Yoruba Gurus: Indigenous Production of Knowledge in Africa

340 Pages·2000·14.672 MB·English

by  Toyin Falola

9 ££ .C\
p If
I
Yoirubcu gurus
Indigenous Production
of Knowledge, in Africa,

Yorubn Qurus
Indigenous Production of
Knowledge* in Africa/
Toy in Taiolo/
Africa World Press, Inc.
P.O. Box 1892 P.O. Box 48
Trenton, NJ 08607 Asmara, ERITREA
Africa World Press, Inc.
P.O. Box 1892 P.O. Box 48
Trenton, NJ 08607 Asmara, ERITREA
Copyright ® 1999 Tbyin Falola
First Printing 1999
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy¬
ing, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Cover and Book design: Jonathan Gullery
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Falola, Tbyin.
Yoruba gurus : indegenous production of knowledge in Africa / by
Toyin Falola.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-86543-698-3 (hardbound). - ISBN 0-86543-699-1 (pbk.)
1. Yoruba (African people)-Intellectual life. 2. Yoruba (African
people)-History. 3. Philosophy, Yoruba. 4. Intellectuals-
-Nigeria-History. I. Title.
DT515.45.Y67F353 1998
966.9’00496333-dc21 98-37140
CIP
For My Daughter,
Toyin Falola,
the Bridge Between the Past
and the Future

CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments
ix
Chapter One
The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge
1
Chapter Two
Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch
31
Chapter Three
M. C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo
53
Chapter Four
King Isaac Babalola Akinyele:
The Scholar of Ihadan
93
Chapter Five
Kemi Morgan: Another Reconstruction of Ibadan History
133
Chapter Six
Chief Samuel Ojo Bada: The Frontier City of Ilorin
157
Chapter Seven
Theophilus Olabode Avoseh:
Major and Minor Works on Epe and Badagry
173
Chapter Eight
Unsung Authors of the Modern Era:
The Histories of Igbomina
237
Chapter Nine
Alternative Knowledge:
Perspectives, Ideas, and Relevance
279
Bibliography
305
Index
311