Egba Alake is one of the four sections of Egbaland, the others being Oke-Ona, Gbagura and the Owu, and is a traditional state which joins with its bordering sections to form something of a High King

High king

A high king is a king who holds a position of seniority over a group of other kings, without the title of Emperor; compare King of Kings.Rulers who have been termed "high king" include:...

ship.
The Alake of Abeokuta or Alake of Egbaland is the traditional ruler of the Egba clan of Yoruba

Yoruba people

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

s in the city of Abeokuta

Abeokuta

Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140....

 in southwestern Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

.

History

Abeokuta was founded around 1830 by Egba people after the collapse of the Oyo Empire

Oyo Empire

The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire of what is today southwestern Nigeria. The empire was established before the 14th century and grew to become one of the largest West African states encountered by European explorers. It rose to preeminence through its possession of a powerful cavalry and wealth...

 and the Yoruba people

Yoruba people

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

's subsequent descent into internecine warfare. The city was founded as a strong defensive position against slave raiders from Dahomey

Dahomey

Dahomey was a country in west Africa in what is now the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state that was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey...

 who were trying to benefit from the war.
In 1832, Abeokuta was involved in war with the people of Ijebu Remo, and in 1834 with the Ibadan people, resulting in the defeat of the Ibadan army in the Battle of Arakanga.
Sporadic fighting continued with the people of Ota (1842), Ado (1844), Ibarapa (1849), Dahomey (1851), Ijebu-Ere (1851), Ijaye (1860–1862) and the Makun War of 1862–1864.

On 18 January 1893, a treaty was signed with the governor and commander in chief of the British Lagos Colony

Lagos Colony

Lagos Colony was a British colonial possession centered on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was annexed on 6 August 1861 and declared a colony on 5 March 1862....

 for the purpose of trade, recognizing Egbaland as an independent state. In 1898, the Egba United Government

Egba United Government

The Egba United Government was a political entity in the late 19th century in what is today Nigeria.The EUG was recognized by the British at the end of the Yoruba Civil Wars in 1893, thus making it one of Africa's few legally existing tribal nation-states to survive the scramble...

 was formed.
In 1904, an agreement was made where the British assumed jurisdiction in certain legal cases, and in the same year, the Alake Gbadebo paid a state visit to England. Over the following years, the British steadily assumed more responsibility for administration while continuing to formally recognize the Egba state.
In 1914, the kingdom was incorporated into the newly amalgamated British Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.

In 1949, as a result of agitation by the women's rights leader Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, the Alake Ladipo Samuel Ademola was forced to abdicate, although he later returned.

Rulers

Rulers of the Egba in Abeokuta, who took the title "Alake" in 1854, were:

Start	End	Ruler
1829	1845	Shodeke
1845	1846	Shomoye -Regent (1st time)
1846	1854	Sagbua Okukenun -Regent
8 Aug 1854	1862	Okukenun (Sagbua Okukenun) First Alake
1862	1868	Shomoye -Regent (2nd time)
28 Nov 1869	20 Dec 1877	Ademola I
Jan 1879	15 Sep 1881	Oyeekan (d. 1881)
9 Feb 1885	27 Jan 1889	Oluwajin
18 Sep 1891	11 Jun 1898	Oshokalu
8 Aug 1898	28 May 1920	Gbadebo I (1854–1920)
27 Sep 1920	27 Dec 1962	Ladapo Samuel Ademola II (1872–1962) (in exile 1948 – 3 Dec 1950)
29 Sep 1963	26 Oct 1971	Adesiinan Samuel Gbadebo II (1908–1971)
5 Aug 1972	3 Feb 2005	Samuel Oyebade Mofolorunsho Lipede (1915–2005)
24 Aug 2005		Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III was elected the Alake of Egbaland, based in Abeokuta, Nigeria on 2 August 2005.He scored 15 out of 23 votes in an election conducted by the Egba kingmakers, defeating eight competitors including his younger brother, Adeleke.Gbadebo was born on 14 September 1943, and is... (b. 1943)