Interrogating the Memories of Slavery and the Slave Trade among the Ikale-Yoruba, c1640 – 1890: The Poverty of European Accounts and Response to Olatunji Ojo’s Critique

Abstract

Against the backdrop of Olatunji Ojo’s recent submission that the slavetrade was not significant in Ikale pre-colonial history, this paper reinterrogatesthe memories of slavery and the slave trade in Ikaleland. It alsoexamines the antiquity of Ikale’s Yoruba ethnic identity and dismisses Ojo’sclaim that the Ikale were originally Edoid. Significantly, the paper correctsan avalanche of historically inaccurate, misleading and contradictoryassertions made by Ojo and reveals that Ojo’s so-called modificationsmerely reflect his ignorance of the history of the Ikale, Ilaje, Apoi, Izon andIdanre. Methodologically, the work also accuses Ojo of trying to renderjaundiced archival data on the Ikale sacrosanct. Thus, by celebrating theage long Western prejudice against the credibility of oral sources, Ojo’sapproach represents part of a neo-liberal assault on an authentic Africanhistoriography. The study concludes that Ojo’s rejoinder is muddled from ahistoriographical point of view and deficient in its understanding of Ikaleprecolonial history.