INTRODUCTION

The eighteenth century was a period of turbulence in Yorubaland due to widespread fratricidal warfare that began prior to the collapse of the Old Oyo Empire. The collapse was rooted in the multifaceted internal and external crises that engulfed Old Oyo from the mid-eighteenth century. By the time the empire finally fell in the third decade of the eighteenth century, Yorubaland had already been drawn into civil wars, beginning with the Owu War, when several Yoruba kingdoms allied to fight the Kingdom of Owu, leading to the town’s disbandment in 1826.

The capital of Old Oyo was located near present-day Niger State, where it shared a boundary with the Kingdom of Borgu. At the time of its demise, both Old Oyo and Borgu suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Eleduwe, which triggered the migration of many inhabitants of these kingdoms. This migration produced a series of southward movements, causing villages and towns that had previously been sparsely populated to experience rapid population growth. It was under these circumstances that Momodu Tonmo Ndakolo eventually found himself in Lagos.

MOMODU TONMO NDAKOLO: ORIGIN AND FAMILY BACKGROUND

Tonmo Ndakolo was born in Bide. He was a descendant of the Nupe royal family of present-day Niger State. According to family sources, his birth is placed around 1780. However, this date is difficult to verify due to limited supporting evidence. Nevertheless, it marks the beginning of the life of a man who would face many challenges.

He was born into a strictly Muslim family within a mosque environment and a predominantly Muslim community in Gida-Gbari. His later transformation into an Ifa devotee and accomplished diviner reflects the remarkable evolution of a man who would eventually become both a successful businessman and the head of a large and influential family in a settlement far from his ancestral homeland.