Past in the Present: Re-thinking the Influence of the 1941 Riots on Ilesa Political History

Abstract

Much scholarly attention has been paid to the political history of Ilesa town but little reference is made to the 1941 riots, which is phenomenal in the socio-political history of the town. This study, therefore, examines the impact of the 1941 riots in Ilesa on the subsequent political protests in the town, noting that arson as a tool of protest has become synonymous with the Ijesa in their political agitations. It argues that riots and acts of arson have become stereotype and are considered to be integral to contemporary forms of political culture synonymous with the Ijesa in the Nigerian State. Starting from the 1941 riots against the Native Authority, the study examines the nature and aftermath of political protests between 1952 and 53, 1965 and 66, 1983 and 2007 to establish a recurring trend of acts of arson in the reactions of the Ijesa as the major weapon of political protests and agitations. The study employed Cyclical Theory of Change to analyse the recurring trend in the political culture of the Ijesa people during the period. The study also used both primary and secondary sources in the interpretations of this recurring practice among the Ijesa. It concludes that a society's sense of its past is integral to its self-re-production through time.

Keywords: Ilesa Riot, Political History and Culture, Agitation, Colonial Nigeria, Cyclical change