Ìbadan ^ amodel of historical facts': militarism and civic culture in aYoruba city

The article focuses on an historical relationship between the political institution of chieftaincy and civic pride in Ibadan, a Yoruba city in southwestern Nigeria. It examines this relationship against the scholarly model of `Yoruba urbanism' and argues that this model is empirically and conceptually ̄awed. Drawing on oral and documentary historical sources, the article explores how a `civic Ibadan' was made through practices of settlement, civil disorder and external warfare during the pre-colonial period. The analysis adds to recent debates about the concept of `historical materialism' in the urban past. `Ibadan ± a model of historical facts'. So proclaimed the editors of Ibadan Mementoes in January 1995, commemorating the ®rst anniversary of Emmanuel Adegboyega Adeyemo's installation as Olubadan, the most senior chieftaincy title in the city. Ibadan Mementoes includes articles about the life and chieftaincy career of Adeyemo and seeks `to demonstrate that Ibadanland . . . is a reservoir of creative minds in many human endeavours'. Given this objective, most of the document chronicles the achievements of `Ibadan's sons and daughters'. A glori®ed description of the city is included, in addition to an `Ibadan City Anthem'. Ibadan Mementoes is a textual pageant of civic consciousness. It presents a puzzle. How should the claim that Ibadan is a model of historical facts be interpreted? Is the city an exemplar of empirical evidence? The mystery of this claim resonates with an academic exchange in the pages of Urban History. Reviewing Alan Mayne's book The Imagined Slum, David Englander suggested that Mayne's use of discourse theory as a tool of historical analysis marked a step backwards for interpretation of the urban past. As Englander saw it, with Mayne's approach, the bygone lived experience of inner-city residents sank under the condescension of critical theory; against this `post-structuralist onslaught' he posited a * Grateful thanks to LaRay Denzer, Richard Rodger, Helen Verran and Gavin Williams for comments on earlier drafts of this article. I owe most of all to Raufu Yesufu for teaching me so much about Ibadan and for accompanying me on many interviews. 1 Ibadan Mementoes: Oba Adeyemo's Noble Past, Glorious Present and Progressive Future XRayed. Historical Perspective on Ibadanland (Ibara, 1995), 19. 2 Ibid., 5. Urban History, 26, 1 (1999) # 1999 Cambridge University Press Printed in the United Kingdom