Without mentioning the exploits of the fabled Chief Balogun Landuji Oshodi Tapa, Lagos history would be incomplete. For those who don’t know, Oshodi Tapa was a young child of Nupe descent from the North who was going to be transported as a sold slave onto a Portuguese ship. After his parents were killed, he fled and took sanctuary in the Oba of Lagos palace. Under Fagbemi, Kosoko’s father, Oba Eshinlokun, adopted him and reared him like one of his own princes.
He was able to purchase his own slaves and enjoyed some degree of success in trading. A few years later, monarch Eshilokun’s friend, a Portuguese trader, asked the monarch to let two of his children to travel with him to Portugal, promising to bring the children back. The King was quite cautious about this offer and decided to give two of his most devoted subjects instead of jeopardizing the lives of any of his own offspring. He so decided to accompany the Portuguese merchant with Oshodi and Dada Antonio. The King denied his own children an opportunity that would have benefitted them more in the long run, even though he believed he was safeguarding their interests.
After traveling to America with the Portuguese merchant for many years, Oshodi and Dada Antonio were eventually given back to the King. Oshodi worked as a commission agent and toll collector for Messrs. G. L. Gaiser after arriving from America. When the Portuguese merchants’ ships arrived, commerce took off, Oshodi’s sales commissions rose, and he eventually amassed wealth. Oshodi remained faithful to the King and was elevated to the rank of chief, with the exclusive duty of taking care of the King’s women, demonstrating that he never forgot the hands that, in a sense, nourished him.
In the unlikely event that repairs were necessary, he was the sole person with access to the Queen’s apartment. Chief Oshodi never wavered in his devotion to his kids following the passing of King Eshinlokun. In particular, he sided with his father’s successor, Idewu Ojulari. It was Chief Eletu Odibo’s responsibility to install and crown any new monarch, and Kosoko, a son of Oshinlokun, was considered the legitimate heir to the throne after Chief Idewu Ojulari’s rule. The would-be wife of Eletu Odibo was rumored to have been seduced by youthful Prince Kosoko at the time.
In 1836, as a form of payback, Eletu Odibo used his influence to install Oluwole as the new King of Lagos. Not happy with the outcome, Kosoko and other King Eshilokun descendants were prepared to voice their disapproval. They engaged in combat with Chief Eletu Odibo and King Oluwole. Isale-Eko was overrun by Kosoko and his soldiers. Despite being intense and drawn out, the king’s army prevailed in the end. As Kosoko realized the implications of his actions, he ran away to Whydah. Akitoye was crowned King of Lagos in 1841 following the death of King Oluwole.
Akitoye made the honorable decision to look for Kosoko, his nephew, who had sought safety in Whydah, after realizing that Kosoko held the claim to the kingdom. He felt that while he was king, he had to relish his patronage. With the fearless and valiant Chief Oshodi leading the search party, Akitoye coordinated the operation. Chief Oshodi’s military prowess had a vital role in the party’s quick ascent to success. In a ship owned by a businessman named Domingo, Kosoko and Chief Oshodi eventually made their way back to Lagos. From then on, Chief Oshodi endeavored to foster harmony between Kosoko and Akintoye, ultimately bringing the two parties to mutual understanding. Chief Eletu Odibo used all the persuasive language he could to hinder the peace endeavor. to convince King Akitoye against returning Kosoko to Lagos. He thought the two of them would not be in Lagos.
He tried everything for a long to incite tensions between them, but eventually he fled Lagos and went into exile in Badagry. Chief Oshodi bravely pitched his tent with Kosoko, the son of Eshilokun, through thick and thin when a conflict broke out between King Akitoye and Kosoko. Eletu Odibo was asked by Akitoye to lead his men back to Lagos so they could battle with him. Eletu Odibo’s warriors, leading Akitoye, were decisively defeated. In an ambush, Eletu Odibo was taken prisoner and executed. The elders counseled Akitoye to flee to his mother’s town in Abeokuta following the passing of Eletu Odibo. Upon learning of the scheme, Kosoko instructed his war chief, Oshodi, to set up an ambush for Akitoye, murder him, and present his head to him.
When Akitoye was actually captured by Oshodi in the Agboyi waters, he honored him and his Lord and begged for a safe voyage and safe return rather than killing him. Chief Oshodi came back to inform Kosoko that Akitoye had managed to get away by using a strong charm that had lulled them all to sleep as he was going. Historians were unable to pinpoint a cause for Oshodi’s treatment of Akitoye, despite the fact that he was under instructions to bring his head to Kosoko.
After defeating Akitoye in 1845, Kosoko took the throne. Chief Oshodi continued to lead Kosoko’s “Abagbon” war effort in the meantime.
Akitoye requested assistance from the British Government when he was living in exile in order to reclaim his throne. When the British began to bombard Lagos, a war broke out and the town was set on fire.
By worldwide standards at the time, Chief Oshodi’s defense of Kosoko was efficient and cutting edge. Following nine days of intense fighting, the British navy used enormous cannon power, which caused Kosoko’s fleet to be defeated. On the evening of August 13, 1853, Kosoko was forced to escape to Epe along with Chief Oshodi and his warriors due to these difficult circumstances. The British Consul took Akitoye back to Lagos, where he was crowned the new King of Lagos. On September 2, 1853, Akitoye passed away, almost two weeks after Kosoko and his men had escaped. On September 3, 1853, in the afternoon, his son Dosunmu was solemnly crowned King of Lagos.
Chief Oshodi Tapa and Chief Onisemo Adeburusi of Epe were among the members of Kosoko’s party, while the Commander of HMS Plato and other officers under his command were part of the British Consul’s party. They arrived in roughly sixty canoes, each holding forty soldiers, but without Kosoko. A number of war chiefs and white cap chiefs stood in for King Dosunmu. The Epe people, led by Chief Oshodi Tapa, declared at the beginning of this incredible conference how much they wanted to be at peace with their friends and family and return to Lagos to see the British Consul. Kosoko should be permitted to go back to Lagos and live alone, Chief Oshodi suggested.
The Consul rejected the suggestion, citing the inability of two Kings to maintain control over Lagos. Chief Oshodi was offered the opportunity to return alone as the Consul for the people of Epe as a means of appeasement, but he turned it down and requested that Kosoko return from his exile. A few years later, in 1862, Kosoko and his war chief were permitted to return to Lagos following the execution of a peace pact mediated by Chief Oshodi with the British Consul. Governor Glover expressed his gratitude to Chief Oshodi for his efforts in promoting peace in Lagos. He asked Aromire for permission to grant Chief Oshodi a portion of Epetedo when they arrived in Lagos.
He owned the territory for himself, his family, his adherents, and the servants he brought back from Epe, according to the traditional custom of land tenure, subject to the native system of land devolution. The Oshodi palace is situated in the middle of Epetedo’s land region. The space is arranged in 21 distinct compounds. All four of these compounds—the courts at Oshodi, Akinyemi, Ewumi, and Alagbede—belong solely to the family of Chief Balogun Oshodi.
When they got to Lagos, Governor Glover asked Aromire whether he might give Chief Oshodi some of Epetedo. Subject to the native system of land devolution, he owned the territory for himself, his family, his followers, and the servants he brought back from Epe, in accordance with the customary custom of land tenure. The center of the land area of Epetedo is where the Oshodi palace is located. There are twenty-one different chemicals in the space. The courts at Oshodi, Akinyemi, Ewumi, and Alagbede are all part of the Chief Balogun Oshodi family’s property. Governor Glover gave Chief Oshodi a sword from Mr. Cardwell, the Secretary of State to the British Government, on the grounds of the Lagos Race Course in recognition of his remarkable and noteworthy role in bringing peace to Lagos and his support of the Lagos government. The sword included the inscription, “Presented to Chief Tapa by the Government of Queen Victoria in recognition of the faithful services he provided to the Government of Lagos.”
Oshodi took advantage of the chance to educate his children, having previously visited America. He asked Governor Glover to send one of his kids to school in England. Later on, this child adopted the Oshodi-Glover surname. About six years after his return from exile in Epe, Chief Balogun Oshodi Tapa passed away on July 2, 1868, leaving 46 surviving children. In Epetedo, Lagos, his remains were buried in the middle of Oshodi Street. At his gravesite, Chief Oshodi’s descendants built a massive structure as a memorial to the legendary warrior, mediator, and statesman.
The Lagos State Government has declared this monument to be a historic site.
