Lecture notes: Baasegun (Dr) Olusola Oni, Leader of the Yoruba Party in the UK
A treaty is generally understood to mean a written agreement between sovereign states intended to create legal rights and obligations between them. A treaty was concluded usually after a process of negotiation when the parties came together as equals to decide on legally binding responsibilities and duties.
Each treaty had its own rules, frozen in the agreed text. The legal obligations and provisions were finalised, and could neither be modified nor changed without a formal process of renegotiation and agreement by the parties. The purpose of a treat was to establish a stable and predictable legal relationship. When parties agreed to a treaty, the text became a legally binding document.
The British have been very adept at concealing their pre-colonial treaties. The unilateral decision by Britain to renege on its treaties with the Yoruba has tended to becloud opinions. British officials and historians tell us that Yoruba leaders were ill-informed, overwhelmed illiterates who signed treaties that the British rightly discarded for that reason. The perception of many, if not all, is that Yoruba leaders did not know what they were doing when they signed treaties with the British. This caricature is simply not true.
The Yoruba in fact were adept treaty-makers. ‘Adeun’, which implied a pre-treaty period of deliberation, was the Yoruba word for ‘treaty’. ‘Orileede’, which reflected the Yoruba worldview that language and territory were coincident, was the Yoruba word for ‘country’. The style of the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland treaty was generally conversational with the Alaafin coming across as assertive not passive.
Britain’s motive for a treaty with Yorubaland were made clear and unambiguous
In a letter dated 23 May 1888 to Alaafin Adeyemi, the Head of Yorubaland, Alfred Moloney, Governor of the Colony of Lagos, made a number of requests:
He requested ‘…definite and permanent understanding between the Yoruba-speaking peoples and the colony which is mostly inhabited by Yorubas…’;
He requested ‘…sympathy and support…’ from the Alaafin;
He requested ‘…friendship and goodwill which no foreign interference should be allowed to influence or disturb…’;
He made his requests ‘…without the entertainment of the least desire to meddle…and with the assurance that not one yard of land is coveted…’; and,
He requested for the Alaafin to use his influence on Britain’s behalf to persuade ‘the country to the north’.
The intention of the treaty was equally clear and unambiguous
After 2 months of contemplation, on 23 July 1888, Alaafin Adeyemi and Governor Moloney signed the treaty, the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty, intending
a. to cover the ‘four corners’ of Yorubaland ‘embracing within its area that inhabited by all Yoruba-speaking peoples’
b. to maintain ‘for ever, friendly relations with the subjects of Her majesty, the Queen’, and
c. to develop ‘the resources of Yoruba by means of legitimate trade with the subjects of Her Majesty…’.
Other details were equally clear and unambiguous
a. ‘peace and friendship between the subjects of Her Majesty…and of the Alaafin’ (Article 1).
b. ‘the subjects of the Queen may always trade freely with the people of Oyo and the Yoruba-speaking countries in every article’ (Article 2) and ‘…they are to have first consideration in all trade transactions…’ (Article 3).
c. British subjects would be charged ‘tolls, duties, fees, imposts or charges that were customary and reasonable’ or as agreed (Article 4).
d. ‘all differences or disputes shall be adjusted by [the Alaafin]’ or referred to arbitration (Article 5).
e. ‘no cession of territory and no other Treaty or Agreement shall be made…’ other than this one (Article 7).
f. ‘In consideration of the faithful observance of the foregoing Articles of Agreement’, the Alaafin would be paid a yearly stipend unless he committed a breach or neglect of all or one of the terms (Article 8).
The 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty was a ‘for ever’ treaty, permanent, neither provisional nor temporary, with no escape clause, or provisions for termination or for withdrawal. On this, Article 56 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties says:
‘A treaty which contains no provision regarding its termination and which does not provide for denunciation or withdrawal is not subject to denunciation or withdrawal…’.
The 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty had an exhaustive character. No other conditions could be imported into it.
Ratification of the treaty
On 16 June 1890, Governor Moloney wrote to inform the Alaafin that the Queen had ratified and confirmed the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty. The letter included a treaty-related cash payment of £31.5s, which the Alaafin accepted meaning that he too ratified the treaty.
Ratification by both parties meant that the treaty entered into force and entered into operation on 16 June 1890 after 2 years of contemplation by the British government. The 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty included 2 specific attributes that differentiated it from other so-called ‘Yoruba treaties’; one, it included a disclaimer (that ratification was a necessity) and two, it included a requirement (that the Queen herself confirmed it).
Existence of this treaty has been confirmed
The 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty was a treaty of some importance.
1. The treaty is indexed in the British and Foreign State Papers, 1373 to 1974; a
collection of treaties and other international legal material, such as diplomatic
correspondence and exchanges of official notes between sovereign powers.
2. It is indexed in the 1909 book: A Map of Africa by Treaty by Sir Edward Hertslet, Librarian and Keeper of the Archives of the Foreign Office.
3. A complete version is included in the 1921 book: The History of the Yorubas by
Reverend Samuel Johnson, Pastor of Oyo, who witnessed the Alaafin’s signature on 23 July 1888.
4. A handwritten complete version is available to view at the National Archives.
This lecture was brought to you by the Yoruba Party in the UK. To support the YPUK please donate at www.yorubapartyuk.org