Abdulsalam, the son of Shehu Alimi, became the first Fulani ruler of Ilorin following the Fulani Jamma’s assassination of Are-Ona-Kakanfo Afonja and their subsequent takeover of the city.
This demonstrated that the Yorubas had completely ceded control of Ilorin, a Yoruba town, to the Fulanis because Abdulsalam ruled under the title of Emir rather than Oba.
Toyeje, the Baale of Ogbomoso, and the new Are-Ona-Kakanfo attempted to expel the Fulanis from Ilorin in an effort to restore Yoruba control, but they were unsuccessful.
A second attempt by the Yorubas to drive Fulani people out of Ilorin failed once more sometime between March and April, when garden eggs (Igba) were ready to be harvested.
Since the previous wars had already devastated the entire land during this time, there were no farms where people could forage. Both sides had no food other than garden eggs (gbá), so the war was called Mugbamugba because Ilorin had also run out of food.
During the Mugbamugba war, the Yorubas suffered an unimaginable defeat. They had no idea how else to fight the Fulanis, who were skilled horsemen who possessed powerful charms. The mercenary king of Rabbah, Monija, who was fighting for the Yorubas, fled to his town, leaving the Yorubas to their own devices.
The Fulanis of Ilorin attacked every town in the direction of Offa, Erinle, and Igbona to celebrate their victory. Together with Asegbe, his Ilari, the Olofa of Offa escaped to Ikoyi.
