The home of the Igala people is situated eastern region of Kogi State, Nigeria. It is three major towns are Ankpa, Anyigba, and its headquarters, Idah (The seat of the Attah Igala).
Apart from Kogi State, the Igalas can also be found in Delta, Enugu, Nasarawa, Anambra, Benue and Edo States of Nigeria.
Taking time to explain the movement of the Igalas within Nigeria, HRM Idakwo Ameh Oboni (the current Attah Igala) in his speech last weekend, said the Igala people were once an indivisible entity until in the 19th century, due to the ignorance of the colonial masters of the people’s history and geographical configurations balkanized and dispersed the Igalas into three provinces, namely; the Idah district (which was merged with Onitsha district), Ankpa (was merged with Munchi Province) and Dekina, was joined Nasarawa province.
He also disclosed that in 1918 during the reign of Attah Oguche Akpa, the three districts came together and were merged with the Northern Province but not without some damages in which some of the Igalas were ignorantly left behind in the present day Enugu, Anambra, Nasarawa, Benue, Delta and Edo states, thus drastically reducing the numerical strength of the Igala Nation. This singular act by the colonial masters he says, and its acceptance by Igala front-line nationalists, has been the main cause of Igala’s loss of strength and voice in national matters.
Looking back on the influence of the Igalas before the creation of Nigeria, The Attah Amocheje (an Ancient ruler of the Igala kingdom) was one of the earliest rulers (in present day Nigeria) to sign a treaty with the British. He signed this treaty with the British as early as 1841, twenty years before Lagos signed hers with the British in 1861. The Igalas also controlled all activities and navigation on the Niger River at Idah many years before the advent of the Europeans.
Attah Ameh Oboni, another past ruler of the Igala Nation was known to be very brave and resolute. He was revered for his stiff resistance to the British Imperialists, and his struggles to uphold the autonomy of the Igalas.
Furthermore, in 1963 during the national head count, the Igala tribe was declared the NINTH (9th) largest ethnic group in Nigeria despite her reduced geographical spread, and consequently listed among the national languages.
The Igala sons and daughters around the world are advised to learn their history and be proud of our achievements and contribution to the Nigeria project.
We should be inspired by the great achievements of our predecessors, and also learn from their mistakes so we do not repeat them.
Special Thanks to HRM Idakwo AmeOboni (The current Attah of the Igalas) for his wonderful history lessons, and Onogwu Muhammed Galaticus for helping me get hold of them.
– Suleiman writes from London, UK.
Facebook: Suleiman Abu Maryam.
Twitter: @sule365
