Many accounts of historic events in Nigeria are orally passed down to generations. For this reason, there are many versions of related stories with missing parts. Hence, the need for generational preservation via written history.
Imane
Imane is a community of Igala speaking natives in Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria.
The meaning of Imane: A word is a representation of idea, thought or image. For example, when one says Apple, one is necessarily describing the idea of what an apple is – its physical properties, appearance, taste etc. One may not explicitly say apple is sweet or red but those images come to mind nonetheless.
Hence, it increasingly becomes difficult to understand someone or some texts when one does not understand the meaning of few words as one is unable to visualize the idea represented by the word.
According to oral tradition, Imane derives its name from “Amane Ajelo’ che”. In Idoma adage. Meaning in Igala Language, “Emanen edugw’ One? And in English: “you don’t give what you don’t have”. It is said in those days, when Attah sent tax collectors to the area to collect taxes, the regular response from the indigenes was: “Amane Ajelo’che in Idoma adage, Meaning, “you don’t give what you don’t have” which was later corrupted to “Imane” as it is till date.
According to history, Imane ruling houses are direct descendants of Atiyele, the first son of HRM Ata Idoko.
As a Prince and eldest son of his father, Atiyele cherished everything about Igala institution. For instance, history has it that, as the eldest son and warrior, he fought the Jukun war, witnessed the historic divine burial of his sister Oma Odoko who was buried at the bank of Inachalo river in Idah. He helped his father HRM Idoko in the expansion of Igala kingdom and other administrative aspects of the kingdom.
It came to pass, Ata Idoko, fell sick! It was a critical situation as Ata Idoko could no longer function in his line of duty as Chief custodian of the kingdom due to his health condition. As the eldest son, Atiyele was in charge of the whole affairs of Igala kingdom in place of his father. These and many of his (Atiyele) exploits and gifted managerial talents fetched him enemies from members of the royal household, including his step mothers and step brothers.
On this fateful day, he went for his usual hunting, his sick father (Ata Idoko) died. Note, in those days, a hunter could spend days and months hunting. During this period, Igala nation was at war with the Jukun over kingdom supremacy as it were then. Due to the war, it was said that the kingmakers were of the opinion that Ata should be replaced immediately with Ayegba (one of the available sons) before the news of his death spread to the enemy’s camp.
While other accounts has it that it was like a palace coup by the then kingmakers who were afraid of the growing and fierce influence of Atiyele, who due to his wisdom and rich knowledge of the Igala institution, was almost like another Ata. They plotted and ensured he didn’t succeed ascending the throne of his father. Before he arrived from the hunt, the whole process was rushed to ensure Ayegba is crowned Ata in the place of Atiyele.
On reaching home, it was a whole sad situation for Atiyele who felt highly embarrassed and deliberately shortchanged. It became, therefore, a double pain of losing his father, and as the first son, the pain of losing the crown.
In protest, Atiyele migrated from Idah to Imane in the early 15th century, where he established a new Kingdom independent of Idah as it were then.
The Oda-Ojiji Ruling Houses in Imane at a glance
The Oda Ojiji ruling houses are offsprings of a renowned Prince of Igala Kingdom from Idah, headquarters of Igala kingdom.
Oral tradition, as handed down from ages, has it that Atiyele is the progenitor of the 5 ruling houses of the Oda Ojiji chiefdom as presently constituted. Atiyele’s projeny currently rules Imane, Ankpa, Igah in Okpo, part of Ade, part of Ette, Ojoku, Enjema, Inye etc.
Legend also goes that, when Atiyele migrated from Idah, he got to a particular spot, Omelewu Agaliga, where he was said to be resting under a tree “Odah”, while the children of the owner of the farm, Otoko, came to fetch fruits. They saw a man, Atiyele, with royal mask (Ejubejuailo) and beads on his wrist, the children ran home with fear and called their father. Their father followed them immediately to the bush. Immediately Atiyele saw Otoko, he began to praise him with Igala: “Ajode-oche” i.e “the hunter”, then Otoko replied with Odah Ojiji Kidigbili. He explained the situation surrounding his wandering in the bush to Otoko and his family and they in turn welcomed the royal blood home in pleasure. From then on, the name Oda Ojiji was coined for the Prince and he was later installed as king of the community. He was made to reside at the center of the community.
History has it that Atiyele didn’t migrate to Imane alone, he came along with his children among which are: Idoko Ejeh, the first son; Oguchekwo the second son and Ochapa, the third son.
Oguchekwo, the younger brother of Idoko Eje, was the founder of the present day Ankpa. His younger brother, Ochapa founded Ojoku while their elder brother, Idoko Eje later got married and had the following children in order of seniority: Ohimu, Idede, Okolikotu, Aloga, Oyunka, All the three (3) children, from Idede, Okolikotu and Aloga, are of the same father and mother. While Ohiemu and Oyunka on the other hand have the same parents (mother and father ) too.
However, the five (5) children of Idoko Ejeh are now spread as follows: Ohiemu, Agaliga; Idede, Ojuwo down to Ogenago; Okorikotu, Under Okolikotu we have Adori (Oforo), Idede (Ofudu), Akor (Oja Oda-ochai), Ojobi (Efekpe), Oda Itodo (Efekpe); Aloga, Ebuloko and Onyuka, Abo.
Note, Okorikotu had seven (7) children. They are: Adori, Idede, Akor, Ojobi, Oda Itodo, Oguche and Onyeke. The first five (5) are from Anukpa, their mother, while on the other hand, Oguche (Efo-Achipu) and Onyeke (Efofe) are two siblings from Odeba an Ette woman.
Also note that Ojobi, which is the Clan I come from, had six (6) children and they are: Ojobi, the first son named after his father Ojobi; Otu, which is my direct lineage: I am Felix Solomon Omachoko my father is Felix, Felix is the son of Igoh, Igoh the son of Ochai, Ochai the son of Udeh, Udeh the son of Ocheme, Ocheme the son of Akor, Akor the son of Adu and Adu the son of Otu, Otu the son of Okolikotu, Okolikotu the son of Idokoo Eje, Idoko Eje the son of Atiyele, Atiyele the son of Ata Idoko, Ata Idoko the son of Ata Aganapoje, Ata Aganapoje the son of Abutu, Abutu the son of Ejeh etc.
On the same Ojobi clan we have: Agada, Ohiemu, Oma Dele and Abidu.
It is important to note that Ojobi had three (3) wives among which Abudo gave birth to four (4) children namely: Ojobi, the first son who was named after the father; Otu; Agada and Ohiemu. While on the other hand, Ikoh gave birth to the 5th son, Abidu and Ojoma gave birth to the 6th son, Oma Dele.
It is important to also note that the present Orokam, a town in Ogbadibo LGA of Benue State of Nigeria, was founded by the descendants of Ohiemu the first son of Idoko Eje. Remember, Idoko Ejeh was the first son of Atiyele, the elder brother of Attah Ayegba Oma-Idoko. They speak both Igala and Idoma perfectly. Thus, both Dr Ayegba S Ayegba and Dr. Pastor Paul Eneche are of Ohiemu – Idoko Eje – Atiyele lineage.
The five ruling houses in Imane today are the direct descendants of Atiyele and the trace by any Imane man to the throne in Idah can be linked to Ata Idoko who was the father of Atiyele and his younger brother Ata Ayegba Oma Idoko. Every Ata after Ayegba were his direct descedants.
At a time, Atiyele was the Odah Ojiji of Imane and his younger brother, Ayegba was the Ata of Idah. The kingdom was divided into two but unified during the Igala/Bini war with Idah being superior. But as a sign of respect for his elder brother at that time, both men were on their thrones. Ata Ayegba never allowed Atiyele, the Odah Ojiji of Imane, to stand up from his throne or bow to greet him as the Ata of Igala, a privilege enjoyed by only the Ojiji of Imane till the modern era. That was why during the colonial period and Igala Native Authority when district heads were posted to any other district, the Odah Ojiji of Imane had the rare privilege to double as both the paramount ruler and the district head of Imane.
In recent history, when Attah Aliyu Obaje visited Imane in company of Governor Abubakar Audu, both of blessed memory, the Odah Ojiji Suleiman Okeme Ifiene attempted to stand for him to greet. Ata Aliyu Obaje maintained the old tradition and persuaded the Ojiji to remain on his seat.
In his words “Ojiji Ki’idigbili, agba nago, gwane, gwane, gwane nago”. As I earlier said, Anukpa and Odeba were both wives of Okolikotu. Anukpa was the senior and her descendants are the Amoma Anukpa clan made up of Efekpe, Ogili, Ajo-Odachai, Oforo and some part of Ofudu while, Odeba the younger wife hailed from Eteh and gave birth to Onyeke and Oguche hence, the slogan Imane Oleteh.
The Onyeke group presently inhabit Efofe. And Oguche clan, at Efachipu. while the Aoma Ochimane on the other hand extend their hands of relationship and mutual co-existence to give out their daughter Anukpa to Okolikotu, the son of Idoko Eje, for marriage.
In the olden days, if something terrible or strange happened in Imane community, it was ochimane clan that will perform the traditional rites to cleanse the menace out of the community. They are also blessed with some professional herbal practice that cure sickness such as fracture, snake bite etc.
Christianity and Islam in Imane
According to Ali Yakubu Salihu, “Islam came to Imane through an Hausa scholar from Kano named Mallam Balarabe through Ameh Akpa who settled at Mabenyi Ododa Imane. Then, some indigenous scholars; Alhaji Adamu Ameloko Odah, Mallam Shaibu Egbo, Mallam Shaibu Ochai and Mallam Yusuf Ameh returned from Aloko for Islamic education. Alhaji Adamu, the first son of Ameloko Odah was the first person to perform pilgrimage to Mecca. He made the journey by foot. Then, Alhaji Abu Ochimane and Alhaji Zakari Abdullahi returned from Lafia and used their experiences to spread Islam in the land.
Christianity came to Imane through some Christian missionaries who came to promote the Christian religion, as well as Western education. For instance, Roman Catholic Mission was introduced in Imane in early 1940 to promote Western education. People like Rev. Fr. Micah, Fr. Oldet, Mr Ejelu etc, serving in Catholic Church Imane, contributed a lot to promoting Western education in Imane.
Culture and Tradition of Imane People
Imane people are good observers of moral ethics such as respect for elders, decent dressing, table manners, among others. The act of greeting is highly cherished among the people. On such occasions, pleasantries are exchanged passionately for as long as two to five minutes when two people meet.
Infants from most parts of the kingdom usually receive three deep horizontal cuts on each side of the face, slightly above the corners of their mouths, as away of identifying them. However, due to civilization such practice is becoming less common these days.
Imane people have a culture that has been misunderstood by many. It is called “Ibegwu”, literary meaning ancestors or ancestral spirits of the people. It is believed that ancestors watch over their progeny to stop them from doing mischief like; premeditated murder, adultery, unwarranted abortion, etc otherwise, he or she will be arrested by Ibegwu via mysterious ailments; the cure to which is public confession and performance of the necessary rituals for cleansing.
“Ibegwu” is an ancestral spirit in Imane which can be seen only by those that violate the laws of the land. This has been in existence even before the 15th century and it was instituted by the founding fathers of Imane land. It was instituted for many reasons, even as it is of benefit for all Imane sons and daughters.
The laws guiding the people and the land of Imane under the traditional rulership of Oda Ojiji is very strict. Any violation of such law or laws was met with hard and severe punishments. As a result of this, there was total peace in Imane land.
Imane people have lots of cultural heritage which will remain forever binding on any child of Imane. Meanwhile, most of these laws and culture are natural laws that guide humanity, which are also found in the laws of Moses (Bible). But the most serious of them all that can even lead to death is the Ibegwu. Premeditated murder and extra-marital affairs with another man’s wife and unwarranted abortion are all taboos in Imane land.
Apart from punishments that followed the violations of the laws and the fear of the effect, the Ibegwu have often put every Imane man or woman under checks and balances. This law is binding on all Imane descendants even outside the shores of Imane and on any Imane married woman, home or abroad.
The lovable thing about Imanians is first, their respectful nature. Disrespect towards elders is not tolerated in anyway amongst Imanians. Imane people are very peaceful in nature and not troublemakers. For instance, unlike other parts of Igala land, issues like thuggery, armed robbery and senseless killings can not be identified with Imane people. An Imane man loves to be enlightened and believes so much in education. They are a very neutral people especially when it comes to religion. Religious sentiment is the last thing you can ever try to use to deceive an Imane man or woman. They don’t care who is a muslim or who is a christian, they believe so much in religious oneness and unity to the end.
Imane people are very social and fun to be with, hence their crazy love for farming and business.
Politics in Imane
Imane has two political wards. They are: Imane ward one and Imane ward two.
Imane ward one has 22 Polling Units with towns, villages and hamlets surrounding the Ward. They include: Abo, Alawu, Obama-Agada, Eroke, Barracks, Ebuloko, Ede, Efachipu, Efofe, Efangele, Efekpe, Efakpa, Efiwo, Efoko-Igo, Etafo, Eteke, Imane, Igele, Ogalole, Ogili, Ojiakpama, Oforo, Ofudu, Ajoda Ochai, Idoko-Ele, Ajitata, Inwa, Iyoko, Amobia, Ojaoguchaji, Ojamaochenje, Mabenyi 1 and 2, Achipu, Ojiegbe, Efekpo and Ojioko.
Imane ward two has 15 polling Units with towns, villages and hamlets surrounding the Ward which includes: Achipu, Adumu-Abo, Epunobi, Agaliga, Akpoli, Akpoloko, Amobia, Amoke, Enumena, Idekpa, Ikpoechi, Ojuwo, Okolododo, Omelewu, Ogenaga, Oloko-Agaliga and finally Utoje.
The present Oda Ojiji is HRH Ibrahim Carlistus Salifu of the Idede ruling house.
References:
1- Anthological and Historical Notes on the Igala People.
2- Narrative of an Expedition into the Interior of Africa by the River Niger (vol 1&2).
3- Narrative of The Expedition to the River Niger 1841.
4- Full text of ” Narrative of an exploring voyage up the rivers and Benue 1854. With a map and appendixes published with the sanction of Her Majesty’s government .By Williams Balfour Baikie.
5- Politics and Economics in the Benue Basin, C1300-1700. By Robert Arthur Sargent 1984.
6- The ‘ONUATES’ Kaduna Archive.
7- Palace of HRH ODA OJIJI
8- Ata Igala’s palace, Idah: books on related history.
– Hon. Felix Solomon Omachoko
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