Shitta was born in the
liberated African village of
Waterloo, Sierra Leone, to Salu and Aishat Shitta;
Okus of
recaptive Yoruba origin who were rescued by the British
West Africa Squadron from the
Atlantic Slave Trade and were a part of the
Oku Mohammedan community in
Sierra Leone. Shitta's parents moved from Waterloo to Fourah Bay around 1831, where his father became Imam of the
Fourah Bay Muslim community. Shitta's birth name was Mohammed Shitta; he was also known as William Shitta. Although Shitta was baptized as a child by
CMS missionaries in
Freetown, he reverted to his father's Muslim faith when the Shitta family emigrated to
Badagry in 1844. Through his paternal lineage, Shitta was a direct descendant of
Alaafin Abiodun. Before the occurrence of the
transatlantic slave trade and eventual settlement in
Sierra Leone; through his paternal line; Shitta’s family were of
Oyo (
Yoruba) stock. His grandfather, Amidu, who was a grandson of
Alaafin Abiodun of
Oyo, fled Oyo-Ile about the year 1797, at a time of general massacre of muslims in the metropolis. Amidu settled at
Iseyin, already a centre of Islam, with his three sons, Sumonu, Asani and Salu (who later begat
Mohammed Shitta Bey). Sumonu later proceeded to
Ilorin then a growing hotbed of Islamism. The murder of
Afonja by his
Fulani allies in 1827 triggered off a general reaction against muslims in several parts of Yorubaland, causing many to flee to
Ilorin in an attempt to seek refuge. The two brothers of Sumonu in
Ilorin were captured and taken to
Sierra Leone. Salu regained his freedom later and settled at the village of Waterloo. ==Business career and influence in colonial Lagos==