Kaiama

Kaiama belonged to Borgu, the inland West African region containing several distinct precolonial polities. The town was one of these political centres, alongside places such as Bussa and Wawa. Common traditions of migration and royal origin linked the region, but they did not turn its different kingdoms into a single uniformly governed state.

The wider regional setting became particularly dangerous during the early nineteenth century. In 1835 Borgu and Oyo formed a military alliance in response to the growing power of the Fulani jihadists at Ilorin. The allies sought to preserve their sovereignty and the existing political balance. Their forces were defeated, with distrust among the partners contributing to the failure. The defeat encouraged further penetration into Oyo territory and damaged relations between the former allies. This regional crisis set the political world around Kaiama within a struggle over independence, alliances and military power.