Efunroye Tinubu

Chief
Efunroye Tinubu
Bornc. 1810
Egbaland, Yorubaland
Died1887
Abeokuta
Resting placeAbeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria
Occupation(s)Merchant, slave trader
Spouse(s)Adele Ajosun, amongst others

Efunroye Tinubu (c. 1810 – 1887), born Ẹfúnpọ̀róyè Ọ̀ṣuntinúbú,[1] was a powerful Yoruba female aristocrat, merchant, and slave trader in pre-colonial and colonial Nigeria.[2][3][4]

She was a politically and economically influential figure in Lagos during the reigns of Obas (monarchs) Adele, Dosunmu, Oluwole, and Akitoye, helping the latter two Obas gain political power. She married Oba Adele and used his connections to establish a successful trade network with European merchants in slaves, tobacco, salt, cotton, palm oil, coconut oil, and firearms. She allegedly owned over 360 personal slaves.[5]

Following British victory in the Reduction of Lagos, the British removed Oba Kosoko from his throne and replaced him with Akitoye, who was backed by Tinubu. The British had Akitoye sign the 1852 Treaty Between Great Britain and Lagos, which required Lagosians to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. However, Tinubu covertly persisted in operating the slave trade with Brazilian and European merchants, in violation of the treaty, and Akitoye willingly permitted this.[6] British consul Benjamin Campbell denounced Tinubu's economic hegemony over Lagos and her secret slave-trading, and she came into conflict with the British and rival Lagos merchants.[5] Following the ascendancy of Oba Dosunnu, Dosunmu exiled Tinubu to Abeokuta under Campbell's pressure after Tinubu plotted unsuccessful conspiracies to remove British influence from Lagos and assassinate Campbell. While in Abeokuta, she helped supply the city with munitions during its victorious war against the Kingdom of Dahomey, thus earning her the chieftaincy title of the Iyalode of the Egbas.[7]

She died in Abeokuta in 1887. The landmark Tinubu Square in Lagos, Nigeria, was named after her and also has a statue of her. She also has a statue in Abeokuta, Nigeria.[8]

  1. ^ Adams 2002, p. 6.
  2. ^ Bonnie G. Smith (2004). Women's History in Global Perspective, Volume 3. University of California, Berkeley (University of Illinois Press). p. 40. ISBN 9780252072345.
  3. ^ "Madam Tinubu: Inside the political and business empire of a 19th century heroine". The Nation. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  4. ^ Judybee (2011). Madam Tinubu: Queens of Africa. MX Publishing. ISBN 978-1-908-2185-82.
  5. ^ a b "Madam Efunroye Tinubu (ca. 1805-1887)". 10 April 2014.
  6. ^ Weise, Constanze (1 September 2020). "Women and trade in the Nupe–Borgu region during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 54 (3): 459–477. doi:10.1080/00083968.2020.1749097. S2CID 225664324.
  7. ^ "Madam Efunroye Tinubu: The Indomitable Iyalode". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  8. ^ "Restoring the pride of a warrior lady". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2022-12-22.