It has been estimated that Britain in the 1800s concluded nearly 100 treaties with individual Yoruba towns and cities. These treaties have since been shoehorned into the ‘Protectorate treaty’ category. The 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty was different and unique in that it was a country-to-country treaty involving Great Britain and Ireland and Yorubaland, encompassing its regions, towns and cities, which placed that 1888 treaty firmly under the international law of treaties that was operating at that material time.
That 1888 treaty established a formal alliance between the British Empire and the Alaafin of Oyo, ensuring peaceful relations and preventing conflicts.
Ignorance of the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty is common place. The British government in correspondences with us on this matter hitherto has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the treaty. The treaty is not listed in the database of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
Other sources however provide proof of the existence of this particular treaty as well as its veracity.
The 1888 treaty is indexed in the British and Foreign State Papers, 1373 to 1974. This is a collection of treaties and other international legal material, such as diplomatic correspondence and exchanges of official notes between sovereign powers, from 1373 through 1974. Inclusion of the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty is evidence that to Britain, at that material time, Yorubaland was a sovereign power.
Sir Edward Hertslet, Librarian and Keeper of the Archives of the Foreign Office, included the Preamble and Article 7 (the non-cession provision) of the 1888 treaty in his 1909 book: A Map of Africa by Treaty; printed for HMSO, by Harrison and Sons, London. The book was a compilation of British colonies, protectorates, and possessions in Africa. Although not an official publication, assistance was given towards the compilation from public funds on the ground of its general utility. First published in 1895, this is a guide to the stages and bargains by which the present African frontiers were created. A free copy is available online for free download.
Reverend Samuel Johnson, Pastor of Oyo, was the go-between for the Lagos colony government and the Yoruba in general. He witnessed the Alaafin signing the treaty on 23 July 1888. He included a complete version of the treaty in his 1921 book: The History of the Yorubas. Rev Johnson’s pioneering work brought together oral and recorded accounts of Yoruba history, and described the political history, social customs, language, and laws. This book remains the standard reference for the history of the Yoruba people. It is still available to purchase.
A handwritten complete version bearing the mark of the Alaafin is available for access at the National Archives. Originally part of enclosure No, 2 to despatch No. 258 from Governor Moloney, Government House, Lagos, 21st August, 1888 to Lord Knutsford, Secretary of State for the Colonies; the despatch concerned a ‘Treaty between Adeyemi, Alaafin of Oyo and Head of Yoruba land and Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland’. On 16 June 1890, Queen Victoria ratified and sanctioned the 1888 treaty thus confirming its genuineness and authenticity.
According to 2 principles of law, the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty takes precedence over any other treaties created in Yorubaland after 23 July 1888.The ‘First in Time rule’ is a legal principle that prioritises the date of creation when determining the order of rights. The one created first (Akobi) takes precedence when competing interests arise. In essence, the 1888 treaty took precedence over treaties coerced by military force by the likes of Captain Bower who succeeded Governor Moloney and regarded himself as the ‘roving’ governor.
The ‘Critical Date rule’ is a legal principle that nothing that happened after the material facts had been established ‘can operate to change the situation as it then existed’. The material facts of the relationship between Britain and Yorubaland were established on 23 July 1888. That critical date was terminal and exclusionary. Any treaties concluded by Britain after the critical date of 23 July 1888 are irrelevant and could not affect the established status of Yorubaland as an independent sovereign State.
You too can join YPUK’s campaign to enforce and implement the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty. Visit www.yorubapartyuk.org to donate to YPUK’s application for judicial review of the deliberate frustration by the British of the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty.