GOVERNORS and royal fathers in the Southwest will, today, converge on Ibadan for the 120th anniversary of Kiriji War, the world’s longest civil conflict.
The conflict, which started in the 19th Century, ended in the 20th Century.
A statement by the anniversary’s Planning Committee Chairman, Chief Segun Odegbami, and the Executive Director, Yoruba Academy, Dr. Ade Adeagbo, gave a historical background to the war.
The statement quoted the duo as describing September 23 “as an important date in Yoruba history, being the day the Kiriji War Armistice was signed, to bring an end to waves of civil wars in Yorubaland”.
It explained that the 19th Century featured many internecine wars in Yorubaland, and was a big economy at the time, which it said, should be leveraged upon to promote peace and sustainable growth in the region.
It said warlords’ dispositions determined “to a large extent, the socio-economic profile of Yoruba people. In contrast, the 20th century, after the treaty was signed, ushered in an era of great socio-economic progress.”