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By Taiwo Adeniyi

Igala people under the auspices of Ufedo Foundation of Nigeria have said that the agitators of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) erred by including them in the map because they are not part of Biafra.

The foundation demanded an apology from IPOB because they felt insulted by their inclusion in the map.

The group was reacting to a statement credited to IPOB spokespersons, Emma Nmezu and Dr. Clifford Chukwuemeka Iroanya that Biafra was not for Igbos alone.

IPOB had noted in the publication that in the present day Nigeria, the nation of Biafra consists of some Igbo speaking states and Igala in Kogi state.

One of Ufedo trustees, Dr. Labaran Abalaka said the group erred by including the Igala in Biafra, “We wish to dissociate ourselves from the inclusion of Igala people in the so-called map of Biafra.”

He said, “For the Biafran agitators to single-handedly carve a map of their envisaged republic and include the Igala kingdom amounts to fraud and grave insult to the Igala race."

Dr. Abalaka while addressing journalists yesterday said the foundation was aware that no meeting was held between the Igalas of Kogi state and the leadership of Biafra agitators with a view to discussing the inclusion of the Igala race in the Biafran agenda.

“We demand an open apology for the insult and immediate retraction of the wrongful inclusion,” he said.

Dr. Abalaka said the Igala people are satisfied in Nigeria and are not contemplating any secession.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/igala-kingdom-rejects-biafra-map-demands-apoloby/201955.html

The Origin and Development of Igala People

The actual origin of the Igala people is not quite known. Different people present many versions of legends of immigration There are claims, for instance, that the Igala people came from the Jukun (Kwarara/a), some says Benin, others Yoruba. Yet, others feel they migrated from Mecca (Southern Yemen) or Mali.

In the past, the reigning Atta, His Royal Majesty. Agabaidu (Dr.) Aliyu O. Obaje, had. for instance, explained: "the Igala came from Southern Yemen, passed through Ethiopia (where there is an ethnic group called the Gala) and through the (medieval times) Empire of Mali, to Jukun land; then finally, to our present location." In another instance, the Atta said that the Igala "came from the Arab country of Yemen and were in the present Nigeria at the same time as the founding fathers of the Yorubas, the Jukuns and the Beri-beris or Kanuri in Bornu.... He also maintains that the earlier migration into Igalaland was at "about the 12th century A.D.... led by Amina, a Zaria princess and warrior, who fought her way to Idah ... with Hausa and Nupe followers.

Certain traditions even hold that the Igala are of Fulani origin, simply because of the similarities in their physical features. It IS clear that Fulanis do not speak a Kwa language. And owing to the linguistic affinity, others affirm the Yoruba connections..... Armstrong sticks to this same view when he said: "the most definite historical statement that can be made about Igala is that they had a common origin with the Yoruba and that the separation took place long enough ago to allow for their fairly considerable linguistic differences. There is a whole corpus of oral traditions on the origin of the Igala people.

While this study did not engage in any detailed criticism of the diverse opinions on the Igala origins, it gave a thorough look at certain
inescapable facts, These intricate issues were pin-pointed in order to allow us take a solid stand.

The view that Princess Amina of Zaria led the very first migration into Igalaland in the12th century does not hold water. This is because Queen Amina was a 14th C figure and history has it that the Igala people were already settled in this area and were relating socio-culturally with the Igbos right from the ,7th and 9th century A.D. Moreover, the obvious absence of a legend relating to this princess and warrior in Igalaland, is a clear indication that it might not be true afterall that she actually reached Igala land. Stories on Igala-Benin war and Igala-Jukun war, for instance, are very popular. The near dead silence on an Amina war leaves room for great doubts. Niven argues against the presupposition that she died at 'Atagara' (that is ldah) when he said: "she died at Atagara, probably a place iii the Gongola valley then under Kwararafa, not Idah. which is now known as Atagara.'

The linking of the Igala with Yemen In Arabia is another highly speculative opinion. Thisstory was probably a device of the Muslims to Islamise Igala people. The people of Igala had long settled before the Galas entered Ethiopia. because tradition has it that it was only in the centuryA.D, that the Gala migration to Ethiopia took place. In addition, it is quite improbable that the Semite Galas would metamorphose into Negroes of the contemporary Igalaland overnight. Thesimilarity in name is thereby merely coincidental.

The Mali connection remains baseless too because the similarities between the words "Mela"(nine of them) of Igala-Mela (the nine Igala kingmakers) is in no way attributable to “9” as originating from Mali. To the Igala mind, "nine" simply symbolizes perfectness.

Likewise, the supposition that the Igalas came out of the Fulanis, carries no weight, since "no tradition in Igala supports it. History attests to the fact that the Fulanis were still in the region of Senegal by the time the Igala were already having a "centralized state system ... in the 12"century.

That the Igala have a traditional link with the Benin kingdom is indubitable. There abound theories for instance, that support a Benin origin of Igala kingship. However, there was already in existence indigenous Igala people with their kingship systems, before the arrival of the Benin kings. But it must be understood that at some stage of Igala history, the Benin people wielded some power of influence over them. The difference in their system of government alone is enough reason to prove that it is never true to say the entire Igala originated from Benin.

The tradition, which holds that the Igala has the same origin with the Yoruba seem to be a plausible one. Okwoli supports this view when he said: "When people speak the same language, or related languages, there is every reason to believe that they have common origin or have met somewhere.

The Jukun link with the Igala is another very strong tradition that immediately calls for serious attention. Stories about the Jukun origin of Igala kingship, for instance, cannot be waved aside. That there were certain Jukun immigrants who came among the Igalas at some stage of the development of the Igala kingdom is quite evident It is even a common knowledge that the present ruling dynasty is Jukun.

Ultimately, therefore, there is no single account of the origin of the Igala people, which is unassailable However, one may agree with Boston that the different tradition "probably correspond to different phases of history in which the Yoruba link may be the most ancient, followed by the Benin connection, and most recently. some form of Jukun suzerainty'. In order not to continue swimming in this shark-infested waters of legends and traditions, we concluded that the Igala kingdom originated from within their immediate vicinity, namely. West Africa. As a matter of fact, before the advent of the colonial masters, about seven very prominent black. kingdoms were noticeable in the forest belt, thus, Ashanti, Dahomey, Ife, Oyo, Bini, Igala and Jukun(Apa) kingdoms. http://www.igalaassociationusa.org/about-us/history-of-igala-kingdom/

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