Ọṣun-TI-NU-IBU-wa..
There were many myths
that sometime in 1805 in Lumosa Compound in Ijokodo area of Gbagura, Abeokuta North local government,
when Efunporoye Osuntinubu Olumosa (Efunroye Tinubu) was
born on the bank of Ogun River, then called as Odo ose.
History said that Nijede
(Efunroye's mother) gave birth to a baby girl around
the river and on the 8th day, the child was
named Ọṣun -ti-inu-ibu-wa (the child was
given by Ọṣun, goddess of the river).
Efunroye's father, Olumosa was a wealthy Gbagura man from Ido,
Ọṣunsola was Efunroye Tinubu's grandmother from Owu, Abeokuta, was selling herbs, and animal skins.
Beautiful Efunroye married an Owu man at the age of 20 years and had two children for
him.
This Madam Tinubu' statue is located at Sokori area of Abeokuta.
Efunroye Tinubu was
merchant, an amazon of the 19th Century, politician, tactician, business woman, king-maker, philanthropist, arms and ammunition supplier,
a slave dealer, war leader and a nationalist.
Efunroye was powerful, she refused to allow British and Jamaican merchants to freely oppress the Nigerians during the colonial era. She succeeded in reducing their influence, One of the British government officials, Benjamin
Campbell was frustrated while reporting Madam Tinubu:
“There is another mischievous person in
Lagos, whose removal is very desirable but I
fear difficult to effect. The woman (is) Tinaboo
(Tinubu), the late Akintoye’s niece. At the time of war if dispersal, when people had to hide somewhere, Efunroye with her young family moved from Gbagura to hide at Olumo Rock in 1830 where she was made as the first Iyalode of Egbaland. Her husband later died.
Efunroye then married to Prince Adele who later became
king of Lagos, 1835 to 1837.
Madam Efunroye who had large and many landed properties in Abeokuta and Lagos,
participated in the deposition of Akitoye who
was an opponent of the trade and installed her
own brother, Kosoko to the Lagos throne in 1841 while British government later reinstated Akintiye 10 years later.
Efunroye was ill around December 1 1887 and
died in the next afternoon. She is remembered and valued
for her tremendous roles in reducing British influences in
Lagos before total annexation, but her role as a
slaver pales her heritage. Government named a
square in Lagos after her.
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