Oyeniran Ariwajoye I succeeded
Adegboye in 1906. He was selected as Oba because he was very gentle and very
kind. It was during the commencement of his reign that the train came to Offa.
This development had a tremendous effect on the socio-economic lives of Offa
people. Some of the events that marked his reigned are as follows:
Politics: -
Several Obas, from Yoruba land
including the Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, were coming to Offa for meetings during his
reign.
Staff of Office was given to him
by the British; the same staff as those given to those given to important
Yoruba Obas and Fulani Emirs. He was highly honored and respected by the
British Government. Offa thus became independent of Ilorin in 1907.
Within the period 1907 to 1915,
Offa had her own District Officer, her own treasury and Olofa was responsible
for the yearly tax he collected and kept in the treasury at Offa.
Olofa had his own police force
during the reign of Oba Ariwajoye I. Unfortunately; it is on record that it was
during his reign too that the staff of Office was withdrawn by Ilorin without
reasons. The withdrawal led to the loss of power and affected several
developments including collection of taxes.
ECONOMY:
By 1908, the railways traversed
Offa and it had an important workshop, which affected the economy of Offa
positively. Due to the geographical location Offa, a gap town, the station was
made a depot just like Jebba and Ibadan. The western rail lines which passed
through Offa were constructed in such a way that it linked with Offa with
important cash crop producing areas of the north such as Kano, Zaria and
Kaura-Namoda. Railway laborers who supplied unskilled labor were recruited
through the Olofa of Offa after being directed by the emir of Ilorin.
By 1916, railway residential
quarters were erected at Offa so that non-native employees were housed in the
town. Through this, petty traders loitered around railway workers’ quarters to
sell foodstuffs and provisions and markets grew around the railways station
complex.
EDUCATION
The first primary school on Offa,
St. Marks primary school, was established in 1912 by the church missionary
society (CMS); BW. Smith became the first manager of the school. Majority of
the people who were Muslims and traditional religious worshipers did not want
their children to go to school for fear of becoming Christians. The first head
master o St. Mark’s primary school was E.S Sholeye, Laoye, Oyeleke and
Adeyanju. The initial admission enrolment into the school was low and it was
noticed the value of western education was realized that there was an appreciable
crease in the number rom eight (8) in 1912 to sixty-four (64) in 1917.
Generally, girls were disallowed
from going to school because it was believed girls were mostly useful in
domestic and household chores.
Thus in 1917, 59 boys and 5 girls
enrolled for primary education at St. Marks primary school, Offa.
Oba Oyeniran Ariwajoye I was
reported to have fallen out the Ilorin authority, which had planned to remove
him. Meanwhile he dell ill and was reported not come out for several months
before he died in 1917.
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