Kosoko

Kosoko, also known as Oba Kosoko, was the Yoruba king who ruled Lagos, a principal city-state in the coastal region of present-day Nigeria, during the early to mid-19th century. A member of the Lagos royal lineage, his reign occurred amid intense competition over trade on the West African coast and the pressures associated with the Atlantic slave trade.

Kosoko's government maintained Lagos's involvement in the slave trade, which brought wealth but drew increasing opposition from abolitionist Powers and, ultimately, British authorities. He faced resistance from rival factions within Lagos and from outsiders seeking to alter the balance of power on the coast.

In 1851, a British expedition bombarded Lagos as punishment for the slave trade and for a reported attempt on the life of a British envoy. The bombardment forced Kosoko to flee; the throne was temporarily occupied by his rival, Oba Akitoye, who, with British support, was installed as Oba. Kosoko went into exile in the interior region and is believed to have died there some years later.

Kosoko's legacy is tied to the end of Lagos's precolonial sovereignty and the Crown's long-standing relationship with European powers. His era marked a turning point in Lagos's political history and the broader suppression of the slave trade in the region.