Alaafin Siyanbola Ladigbolu I

Alaafin of Oyo (1911–1944)

Iku Baba Yeye!

Alaafin Siyanbola Ladigbolu I ruled the Oyo Kingdom during a critical period of British colonial rule in Nigeria. His reign (1911–1944) bridged traditional Yoruba sovereignty and increasing colonial administrative control.

 The Aftermath of His Death

Following his death in 1944, preparations began for the traditional royal burial rites, which required the Eleshin Oba (the King’s Horseman) to perform ritual suicide and accompany the Alaafin to the afterlife — a long-standing Yoruba cosmological belief tied to royal transition.

However, in 1946:

A British colonial officer intervened.

The Eleshin Oba was arrested and imprisoned.

Under British law, attempted suicide was a criminal offence.

This intervention disrupted the sacred ritual cycle of the Oyo Kingdom and created a profound cultural and moral crisis.

 The Tragic Turn

The Eleshin Oba’s son, who was trading in the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), returned home intending to perform his father’s burial rites.

Upon discovering that his father had failed to fulfill the ritual obligation, he viewed it as a grave spiritual and cultural catastrophe. According to historical accounts, the son then took his own life, attempting to restore honor and cosmic balance.

Literary Legacy

The historical event later inspired Wole Soyinka to write the acclaimed play:

Death and the King's Horseman

First published in 1975

Explores themes of: 

Colonial interference

Cultural misunderstanding

Duty and honor

Fate and metaphysical order

The incident had earlier been researched and documented in the 1960s by French ethnographer Pierre Verger.

Historical Significance

The event remains one of the most discussed examples of colonial disruption of indigenous governance and spirituality.

Soyinka consistently clarified that the play is not merely about a “clash of cultures,” but about tragedy arising from moral failure and cosmic imbalance within a specific historical moment.

Alaafin Siyanbola Ladigbolu I’s reign and the events following his death remain deeply significant in both Yoruba history and world literature.

 Source

 Pierre Verger (1960s ethnographic studies)

Wole Soyinka, Death and the King’s Horseman (1975 publication)