Oga Justin Akpovi-Esade, YOUR LINK TO OTIBIO HAS BEEN UNCOVERED, FROM WHAT I READ SO FAR ON THIS ARTICLE. YOU ARE EVEN CONNECTED TO OLOMORO, THEREFORE IF YOU CHOSE TO SUPPORT ANY CANDIDATE FROM ISOKO SOUTH CONSTITUENCY TWO NO BODY WILL EVEN DARE PUSH YOU AROUND, WELCOME HOME, AM STILL DIGESTING YOUR LINK TO ENHWE COMMUNITY. Thoughts On Isoko-Urhobo Relations BY REVEREND PROFESSOR OBARO IKIME On the thoughts on Isoko-Urhobo Relations, Reverend Professor Obaro Ikime, Ph.D. Formerly, Head of Department of History and Dean, Faculty of Arts in his write-up about Isoko-Urhobo relations has this and many more to say: I claim that most of the Urhobo and Isoko groups are of Benin origin; that Ewu, Ughelli and Ughienvwe are of Ijo origin; that Evwreni, Igbede, Enwe and Olomu have Igbo connections; that Ephron is of Erohwa (in Isokoland) origin; that Agbon is of Irri (in Isokoland) origin; that the Okpe kingdom and the Okpe group in Isoko are related, the former having migrated from the latter; that Olomoro is of Olomu origin. These views as expressed in the 1960s and 1970s are decidedly simplistic and were based on British Intelligence Reports of the 1930s and my field work of 1961-1963. Can we deduce anything from these claims of origin in terms of Isoko-Urhobo relations? Before we answer that question, let us take a look at what two Urhobo scholars have said about the origin of the Agbon, Uvwie, Okpe – those groups that I had indicated are linked to Isoko groups in origin, and about Evwreni and Olomu origins. According to Professor Onigu Otite, the eponymous ancestor of the Agbon was called Agbon. He goes on: “He was believed to be a son of Ukonurhoro, an Urhobo migrant from Udo…. Agbon had a long migratory history through Kwale, settling at one time in Enhwe and Erhivwi (Irri) in Isoko Division from where he moved to a settlement called Utokori, near Ughweru, then to Olomu, and finally, through the present Ughelle territory of Ighwreko and Ekiugbo to found the town of Agbon (Otorho r’Agbon).” What does Otite mean by “an Urhobo migrant from Udo?” That Agbon’s father was already Urhobo before he left Udo, which I understand to mean Benin? When he says Agbon settled at Enhwe and Irri in Isokoland, are we to understand that these places already existed as such before the coming of Agbon? These are only a few of the kind of questions that confront anyone dealing with traditions of origin As for Uvwie, Otite states that Uvwie lived at Ife. From there he migrated eastwards. He settled at Erugbo in the creeks of Ondo State. Subsequently he “settled in a territory in which Erohwa situates.” The Uvwie left Erohwa and settled in Ephron-Otor from where they migrated to their present territory.” Later on Otite writes, “…..we may say that Erohwa may be regarded as the parent settlement of Ephon Otor” In virtually all of the traditions of origin there is some reference to Benin. Clearly, it was fashionable to claim Benin origin because of the reputation that attached to that kingdom. The linguistic evidence has, however, called to question claims of Benin origin by the Urhobo and Isoko. As will become clear later, the sore point in Isoko-Urhobo relations is the claim by the Urhobo that the Isoko are Urhobo. Only yesterday, Olurogun Moses Taiga spoke of us, the Isoko people as “the Eastern Division of the Urhobo Nation”. The implication of this is that the Urhobo are a nation; the Isoko are a sub-group of the Urhobo nation. Permit me to ask; Are the Isoko junior brothers to the Urhobo? Are they (the Isoko) descendants of the Urhobo? Is there anything in the traditions of origin of the two groups that can be used to support the claim that the Isoko are Urhobo? My researches have not thrown up any evidence in support of such a conclusion. If two Isoko towns – Olomoro and Otibio – have Olomu, an Urhobo polity, as place of origin, that cannot make the Isoko Urhobo. The fact that Uvwie, Okpe, Agbon, Evwreni have traditions which link them to Isoko, polities does not and cannot make them Isoko. The migrations about which these traditions speak took place over a thousand years ago. The migrant groups went on to develop their own separate identities. Those identities have to be recognized and respected. The above is not to say that contacts made during migrations do not impact on inter-group relations. Take Uvwie-Erohwa relations, for example. I am from Erohwa. And I know that there exist certain special relations between these two groups even up till today. Those relations are such that promote peace between the two groups. No Uvwie person would lay violent hands on an Erohwa person. The Uvwie deity owhoru, is the same as the Erohwa deity that goes by the same name. At festival times, as we saw earlier, Okpe-Isoko, Okpe-Olomu and the Okpe of Orerokpe exchange visits. Olomoro in Isokoland used to visit Olomu in Urhoboland during the annual festivals. Ancient ties thus continue to be remembered without detracting from the separate identities that have developed over time. nigerdeltavanguard/thoughts-on-isoko-urhobo-relations/
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 20:46:16 +0000
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