Oyelese, Jacob Oyetoro (1862–1953)

David Caldwell Babcock is considered to be the first Adventist missionary in Nigeria, whose arrival at Erunmu, a suburb of Ibadan, was in April or May 1914. Babcock arrived in Erunmu in the company of his wife, Lydia, and two African nationals, Samuel Morgue (Sierra Leonian) and Dauphin (Ghanaian). Thus, Erunmu became the base of the missionaries. It was 16 miles northeast of Ibadan, formerly the capital city of the Old Western Region (now capital of Oyo State), the largest city in West Africa and the largest native city in the continent of Africa.¹ When Babcock arrived in Erunmu, he saw the king of the town, Baale (“king”) Jacob Oyetoro Oyelese.

Early Life

Although the exact date of birth of Jacob Oyetoro Oyelese cannot be ascertained precisely; however, he was the reigning village ruler or Baale of Erunmu, Ibadan, at the time of the arrival of David C. Babcock in 1914. Oyelese was the first male child among six males and six female children of Prince Iyiola. He succeeded his father (Iyiola) on the throne as Baale of Erunmu in 1895 after an interregnum of twenty-five years because he (Oyetoro Oyelese) was adjudged to be too young to succeed his father (Baale Iyiola) at the time of his death, ca. 1861/1862. Baale Jacob O. Oyelese ruled between 1895 and 1953 when he bowed to the cold hands of death, after a glorious reign on the stool of Erunmu. Interestingly, Prince Jacob Oyetoro Oyelese may have been born around 1862 at Erunmu during the political crisis that bedeviled the Yoruba nation prior to the advent of European imperialism and colonialism. Erunmu itself was founded in the very obscure past by a warrior prince named Shobikan, who hailed from the Amororo Royal House of Orile--Owu, the ancient ancestral home of the Owus. It is indeed impossible to peg with certainty the actual date when Erunmu was founded. When his Royal Majesty Shobikan founded Erunmu, he took the title of Oluroko, and three other Olurokos from the same Shobikan Dynasty ruled in Erunmu until 1825 when the town was sacked during the Yoruba inter-tribal wars.²

Besides, the fourth Olukoro who was king when Erunmu was sacked in 1825, was Olukoro Aderinkolu. Aderinkolu had only two known children: the first was a female named Irinola and the second was a male named Iyiola. At the sack of 1825, Prince Iyiola was taken captive by the Egbas, who took him to the Egbado area of the present day Ogun state. Prince Iyiola later came back as a free man in 1849 to Ibadan, who has become overlord to Erunmu as a result of the sack of 1825. After obtaining permission from Iba Oluyole--the then resident warriors and warlords of Ibadan, became a military camp of repute, especially during the declining days of the Oyo empire under the Alaafin(s). Prince Iyiola resettled Erunmu, and his stool was subsequently restored and installed as the ruler of Erunmu in 1849 by Iba Oluyole, he (Oyiola) being the son of Aderinkolu who was the last Olukoro before the war.³

Career

Oyetoro Oyelese was a career village administrator par excellence and a ruler who settled many peculiar grassroots disputes and championed the cause of Adventism in those old days. He was equally a reputable farmer of no small means and a dedicated church supporter.⁴ Being a ruler, he was not engaged in any menial work that ordinary folks were involved in. He had large expanses of land and whole villages that he had inherited from his forefathers. All these were sources of his wealth. The son of Baale Oyelese, called Samuel Oyeniyi, also served as interpreter alongside with Jacob Alao (the latter was “loaned” from the Baptist Mission) as interpreter for Elder David Babcock, and the entire missionaries were allotted land on which to pitch their tent and those of his companions. The Baale of Erunmu, Chief Oyetoro Oyelese also made additional provision for their convenience and provided land for the mission compound, and it was on this ground (land) that Elder Babcock built the very first Adventist church building in Nigeria. The church quickly secured some early converts, starting from the household of Baale Oyetoro Oyelese himself, where he took the Christian name of Jacob.⁵

Later Life

The reign of Chief Baale Oyetoro Oyelese witnessed a more monumental growth of Adventist educational enterprises, as well as other critical sectors of human endeavors. Special schools were established at Erunmu and environs, apart from others located at Sao, in Kwara state and Ipoti- Ekiti, the second and third centers of Adventism respectively. In the words of one of our church leaders, before the demise of Baale Oyetoro Oyelese in 1953, the light of the Adventist gospel illuminated many villages in Erunmu and within its vicinity. These include Alugbo, Isajin-Oyindaola, Adeyadi, Aiyede, Oloba, Owobale, Idogun, Oore, and Aatari (9). Adventist education was indeed a blessing to the Erunmu community, and the following were some of their foremost recipients who attended Sao SDA Vocational and Primary Schools: Pastor John Oyelese, Samuel Babarinde Amao, Daniel Adepegba Oyedijo, Pastor Daniel Fumilayo, and others.⁶

Contribution

As the reigning Baale of Erunmu at the time of David C. Babcock's missionary endeavors in Nigeria, Oyelese gave the Adventist Church land for church and school developments. Although Oyelese may not have been formally educated in the western style, he was able to read the Yoruba Bible, primarily as a result of his encounter with the Adventist Mission and education. He ensured that his many children were educated, including grandchildren and great grandchildren, including Professor John Oyedokun Oyelese and Wole Oyelese, a two time honorable minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and special adviser to the head of state. The Oyelese family has over thirty medical doctors and many professional and academic doctorate holders in various professions. The enduring impact of Adventist education that began at Erunmu has benefited the community through those who received Adventist education: Pastor Joseph Ojedele Oyetoro, Pastor Duro Ogundiran, the Oyerindes, the Fumilayos, the Adesinas, the Yadekas, the Babarindes, the Kilankos from Balogun, the Onatoyinbos, the Oyedijos, Lawyer Triola Oyewo, Daniel Faniran Fatade, John Olasupo Molomo, Isaac Babalola Adekunle, John Oyelese, Moses Adekola, Samuel Olatinwo Fadare, Supo Akinwale, Johnson A. Adeniji, John O. Ogunniran, Kanmi Fadele, Busari Adelakun, Makinde of Awaiye, and many others.⁷

It was from Erunmu that the Adventist message went out to surrounding villages. Elder Babcock wasted no time in reaching out to the communities around Erunmu, especially through his informal educational drive that required no classrooms or uniforms. Such other areas include Owobale, Ayede, Aatari, and others. Samuel Oyeleke and Jacob Alao, who were earlier engaged as interpreters for the Adventist missionaries, became teachers as well, and before the end of 1914, three schools were in operation at Erunmu and seven converts were reported.⁸ However, Prof Adekunle A. Alalade was of the view that Samuel Oyeniyi Oyelese, the language instructor, became the first convert to the Adventist Mission.⁹ Late Pa Jacob Faleye Alao, an erstwhile carpenter and former member of the Baptist Mission based at Ibadan, was a native of Inisa, Osun state--and was loaned as interpreter to Elder Babcock at Erunmu.¹⁰ Among the first recorded converts of Adventism were Chief Jacob Oyetoro Oyelese, Samuel Adelowo Adekola, Samuel Oyeniyi Oyelese, and David Babarinde Alabi, the first Erunmu indigenous pastor.¹¹

Sources

Agboola, David T. Seventh-day Adventist History in West Africa (1888 - 1988): A Mustard Seed. Ibadan: Lasob Productions, 2001.

Alalade, Adekunle A. Limiting Factors to the Success of the SDA Church in Africa: The Nigeria Case Study. Ibadan: Agbo Areo Publishers, 2008.

Babalola, David O. On Becoming a Conference. Ibadan: OSB Designed Limited, 2002.

Babalola, James Adeyemi Oluwatoyin. Seventh- Day Adventists and the Charismatic Movement in Nigeria. Ibadan: Positive Press, 2021.

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