History of Nigeria city-states. A state council (the "Oyo Mesi") named the "Alaafin" (king) and acted as a check on his authority. Their capital city was situated about 100 km north of present-day Oyo. Unlike the forest-bound Yoruba kingdoms, Oyo was in the savanna and drew its military strength from its cavalry forces, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and the Borgu kingdoms and thereby developed trade routes farther to the north. The Benin Empire (1440–1897; called "Bini" by locals) was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin,
Egba people Egba people The Egba people are a subgroup of the Yoruba people, an ethnic group of western Nigeria, majorly from the central part of Ogun State that is Ogun central senatorial district. Ogun Central Senitorial district comprises six local government in Ogun state which includes Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Ewekoro, Ifo, Obafemi Owode and Odeda Local governments. The Egba group originally under the Oyo Empire became independent following the spectacular collapse of Oyo in the first half of the 19th century. Wars with the Dahomey, in which the Egbas were successful partly due to the protection afforded by the Olumo