, 1851, under the notorious king Ghezo. Eugene Stock (1836-1928), the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, estimated the invading Dahomean army at 15,000 warriors. The Owu/Egba allied force fiercely defended Abeokuta town within and outside the city walls and won the dreaded battle. Had king Ghezo prevailed on his attempt to destroy Abeokuta, historians belief he would have adorned his palace with the polished skulls of Abeokuta kings and influential leaders just as he had done with kings of every territory he destroyed. In a bid to avenge Ghezo’s defeat, his son and successor, Glele, lunched a supposedly surprise attack against Abeokuta in 1863. The Owu/Egba allied army through intelligence knew of the impending attack and laid ambushes for the unaware Dahomeans along the outskirts of Abeokuta (Gbalefa Peninsula). When the Dahomean army marched towards Abeokuta, they were surrounded from different directions by the Owu/Egba allied army and were defeated in the battle that ensued. The number of casualties which was put at over 5,000 have been described by some as the worst in the history of warfare in West Africa at the time. The Dahomeans not only suffered heavy casualties, King Glele's family, horse, coral and golden treasures were also captured by the Owu/Egba allied army. Lapeleke, Majeogbe and Akinwale were three brothers who fought in the Dahomey war. Lapeleke, being a sector commander of the Owu militia in the Egba Allied Forces that checkmated the Dahomean Amazons and other neighbourhood interlopers marauding Abeokuta and the Egba Federation between 1836 and 1843, made Akinale a military base where the militia settled to strategize, hence the foot prints of other Owu heroes such as Awaye Sonlu and Akindele Gbalefa, among others, on ground. In 1937, the colonial government merged Ota and Gbalefa Peninsula under the Egba Native Administration in present day Ogun State, Nigeria. To buttress the fact that Gbelefa Peninsular does not belong to the Aworis/Ottas, a meeting was held on Wednesday, 10 April 1935 at the Olota’s Palace between the District Officer from Abeokuta (Representing The RESIDENT Abeokuta Province) and the indigenes of Otta as represented by the Olota of Ota, His Chiefs and the representatives of Ota Bales. The meeting was as a result of a publication in the AKEDE EKO of Saturday, March 30, 1935, page 7 Col.2, Claiming that Gbelefa Peninsula belonged to the Aworis. The meeting was called by the Resident Abeokuta Province to ascertain the veracity of the claim from the Aworis living in Otta. Those in attendance at the meeting are: :''1. The District Officer, Egba - 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gbalefa Peninsula」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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