Mahin And Ilaje; Account of the war that took the Oba of Benin to Lagos

Mahin And Ilaje Account of The War That Took The Oba of Benin to Lagos

written by Anthony Ogundipe
3 minutes 



The Benin and Itsekiri joined forces to checkmate Mahin under Alogwe (Olague) and they barely had their way with the assistance of the portuguese mercenaries. One of these clashes led to Benin's Foray into Lagos in the 1500s. The wars also claimed the lives of rulers across the kingdoms. It was during the reign of Olu Ijijen that the Itsekiris were said to be free from Mahin/Alagwe torment while the death of Oba Ehengbuda at the hands of the Mahins brought an end to the hostilities between Benin and Mahin.




ORIGIN AND CHRONICLE OF MAHIN (ILAJE) AND THE ITSEKIRI/BENIN HOSTILITIES 

The Mahins and their leader called Alagwe in Ilaje (Olague in Itsekiri and Oague in Benin) were important part of the pre-Olu and Itsekiri people, they were aborigines and Alagwe reigned supreme in father to son succession over the ancient Itsekiri area. 


When the Olu, Prince Ginuwa emerged from Benin and journeyed  through many places, he arrived at Ijala where he died. Ginuwa had no issues with the originals of the area including Alagwe who was wealthy, affluent and very powerful, residing in a well-decorated quarter in Ode Itsekiri. After the death of Ginuwa, his sons became unruly and started demanding obeisance from their hosts. The successor of Ginuwa, Ijijen was taxing and demanding tributes from the people which Alagwe and his group took exception to.


 photo credit to Rattibha



It wasn't long before the war broke out and from some research, the first war claimed the life of ijijen and when Irame took over, he joined forces with the Benins and also the portuguese. Alagwe was more of a mythical figure; endowed with traditional power and war prowess that made him invisible in battles.However, the game changed with the superior firepower of Olu Irame and Alagwe was forced to retreat with his group, first to settle in a place called Aba-Alagwe and later Ukparamo which means “a hiding place” in ancient Yoruboid language. It was during the reign of one of the alagwa at ukparamo that a strategic land was discovered and relocated. Today we call this place Mahin. The land was named after Umaghen  “Omeghen” in the ilaje dialect, a tree found in abundance in the area.


The people prospered, flourished and expanded at Mahin. It was said Mahin practically had all the making of an empire under one of their kings named Alagwe Goro. The Mahin ruler was the overlord of the coastal way from Lagos to the boundary with Warri while the hostilities with the Olu and Benin on one hand raged intermittently.


The Olu and Benin rulers were said to be greatly disturbed and tormented by Alagwes. They felt threatened by his kingdom expansion and had to strategise and devise a means to checkmate him. The Oba and Olu were also said to have maintained good relationships with some Ilaje chiefs at that time. Worthy to note some kings of Benin were born and raised in Ilaje. Also, research shows that the Ilajes have rendered many spiritual powers to the Benins.


 

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