The religion of Islam entered the land space known today as Kogi State through different means in different parts of the state, below is an abridged explanation into how the religion entered and took root in Kogi.
1) Igala Land
One historical account has it that the Igala people first came in contact with Islam through Hausa Muslim traders who came all the way from Kano and Gobir to trade in the markets around the Niger/Benue confluence, which brought together Hausa, Borno/Arab, Yoruba, Nupe, Idoma and Igala traders. Since the traders coming down from Hausaland, Borno and Nupe to the confluence were mostly Muslims, it is clear that the Igala people were in contact with Islam some two centuries before the jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio.
Another leg of history posits that Islam entered Igala land when Ayegba Om’Idoko, the then Attah of Igalaland, in his bid to fight for independence of his people from the Jukuns, invited some Malams from Bebeji in Kano, to prepare charms which could assist him in the wars against the Jukun military forces, and after the successful war against the Jukuns, Attah Ayegba requested the Malams to settle at Idah and offered the Malams some Igala women as wives. Thereafter, Islam began to spread across Igalaland through this means and later through the Sokoto jihad.
2) Ebira Land
The introduction of Islam into Ebiraland coincided with the inception of colonialism in the area. The reputed Malam to have been the first to introduce Islam in Ebiraland was Alfa Abd as-Salam who came from Agbaji quarters in Ilorin in about 1903 as an itinerant Malam. Alfa Abd as-Salam opened the first Qur’anic school in Ebiraland at Okene-Eba.
Another account by Abdullah (1999: 19) has it that Ebira people first came in contact with Islam through the wars of jihad that Ilorin waged on them in 1856. Abdullahi 1999, Quoting from Sheikh Ahmad Omoikokoro’s Ta’lif Akhbar al-Qurun, reported that the third Emir of Ilorin, Shittu, was said to have sent an army to sack the Ebiraland with the support of Ibadan and Bida armies, but was met with strong resistance. However, some people were captured and taken to Agege in Lagos and Ilorin where they embraced Islam and were later on set free. Upon their return home, they started practicing Islam and from then, the religion started to spread across the land.
3) Okun Land
Islam diffused into Okunland probably through the Nupe invasions of the area between 1806 and 1897, when forces of the Royal Niger Company finally subdued the Nupe. During the period, thousands of Okun indigenes were killed and many captured. It was the war captives who returned from Nupeland that first practiced Islam in Okunland.
Only a few Okun towns scattered across the land are predominantly Muslim. Such towns include Ayegunle-Gbedde and Iyamoye in Ijumuland, Ife-Olukotun, Alu, Igbagun and Oranre in Yagba West LGA.
4) Lokoja
The beginning of Islam in Lokoja was traced to 1870 through the efforts of the Hausa and Nupe malams who came to settle in the town when the Etsu of Nupe, Masaba, appointed a chief for the town. Prior to that time, and as early as 1830s, the villagers around the vicinity had started experiencing raids from the jihadists under Masaba, and both Panda and Koton Karfi to the northeast and north of Lokoja respectively had come in contact with Islam. Since that time, the religion has continued to spread across Lokoja and its environs.
Categories of Muslims in Kogi State
The Sunni Muslims dominate the religious scene in the state. Other divisions that can be found are the Ahmadiyya and the Shia. The Ahmadiyya are found in major towns in Okunland, such as Ayetoro-Gbedde, Ayegunle-Gbedde, Iyamoye and Ogidi. Shia is not known to Muslims in the state, except in few areas in Igalaland such as Anyigba where they represent only about 2% of the Muslims. By and large, the Sunnis could be said to account for about 95%, the Ahmadiyya for 4.5% and the Shia for 0.5% of the Muslim population in the state.
– Enefola Levi
enefolalevi@gmail.com
