NOT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE YOU WHERE BORN IS TO REMAIN FOREVER A CHILD: THE EVENTS THAT GAVE RISE TO THE FOUNDATION OF IFE, BENIN & DELTA STATES The period between 500 BC & 700 AD was a time of great demographic change and population migration in West Africa. From a central location situated within the Niger/Benue confluence valley, some sections of the KWA people namely the IGBO and EFA started to migrate and settle the now Western and Eastern Nigeria regions. Also around about this period, from the Nile Valley and Lake Chad regions, the ancient ORU or KUMONI people started to settle the middle Niger, Lower Niger and Mid-west regions of present Nigeria. Some, even settling and making their way to the Niger Delta coast. By about 500 AD scattered primordial isolated communities of all the aforementioned ancient peoples began to come into being throughout the Southern Nigeria region. This isolated and stateless existence situation was changed with the arrival of fresh immigrants from the Nile Valley due to the Arab onslaught from about 640 AD. In the various traditions these immigrants are referred to as having came from EGYPT, SUDAN, & ARABIA (MECCA) To clear up this point. The use of the term MECCA or ARABIA is just a reference to the EAST, While references to Egypt and Sudan have more factual foundation, as these civilisations were clearly indigenous Black African civilisations up until their colonisation by the Arabs. The migration route of these stream of refugees fleeing the upheavals of North East Africa was through the Lake Chad – Middle Niger (Borgu/Bussa/Nupe) then on to the Ife, Benin and Lower Niger regions. The fusion of these newly arrived immigrants with the older communities was like a seeding process, causing a condensation of populations to converge in city like communities. It was this process that gave birth to the first dynastic City State centres, of which Borgu, Nupe, Ife and Benin became the most prominent. From the ancestral traditions we can reconstruct the following facts regarding the foundation of Ife & Benin. From about 500 AD a branch of the UGBO referred to as OOYELAGBO started to arrive in the Ile-Ife region, from an ancestral home situated in the Niger/Benue confluence region. They set up dispersed communities within the now Ile-Ife region. Shortly afterwards (650 AD) a branch of the ORU known as the KUMONI, migrated from Upper Egypt to the Bussa region. In the Bussa region they fused with the local population and established the BORGU Kingdom. From the Bussa region a section decided to settle in the Ile-Ife region and establish a City state to be known as YOBA (YEBA) derived from the original name of the Upper Egyptian province that they had hailed from. They establishment of this new city was opposed by certain sections of the OOYELAGBO communities led by the chief Obatala priest ORELUERE, who argued that since it was they who arrived first, the king of the city must be from amongst them. This led to a war told in the ancestral traditions as the “war between ODUDUWA & OBATALA” In reality it was a conflict between two theocratic systems of government. On the one hand we had the new form of centralised Government based on a theocratic monarchy focused on the SUPREME MOTHER GODDESS (Woyingi). The OOYELAGBO form of traditional chief’s council opposed this with the head chief being focused on the GODHEAD (Obatala). With the help of dissatisfied sections of the OOYELAGBO communities, led by Oba-Meri, and also ORU people living in the Nupe region; the leaders of the KUMONI people headed by a prince original named as ADIMU (ADUMU) went to war and defeated the opposing factions of Ooyelagbo and established his centralised government. Prince Adimu was also a priest of the SUPREME MOTHER GODDESS LODGE (known in Kumoni language as Woyingi, and in Ooyelagbo language as Oduduwa) and at the same time a high initiate of the ancient ADUMU (ADUM) spiritual Initiation lodge of ancient Egypt. Before the final setting up of the government, Prince Adimu invited the leaders of the hostile Ooyelagbo communities and his own allies (the Oru and Ooyelagbo supporters) to a constitutional conference, where it was agreed to form a confederacy where all the communities living in the area would swear allegiance to Adumu, but have control over their own internal affairs. At that conference Prince Adumu was declared the LORD OF THE FORTRESS ‘ALA – AFIN’ (ALA-lord or chief, AFIN-fortress) and henceforth addressed as “ALA-AFIN ADUMU-ALA”. (ALA is still a Chief title amongst the Ijaws). He also took on the alias ‘ODUDUWA’, as it was the term in the Ooyelagbo language for the Mother Goddess of which he was a priest. In order to unite the opposing factions intermarriage was decreed. This is told in the tradition as the marriage between Obatala & Oduduwa with the birth of the sixteen gods and goddesses. Indeed Prince Adumu took several wives from the local Ooyelagbo women as well as his own Kumoni/Oru women. This policy was adhered to by his successors. Prince (now King) Adumu administered the new City state (military, theocratic confederacy) so skilfully that he was remembered in ancestral tradition as the ancestor of the YOBA NATION, meaning the ORIGINATOR OF THE YOBA NATION. This was how the first Yoba nation came into being and how Ife became the centre of the 1st dynastic city-state in Southern Nigeria. This was also the Ife of the 1st dynastic period. Later on YOBA was corrupted to YORUBA and the term applied to all the people who spoke related dialects/languages, who had centuries later integrated to become one people. The original Kumoni language spoken by the king and his people (Kumoni-Oru) was later on absorbed into the Ooyelagbo language to give rise to Yoruba language and its various dialects. Meanwhile at this early stage, even while the unification was yet complete, some sections of the KUMONI-ORU left Ife to establish themselves elsewhere, after accomplishing their task of setting up the City state with Prince Adumu (alias Oduduwa) as the first dynastic king. The 1st migration out of Ife was led by prince Ujo (alias Idekoseroake) mentioned in the ancestral tradition as being the first son of King Adumu. Other migrations, such as the one by Prince Nana, ended up in present day Ghana region. Prince Ujo was a war commander who took part in the battles that were fought to subdue the hostile Ooyelagbo communities and establish the New Kingdom. Between 650 –700 AD Prince Ujo led a migration out of Ife to the Benin region, where he encamped and established a settlement that later was to become the basis of Benin City. At this time ORU people, as well as the EFA people were settling the Benin region. These all these people combined to form the genesis of the Benin Kingdom, later to be joined by other settlers from Igala and elsewhere. Prince Ujo’s instructions were to go to the Niger Delta, and establish a strategic base from which to defend the coastal region. Clearly his father King Adumu, regarded the whole southern region as a virgin territory which he would bring under his direct control. Prince Ujo proceeded to the central Niger Delta with his followers and came across isolated communities of ORU in remote settlements. Together with these people they formed viable communities in the central delta originally based on the City-state formation. This was birth of the Ijo people. Some of the Kumoni/Oru remained behind at Benin region, indeed a section of the Oru known as the Beni, who had come from the Sudan through Nupe, gave the name Beni to newly emerging settlements. These were the Oru or Ijos of Benin City who later on between the 12th –15th centuries AD fled into the delta to escape the upheavals of Benin City. Along with the EFA people they were quite prominent at Benin. Shortly after the 1st migration, a 2nd migration from Ife led by Prince Igodo established the early foundations of the Benin Kingdom dynastic government of the Ogisos. Prince Igodo (Godo) led the 2nd migration from Ile-Ife. At the death of King Adumu, Igodo was sidelined in the scheme of things. It seems that what happened at this point in time was that King Adumu’s chief war officer Ogu (Ogun) temporarily took over the reigns of government until a successor could be chosen. It was decided that a son whose mother was an Ooyelagbo should occupy the throne, and so Prince Ogbogbodiri (alias Ala-Fun or Lufon I) assumed the kingship. Prince Igodo and a few companions decided to leave Ile-Ife for good, acquiring the mystic source of powers which aided his father in the defeat of the hostile Ooyelagbo, Prince Igodo migrated to the Benin region and met up with the followers of Prince Ujo who remained behind and had established settlements at Benin (Uzama, Ogiama, etc). Later on like his father before him, Prince Igodo centralised the existing ORU and EFA communities and was proclaimed the 1st PRINCE OF THE REALM or OGI-SUO (OGISO). Also like his father he allowed the existing communities internal autonomy, thus the leader of the EFA communities was proclaimed OGI-EFA. These communities later on came together to give birth to the 1st dynastic state of Benin Kingdom (IGODOMIGODO).
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 17:25:18 +0000
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