Isaac Babalola Akinyele

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Oba

hereditary traditional ruler) of Ibadan, and the second Christian to ascend the throne
.

Family

Bolude, an Ibadan

missionaries
that first brought Christianity to Ibadan in 1851. Josiah Akinyele took Abigail Lapeno, the daughter of Kukomi, another powerful Ibadan pagan warrior, who also was converted to Christianity through Hinderer; as his second wife in 1870.

In 1875, she gave birth to her first son;

Anglican Diocesan
Bishop of Ibadan. Several years later on 18 April 1882, she gave birth to the second son, Isaac Babalola Akinyele.

Civil service

He followed in his brother's footsteps and excelled academically. With the example of the Akinyele brothers, Ibadan people started to take the issue of the education seriously to the extent that in 1910, a proclamation was made by the ruler; that made it compulsory for every household to send at least one child to school or pay a fine of five pounds. Since the Pax Britannica of 1893, the Ibadan had started to settle down to civil life occasioning cocoa farming; introduced by the CMS around 1890, and other agricultural and business enterprises. Isaac Akinyele worked for a time as a civil servant, entering government services in the junior ranks to which Nigerians were confined in those days, becoming a customs inspector for the Ibadan District Council in 1903. He rose through the ranks, later becoming chief judge of the native court. He was also a very successful entrepreneur; establishing cocoa plantations throughout Ibadan and its environs.

Work, worship and witness

He was politically sensitive, gaining fame in the

layman. He was a very religious man and was a great adherent of contextualisation and acculturisation of religious beliefs, because he held the view that religion without respect to cultural roots; would perpetually be seen as alien religion by the pagan citizenry. It was an extension of these strong views that made him break away from the main orthodox brand to join the Faith Tabernacle; the precursor of the Christ Apostolic Church, the first Aladura Pentecostal Church in Nigeria. He became the first President of that Church. This started the emergence of Pentecostalism; which has gained tremendous grounds in contemporary Nigeria
.

By 1933, Isaac Akinyele had become a councillor of the Ibadan Native Authority. He became an Ibadan

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1956 during her state visit to Nigeria
.

Ebullition

In 1962, Akinyele's rule was soon engulfed in the turbulent political development in

parliamentarians in the assembly and among their supporters outside, the region was placed under a state of emergency
. The government was suspended and Dr. Moses A. Majekodunmi was appointed sole administrator of the Western region. Throughout the entire political crisis, Isaac Akinyele remained aloof, placing himself at the disposal of any peace initiative for which Ibadan was a venue on several occasions. He ruled for only ten years but left an enduring legacy. He died in May 1965.

References

  1. ^ Gerald H. Anderson Biographical dictionary of Christian missions

Sources

  • Theophilus Adeleke Akinyele: "Ibadan – the town, the gown and the dawn" derived from "Readings in Political Economy and Governance in Nigeria" Published by CSS Ltd. 2002
  • Falola, Toyin (2000). Yoruba Gurus. Africa World Press.
    ISBN 0-86543-699-1
    .
  • Nigeria Year Book, 1974, 1975, 1976–1978, 1979, 1980 (Lagos: Nigerian Printing & Publishing Co.).
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