By
Nwankwo T. Nwaezeigwe
It wasn’t actually my intention to join the on-going fray over the ethnic identity of the people of Igbanke, who were originally referred to as Igbo-Akiri, until one man who called himself Chinedu Ojei and claims to hail from Mgbidi Umuokwe in Igbanke came vilifying my person for making a justified historical comment on a video clip by a lady-historian from Igbanke.
Of course one could only justify Chinedu Ojei’s invectives on the ground that he is one of the few efulefu Igbanke political minions with little brain who have been collecting money from some Southeast IPOB elements to propagate, not only an unjustifiable irredentism, but unproven accounts of Igbanke history in relation to the Oba of Benin.
My senior brother the Uwolo of Ibusa Chief Amaechi Nwaenia among many other people, constantly pressurized me to state my opinion on the disputed identity. Initially I deliberately refused for the reason that many people might not like my own side of the account of the dispute as a professional historian; although, for the purpose of courtesy I dropped few lines for Chief Amaechi Nwaenia.
One fundamental question the people of Igbanke have failed to answer is what was their ethnic identity at the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in 1967, after the appointment of their son Brigadier-General Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, who hailed from Ake Igbanke as the Military Governor of Midwest State? Was Igbanke classified as Igbo or Edo community? In 1983 the same Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia was elected Governor of Bendel State. Was he elected as a Bini or an Igbo man? Till his death, did Ogbemudia define his ethnic identity as Edo or Igbo? What many people do not know is that people sleep but history does not sleep.
I wish therefore to state, both as a professional historian and an indigene of West Niger Igbo that the history of Igbanke people cannot, and will never be treated in isolation of both the history of the greater part of West Niger Igbo and, the Edo Kingdom of Benin. There are certain fundamental facts of history no vile propaganda by such intellectual morons as Chinedu Ojei and his IPOB paymasters can obliterate. For instance, no fabrication can change the date of Nigeria’s independence from October 1, 1960 to something else.
We cannot deny the fact that the institution of monarchy we have today among many West Niger Igbo communities, including Igbanke, whether referred to as Onogie, Obi, or Eze was created and imposed by the Oba of Benin. This is what is referred to in Igbo and Igala Afa divination Oracle as “Ote-Ose” (undisputedly confirmed as truth). It is also an undisputable fact of history that Benin Kingdom once extended to east of the Niger before its gradual decline. It is still a historical truism that many West Niger Igbo traditional kings still owe ceremonial allegiance to the Oba of Benin up till date.
In fact, in Oshimili North Local Government Area where I hail from, the Obi of Akwukwu-Igbo and the Obi of Atuma-Iga still retain their ceremonial allegiance to the Oba of Benin. The same applies to all the Obi in Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Ika South and, Ika Southeast. So Igbanke people are on their own if they now claim that they have never been under the authority of the Oba of Benin. The British colonial administration only removed the Oba’s totalitarian authority.
It is also historically true that before the advent of British colonialism much of the present Ika South and Ika Northeast Local Government Areas were under direct suzerainty of the Oba of Benin, with the Dein of Agbor as the supervising king. In fact, the great-great grandfather of the current Obi (Dein) of Agbor Keagborekuzi, was Dein Gbenoba who reigned from 1890 to 1911.
The question here is, what’s the meaning of the word, “Gbenoba?” Is it an Igbo word also? Gbenoba means “I seek the Oba’s protection”, which is common among Anioma people. So who are the Igbanke to now claim that they have never been under the authority of the Oba of Benin?
One fact which needs to be further established is that Igbanke is neither the limit nor the only Ika-speaking community in Edo State. Officially Ika-speaking communities in Edo State are found in the three Local Government areas of Orhionmwon, Uhunmwonde and Igueben Local Government Areas. In addition to Igbanke, we have: Ogan, Inyelen, Owanikeke, Ute Obagie, Owa-Riuzo Idu, Igbogili, Iru Egbede and, Ekpon, in addition to Abudu which is somehow bilingual due to its status as an old centre of British Colonial administration. So, why are Igbanke people disturbing the peace of Edo and Delta State about their Ika or Igbo identity?
If Igbanke people want to truly understand their historical status with the Oba of Benin then they should look at the origins of such towns as the Bini-speaking Urhonigbe, Urhobo-speaking Oghara, and the Yoruba-speaking communities of Usen, Utese, Ogbeses, Egbeta, Ugue Ogho Arere, Oladaro, Arekpa and, Ogunweyin. In addition to the above communities, there are equally four Ijaw clans within the traditional boundaries of Benin Kingdom. These are Egbema, Furupagha, Olodiama-West and, Okomu-Ijaw,
These are the outposts established by successive Oba of Benin at the peak of the Empire as the core defence points of the Kingdom in which were settled warriors and slaves who in addition cultivated the Oba’s farms. They were often under the control of the Odogun (Odogwu) of Benin Kingdom who is the head and commander of the Akaiwe (Royal Guards). This was indeed why the Odogwu chieftaincy title became the most popular and senior military commander among the Igbo of West Niger; especially since the duty of executing Oba’s orders rested with the Odogun. The Odogun also was the person who decided who should see the Oba in pre-colonial times. So he was very powerful in terms of executive powers.
This explains why none of these communities can claim common origin irrespective of the dominant language. Even Igbanke as a group speaking Ika dialect of Igbo language cannot claim commonality of Igbo origin. Igbanke people today are made up of people from Igboland, Bini, Esan, Urhobo, Ijaw and Yoruba. This is the same with many communities in Delta State today. In other words, commonality of language does not generally define monocausal explanation of origin.
This further explains why historians and ethnographers, including anthropologists prefer to use Igbo-speaking, Edo-speaking, or Yoruba-speaking people, instead of just Igbo, Edo or Yoruba people in describing an ethnic community. For instance, one can rightly say with justifiable historical reasons that the present Delta North Senatorial District is Igbo-speaking by virtue of the dominance of Igbo language; but not definitely that the people are Igbo. The present Delta North Senatorial District is made up of Igbo, Igala, Yoruba, Isoko and, Ijaw ethnic groups, with the Igbo only being dominant. This equally applies to such Southeast States as Anambra, Enugu and, Ebonyi States, where you have Igala and Idoma-speaking communities.
Igbanke cannot therefore claim to be Igbo in factual traditions of origin. But that they are Ika-speaking is obvious, which does not in effect define them as Igbo in origin. Furthermore, Igbanke is a historical Benin Kingdom entity with the Oba of Benin as the overall sovereign. Whether designated Eze, Obi or Onogie is not an issue; what is the fact is that the institution of kingship in Igbanke as in other Anioma communities was created by the Oba of Benin. This was not imported from the Southeast by the ancestors of those sections of Igbanke propagating vile Igbo identity.
All the traditional rulers in the present Delta State accept the Oba of Benin as their titular head. For the people of Igbanke to think otherwise is an irredentism in futility. Recruiting mercenary ethnic propagandists from the Southeast will never change the traditional political status quo of Igbanke as part of Benin Kingdom with the Oba of Benin as undisputable traditional Emperor. This is because Anioma people of Delta State will not support such rebellious manifestations.
The Oba of Benin is the Oba not only for the seven Local Government Areas of Edo South Senatorial District but the entire Edo and Delta States, including parts of Bayelsa, Anambra (Onitsha), Rivers, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos States. This is in so far as titular leadership and sentimental attachment are concerned.
NWANKWO T. NWAEZEIGWE, PHD ISO DOGWU OF IBUSA, DELTA STATEP AND RESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL COALITION AGAINST CHRISTIAN GENOCIDE IN NIGERIA (ICAC-GEN) AS WELL AS FORMER DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR IGBO STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA – [email protected]
