AbdulRahman Adebayo SULEIMAN, PhD
Rasheed ONAGUN, PhD &
Lukman ADESHINA
Department of History and International Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
Email: abdulrahman.as@unilorin.edu.ng
Abstract
The foundation of co-existence in Ilorin Emirate is premised on nascent settlements of the Baruba hermit, Ojo-Isekuse, Laderin, Solagberu, Abdullahi, Bako, AbdulMumeen, Dose and Olufadi (al-Fahd) in different quarters of Ilorin between seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Each of the aforementioned personalities played socio-cultural roles that fostered relations. Some writers and traditional narrators, especially non-professional historians hardly see pre-Alimi Ilorin history as the foundation and inseparable part of Ilorin history, some writers emphasized a single ethnic group as the basis for the establishment of the Emirate. This work found the essentiality of pre-Alimi Ilorin history, ethnic collaborations and individuals‘ contributions to the establishment of the Ilorin Emirate in 1823. The Ilorin Emirate comprises five L.G.As of Kwara State, namely, Asa L.G.A, Ilorin East L.G.A, Ilorin South L.G.A, Ilorin West L.G.A and Moro L.G.A. This paper examines the contribution of all the ethnic groups‘ subjects and the earliest ward leaders of Ilorin to the survival of each settlement and the emergence of the Ilorin Emirate. Sources of data collection for this study involved primary and secondary. The methodology adopted in his work is historical hence, it relied on primary (oral interviews, praise songs and folklore) and secondary sources. The paper concludes that the administrative acumen of the early Ilorin settlers provided an avenue for the evolution and the heterogeneity of Ilorin as a community.
Keywords: Foundation, Ilorin Emirate, Relations, Co-existence, Sustenance
Introduction Oral tradition shows that Ilorin was peopled largely by different ethnic groups before Alimi finally arrived. Each of the living quarters had a recognised leader, in whom the people reposed their trust. Based on this observation, intra-ethnic relations existed among the denizens of the then-Ilorin. However,