There are many legendary stories in the history of the Yoruba kingdom which some perceive as myths. However, several of these events are verifiable with visible marks in the locations in which they took place. One prominent and not too ancient one is the story of Kunrumi.
Kunrumi, a native of Ijaiye town was also the ruler of the Ijaiye village at that time. In addition, he was a fearless warrior who earned the title “Okunrin Ogun”(a brave warrior). He was a mighty ruler and warrior so neighboring towns were terrified because of his dark magic powers (“Ogun” in the Yoruba language). He went around invading towns where he captured the inhabitants of those lands as prisoners of war and had numerous wives.
Kunrumi was a childhood friend of Oba Atiba of Ibadan. Oba Atiba had a son, Adelu, whom he installed as the rightful heir to the throne. This upset Kunrumi because he felt entitled and thought he should be the next king.
Adelu became the king after Oba Atiba’s death but Kunrumi refused to pay homage and send royal gifts to the king. Oba Adelu seeing this response from Kunrumi sent him a message to choose between war or peace, but Kunrumi chose war despite the appeal from neighboring towns like Egba, Ede, and even the Baptist missionary Bowen, beckoning him to choose peace.
So, the brutal war started between Ijaiye and Ibadan, which was led by Kunrumi and Basorun Ogunmola, the commander of Adelu’s army, claiming a lot of lives in the process. Finally, Kunrumi captured Basorun Ogunmola alive and brought him alive to the palace at Ijaiye where he was chained and fed with ashes. Basorun Ogunmola mysteriously survived and was helped by one of Kunrumi’s wives, who betrayed Kunrumi. He, later on, escaped to Ibadan where he went back to restrategize to face Kunrumi again.
In the event, Kunrumi suffered betrayal from the neighboring towns who took sides with the people of Ibadan, making the war unbearable against Kunrumi and the Ijaiye people as it was 141 towns against 1 town. Eventually, Kunrunmi and his people were conquered. Basorun Ogunmola and the Ibadan warriors joined forces with the Egba town, who helped Ibadan concoct a charm. The efficacy of this charm came to the fore as it was poured into River Ose where Kunrumi and his warriors would have to sail through.
As Kunrumi and his warriors crossed the river, their arsenals and dark powers were neutralized, leading to the defeat of Kurunmi’s army and the death of 5 of his sons.
This loss was devastating and led to depression for Kunrunmi. There is a lot of uncertainty around Kunrumi’s death; some said he died by committing suicide at River Ose to avoid the shame and humiliation. Others said he died in his house after the war and was buried beside River Ose. To date, how kunrunmi died remains unclear.
