The Adubi War, also known as Ogun Adubi or Egba Rebellion, was a war that broke out between June and August 1918 as a result of the tax system introduced by the British colonial government in Abeokuta. Direct taxes were introduced by the colonial government alongside existing bonds and forced labor levies, culminating in the Egbas rebellions. By June 7, 1918, the British government had already arrested 70 Egba chiefs and issued a decree ordering all insurgents to surrender their weapons, pay taxes and obey local leaders.
Over thirty thousand (30,000) Egba tribesmen went to war in Abeokuta against colonial government officials and destroyed railway and telegraph lines in the southern part of the territory. The Adubi War is named after the village head of Elere, Ige Adubi.Elere Adubi is now a village near Itori, very close to Papalanto, a town on the road to Lagos Abeokuta, where sugarcane is still grown on a large scale in Ewekoro Local Government Area (SONG: Omi ireke l’ẹn bu s’ebẹ). Ogun. Condition. Awape (also known as Molashin), Ige Adubi’s deputy, instigated the war. He worked with the British government and revealed his plans for a system of direct taxation to Ige Adubi, the village chief. The British government then sentenced Awape to six months in prison as punishment for his crime. About 600 people died in the Adubi War, including the European trading agent and high chief of Egba, Oba Osile.This incident led to the abrogation of Abeokuta’s independence. The Adubi War has spawned a newly composed folk song by legendary Afrobeat icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It looks like this:
:Bi e ba n gbo gbagada gbagada (band repeats) Bi e ba n gbo gbogodo gbogodo (band repeats) E ma ya s’otun, e ma ya s’osi (band repeats) Ile olowo n’oro ngba lo (band repeats)
Ogun adubi s’oju re ja (band repeats) Ogun adubi le lopo lopo (band repeats) Iwo nikan n’odagba shoja mefa (band repeats) Oro o wo mo, o pada seyin (band repeats) Opada s’eyin, o wa n fi ewe bora (band repeats) Iya re nke lo bi ewure (band repeats) Baba re nke lo bi aparo (band repeats) Iwona n be lo bi igala (band repeats) Omi ireke l’en bu sebe (band repeats) L’en bu sebe, l’etun fin r’omo (band repeats)
O o o oya o, eni omo wu, oya kalo o (band repeats) Oya o o, eni omo wu, oya kalo eh (band repeats) Oya o o, eni omo wu, oya kalo eh eh eh eh (band repeats) Oya o o, eni omo wu, oya kalo eh eh ye eh (band repeats)
The Adubi War will never be forgotten in the history of the Egba people.
